I might not ..

I might not have a hottie husband .. but I am an independent (albeit lonely) woman who is having fuuuuuun just window shopping. So I won't resign myself to perpetual spinsterhood, just yet. 

I might not have any children of my own.. but I have approx 80 super duper cute ones on loan to me because I am their English teacher. They are adorable even when they are irritating and it brings me so much joy to be part of their education. I'll be so sad when I have to leave them :(

I might not have my best buds or my family here as my security blankets (I WUV YOO).. but I have made some friends for life and bless their poor hearts for having to put up with me!!

I might not own a home of my own.. but I have a roof over my head to keep me warm and it isn't completely terrible. 

I might not be living the dream, my friends.. but I have a wonderful opportunity to experience another culture in a foreign country and I am relishing that. 

I might not have the face of an angel.. but I have a personality that hopefully makes up for what I lack in beauty. 

I might not  be a millionairess.. but I earn my toil so that I have just enough to keep me alive and educating young minds is tremendously rewarding. 

(all the money you see here was once mine)

I might not be rocking a bodacious bod that is either toned or tanned.. but we can't all be all round hot and gorgeous or how boring would that be? 

I might not be the most exciting of people .. but I'm not a living nightmare and I challenge anyone reading this to find me a better Rianne in the whole of the world! ;) 

I might not be your cup of cocoa.. but I'm like the mould in your shower, you can ignore me but I'm not going away!! :P 

So while my life may not be exactly how people think I should be living (I shan't let anyone render it unutterably hideous) and perhaps it hasn't panned out the way I expected it might.. I am loving a beautiful and blessed life <3 I'm sure one day I'll be drinking the marriage and baby punch, living somewhere I'm in love with and life will be even sweeter. But until that day arrives, I'll enjoy what I do have with equally nutty people.

Back to the land where the rain falls mainly on the plain..

Firstly, this myth from My Fair lady is just that. I, like Rihanna (like as in similarly to not like as in think she is great, for I do not) have had to make use of my umbrella-ella-ella quite frequently this week and that is not what I signed up for when moving here.. I thought I'd be escaping the monstrous floods and storms but no no!! 

I have come to the realisation that there is only one thing that stands between me and my happiness.. it is MYSELF. (It's not that I'm never upbeat, cheery or laughing because I giggle a great deal here. But am I content? Absolutely not) I don't know if it is the foreign language, being far away from my dearest friends and family, not being able to devour a decent curry or even drink a glass of orange squash, that my feet are constantly dirty in this country or that I am constantly zapped of energy from teaching and that my hours double because of preparation.. most likely a combination of all that.

The friends I do have here and the children I teach throughout the week is what keeps me plodding along and the experience worthwhile. If I earned more money and had everyone I love in Valladolid with me then I know I'd be more Rianne level chirpy :) Since that is impossible I endeavour to just make the best of what I do have and to stop moaning about things I cannot change. So I may as well suck it up and get on with what I am here to do.

Though Valladolid is indeed not one of the most magical places on Earth, all I can do is get on with things and attempt to have as much fun in this land as possible. Instead of eating my feelings with all the chocolate and sugary wickedness I can lay my hands on, I am making a concerted effort not to let myself get down in the dumps. There's no point wallowing - I'm here.. this is the situation.. I only have to stick it out until the end of June in this city.. it's not that long really. 

Just yesterday I caught myself singing merrily away and quite probably irritating my house mates to death but because I had compelled myself to be joyous and in high spirits I actually felt like that. It's like Pete Mavrodaris says 'fake it, til you make it.' And it worked. Thanks for that tip best friend-in-law, that has stuck with me and now it is paying off. 

I can't see anything happening to make me love this place but you never know, maybe when the time arrives for me to leave I may be sad to see the back of it. I'll absolutely be devastated to say goodbye to all my students and house mates but I'll try not to dwell on that too much until I have to deal with it.  

So now I'll shut up because I wouldn't want to bore anybody who is reading/glimpsing through this. But I'll leave you all with a thought from a sappy movie I recently watched 'As long as there is light on this earth, there is always plenty to celebrate.' So celebrate, I shall ..even when it might feel like there isn't much cause for it. Bob Marley the dude also sings 'Don't worry, be happy' and who am I to argue with such wise counsel? 

Leaving love and positive thoughts for everyone I care about <3 Hoping that your lives are beautiful and blessed right now xxx

Feliz año nuevo

HAPPY NEW YEAR to anyone who may have stumbled upon my little bloggety blog!!!! :)  I truly hope that 2014 will be a magical one for everyone reading this and that we all get out there and dance our faces off :D While 2013 wasn't the worst, most life-ruining year to take place it also was not the spectacular, enchanting 365 days I had wished for either. And so I am pleased to bid ADIOS to it and heartily welcome in this shiny new one .. it better really WOW me! Though it crept up on me tooooo quickly so I don't know if I'm emotionally, mentally and spiritually prepared to endure partying away.

A couple of things I could work on this year (but these are not exactly resolutions as that requires dedication that I'm not sure I possess): 

*Reining in the rhino rage because it is never gonna be attractive and it is a waste of energy. And it won't mean that I'm not smart and tough and strong.

 *CUTTING down on the love of my life - chocolate (I cannot envisage this one everrrr happening because this velvety goodness is my kryptonite.. so hold me back people, hold me back) 

*Keep at the blogging to document the weirdness that is my world

*Dip my toes into the pool of possibilities .. it's nice to believe that 'anything could happen' and that fate will always find a way. 

*Improve my common sense - that alone will greatly reduce my clumsy accidents and near-miss calamities! You're not going to believe the amount of stupid things I did/almost did in 2013 (alright, well maybe you would if you actually know me)!! Please no more electric shocks, self-stabbings or almost getting run over by a bus (and these were in the past few weeks alone) this year. 

Whatever it holds, I'll just have to deal with it and respect that everything tends to happen for a reason, even if we cannot figure out what that is. One day it will all make sense.. I know, I know I'm being sappy, but don't resort to salty language to inform of me this fact.  :P

May your year flower in riches and overfill with some of the best memories of your eternity, your joys be as deep as the ocean, your days be merry and bright and may you choose only what is right <3 Here's to many more zany adventures as we pile high our plates from the buffet of life. I fully intend to partake of the feast and not with tiny mice nibbles either! :D Devour every morsel of mortality because despite the cliché, we really don't know how long we have here on Earth. Make every moment count and most of all, BE HAPPY :) xxx