Monat: Mai 2025

Valencia Trip – Part 6 (May 1st to 7th)

Thursday

Thursday, May 1st was another public holiday here in Valencia which meant I could sleep in. Later in the day I went out to do some shopping and then called my parents to catch up. It was nice to hear how things were going back home in Berlin. In the evening I went for a quiet walk and had a long phone call with my girlfriend just enjoying the calm vibes.

Friday

On Friday my morning started a bit more abruptly. I got woken up early because we were getting a new washing machine delivered and the mold next to my bed was finally being removed. After all that chaos the rest of the day was much more relaxed. We watched Star Wars in the afternoon and later I started watching the Ted series and made for a cozy evening.

Saturday

Saturday kicked off slow and easy. I had a relaxed morning and then watched the Union Berlin match which actually went really well. Always nice to see your team play a strong game. After the match I went for a jog down to the beach which felt amazing. In the evening I headed over to the harbor where Ruben and Timur were at an open air party with a live stage setup. It had great energy. Later we ended up going to a private club with two Spanish guys we met there. One of them was a friend of Ruben. The whole night was super spontaneous and really fun.

Sunday

Sunday was another mellow day. After breakfast Ruben and I went shopping then I made some pasta and just hung out. In the evening I went into the city for a short trip with Jimmy Timur and Flo and after that I called my girlfriend to check in and catch up a bit more.

Monday

Monday May 5th was all about supporting my girlfriend. She had just finished her Abitur exam so I called her around lunchtime to talk about it and hear how everything went. In the afternoon I went grocery shopping mostly to get stuff for our evening barbecue. That night we grilled together on our terrace which was super nice. The weather was perfect and it felt like a proper summer night.

Tuesday

Tuesday was shopping day again. I did a big grocery run and had my girlfriend on the phone with me during it so it was almost like shopping together just from two countries apart. Not much else happened that day. I just took it slow and enjoyed the peace.

Wednesday

Wednesday was more active again. Around midday I went jogging and then took a long relaxed shower. We had actually planned to go bowling in the evening but those plans fell through last minute. Instead I spent the evening gaming with a friend from Berlin which turned out to be a solid backup plan. Just one of those cozy no pressure days.

Monday, May 5th, 2025
Monday was a typical Monday at work. Everything was okay, but you could tell that everyone was a bit tired. The mood was low-key, and people were clearly not running at full energy. In the evening, Dzhemal, Timur, Thäddaus, and I finally decided to try out the grill that’s been sitting in our so-called “garden.” I’d rather call it a stinky laundry chamber, because the smell coming from the bathroom drains can be absolutely unbearable. Still, we managed to pull off a pretty decent barbecue with all kinds of meat, vegetables, and salads. And we only smoked out half the apartment in the process.

Tuesday, May 6th, 2025
At university, I had another talk with the project supervisor about what I’ve been working on. I explained that it didn’t make much sense for me to keep forcing myself to learn programming just to somehow stay involved in the project. We agreed that I’d spend my time here learning things that are actually useful and meaningful to me. So now I’m catching up on topics I’m missing from my vocational school while I’m in Valencia. Today was all about networking. I focused on NAT and PAT and worked on exercises in Cisco Packet Tracer. In the afternoon, I went for a run down to the beach. And yes, I ran all the way back too.

Wednesday, May 7th, 2025
Wednesday meant back to university. I continued with the Packet Tracer tasks since I hadn’t managed to finish them the day before. The rest of the day I spent cooking something nice and doing a bit of exercise. The weather wasn’t great today, very cloudy and there’s supposed to be rain later on. I didn’t bring an umbrella or a rain jacket, so fingers crossed I don’t get completely soaked.

Thursday, 1st May 2025
Thursday I mostly just chilled, went for a little walk outside to get some fresh air, and spent a bit of time working through my Udemy course again.

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Friday, 2nd May 2025
Another quiet day. I kept going with my Udemy stuff and stayed in for the most part. Later that night, I went out for a solo night walk near our place. It was calm and peaceful.

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Saturday, 3rd May 2025
Saturday was more active! We went to a shopping mall and stopped by MediaMarkt to get some film for my Polaroid camera. After that, we headed toward the harbor to check it out.

Turns out there was a music event going on down there, so we hung around, soaked up the sun, and just enjoyed the atmosphere.
In the evening, we made our way back home and took it easy.

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Sunday, 4th May 2025
Sunday was all about relaxing. Just a quiet end to the weekend.

Thursday was May 1st – a public holiday – so we took it slow. No obligations, no plans, just a relaxed day to rest and enjoy the calm. The same went for Friday, which passed quietly and gave us a bit more breathing room after the previous days.

