Lariane: What a day... Where do I even start? It has been an amazing day as well as very quiet and relaxed too. Today in the office was crazy busy, as the other 'chica' who is on work experience, Rocio, had to leave early to go to college to do some paperwork. This meant that there was no one there answer the calls while she was with customers, who would drop in to the office. I had to do different accounts that were due to be done for today. I have never even thought of answering the phone in Spanish so far and had not needed to do it but because there was nobody else to do it, Kevin asked me to give it a try. Worst case scenario I wouldn't be able to do it and all of the calls would then be transferred to him and then he would transfer them to whoever was needed. So I created my little chat; “Diga me! Alberto Nunez, llamo Lariane.” from there I'd ask them “con quien quieres hablar?” and if they asked for Anna, I'd let them know that “Anna esta con un cliente no momento, puedes esperar por favor?”. If they asked for anyone else, I'd just transfer them over to that person. It was a very interesting and informative day. In the evening I just relaxed at home and enjoyed a quiet evening. It was much needed in order to recoup and have the energy needed for the week ahead. Mariola: Today at work everybody seemed to be extremely busy, as many things happened around the town so there were many articles to be written. I was watching what Isaac was doing, the way he was gathering and preparing the information for articles and also for this weeks interviews. During that time I was also doing my own research, so by now I know what are the main issues in the city. After work I went and did some grocery shopping, as this time it was my turn to prepare the dinner. Sounds simple but it is not! The journey from my work, which is located in the city centre, to the shop I was going to, this was one of the nicest things of that day. It is because the view all over the very north of Ceuta is so beautiful. The bay has incredible views with different shades of blue colours. The bridges and architecture is so different, along with all the buildings, especially the very old part and even roundabouts are beautifully decorated. Those type of things are impressing me so much. I have visited many different places around the world and now, with every day that passes, I like this city more and more, it is definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life. After shopping I met the guys in nearby Manhattan restaurant and thanks to Dan I've tried a delicious omelette. I would highly recommend this place to anyone. The food in Ceuta is amazing! Afterwards we had a lovely dinner at home for a change, and it wasn't local food... Patrick surprised us last week with delicious Irish styled dinner so this time I was the chief. I prepared one of my favourite healthy option for all of us. At the end of the day we had a little fun as we played cards. I was the lucky one who won poker. We had good fun though. Patrick: After such a great weekend I was ready to get stuck into another week of work at Ben Y Ben. However, this being the first Monday of Ramadan, I found out that there was no work on the Monday. This meant I had gotten up unnecessarily early. So I set off on a walk towards the local market and grabbed myself a Churro with Chocolate for breakfast. I slowly made my way around the town and towards the beach where I got myself settled with a book for a bit. The sun was so hot and I was getting hot so I strolled back towards the apartment for another shower. Dan gave me a shout when he finished work and we made our way down towards the docks to have a look at a travel agent recommended to us by Juan Manuel. We got prices and options for one-day and two-day trips to Morocco and grabbed a bite to eat in a Moroccan cafe close-by.
Mariola made us dinner that evening, which was beautiful, and we settled in for a quiet evening, which was very welcome after such a hectic weekend with travel and touring. We also played a bit of music, a few games of cards, and I also called home to check in on everybody. I also managed to read a little more and got myself into bed early. I admit, the heat had beaten me yet again, plus I think I got a little bit of sunburn on top of my existing sunburn from last week. For those of you lucky enough to get a work placement out here in the years to come: Factor 30 is not enough! 50 or bust.
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Dan: I woke this morning with good memories of our night spent with the Spanish students. We had a great time. We made a light breakfast before heading to do our scuba diving. What an experience it was. I have never done any form of diving or snorkelling before. It’s not as easy as it looks when you watch the pro's doing it on tv. The instructor Laura was very friendly. I had to stop before the rest of the group as I got water in my mask and in my attempt to stay above the water to dry my eyes my asthma decided to flare up. I was fine, I knew it was time to stop but I would definitely do it again. After the scuba diving, we met David, one of the Spanish students and his friend and we all went for a Chinese. I found it interesting that meals are shared with everyone, unlike in Ireland when you order your food and its your food! This was a nice experience as I was able to try food that I never had before. On Sunday morning we woke at 6am to get the ferry at 7am to Gibraltar. Upon arrival we decided to get a guided tour of the “Rock”. It was stunning going from the statue of Hercules, to the monkeys and from there to the underground cavern and the siege tunnels. The underground cavern was absolutely beautiful as they had music in the background and a spectacular light show on as well. The siege tunnels were an historians dream. One of my hobbies is history, especially warfare so this was a real treat for me. It was breathtaking, something I will definitely return for. Especially the monkeys as I have never been so close to them before and they are my favourite animals. We stayed in Gibraltar for a while and also had a meal. It was nice to get a taste of home when we found a restaurant that was serving Sunday roasts! In Ireland, normally main roads and railway lines intersect so the traffic has to stop to let the train pass. In Gibraltar the main road intersects with a tiny runway. It was interesting to see the cars and pedestrians stopping due to a plane taking off. When we got back to Ceuta we went for a meal in D’Armandos Pizzeria and it was delicious. We said we’d have an early night as it was a long day of travelling and being on our feet. I am looking forward to week two of my Erasmus placement, especially this week as I will be meeting a man from Cartagena, Spain who is giving the informations seminar to all the business owners and managers. Patrick: I slept until around 11am on Saturday morning as we met with our new Spanish friends the previous night and I was also up early all week for work. As soon as I got up I had a quick bite to eat and went for a walk around the city. I picked up a map during the week from the tourist information centre where Dan works and had an idea in my head of where I wanted to go. I set off at a fast pace. After the first 30 mins of walking I was really sweating. The sunshine and heat was really intense so I found a small cafe and had a break and a bottle of water. I topped up on the sun cream again and made my way uphill to get a view of the beach and rock face, and it was amazing. I slowly made my way back towards the apartment and had a quick shower before heading to our meeting place to wait for the rest of the guys who had arranged to go scuba diving. I have scuba dived before and I didn’t really enjoy it so I opted not to go this