Valencia Trip – (May 19st to 25th)

Monday
After a rough night’s sleep, I ended up getting up a bit later than usual. Once I was up, Timur and I dove into some organizational tasks, including scheduling a visit to a low-oxygen environment lab and getting some necessary paperwork in order. We also finally began working a little bit on our group project, which felt like a solid step forward.

Tuesday
The day started with a refreshing shower, and then Timur and I tackled more administrative stuff. We made some good progress on the project again. The big news of the day: we received confirmation that we’d be having a job interview on Friday for a position in our final week here. That gave the day a nice sense of momentum. I ended the evening with a call to my girlfriend and a relaxed vibe.

Wednesday
Timur and I headed out in the morning for a big grocery run. After that, we searched the city for a tobacco shop and eventually found a special store where we bought sunflower seeds for Jimmy and us. Once back home, we worked on the project again. I wrapped up the day with a long shower.

Thursday
I got up quite early and took some time to get ready for the day. Over breakfast, I watched an interesting documentary. Later on, I continued working on the project. A short power nap in the afternoon helped recharge me, and in the evening I had a great call with a good friend back in Berlin.

Friday
After a relaxed start to the morning, I spent some time watching my series and just enjoying the quiet. In the late afternoon, we headed to our job interview and met Luca from Argentour at the potential workplace. We were shown around, got a good overview of what to expect, and received our work schedules. Back home, I jumped into a gaming session with a friend (a fun way to end the day).

Saturday
The weekend began slowly, just the way I like it. After a short shopping trip and a phone call with my girlfriend, I settled in to watch the DFB-Pokal Final with Ruben. It was a good game, and afterwards I cooked up something tasty to finish off the night.

Sunday
We had planned a fun group activity, so after breakfast we all headed out for a round of bowling. The place also had a big arcade section, which we couldn’t resist. After a few games, we grabbed some food from KFC and took an Uber back home. I ended the day early, Monday was going to be my first official workday, so I wanted to be well-rested.

(I sadly had no pictures of this week)

Monday, 19th – Thursday, 22nd May 2025
Not much happened earlier this week. I wasn’t feeling great for a few days, so I mostly stayed in and rested. Every now and then, I went outside just to get some fresh air and enjoy the evening sun. The evening sun here in Valencia is very beautiful. ☀️
By Thursday, I was finally starting to feel a bit better again.

Friday, 23rd May 2025
Finally! I had a job interview at Arena Valencia. It’s basically an internet café where people can rent PCs or consoles like PlayStations to game for a few hours. The interview went well, and I’ll actually start working there next Monday in the evening!

Later in the day, I took a solo train ride to Madrid and met up with Florian and Jimmy at our Airbnb. It was a Late-night arrival, but it was fine.

Saturday, 24th May 2025
We checked out of the Airbnb in the morning and spent the rest of the day exploring Madrid on foot. We did a ton of walking and tried to see as much of the city as possible. Around 9 p.m., we caught the train back to Valencia and arrived late at night. I was super tired after all the walking. I just wish i couldve seen more.

Sunday, 25th May 2025
Sunday was a good one! All of us went bowling, and for once, everyone wanted to to come. It was honestly fun, and the energy was great.
There was also an arcade at the same place, so a few of us played some games there too before heading back home late in the evening.

The days have started to pass quickly and it’s hard to believe that our time here is almost over. With the departure just around the corner, I felt it was important to make the most of the time we had left.

Together with my girlfriend, I spent a lot of time exploring the city. We visited several exhibitions and saw some of the most beautiful sights Valencia has to offer. One of the highlights was a spontaneous trip to Madrid. We only stayed for a day but it was more than worth it. The city had a very different atmosphere and exploring its streets was really nice.

Work remained fairly quiet. As usual, there were no specific tasks assigned to us. We were encouraged to manage our own time which meant I focused on reviewing topics from vocational school and diving into other subjects that I found interesting and relevant. It wasn’t always the most exciting part of the week but I tried to get something meaningful out of it.

The real highlight came later with a group bowling night. We actually managed to get all eight of us together and it was great to have everyone join. There was a lot of laughing and some healthy competition and it was just the kind of shared experience that will stick with me when I think back to this time.

Now there’s less than a week left here in Valencia. As much as I’ve enjoyed this experience I’m really looking forward to going back to my cozy home in Berlin.