On Saturday, we decided to explore a different side of Valencia and headed to a shopping mall for a casual outing. After that, we made our way down to the harbour. The weather was perfect, and being near the water always adds a special touch to the weekend vibe. We walked around for a while, enjoyed the sea breeze, and just soaked in the relaxed atmosphere.

Sunday wrapped up the weekend with a movie night – we went to see Thunderbolts. It was a fun way to end a slow but pleasant few days, and even though the week wasn’t packed with activity, it felt balanced and just right.

Thursday, May 1, 2025
Since May 1st is also a public holiday in Spain, we had the day off. We didn’t do much during the day, just relaxed. In the evening, I met up with some colleagues from the university. We went out for pizza at a small place and it surprisingly good. Afterwards, we headed to a bar with live music. The atmosphere was great, and we stayed out late enjoying the night

Friday, May 2, 2025
On Friday, I worked from home since everyone else was doing the same and the university was practically empty. I took the opportunity to catch up on some assignments for vocational school.

Saturday, May 3, 2025
On Saturday, Timur, Jimmy and I went to Mediamarkt. Timur was looking for film rolls for his camera, and I was thinking about getting a new Bluetooth speaker. But in the end I decided against it. After that, we walked to the nearby harbor where a stage had been set up for a public event. There was music, a crowd, and a great vibe. We ended up spending the whole evening there and had a lot of fun.

Sunday, May 4, 2025
Sunday was a quiet day focused on getting things in order. I did a workout, went for a jog, did my laundry and cleaned up my room. In the evening, I cooked something . Pasta with fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil.I watched a funny Twitch livestream that made me laugh out loud. Perfect Sunday for me.

Hey party people of the internet (and possibly my future self scrolling this at 3 AM eating cereal straight from the box), welcome back to another spicy entry of “What the hell is Jacqueline doing in Spain?”

Spoiler alert: not much. Like seriously, this week was deader than my houseplants back home. BUT WAIT – plot twist – something did happen: I finally got my exam results for the Zwischenprüfung (aka the big scary “do-you-even-know-your-sh*t” test). And guess what?

🎉 I PASSED. WITH. 77 POINTS. 🎉
That’s right. 77. Only 4 tiny points away from a “2” (which for the non-Germans is like… a solid B). But alas, dumb mistakes were made. And yes, father dearest already gave me the traditional “you could’ve done better” sermon. Thanks Dad, love the feedback, please direct all future comments to my agent.

Anyway. Back to work. First day after the exam felt like someone stretched time with a medieval torture device. Until 4 PM. Four. Freaking. Pee. Em. But hey, I got invited to lunch. Yay?
Except – plot twist number two – I didn’t eat much and everyone spoke Spanish the entire time.
Like… what even is polite chewing when you understand 2% of the conversation and nod every 30 seconds to not look lost?

Oh, and then came the Monthly Meeting™️. You know, that thing where they talk about “the future of the project” and pretend we all know what’s happening.
Everyone looked at me like “Crap, the gringa is here.”
And then… bam – I hit ‚em with a “Sorreeyyy 😇” and boom! Room exploded in laughter. You’re welcome for the free comedy show, amigos.

BUT WAIT, there’s a cherry on this chaotic sundae: I actually suggested a new feature for our tourist app! Something for the Nordic peeps – the ones who prefer skiing and freezing their butts off instead of beach bumming in Valencia.
And they actually considered it?! Wild.

Anyway, no pics this week (I know, I know… cue dramatic gasp), BUT I’ve got some juicy GIFs waiting for you on the Tumblr blog.
Hope you like ‚em. If not… well, pretend you do, for my ego’s sake.

Until next time, my beautiful weirdos.
Stay chaotic. Stay hydrated.

Tumblr Blog here: https://afib-in-spain.tumblr.com/

Thursday was another public holiday. Seriously, how many holidays are there in April?! (Not that I’m complaining!) I still haven’t worked a full week since I got here, because every week seems to have at least one day off. I used the break to wander around the city, grab a few gifts for friends back home, and FINALLY try tapas in Valencia.

I had heard good things about Pimientos de Padrón, so I ordered those, paired with a little glass of Ladrón de Verano. It was fruity, refreshing, and honestly… I think I like it even more than Agua de Valencia.

One little sidequest my boyfriend and I gave ourselves is to become regulars at a local bar and we’re making decent progress! The bartender is already warming up to us, and since the place is literally right outside our front door, we can stop by often. (I know it sounds like we’re becoming alcoholics, but I promise we’re keeping it classy and moderate!)

The rest of the week was pretty chill. We checked out a new café, went for all you can eat sushi (Spanish sushi >>> Berlin sushi), and started planning our next weekend trip to Altea with the rest of the group.

So I said it, didn’t I? “The Germans are coming.” And no, I wasn’t making a war joke—our trainers actually flew in from the land of bratwurst and bureaucracy just to visit us and get a taste of our incredibly professional internships here in sunny Valencia.