time. The others had never gone so I encouraged them to go and try it out. You never know if you will like it, unless you try. We met up with David and one of his friends that evening and we went for a meal in the Chinese restaurant in the city centre. I love trying new foods whenever I can and I have eaten some strange stuff during my travels through Asia, like insects and things. This time I ordered something they called Dragon Balls! Don’t know what they were but they were delicious. Then I had duck with bamboo and shiitake mushrooms as my main. We shared out all our food so everybody tried some of each others meal. The locals love setting a table with loads of food and everybody helps themselves to what they fancy. Whatever we didn’t finish we brought with us to our apartment and this would be our breakfast for the morning. We have an early start so any time saved will be important. I can see the others on the Erasmus placement with me are starting to open up with each other, myself included. This is the best thing about travelling with others. You start to develop a bond that can result in lasting relationships and shared memories can be the ones we remember in the years that follow. I know I said it before, but travelling and getting out of our comfort zone is important for the development of our character and personality. That's my experience anyway. A great weekend and first week in Ceuta. Sunday morning was rough for me as I got very little sleep the night before and was up at 6am to get the 7am ferry from Ceuta to Algeciras on mainland Spain. From there we took a bus to the border of Gibraltar and arranged for a guided tour to take us up to the Rock of Gibraltar, Our tour guide was a local called Malcolm (I think) and he was a seriously good guy. He gave us a great rundown on the history of the different places all along the route up the rock. Our first stop was to the pillars of Hercules which shows what the ancient world looked like. According to Greek mythology Hercules had to take on twelve tasks or labours. The tenth of these labours was to bring the cattle of Geryon from the west to Eurytheus. On his journey Hercules had to cross the Atlas Mountains so rather than climbing over these mountains, he used his great strength to smash through them and as a result, he brought the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean together. This became the Rock of Gibraltar on the northern side and Jebel Musa in Ceuta on the southern side. After the pillars we continued up to Saint Michaels Caves which is a network of limestone caves 300 metres above sea level. We had about 30 mins to spend here and honestly it wasn’t enough for me. I could have been there for hours without seeing it all. It is a real special place and if any of you ever get the chance to visit the place you should allocate some time for it. A beautiful place that was used as an emergency hospital when needed, it is now the setting for concerts and gigs which must be incredible. Then we continued up to where they feed the macaque monkeys. They feed them up here regularly so as to keep them from coming down the mountain and getting hurt or annoying people. One of them sat on my arm for a while but as soon as he realised I had no food for him he was gone again. The tour driver said that the monkeys know him as he is up there with them a lot with tours and they were all over the van looking for nuts and food. One of the monkeys grabbed a ladies bag and started rummaging through looking for food and she didn’t know what to do. We have to remember these are wild animals so nothing really you can do except be cautious and careful around them, especially around babies as their mothers are never too far away. Our next stop was at the Great Siege Tunnels which is a series of man made tunnels used to defend the Rock during the Great Siege. While they were tunnelling they needed some form of ventilation so they made a series of holes along the side of the Rock. Then of course they decided to put loads of guns and cannons out of them for even greater reinforcement. This was really interesting as even though it was a beautiful setting I couldn’t help but think that this was responsible for a lot of deaths back in the Siege. The caves are beautiful and natural and really made you feel a sense of wonder and time. This just made me think if there is anything we won’t put a gun through, but inside there are a number of boards with historical information so it was interesting. The tour ended there and our guide dropped us back down into the Main Street where we grabbed a bite to eat in an English bar/restaurant. The food was similar to home and I got myself a Sunday roast. Not so bad at all. Nothing even close to Mommy's home cooking, but better than nothing. We headed on back to Ceuta and I slept most of the way back which was badly needed. I woke up in Ceuta and went straight to bed. A really enjoyable first week of Erasmus and hoping for more of the same next week. Life is good again. Lariane: On Saturday, I slept in until about 2pm as it has been a long night and I needed the rest before scuba diving. I had been looking forward to going scuba diving for the first time and was somewhat anxious as I knew that my impaired vision was going to get in the way. I decided that for €35 it was worth doing even if it didn't work out like I had hoped. Overall it was a great experience and I would definitely do it again. I would even look forward to buying my own goggles so that I can enjoy every moment of it. During the experience I found that I could not always see the instructor if she went too far ahead and this made for a very stressful time as she could not see me if I went the wrong way. There wasn't much I could do in relation to this, as it was very hard to see her as the water was murky as well. She had a GoPro with her so we'll get some great footage out of it after she gives it to us. The whole experience was one of a kind. I look forward to seeing those photos soon and being able to see just how awkward the whole experience was! Laure is an amazing instructor and I would highly recommend for any future students that come here, to definitely get in touch with her and go scuba diving. She said that if I want to do it again she will take us out on the boat and we will go for a deeper dive in which we will see more fish and local fauna and flora as the water in there is much clearer. We woke up at aroung 6am in order to shower and get ready for the day that was ahead. We left the apartment at around 6.45am and got a taxi from the main road. We almost didn’t manage to get the taxi as the taxi stands were empty and this was something we had not calculated time for as the ferry is about a kilometre to a kilometre and a half from the bus and we had yet to buy our tickets. Once we arrived at the docks, we bought first class tickets with Balearia and travelled on the Passio per Formentera . We has great seats, free drinks and most importantly; the whole first class section to ourselves. We got a taxi from the port in Algeciras to the bus station. We had thought about getting a taxi which would have cost us a minimum of €30 to the border, but decided to wait in order to get more information. The bus that goes from the bus station to Algerices doesn’t run on Sundays so we had to get one to the border in La Linea. The bus costs us a whooping €2.50 so waiting around was definitely worth it. From the bus station in La Linea to the Border is somewhat of a trek, 1.5 kilometres or thereabouts. Once we crossed the border, the difference was instant that we were now outside of Ceuta. There was a real British influence with many Harry and Meghan flags flying high. Right out of the border is a tour guide that costs €33 and takes you to 3 out of the 4 stops