This weekend… drum roll please… we finally went bowling. Yep. That thing we planned ages ago but life said “Nah.” Well guess what, life? We won this round. Even better? The whole squad showed up. I know. Miracles happen. Someone call the Pope.

We went to this funky little entertainment center — imagine Chuck E. Cheese meets Blade Runner, but with less rat and more arcade neon. It had flashing lights, children’s sticky fingers on every surface, and that beautiful scent of overused bowling shoes and regret.

We rented two lanes like the professional amateurs we are. I personally bowled like a blindfolded flamingo on ice, but hey — at least I’m a beast at paintball. Gotta pick your battles.

Despite the cosmic joke that is my bowling form, we actually had fun. I got to make some cursed but hilarious edits for TikTok. Fanlai’s already going semi-viral, probably because she’s the only one with any actual hand-eye coordination and charisma. Oh, and she brought her Polaroid camera too, and took the kind of pics that would make Tumblr weep. Artsy queens unite.

Later, we headed back home, destroyed some food like starving raccoons, and I thought: “Nice. Time for beauty sleep.”

BUT NO.

Just as I was dozing off, there was a SCREAM. Not the fun horror-movie kind — the real “we-have-a-monster-in-our-house” kind. Yep. Turns out our old friend the cockroach is back. Not a normal one either. This thing looked like it paid rent.

We trapped it under a small bowl. And for extra safety? Placed our giant bottle of fabric softener on top — because this roach looks like it could deadlift. Until further notice, the area is under quarantine.

And that’s the tea for now.
Stay neon, stay weird, and watch where you step.
The floor is lava. Or worse — cockroach turf. 🪳

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For more Videos and pictures of us or, well…the cockroach…here on my Tumblr Blog: https://afib-in-spain.tumblr.com/

You know those days where you wake up, go to work, and expect absolutely nothing exciting to happen? Yeah… me too. And this episode is exactly that. Spoiler alert: my life is not an action movie. At best, it’s an experimental student film with no budget and too much existential silence.

So, work. Or should I say “the thrilling adventure of staring at a monitor while no one speaks for 8 hours”. On paper? Our project looks like Iron Man built it. In reality? It’s IKEA furniture with no instructions and missing screws. We’re supposed to help with the web development, but none of us are actual web developers, so… imagine a bunch of housecats trying to build a spaceship. We tried. We failed. We accepted our fate.

The office vibe? Dead silent. Like, “you drop a pen and suddenly feel like you’ve committed war crimes”-silent. The air is so dry and serious, even my sarcasm needs a hydration break.

Now let’s talk about my epically cursed journey to work today. Everything started off normal: me, on time, taking the metro like a functioning adult. Then came the tram. Enter stage left: Grandpa with a broken arm who clearly thought he was starring in “Mission: Impossible – Senior Edition.” He tried to leap into the tram as if salvation was inside. One kind soul pulled the emergency brake to help him. Sweet, right? WRONG. That little red lever apparently kills the tram. We all got kicked out like unwanted side characters after 10 minutes of standing around watching the driver Google “how to un-screw tram.”

Eventually another tram came. I got in. All was well. UNTIL…

Plot twist: the tram yeeted itself away from the tunnel it was supposed to go into. I was like, “Wait a minute… aren’t we supposed to turn left, not into freakin’ Fern-Valencia?” The tram pulled a reverse UNO card on all of us and drove to god-knows-where. The next train back? 30 minutes away.

So I thought, why not turn this disappointment into a detour? Walked around. Found some massive event halls and what I think was a Velodrome. Maybe for swimming? Maybe for ritual sacrifices? Valencia’s wild like that. Also, it was 30 degrees and no shade in sight, so I think I grilled a bit. Pretty sure I leveled up in skin tone—call me Toasted now.

But not everything was doom and sunburn! Earlier this week, I had a heartwarming Facetime call with my bestie (hi boo), plus Jimmy and Flo were there too. A rare, wholesome moment in this sitcom of a life.

P.S. I downloaded Duolingo. You’d think I’m learning Spanish, right? HA. Wrong show. I started learning Mandarin because my brain decided, “Let’s go full chaos.” Fanlai’s helping me with pronunciation and honestly? It’s kind of fun. The grammar’s easier than Spanish. The tones? Manageable. The characters? A beautiful nightmare. But hey—baby steps.