Well… kinda. Technically, they came to visit me and Ruben. Because the others? Either off-duty, mysteriously sick, or pulling a Houdini on the whole work experience. Classic.

Anyway, their first stop was our university. And what a place! They met the mighty professors who command the great AI-powered tourist app project—aka, my life now. We even gave them a quick tour, and oh boy, hold onto your brains: they’ve got a full-on VR room, a motion capture lab, and a multimedia studio with a monster green screen. I’m talking Hollywood-level wizardry. Did we take pictures? Of course not. Forbidden. Top-secret. Government-level security. (Or they just don’t trust us with cameras.)

Then came the real field trip. I took the two on a magical journey to a burger joint disguised as a laundromat. Yeah, you read that right. Imagine grabbing your food from a freaking washing machine. I’ve never eaten anything that close to freshly rinsed socks, but hey—YOLO, right?

Since no one from the agency responded (hello? anyone home?), we ended up giving our trainers the grand tour of our apartment. They said it was cozy. COZY. I mean, sure, if sleeping on a mattress that screams „back pain 24/7“ counts as cozy. I swear, if they stayed here another night, they’d both be booking chiropractor appointments faster than you can say “Herniated disc.”

And of course, no German-in-Spain saga would be complete without trying paella by the beach. Not bad, honestly. Tasted like sunshine and burnt rice in all the right ways. And let me tell you—Mr. Gierschner and his never-ending dad jokes? Almost killed me. Laughed so hard, I saw the digital afterlife. Worth it.

More Blog with pictures and videos here: https://afib-in-spain.tumblr.com/

On Monday, we checked out of our beloved hotel and decided to treat ourselves to brunch before returning to our charming home… We found the cutest little café with an Alice in Wonderland theme, and everything looked super promising… until the power suddenly went out. At first, we thought it’d be a quick flicker, but then we noticed the shops nearby also had no electricity or phone signal. Not a good sign.

Realizing our food dreams weren’t going to come true, we luckily didn’t wait around. Turns out the power and network didn’t come back until late in the evening. We figured we’d just head back to our apartment, but surprise: the metro wasn’t running either. So began our quest to find a functioning bus. It was total chaos. Buses randomly changing stops, traffic lights down, and a street festival happening in the same area (why not, right?). After what felt like a side quest in a video game, we squeezed into a packed bus and somehow made it home.

Everyone at the apartment was also low-key panicking but in that “this is so bad it’s funny” way. At first, we had spotty signal, but by the afternoon, it was completely gone. It was honestly a little spooky not knowing what was going on and not being able to reach anyone. Still, we were lucky. I heard some people got stuck in gondolas, elevators, or were even evacuated from long-distance trains.

Fun fact (or not): that was also the day we were supposed to meet our instructors. Coincidence that the entire city/country shuts down just as they landed? Hmm…

Anyway, the meeting got moved to Tuesday. First, they visited Jacky and Ruben’s company, and later they came by our lovely shared apartment for the full Valencia housing experience. After a short catch-up, we headed to a beachside restaurant I’d found on TikTok for some classic paella. We went big and ordered the lobster paella and wow, it was chef’s kiss. At least for Herr Bavar and me. The others either thought it was just okay or didn’t like it at all. Not everyone has the tastebuds of a connoisseur, I guess!

It was also super cold and windy at the restaurant, so fingers crossed no one catches a cold. After a few rounds of beer, Agua de Valencia, and incredibly sophisticated conversations about RAID 5, sausage lollipops, and “Lutschter” (our new term for a lobster you lick??), we called it a night. It was really nice seeing familiar faces again!

On Wednesday, it was back to work for me. I continued tinkering with my little AI project. Google Colab has some seriously cool tools and it’s a great place to start if you want to dip your toes into AI stuff. Oh, and I tried Popeyes for the first time. Let’s just say… it ranks second to last on my fast food chicken wing list.

This week began in an unexpected way: Monday was marked by a complete blackout. No electricity, no internet – just an odd kind of quiet that wrapped around the day. With little else to do, we were more or less forced to take a break, which, in hindsight, wasn’t the worst thing. Sometimes slowing down is exactly what you need, even if it’s not by choice.

Tuesday brought a welcome shift. We met with our supervisor and enjoyed a traditional Valencian paella together. The meeting wasn’t just about food – it gave us a sense of orientation and reassurance in the middle of all the waiting. Sitting together, talking casually, and sharing a meal made things feel a little more real and grounded.

By Wednesday, the pace slowed again. We took the day to rest, do some cleaning, and reset a bit. There wasn’t much action, but the mix of small routines and quiet moments helped keep things balanced. Still no major updates on the internship front, but we’re staying patient.