in The Rock itself. It would have been a seven kilometre walk uphill to an elevation gain of up to 1,398 ft. The Mediterranean Steps were built as part of the military communications system built by the British to allow access to their various defence posts at the southern end of the Rock. At the highest point of the steps are the two 9.2 inch guns of Lord Airey's Battery and O'Hara's Battery. I feel that the guide was well worth the money as the day got very hot very quickly and he knew a lot of knowledge of the region as well as being great entertainment. To me so far, the biggest differences that I have experienced is the milk they use. I drink milk everyday from anything up to 3 times a day and this UHT milk is just so different. I now understand why they don't surve lattes or cappuccinos, as the milk is very processed to the point that it has no proteins in order to form up and give us that nice creamy texture that we love. Another aspect that surprises me is just how late they eat their dinner and lunch, anywhere between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. This is very different from home where we eat between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. We also learnt that we've been ordering meals wrong, as “raciones” which we thought meant portion, actually means to share. So, when you order one of these, they are to be shared. Often you order one or two along with some drinks and enjoy them throughout the night which could begin between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. Also on Saturday night we went out to dinner with David, to a local Chinese restaurant just down the road from where we are staying and it was completely different from anything we have ever had at home. It was also my first glimpse of Ramadan, and David told me that we wish them “Ramadan Kareem” which means happy Ramadan. I am very much looking forward to learning all about future experiences and differences between the two cultures as well as to communicate with my colleagues at work during the coming week. It has been an amazing week so far and I look forward to enjoying the next one even more. It is surreal but I'm here doing everything I'm doing right now and I feel like I am so blessed to be here. Mariola: Saturday morning starts quite slowly and a bit late than other days as it was really nice for a change sleep longer especially after great and fun night out. Today's priority was another new activity I'm going to be doing as the very first time in my life. I, Larianne and Dan had arranged diving. During the quick presentation what it is all about, what to do while diving, I just started to be really scary. Cannot say I regret my decision , only the feeling what will happen if 'something' unexpected happens few meters deep down the water. Because I really wanted to try that I simply didn't give up. Finally when we got to the water of beautiful sea I felt happy as the instructor Laura was very polite and explaining everything slowly on a very safe part of the coast. Then after a couple of minutes I started again to be... well ..this time seriously scared as the water started to be leaking into my glasses and after all actually I was very close to run out from there. I gave myself last chance then. As I've got a different pair of glasses I've tried again...and that was really great decision. Every single minute after was worth it. Amazing experience, diving is not easy but it is so different and unique than other types of sports I've tried so far. I wish some day to dive in places like Egypt or Indonesia as underwater fauna there is exceptionally breathtaking. That was really worthwhile experience which just started in Ceuta.
On Sunday morning we took a ferry to Algeciras as we had a planned trip to Rock of Gibraltar. I used to learn on the geography classes in primary school a lot about this place and I was always very fascinated about. Strait of Gibraltar is a strategic point where Europe meets Africa and it is just simply amazing. Ferry trip was really stunning as it was just about 20 min after the sunrise. Colours of the sky were beautiful. When we arrived to Algeciras as we knew the city a little from last time so we easily got to the bus to La Linea de la Conception which is just the last Spanish speaking city before the British boarder with Gibraltar. You can easily see the Rock from far so as we crossed the boarder I could not be more impressed. We got the bus tour up there, which was very convenient especially because the bus driver was also our guide who knows many interesting stories and important historical informations about Gibraltar. We stopped in 4 different points. First stop at the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, called Pillars Of Hercules 150 meters above sea level. A 5 minute photo stop where you will enjoy great views overlooking the Bay and Straits of Gibraltar to North Africa Morocco. The Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea. In ancient times known as “Non Plus Ultra” The end of the World. Second stop at the St Michael's cave 300 meters above sea level, a 20 minute visit in this natural grotto to admire its beauty with stalactites and lighting display. Inhabited by the Neanderthals and visited since the time of the Romans, prepared as an emergency hospital during WWII. Then the third stop 400 meters above sea level. Here, you meet the rock’s main pack of Barbary Apes, all ages and sizes, there’s approximately 200 apes roaming free on the upper rock. ” No touching or feeding allowed” as they can bite. Great Siege Tunnel was the last point of the bus tour. At the northern face of the rock, 100 meters above sea level, a 20 minute visit to this man made tunnel, built the hard way, deep into the rock, houses a gallery of cannons proving to have served as a very effective defence during the Great Siege. Built during, 1782-83. Views overlooking Gibraltar Airport run-way, with great views to the most southern point in Spain/ Land Frontier. Airport Runway which we walked on the way back was another great experience as the view all around is just stunning. A unique drive across the airport’s runway, where both pedestrians and vehicles cross, this is controlled by traffic lights and barriers. Both RAF and civilians use the airport with daily flights from UK. After we got back to Ceuta we had a lovely dinner at A'rmando - Italian restaurant. Food, service, place itself is just brilliant. We really deserved such a lovely dinner today. Overall I have to say it's been interesting week, gone fast as only 2 left. Beginning at work was bit stressful for me, as my placement is actually dream come true. I always been passionate about what is happening around, the news I've seen in the newspapers, a bit of politics but just a bit and more about social problems in the area and also the power of tv. So now I've got the placement at the CEUTA ACTUALIDAD TV. They are 1 of 3 newspapers in the city, mostly working online. It is not easy as there is a big language barrier, but some people from the office trying to make me feel as more comfortable as possible. For example our routine is coffee at nearby restaurant everyday, which is Spanish tradition certainly. After the hardest day which was last Thursday, when we had 2 interviews I was invited for a lunch after work. What is really interesting about Spanish tradition is sharing food when having lunch or dinners, which is really new thing for me. Also when Spanish students came over they explained that they starting to party very late, having few drinks about midnight and they go to the club about 1 am so then can easily party till at least 6 in the morning which is very different tradition than in Ireland. Quality of life is so much different, as many people do not cook at home because when