Moral of the story?
Never trust a tram. Never underestimate a grandpa. And when in doubt? Learn Mandarin.

—Over and traumatized,
Jacky.

For more gifs, pictures and videos, here my tumblr blog: https://afib-in-spain.tumblr.com/

Not much happened from Monday to Wednesday, except Christina’s birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎉), of course!

On Wednesday, we finally got a new task from Rafa.
This time it’s about building a database of all companies in Valencia – including the CEO names and contact info. The goal is to use this database for one of Rafa’s upcoming projects.

Naturally, our first step was to check if this is even okay from a data protection standpoint (because, you know… GDPR and all that).
Once we confirmed that it’s legally doable under certain conditions, we started researching how to actually get our hands on this kind of data.

Turns out:
These kinds of business databases already exist and they’re super detailed.
The catch? Most of them come with a price tag. Of course

The weekend kicked off early on Saturday, May 10th – though not entirely by choice. Sleeping in was impossible, as a local festival was being set up right outside our window. The noise made it clear: the day had begun. We got up early and set out for a day trip to Altea. Since there was no direct (and affordable) connection, we took the bus to Benidorm and then continued with the city tram. Once in Altea, we made our way to the historic old town, which is perched on a hill above the coastline.

The town was stunning – narrow alleys, whitewashed houses, and a calm Mediterranean atmosphere. From one of the viewpoints, we had a breathtaking view over the sea. We continued walking up to the church that sits at the center of the old town – a beautiful building, both inside and out. After soaking in the view and the peaceful vibe, we spent our last hour relaxing in a small bar before making our way back. Everyone was pretty exhausted. The return journey was dramatic – a nearly empty bus drove us back through a heavy thunderstorm, which added a strangely cinematic mood to the end of the day.

Sunday was supposed to be a rest day, but once again, the town had other plans. The morning started with fireworks and loud bangs – no chance to sleep in. Still, we tried to take it easy. It turned out to be a quiet day with some nice conversations and an early night to catch up on rest.

Monday marked the official start of my internship at PC-Box Valencia. I was welcomed to the store, introduced to the team, and given a short overview of the daily routines. It felt good to finally start something structured after so many weeks of waiting.

Tuesday was more hands-on: I installed missing drivers on a laptop and replaced a faulty RAM module in a desktop PC. After that, I ran a full system check to confirm everything was working smoothly again.

On Wednesday, I assembled two full desktop systems according to customer specifications. I then performed benchmark tests and documented temperature and voltage values under load to ensure stability.

Thursday brought a technical challenge: one system with a 13th-gen Intel CPU kept crashing during boost mode. After a thorough diagnosis, I flashed a BIOS update and adjusted the voltage, which resolved the issue. It was satisfying to see the direct impact of the fix.

Friday was all about cooling – literally. I installed a custom AIO water-cooling setup, bent the tubing, mounted the radiator, and filled the loop with coolant. Everything held tight, and the system passed all tests. In the evening, things got sporty: we went out for paintball and GoKarting. Three rounds of paintball: one narrow loss, one clear win, and one chaotic match where I ran out of ammo – but it was fun all the same. After that, we hit the GoKart track, which was a bit messy but still enjoyable.

Saturday started with more noise – once again, fireworks in the morning. Everyone was sore and tired from the previous evening. The first half of the day was quiet; we just picked up some cleaning supplies. In the afternoon, we visited the local planetarium for a show called Himmelsfähre. The film was decent, though the sound was too quiet and the seats not the most comfortable. Still, it was a chill way to spend the afternoon. In the evening, we cooked together and kept it relaxed – we had plans to head to the beach the next morning.

On Sunday, we got up early to catch the sunrise at the beach. We took an Uber, found a good spot, and played some music while watching the sky light up. The atmosphere was calm, and it was the perfect way to start the day. Later, we caught up on sleep and spent the rest of the day taking it easy: writing blog entries, sorting photos, studying a bit, and handling some small tasks.

Valencia Trip – (May 12st to 18th)

Monday

Monday was also quiet. I watched a great new movie and took it easy, still recovering from the muscle soreness from the hike.

