A day not so bad

Hello everybody!! My name is Fabio and I do triathlon. Today I will tell you what happened to me on Vao beach in Vigo when I was 16 years old. I participated in the Aquathlon which is a sport in which two disciplines are combined running and swimming, as it was bad weather and it started to rain it was decided to change the original order of the competition (running-swimming running) And it would be putting together the two distances of running and doing them at the end after swimming.

The first thing was to meet Gomez Noya, then all my colleagues competed each in his category. I was the last of my Club to compete, because I was the senior (cadet). I prepared to compete and left my things to run on the transition site; it is very important to be agile and to have everything ready in a transition.

Just at that moment it started raining and we arrived at the shore to enter the sea. When I entered the sea that was about 13 degrees, I realized that I was freezing, I had given hypothermia, I tried to swim, but I was not advanced and I was breathing very badly, I still had 500 meters ahead and the race on foot that was 4 km. I was about to leave, but I set out to finish it, swimming slowly and then running, when I swam I realized my body was frozen, but I was not breathing so forced.

 I finished swimming, I put on my shoes and I ran the 4 km, I finished running and at the finish line was Gomez Noya prepared to put the medal; I know that they gave it to all the participants..., but only a few can say that he gave us a medal, a five-time world champion.

The meaning of ballet for me

 Hello everybody,

Taking advantage of this opportunity to talk about something that is significant for you, I have decided to do it about one of my passions, so today I am going to talk about ballet.

When I was little I was a very shy girl, it was difficult for me to interact with other children but the worst thing was to express my feelings. One day a friend of my mother recommended to my parents that they encourage me to try some extracurricular activity or some sport to express myself in some way and thus gain a little autonomy.

After a while one afternoon after school, my best friend's mother told me if that same afternoon I wanted to go with her to see a ballet festival in which my best friend danced and I excitedly said yes. At 8, Lourdes came to pick me up and I remember today as if it were yesterday the whole performance. I got home very happy and told my parents that I had a great time, I had liked it a lot and that I would like to try it.

The following week, my mother called the academy to find out and so they decided that I could go try a class whenever I wanted in my friend's grade and if I liked it I could officially start next year. And so it was, from that day on when I was 6 years old, ballet became an escape route for me. I remember that I started very nervous because I didn't know how to do anything, but that's the way it is at the beginning. At the end of this first class the teacher, Maite spoke with my parents and told them that she had been very surprised, that she really had qualities for dance and that she could tell that I liked her and made an effort.

Today and after so many years I continue to practice ballet where I was born, in Cangas. It really is a way for me to disconnect and vent when I need it, it is something that favored me positively and that I will continue to do as a hobby until I can. It has become a part of me.

PRE-DIABETES

 

Since I was very young I have been too nervous, which led to me being diagnosed with nervous pre-diabetes at the age of 6.

It's true that compared to diabetes, it's much easier to manage because you just need to keep it under control, without any medication.

Well, when I have this uncontrolled blood sugar level, it is very difficult to carry out any kind of activity, whether physical or mental, the headache is horrendous, the vision is very limited and everything you see is blurred and the body is tired. The next day the head still hurts and therefore it is three times more difficult to study, as the level of concentration falls completely, so it’s more difficult to perform any kind of mental task.

 

I always carry a machine with me to check my blood sugar level, although over the years, I have learned to differentiate when it is a sugar high or a low, the symptoms are more or less the same, but when it is a low, my hand shakes a little, and when it is a high, I have a horrible pain in my left eye and it is difficult to speak, the only thing I want in those cases is sleep, and since I have no insulin to regulate my sugar level, I have to walk (which at those moments is impossible for me) and drink water. (One of the symptoms of high blood sugar is being extremely thirsty.)

When my blood sugar rises when I'm sleeping, it's more dangerous, because if I don't notice it, it can end badly.

This situation has happened to me only a few times considering that I have been like this since I was very young. When this happens, I have very strong nightmares, and I wake up with very dry lips, as if I had glue on them and I couldn't open them, and, as you can understand, I don't want to walk around the house at 4 a.m to lower my blood sugar level, but, as I said, I have no other options.

Having low blood sugar makes it easier to regulate it, as all I have to do is take glucose or sugar pills. (or drinking Aquarius, the love of my life when I'm not wearing glucose at this moment).

(I want to clarify that these are the symptoms that I have, each person is different and other people may have different symptoms than mine).