having siesta they just go to the restaurant to grab some food or changing out with colleagues or friends there. During off days they are usually with whole family, cooking for everybody and always surrounded with family and friends, which is beautiful. Mariola: The day started as usual. It turned out to be another great day at work where we completed some duties that I had done previously last week. Isaac showed me how he is preparing another article for the newspaper, as he uses important information from a few different sources. This information then has to be checked and compared, with decisions being made in regards to its uses. In the afternoon after work we had arranged kayaking but this time it was very special, as we took a different route. It was an organised tour with 2 guides, which took us under the bridges of Foso de San Felipe and through the canal with 10 metre walls which was just breathtaking. In the evening our new friends from the local school came over. We spent some time at home having great time while playing cards and discussing differences in our cultures. Overall we had a great fun with our new Spanish friends. Dan: I woke to up to my normal alarm time this morning and realised my routine was kicking in. I went to work and met Ketty. We went to the aqua park to get their details for the information seminar happening next week. Ketty gave me a tour of the park and got me a voucher for free entry. I found it interesting that the Spanish start work at 8am and work until 2pm/3pm. They then take a “Siesta” until 5pm/6pm. Everyone always thinks Spanish siestas are great, getting to go to bed in the middle of the day. However, in Ceuta and other parts of Spain it is actually just a really long lunch break. I found this intriguing as in most jobs in Ireland, your typical hours consists of 9am-5pm or 8h/12h shifts and then your finished. At Least with the Spanish way, they can collect their kids from school, go home for a while, go to the beach etc and they aren't confined to a one hour break, and are able to go back to work fresh and rested. After work we had arranged to meet at our usual spot- El Puente (The Point). On my way there I had to stop and admire the statue of Hercules. It is incredible! We had a quick bite to eat and then headed kayaking where we had booked a kayak tour around the forts moat, which is the last undamaged moat in Europe. It was amazing looking at the castle walls from below. Words can not describe it, and then looking down into the water we could see an abundance of fish swimming under our kayak. After this we headed home and got ready to head out with the Spanish students. They brought us around the town and introduced to a lot of their friends. We had a great night and were looking forward to the weekend ahead. Lariane: My day started off really well. I went to work on time and had enjoyed a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs, cherry tomatoes and olives on toast drizzled with olive oil. This is a key part of my routine because due to the hours I work, I don't get a long break. At work I learnt about the importance of the D.N.I. (documento de national indentidad) which is your identity card and the minimum wage regulations. In order to apply for it they must make an appointment either through the phone or by the website on https://www.citapreviadnie.es/citaPreviaDniExp/. This document allows the citizens of Ceuta to take the ferry into Algeciras and even travel in Europe. This document is also necessary in order to apply for their passport. Sadly from what I've heard so far, most people my age in Ceuta don't have a passport and haven't ever been to Morocco and some have never been to Algeciras either. The D.N.I. is renewable every 5 or 10 years in most cases, depending on the age of the holder. This is important to us as a business because if we do the accounts for a business with an experienced D.N.I. it could make the process take much longer than needed.
If I were to one day move to Ceuta or Spain in general though, I'd be given a N.E.I. which is the número de identificación de extraneous or Foreign Identification Number. This allows me to make large purchases such as a house or a luxury car. Another hot topic of conversation in the office is the minimum wage in Spain which is known as SMI (Salario Mínimo Interprofesional) and applies to all workers regardless of their age, gender or employment contract, including casual and temporary work or personal work within the service of a household. Depending on where you live in Spain that same S.M.I. could have you living like a king or a pauper. The Spanish minimum wage (or salario, wages in Spanish) is revised and set each year by the government. I have been doing data entry all week, and on Friday I was doing month end which is very long. There was an error with the figures inputted on the data capture form and this took a while to find but when I found it, it was great. Not only was I like the cat who got the cream but the whole office seemed delighted, as though we had all collectively achieved something. It is hard to explain how or why but it felt amazing to be able to apply my theory into real world practice. After work, we grabbed a light bite to eat and went on a kayak tour. There was so much history and knowledge hidden away in the walls of Ceuta that I couldn't even grasp it all. The day was somewhat different from the last few times we've gone which meant we could try surf skiing, which Juan had told us about. I wish I had more experience and balance in order to do it better though. It cost €10 to rent the kayak and €25 per instructor / guide. I would highly recommend that anyone who comes to Ceuta park takes in this experience as the views are amazing and so much fun. At night, the students from Puertas del Campo came over to our apartment and we had a few drinks at home before heading out. In Ireland, the night is well on the way by midnight and over by 2pm in the morning. Whereas here, the night is only beginning at midnight and it doesn't end until 6am and even then, you go for breakfast afterwards. This was a little too intense for me and so I didn't quite make it breakfast but it was a very interesting experience. I also noticed that they drink much more responsibly overall than back home. It was a great evening. I managed to have a “fluent” conversation with a few of the people that were only Spanish speakers and I feel like I'm becoming more and more confident with my “Spanglish”. Patrick: Last day of work before the weekend and it went well as usual. Ima is in Madrid for the weekend so it was just Javi and myself in the office for most of the day. I’m trying to speak as much Spanish as I can and he is really patient with me and tries to help me when I get stuck. He’s a really good guy and he has a good sense of humour. He is going to Granada for the weekend as his wife is there for work. He goes up most weekends and she comes down whenever she can. He showed me photos of Granada and the place looks beautiful. I showed him some pictures of Galway and told him that if he ever wants to visit I would help him out however I could, just like he is doing for me. We have organised a kayak tour around the city walls with a guide for the evening. We arrived at the beach ready to go and set off on the water with the sun shining. The walls are the oldest part of the city and date back to the 10th century. Ceuta was captured by the Portuguese during the Conquest of Ceuta in 1415, who began to strengthen the defences in the 1540s by building the Royal Walls including bastions, a navigable moat and a drawbridge. Some of these bastions are still standing, like the bastions of Coraza Alta, Bandera and Mallorquines. The place is well preserved and you can tell the locals take pride in