Tuesday

Tuesday A Day in Valencia with Jacky What started as an easy day turned into an unexpected educational adventure. Jacky invited me to join her for a visit to the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. Instead of taking the bus, we walked over 3 kilometers through the city’s massive park. The walk was full of curious sights: strange sculptures, odd characters, and a dry riverbed that made me reflect on life choices. The destination looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. The futuristic architecture was amazing, though signage was minimal. Inside, we explored an interactive Leonardo da Vinci exhibition, a biodome with adorable animals, and a space zone complete with holograms and planetary weight stations. All that for just 9 euros – definitely worth it. It turned out to be a chaotic but fascinating day full of culture, science, and a bit of cardio.

Wednesday

Wednesday I wasn’t feeling very well, so I took it easy. I played games with some friends and had a nice phone call with my girlfriend in the evening.

Thursday

Thursday I was feeling a bit better but still tired. I spent the day watching some documentaries and catching up with friends from Berlin.

Friday

Friday Friday was action-packed. We had Paintball and Go-Karting on the agenda. We took two Ubers to the Paintball site and played three rounds, my team won two of them, which was awesome. Afterward, we went karting on an incredible track that even had a bridge and tunnel. I was the fastest in our group and took first place. We headed back home with good vibes and great music.

Saturday

Saturday I was pretty exhausted from Friday’s excitement, so I took it easy. I only went grocery shopping and took a short walk.

Sunday

Sunday Sunday was another calm day. I caught up with my parents, had a nice call with my girlfriend, and played some games with friends in Berlin.

Monday, 12th May 2025
On Monday I revised my notes on IT and watched some videos about Networking.
Later in the day, I headed to the city center (Xàtiva area) just to walk around and check things out. In the evening, I stayed in and chilled. 🤙

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Tuesday, 13th May 2025
Spent some time working on Udemy courses again during the day.
Later, Jimmy and I went to pick up a friend of ours from the airport. He came all the way from Berlin to visit. We three also booked a separate AirBnB for a few days and checked in together.
The rest of the day we just took it easy and went for a short walk in the evening.

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Wednesday, 14th May 2025
We showed our friend around the city, mostly stayed around the center and just explored a bit.
In the evening, I continued my Udemy course for a bit, and later we all watched some TV together. Spanish TV is wild sometimes but fun to follow along. 😄

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Thursday, 15th May 2025
Time to check out of the AirBnB. Our friend moved into his hotel, but unfortunately he was feeling really sick.. And I could feel something coming on too.. AGAIN.
So we decided to take it slow and just rest up for the rest of the day.

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Friday, 16th May 2025
Pretty much the same as the day before. We took care of our friend and tried to recover a bit ourselves.
We went for a short walk at night, but later I felt pretty bad and ended up going to the pharmacy to get some medicine.

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Saturday, 17th May 2025
We were both feeling a bit better, so we decided to visit the aquarium. It was actually really cool to see all the different fish, sea creatures and even Crocodiles too! 🐟🐊
After that, we went to the old town for a bit and walked around. Since I had to bring him to the airport the next day, we called it an early night.

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Sunday, 18th May 2025
I brought our friend to the airport in the morning — time for him to head back to Berlin.
Unfortunately, by midday I wasn’t feeling great again, so I spent the rest of the day lying down and trying to recover.

Valencia Trip – (May 8st to 11th)

Thursday

Thursday, May 8 The day started with me giving some tech support to my girlfriend. We had actually planned to go bowling, but unfortunately, that fell through at the last minute. Instead, Timur and I went for a walk to the beach, where we enjoyed a meal at Burger King with a beautiful view of the sea.

Friday

Friday I spent Friday catching up with friends from Berlin and took care of some household chores. In the evening, I played some video games with a friend from back home.

Saturday

Saturday Ruben and I planned an exciting trip. We wanted to hike a mountain that we could see from our house. We took the train as far out of the city as possible and then grabbed an Uber to the base of the mountain. From there, we made our way up along a wild trail but luckily found the path to the summit. After a thunderstorm warning, we made our way down quickly and walked back to the train station. We even had to run the last few kilometers to avoid the storm. After that adventure, I enjoyed a relaxing shower and chilled for the rest of the evening.

Sunday

Sunday Still tired from the hike, I spent a very relaxed day at home, watching series, eating good food, and talking to my girlfriend.