Over the years I have been able to control all that, but a year ago I have had a problem: THE PANDEMIC.

I am a person who needs to have a routine, who needs to have everything under control, and with the pandemic (and another series of problems) the cycle starts again.

So I have to learn to control all this again! may the force be with me!💪

 

Fibromyalgia, The Invisible Disease

With this entry I would like to give visibility to one of the many chronic diseases that exist and that we probably don't know about until someone around you suffers from it. In this case I am talking about fibromyalgia.

What is fibromyalgia?

As I said before, fibromyalgia is a chronic disease which affects the muscles and bones, usually accompanied by other things such as dizziness, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome or chronic fatigue (the most common).

The causes of this disease are not known and there is no specific medication for it. Sufferers are given anti-inflammatory medicines and relaxants, and are advised to do gentle physical exercise (such as going for a walk).

It is quite a diverse disease, as each person can be affected in a different way. For example, if I ask the member of my family who suffers from it, this person tells me that it is a constant and stabbing pain, it generates a lot of tiredness (fatigue) and when she notices it most is in the mornings because she wakes up with stiffness in her bones. She also suffers from insomnia and dizziness. 

Here is a video that explains what fibromyalgia is very well (It's in Spanish, so please put English subtitles if you don't get them by default)

Our family experience

It is difficult to see someone you love in a bad way, because you never know how they are going to get up, as there are days when they are fine, days when they are bad, days when they are regular and days when they can't get out of bed, which means that you can't make many long term plans.

What is really important is to be there when she needs something, to support her and encourage her to go out or do things, but always taking into account how she is.

Here in Ourense, there is an association called AFFOU, in which people suffering from this disease meet and do activities such as dancing, group psychology, laughter therapy (the best medicine). I have always thought that the fact of going there helps them to cope better, because at the end, they are people who suffer from almost the same thing and they understand and support each other.

Image taken from: https://www.farodevigo.es/ourense/2019/05/11/victimas-dolor-ve-15696575.html

                                 

I would like to end this entry with a phrase that the doctor once said to this person and that I liked so much that whenever I am asked about it, I always say it to explain it:

"You are really well, the only thing you needed were some new bones and muscles".

DO WHAT YOU LOVE, LOVE WHAT YOU DO

 

 

Hi everybody! This Sunday I'm going to talk to you about 

my true passion: teaching.

Since I was a child, I already knew that I wanted to be a 

teacher. 

That is why four years ago when I had to choose what type 

of studies to do, I knew that my future was linked to children. 

Teach them but also learn from them.

This year has been a year of great personal growth. 

After several years studying and striving to acquire concepts 

that allow me to carry out the best possible teaching 

performance, I was able to put all my knowledge into practice 

through the practicum.

The practicum has been so far the best professional experience 

I have had in my entire life.

I came to school eager to exploit my full potential and to learn 

from my classmates and students. But I also came to school 

with fears, fear of being wrong, of not doing my job well and 

of realizing that what I thought was my passion wasn't really.

I wasn't wrong. What I always believed would be my passion, 

it was. I enjoyed every minute and every second that I spent there. 

Every day was a different day in which I put myself to the 

test: new challenges and new difficulties that I successfully overcome.

The daily learning and especially the relationship between the students 

and me made this experience a very enriching journey.

From the first moment, the relationship with the students was very close. 

I became a very important support figure for them by helping and guiding 

them throughout the process.

But what they don´t know is that they were a key piece in all this 

professional and personal learning. Each of them knew how to reach 

my heart in the most beautiful way possible: through innocence.

In all those months, we created an incredible bond becoming a 

great family. 

They will always be part of me. They are my first students and that is

never forgotten. I just hope that they keep the best memory they can 

have of a teacher from me and that those twenty-four little angels 

always have me in their hearts.

 

 

 

 

The best decision ever

Since I was a child I absolutely enjoyed going to summer camps and I went to some almost every year. But it wasn’t until three years ago that I realised that spending time at summer camps was something that I wanted to do for some more years (at least this is what I think nowadays, but the future it may change). Currently, there are not so many facilities for adults to go to camps, so I decided to do a monitor course. What I didn’t expect was that it was going to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I started it in October and finished it in December. The organization where I did the course is called ESTOU and it is one of the activities that the University offers to students. I made a lot of friends there, we had dinners together and also parties. The theory part of the course changed my mind completely and made me a more extrovert and open-minded person.