them. The water is crystal clear and you can see fish when looking down from the road. Up on the walls themselves is a very interesting place with beautiful views of Ceuta and the Rock of Gibraltar. A lot of history has taken place there, so you can learn a lot about how Ceuta was established, and how it was defended. Juan had already given us a tour of the upper walls on Wednesday, so we learned a bit about the history and how it was used and why it is such an important place in the history of the city. Probably my favourite part of the tour so far. That same evening we met up with some of the students from the school again and had drinks with them at our apartment. They brought us into the town and had a great night with them all. They introduced us to some really nice people too and everything was great. A great way to end the first week of our Erasmus placements. Learning new skills, a new language, new cultures and making great friends along the way. This is what Erasmus is all about. If anybody is reading this and still deciding whether or not Erasmus would interest you, here’s your answer. Do it. You won’t regret it and it can only help you in ways that I probably won’t even understand until I get back to Ireland and get a chance to think back from afar. Seriously, do it! Mariola: Today I arrived at work a little bit earlier, at 9.30am. This time was special as we had arranged two interviews for today. First recording as part of the 'La Tertulia' audition, which took place in the studio at 10am. This was a completely new experience for me. It lasted 45 minutes, and consisted of me being on the other side of camera, observing the discussion. There were 4 people on the panel: 2 representativea from the studio and 2 guests - an anthropologist and an activist. They were talking about the current situation related to the Spanish - Moroccan boarder which is causing huge issues lately. It has been amazing to see in real life how the recording process works, even though I knew I would not understand much. I also met with a friendly cameraman, Michael, who shared with me some interesting information about how recording works and all the jobs on the other side of camera. After this, we went to Hotel Ulises, situated nearby where we had the second interview, as part of 'Desde mi Sofá' audition. This time with the a local feminist. As the name of the programme states, Isaac the host and the lady gave the interview while sitting on the sofas, just next to the outdoor swimming pool which was just marvellous. It was a pleasure to be part of, something I have never done before. After we went back to the studio, I had to write an article about everything I've seen and had to comment on it. Mostly it is about non verbal communication, especially as the very first recording was really interesting to see, so there was a lot to write about. After work I went for lunch with my mentor, so I had a great opportunity to try something recommended by a local person. It was the first time I ate some delicious fried 'Jamón' - Spanish ham on a bed of chips with fried egg on top which was really delicious. After lunch, when I came back home Lorriane, Dan and myself went to scuba diving school to arrange the diving which I am really looking forward to. It is going to be my first time. In the evening, as recommended by the teacher at the college, we went to a party at Ceuta De Casino, which was organised as an opening season's party. The place was just amazing, we met some students from local school, which was such great company. The night was really great, we had so much fun. Patrick: Today it finally happened, I had to wear a jumper for the first time on my walk to work. It wasn’t even that cold or windy, just not as outrageously sunny as the previous mornings. Work was the same as Wednesday, everyone is still trying to explain things to me in a mixture of Spanish and English, and I’m trying my best to take it all in as well as remembering their names! It’s not easy but it’s enjoyable. The work day seems to be going faster and faster because of the amount of work I’m getting through, which is great. As soon as I got finished I was straight down to the beach again and back home before I knew it. Dan, Mariola and Lariane went down to the beach to meet a guy about scuba diving, so I stayed back and cooked up the steak I had bought the day before in the local market. It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. That evening we all went down to an opening night for a new bar in Ceuta. There was free food, a free beer on entry. Four of Javier’s students joined us for a few drinks in the bar that same night and we had a great night. There was a man playing the saxophone inside the bar and he was excellent. Then I turned around and saw a 10 foot robot walking around the bar! We exchanged numbers with the students and they are calling over this Friday and bringing us around the town to explore some of the culture that Ceuta has on offer. They really are going above and beyond what I expected. This place keeps getting better and better. Dan: I woke up this morning and decided to skip breakfast to get an extra 15 minutes of shut eye. I left the apartment and began my 5-10 minute walk to my work placement. I met Ketty inside the office and she briefed me on our activities for the day. We began the day walking around to different businesses where Ketty would introduce me to the owners and explain what she was doing. Ketty showed me Tapas, Paella, Ceuta Craft beer, Mexican food, Brazilian food, Polish Hamburgers, Chinese and numerous cafés/bars. When work had finished we met at home were Patrick had cooked a fabulous steak for us. It was amazing! Myself, Mariola and Lariane left at 6:20pm to meet Javier a teacher from the college who has connections to scuba diving here in Ceuta. He brought us to the scuba diving office were we met Laura our scuba diving instructor. She said we can go scuba diving Saturday evening at 4:30 for the extremely generous price of €35! We went back to the apartment, had our showers and headed for a bar called “El Cielo”. Juan told us there was an event on there tonight so we said we would go. It was amazing, with free food throughout the night. I was however under dressed with everyone in slacks and shirts and myself representing the parish in my St James GAA top! We met the Spanish students from Javier's class, Juan, David, and Maria. We had a nice night of chatting and decided to make plans to meet up Friday night and they will being us for a tour of the town. We invited them to our apartment before hand to hang out before we see what Ceuta's nightlife has to offer. Lariane: Work was very interesting today. I started using my Spanish a bit more and trying to speak it, even if I'm making mistakes. One of my colleagues, Rocio, is also there on a placement from Puertas del Campo where we had visited yesterday. It is nice to know that in a sea of strange faces you have someone who's there with you when you've got a common goal. She is so lovely and tries to help me when she can and that's so important. I am so grateful for it. Sometimes it's the little things that you can't catch in regards to conversations, like colloquialisms or a saying. No matter how hard you try to Google it, usually Google won't understand it. So having her there so that I can ask 'can you explain that again?' and have her try to explain it to me in a way that I can understand is brilliant. At the same time, she has asked me a lot about Galway, and the kind of things that I've done myself. She is very keen on finding out more about Galway and she would love to go there, so I feel like we are having a great mutual conversation. Sometimes it's in Spanish, sometimes she tries to speak English and in the end we find a way to communicate.
Javier went with us to the local scuba diving school which is located in the supermarket/beach. He was kind enough to be with us, as Laura doesn't speak English. He translated the things that we did not understand and that Laura could not explain to us herself. The scuba diving costs €35 for an hour underwater up to 5 meters, as none of us have ever done it before. This is because she is PADI certified which is great, as we know we are in good hands even if we'd like to go deeper. Sometimes the experts know best. Sadly I don't know if I will be partaking because my glasses don't fit in the goggles and it's too complicated to get contact lenses. I might do it, but if I do and I can't see anything it could be disappointing. She said I can decide on the day if I want to or not. Patrick cooked dinner for us which was an amazing steak with roast potatoes. We then got ready and headed out to the opening of “El Cielo” which is located on top of the Marina Park. It has a prime view of Ceuta. The beautiful glistening water of the pools just make it so beautiful with all the lights, and if that wasn't enough, the food was to die for! I almost wish I hadn't eaten anything just to enjoy all the food that was available. It was nothing like what we have a home. We had been there for about 30 minutes, and we were getting ready to go home at that point. The others were keen to explore further, and I decided to stay out with Mariola and relax a bit before going home. As we were waiting, the students from Puerto del Campo arrived and we were delighted to see them. They were just getting out of college. It was so great to spend time with the group, altogether. We managed to talk for approximately three hours there. One of the girls doesn't speak any English at all so in order to keep her in the conversation we had to either translate, or try to speak in Spanish even if it was bad Spanish! So it all worked out in the end, which was brilliant. We have invited them out to our place for a few drinks and maybe a bite to eat on Friday, and they're going to head out with us and show us where the best places are to explore Ceuta's culture. It's completely different talking to them in a school environment than it is in social setting, it has been great to get an insight into both environments. We've decided that maybe we are going to go to the cinema together or to the water park, Marina area. It's all been so great, but now it's about 2am in the morning and I've got work in less than 8 hours so I better sleep! I'll talk to you tomorrow... Patrick: Day two of work at Ben Y Ben was a little different than Tuesday. They saw the work I had done the previous day and decided to give me more responsibilities. I arrived at the office and said Buenos Días to everyone there. Ben Y Ben sell a lot of shoes online through Amazon and AliExpress. The AliExpress online store hadn’t been updated in a long time so I was given the task of uploading the correct information of the shoes and resizing the pictures where needed. So for the next few hours I was online searching different codes for the different shoes, looking for 5 images per shoes, and updating the information needed to ensure the items sell well. This is the information the customer needs to buy the merchandise. What sizes are available, what the sole of the shoes are made of, whether it is a shoe with velcro or laces, is it leather, mesh, or fabric, and a whole host of other criteria. This is enough work to keep me busy for the next few days as Pablo and his wife Ima, who also works in the office, are gone to Madrid from Friday for the weekend. At first it was difficult to locate the information I needed for each product, but when I completed the first five or six pairs of shoes, I was able to recognise which websites are easier to navigate than others. Another thing that I hadn't accounted for was that everything was in Spanish so when I was looking for 'Copy & Paste' on the right click of the mouse, it was en Espanol. Again, once I got the first few finished I was used to it. It was a good opportunity to use my problem solving skills in making these selections and navigating through the language barriers. Work went pretty fast today and afterwards I walked home on the beach again. We went to the college that evening to talk with the students who are studying the equivalent course to us in GTI. At first they were very quiet and nervous about speaking to us in English, but as soon as we explained what we were doing and that our level of Spanish was limited, they opened up to us and starting giving us advice and asking questions. We were able to get a lot of good recommendations of some places for good food, some bars and clubs, and suggestions about trips and tours to Morocco. They are a nice group of of people of all ages and they seemed to enjoy our visit. Juan waked us home through the forts and walls of Ceuta and explained a bit of the history and also some recommendations for food and drinks as well. We went for a meal in a restaurant he recommended and I had a huge piece of local freshly caught fish called 'Mero'. It was delicious, even though I got a surprise when it arrived to the table because I thought I had ordered Beef! All in all, another great day and excited to see what else can happen over the next few days. Dan: I woke this morning to an unusual silence and I left the apartment and began my 5-10 min walk to my work placement. I met Ketty inside and she briefed me on our activities for the day. We began doing the same as the previous day, walking around to different businesses where Ketty would introduce me to the owners and explain what she was doing. I would have all the documents and get them ready while she was speaking to the owners. These interactions are a great opportunity to practice and develop my SPanish language skills. When work was complete today, Patrick, Mariola, Lariane and myself met for some lunch before heading to the apartment. We left the apartment at around 6:30pm and headed to the college. Upon arrival we were shown to Javier's classroom were we spoke to the students who are learning English. This was a great opportunity as they told us where to go, what to do and what not to do. After Juan brought us to his English class, where we had a nice chat with them about Galway and Ireland. We walked home with Juan and he brought us through one of the old forts of Ceuta. The view from the walls was incredible. On our way home he was giving recommendations of where to eat and what's nice and not to expensive. We headed out for dinner and then returned home to relax. Mariola: I've started another beautiful day with big smile on my face as I can't describe how grateful I'm for having the opportunity to be here doing the Erasmus placement in Ceuta. Today I went to work as usual but as my mentor wasn't in the office yet, I had a chance to chat with others for longer than usual. That was quite funny and hard at the same time as I mentioned earlier there is a huge language barrier, but at the end we did communicate well enough to understand each other. When Isaac arrived, he showed me 3 types of programmes they record. First is 'La Tertulia' which is a recording taking place in the studio with up to 5 people. It could be discussion related, with guests about social, political situation in the city and other similar subjects. The next programme is Ceuta Actualidad TV which is recorded outside the studio. This programme involves the host interviewing some influential people, well known in the areas of activism, feminism etc. The last programme is called 'A Pie de Calle' and is basically interviews that are taken on the streets of Ceuta. After we discussed the idea of the recording they are responsible for, my aim was to write an article about what I've learned that day. The aim was to describe in detail what is important for the host or an interviewer in order to have a good and interesting interview. These characteristics are critical for creating valuable work at any TV studio. After a tasty lunch Lariane, Dan, Patrick and myself came back home to relax for a while and get ready for a meeting which took place in the school at 7pm. We were introduced to two different classes, where we met with Javier, Juan and the amazing students. It was really lovely to meet them, share our stories and listen to theirs, and to share our experiences. Who knows, maybe one day we might meet each other again but this time in Ireland! Many of them are thinking very seriously about coming over, which I obviously would highly recommend to anybody. After having a great time at the school, we had a lovely walk around the city with Juan. It's been a pleasure to see and hear his stories and get so many recommendations on what is worth doing during our stay. Javier and Juan are amazing local teachers who have helped us so much since we arrived. We are so lucky to have met them. Lariane: On Wednesday, my day started with a bump as I managed to wake up at 7am, so after my shower I went back to sleep and didn't wake up until ten to ten. Luckily I had already put my clothes out and live less than five minutes away from my place of work, now that I know the short cuts. Once there I started getting better acquainted with the keyboard and it's differences. It's only slight but as a fluid touch typer, it's been hard to get accustomed to looking at the keyboard again.
I started noticing the subtleties of the office, how different people go on food a coffee breaks and bring back stuff for different people. It was a very interesting and friendly dynamic. I also noticed that around 11 a.m. a girl from local bakery would come in with baguettes and other pastries in a basket and a sell it to the staff. This is very interesting and different from the usual way things are done at home and then again at 1p.m. before the morning shift ended, Anna or Mohamed might go on a coffee run. There's also canteen there though I haven't seen anybody use it so far. It is a very interesting office to be working in and the people seem very friendly and are always there to help me if I have any issues or queries in relation to how to do something. I am really enjoying it. In the afternoon we had it off to the college in order to speak to the students in Puertas del Campo. The students where a little shy but inquisitive. It was a great learning experience to be up there talking about our experience so far, where we are from and any other queries they had in relation to why we're doing the Erasmus or why should they should do it too. It seems that a lot of them haven't even left Ceuta and would be afraid to go to Malaga or Morocco altogether so they need to understand that sometimes it's ok to go somewhere with no safety net. Language is a barrier you overcome, that is something learning here everyday. Not knowing Spanish for us Isabel yeah, I would have loved to be able to do more hands on work and be able to answer phones and discuss queries with customers but I don't have that kind of Spanish at the moment so it is challenging but if I had let it stop me from getting on that plane and coming here I would missing out on so much more. So if I have one piece of advice it is to trust your gut and follow through with your dreams. We are rare as alone as we think we are. The internet has made it so much easier to ask for help and discuss problems online, there is always someone who's got your back at the end of the day be it a tutor, a classmate and often, strangers. After that we went on a walk around the walls of Ceuta and we got to see some amazing views of the city. It was amazing.Juan gave us some recommendations in relation to where we should go and see. It is very exciting. I ended up having my first meal alone. I have never really enjoyed that experience but I feel like it's one that I need to overcome as an adult. It was interesting. I got takeaway and have it delivered to the apartment. The food itself is great and if not a little intimidating but I got through it and one step at a time I'll get better at it. Sometimes in order to grow we have to step out of your comfort zone and embrace the things we don't like or don't understand. Dan: Our second morning started like our first day. I left the apartment and began my 5-10 min walk to my work placement. I met Ketty outside and she introduced me to all of her colleagues. They were extremely friendly but I had forgotten the Spanish greeting of two kisses on the cheeks, and I was a little startled as I hadn’t a clue what was going on! We began walking around to different businesses where Ketty would introduce me to the owners and explain what she was doing. We were getting businesses to RSVP to an information night on the 26th of May in relation to tourism for the coming summer. All of the business owner’s levels of hospitality were incredible, offering me assistance if I ever needed help. It was great as I got a good walking tour of the city and was able to see numerous businesses both opened and closed e.g. bars, nightclubs, restaurants, phone accessories, wine shop etc. We went for a coffee break and met a colleague of Ketty, Sylvia. She had very good English and started helping me with my Spanish. I would say a sentence in English and she would translate it and say it again slowly and I would repeat it until it stuck. I am really enjoying the language as it is similar to French which I have a grasp of. The Spanish find it funny every time I start speaking French! Ketty has arranged me for to go on a panoramic bus ride of Ceuta and possibly Morocco with the company, which I am really looking forward to. I also found out that my name in Spanish is “Daniel el Rey” which is interesting to know. When work had finished I met Grainne (our tutor from GTI), at a café and we waited for the Patrick, Lariane and Mariola to come back from day of work. We stayed for a bit and got some lunch, when the others arrived and we began chatting about our placements. We all came to the conclusion that we would definitely return for a holiday/work in the future. Mariola: Today I woke up early, excited that this day had officially arrived. After a delicious breakfast, full of protein, I started work at 10am. My mentor Isaac and all the people in the 'Ceuta Actualidad TV' company were so friendly and polite to me as they understood the level of my Spanish language is low. The company is open 7 days a week for over 15 hours a day, as they upload and update all the news on the website. They also record the interviews in their studio and outdoors, mostly with politicians and other important people. Issac introduced me to all the areas they cover in the company; from their website that shares valuable informations about city of Ceuta, to the culture; all the way to politics which I found very interesting.. On our break, we went for coffee just around the corner as it is such a great location with many coffee shops and restaurants nearby. It was a great opportunity to experience the atmosphere of the city and their siesta routine. It has been a new experience to be surrounded by journalists on a daily basis and see when and how they work. After work I enjoy my lunch, sitting in a nearby 'La Punta' restaurant which is a dream come true as it is a great place to relax after work and enjoy the sun. Afterwards I met my GTI colleagues to say goodbye to our lovely teacher Grainne. She did a great job, helping us to settle in to our new surroundings in this beautiful place. Patrick: I left for work that morning a little nervous as my Spanish isn’t that strong, but as soon as I got talking to my workmates all my nerves disappeared. Everyone is so friendly and eager to talk to me even though they understand my Spanish needs work. My work day went very fast and before I knew it I was back outside and down on the beach. Any nerves or apprehension I had were gone pretty much instantly. I am really looking forward to learning more Spanish and being able to talk to people more easily. It is a really enjoyable place of work. I am working from 9.30am in the morning until 2pm in the afternoon. I walked back home along the beach and had a quick change of clothes and then back outside to grab a bite to eat. So far all is going good on my placement. Lariane: I am amazed at what this place can look like at all hours of the day. This is my view at 9:40 am as I walk to work. There is nothing quite as beautiful as the clear water. I had an amazing day at work. On Monday it had mostly been discussions about what I would be doing during my 3 weeks here. Everybody in the office are amazing, and they are so welcoming. Sadly there are so many people that I don't remember all their names. I will have to learn their names and the pronunciations correctly. I thought I would be doing filing and doing some basic paperwork, but in reality they got me to do some book-keeping on the first day. They gave me a run through of what i'll be doing and told me where the save button, delete button were along with the codes for the software I would require. To think that I went from sitting computerised accounts less than two weeks ago to actually putting these skills into practice today is amazing. I couldn't even come to describe what I'm feeling right now, it feels so surreal. After chatting with my GTI colleagues, I have found that we have all been placed in placements that that best suit our interests. None of them would have loved book-keeping as much as me, for me it is a dream come true. I want to be an accountant at the end of my college courses and this placement is the beginning of my journey. I will be able to say at the end of this that I have knowledge of different programmes and different software, as well as experience in a another taxation system. I feel that I am well prepared to take on the task that I have been given in my work placement and the people I have to thank for for this are my GTI teachers. They have taught me well and i'm now getting to use the skills that I have learned. It's funny to think that i'm being told to perform book-keeping or interpret accounts in a foreign language and to be entrusted with such tasks, it is such a great opportunity for me. I am loving experience and although the apartment can sometimes be noisy, nothing beats how central it's located and how fast we can get to work in the morning. It allow us to sleep as much as we want each night instead of having to wake up extra early to take a taxi or bus to commute long distances. It's so hard to believe that it's only been 4 days since we arrived on the Saturday. It feels like so much longer. We are getting more and more used to our surrounding and getting lost in this beautiful city. Every night we get to explore different flavours of the city and many new experiences. It is one of those situations in which you don't know if you should take your phone out to capture the moment or to experience it without an image, because all of it is so amazing. Lariane: When you are in a new country... new city... there are no limitations to what you can achieve. There is so many opportunities for personal growth, it’s incredible. Our group are bonding together well. We rely on each other to solve any problems that we encounter and have a very communication when any issues have arisen.
On Monday we had a bright and early start. The view from the room is beautiful. Dan bought some items from the local bakery and we enjoyed our breakfast before heading out to finally see where our placements would be. I had tried to find my own placement on Google but had had no luck, so I was very much looking forward to the placement that had been arranged. I am working in Asesoría Fiscal Y Contable Alberto Nuñez. located in one of the main business areas of Murcia, in one of the emblematic buildings of the city. It is situated on Avenida Juan Carlos I, which is less than five minutes from the apartment. It provides a range of services in the area of Tax, Labor, Accounting and Legal-Commerce Advice. They have their own bespoke Sage package, which I have not used before, but I am looking forward to learning it as a course in Sage can cost around €400. I am aware that I probably won’t be fully trained in this and likely to be doing filing as it is a very busy time of year for taxation here. Nonetheless, this is an amazing experience and my mentor is lovely, and understands that language will be a barrier that we will both learn to overcome. It was very reassuring to hear that I had brought the appropriate clothing for the office environment where I will be working. We also went to Puertas del Campo “Instituto de educación secundaria” and were very excited to see Javier, Nieves and Patricia again. Nieves was heading to an English class but we got to see her on the way to the college. It was very refreshing to see a familiar face in a sea of strangers. Once in the college, we got to meet the principal and some of the other teachers. It was amazing to see how they work in their own environment, after having met the Ceuta exchange students in Galway earlier in May. They seemed as excited to see us and we were to meet them. We also met Juan who will be one of our contacts for the duration of our stay. It is very reassuring to know we have a safety net in case of emergencies. Afterward out first day of placement, we headed back to the beach, “La Ribera” and went kayaking. Afterwards we sat together to discuss our first day and enjoy some well deserved R&R. I can’t complain at all, it is a beautiful location off the beaten track which I am falling in love with more and more everyday. The apartment is growing on us also, although with work and the trips to the beach, I doubt I will be spending too much time indoors. We have also realised that it is so important to always wear a high factor sunscreen, factor 20 or 30 doesn't work so well, as we have found out the hard way. For a Monday, this one definitely takes the cake! Dan: We got up later than expected this morning as the friendly neighbourhood cats were having a “turf war” for most of the night! Grainne and Havier arrived at our apartment for 10am and we left optimistic as to the day that was ahead of us. One by one we met our employers and got our individual job descriptions. In my case I will be working for “Servicios Turísticos de Ceuta” and my mentors name is Ketty. She is extremely friendly and welcoming and has the same level of English as my level of Spanish which means hopefully we will both learn from each other. She told me that my timetable would be from 9am – 2pm and would consist of travelling around Ceuta to visit different businesses and tourist hot spots inspecting their standards. I was delighted with this as I love tourism both home and abroad, and it means I am getting a walking tour of Ceuta where I can experience the Spanish culture and a typical day at work in Ceuta. My goals for the end of this trip are clear; to be able to have conversations in Spanish i.e. understand what is being said to me and also to be able to reply. I want to have many new experiences during my time in Ceuta i.e. foods, beverages, siestas, scuba diving and to experience other activities or traditions which are custom to Ceuta. After our first day of placement, we all went kayaking on the beach “Playa de la Ribera” as we have become friendly with the “Kayak man” Juan Carlos. He is giving us great deals and his Moroccan colleague has given me some information about where to go in Morocco. The beach is “Bonitio” which makes leaving it very difficult. We were tired from a long day of walking and kayaking, so we went back to our apartment for a quick shower and headed into town for a light dinner. We went to a little café about a 5 minute walk from where we are staying and ordered something small. Afterwards, we headed home to try and get a good night’s sleep before commencing our duties the next day. Mariola: Another day in the beautiful city of Ceuta which we began with a visit to our placements. It was an amazing little journey as we walked all the way from the city centre to near the Moroccan border. The views were amazing, with the sea on the one side and beautiful architecture on the other. You could easily see the Moroccan style the closer you get to the border. We could not reach my placement that morning as they had a meeting, so in the evening I got to visit my new workplace. I was really excited that I got a chance to work for 'Ceuta Actualidad', afast growing online newspaper. After we discussed my duties and all the important details, I met my school colleagues for dinner in the city. It's been another long day and as the city seems to be quiet every Monday, we came back home early to get ready for our first full working day tomorrow. Patrick: We have arranged to meet with Javier this morning, to go around the city and view where we are all working for the next three weeks. By the time we had arrived at my work place it was just after 1pm. Ben Y Ben is a sports store and warehouse located just 1km from the Moroccan border. I met my boss and said 'Hola' to a few more from the office and arranged to return tomorrow at 9.30am for my first day of work. We walked back into town and got something to eat before going down to the beach and renting kayaks for an hour. The beach is beautiful with no seaweed or jellyfish anywhere. After relaxing for a few hours we went to the bar/restaurant before we went back for a shower and quick change of clothes. We then headed back into town for some dinner before heading home to bed early to get ready for the first day of work in Ceuta.
1. Learn and practice the Spanish language whenever and wherever possible. One of the biggest benefits of living in a foreign city is that we are forced to communicate with people who don’t speak our language. As I will be working as X for the duration of my stay, my language skills will be challenged daily. I hope to write a blog in Spanish by the end of the Erasmus+ though that is not the most realistic goal I’ve ever set myself. 2. Cultural Awareness I want to see everything I can see and learn as much as possible about the history of Ceuta and how Spain managed to sneak up on Africa. I want to embrace all the diversities that will come with this trip and enjoy every moment of it. There are opportunities for personal and professional development. 3. Gain Transferable Skills in the Employment Sector Working in a foreign location where the business culture and professional ethics are completely different will give me a fresh perspective on how to get things done. With the change in the working day, the siesta and how to work in a hot climate; there will definitely be a learning curve to working in Ceuta. As I will be working closely with a community which I do not yet understand, I will have to be culturally sensitive and more importantly, improve my interpersonal and intercultural communication skills. So these are my three core goals for my three weeks in Ceuta, will check back in to this post at the end in order to see how many of my goals I have achieved. -Lariane |
Business Man.
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