When I finished the theory part of the course, I decided to do the practise in summer. I decided to go to a play centre that was near my house and also the owner was a very good friend of my aunt, so I was really excited about going there. Unfortunately, Coronavirus arrived before I was able to start the practices, but it didn’t stop me from doing them. I started on 27th of July and ended them on 9th of September. My schedule was from 9 am to 2 pm and although I’m not very keen on getting up early, the effort I had to make was nothing compared to the desire of going there. This was the shirt that I had to wear.

Due to the pandemic, they were more or less 16 kids in the camp of ages from 3 to 14 (usually they used to be around 60 children) and there were only two monitors, an older girl and me, but the relationship with her was also amazing. The first day I was VERY VERY nervous, but as the time was passing, I felt a really strong connection with almost all the children. That bond became so strong that the day the camp ended, we all started crying and I felt so bad for them because I knew I wouldn’t be able to see them everyday. 

Everything changed when Easter holidays arrived and the owner of the centre wanted me to go again and to be part of the monitor team for that week. I was so happy and glad because I had the opportunity to spend more time with them once more. We did a lot of activities such as: pool days, going to the park, magic tricks and contests, they really enjoyed this last one because they were the protagonists. These are only part of the letters they wrote to me.

I don’t know what I’m going to do this summer yet, but with no doubt, I will do my best to go there again and to see my little boys and girls. As I said at the beginning, being a monitor was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I wish I could keep on working as what I really like.

I also want to encourage you all to try to do new things like these one, I'm sure that most of you would enjoy such a great experience the same way as I do.

One day out with me and Simba!

Hello everyone!! Today I’m going to take you with me and my dog Simba.

I really like to spend time outdoors with Simba. He is a very energetic dog and he likes to run, but as he doesn’t obey a lot, I’m usually afraid to let him go, even though we are working on making him obey a little more. He was a present from my parents when I turned 19 years old. He is two and he is the baby of the house. At the beginning my parents didn’t want a dog in our home but now we all are in love with him. He always goes with us even when we go on a trip.

The last trip we did was to the Picaraña two weeks ago. The Picaraña is a little mountain located in Ponteareas, the city where we live. Some of the most visited areas of Ponteareas are located in this mountain, they are called “Pena de los enamorados” and “Pena del equilibrio”. Here you can see a picture of both of them.

          Pena de los enamorados         Pena del equilibrio

In this little mountain there is a dog shelter and everyone who wants to can go there and walk the dogs. So I decided to go for a walk with Simba and with a shelter dog. We usually go on these types of walks one a month to help the shelter dogs and to make us aware that a dog is not a toy as many people believe. 

In the following pictures you can see me with Simba and with my father that day.     

My life as a Goalkeeper

In my life I have played a lot of sports like tennis, paddle tennis, basketball, cycling, but none of them marked me as much as football, although it is a different football, from a different perspective, that of the goalkeeper.

When I have 7 years old, I started playing football, I wanted to start like a goalkeeper, but I couldn’t because there were a lot goalkeepers at that moment, so I started like a player, but only one year, because the next year I could play in my favourite position.

I’m playing football like a goalkeeper since I have 8 years old, and now I have 20, and I still loving it. To be a goalkeeper is a difficult task, you have to being concentrated all the time, although you don’t be participating much, you’re the more determinant player in the pitch, if you have a mistake, is goal, if you have a success, is not goal, and the goals are the more important of the football.

As I have grown I have learned more and more about this position and I have improved a lot and I continue. When I had 15 years old, that I was juvenile, I played all the season with the Senior “B” and the Senior “A”, that were in Primera Galicia and Preferente Galicia respectively, that was the best.

Now I’m in the same club, playing in the Senior “A” team as a first goalkeeper and exercising like goalkeeper trainer, but I continue forming me, to improve more and more. But at this moment, we have a stop due to the coronavirus, and we are stopped, waiting for the competition but with a lot of illusion and desire.

A weekend with me

In today's post I am going to describe a weekend with me.

I'm going to tell you one in which I enjoy a lot with my family and friends. It was two weeks ago, April 2-4. In these three days I have done many things.

The first day was Friday, I got up early, around 9 or 9:30 and went to have breakfast at a cafeteria here in Tui with a friend who came from Salamanca. Then I went to my grandparents' house, because my cousins ​​who live in Bilbao came, who for personal reasons had to come, and since I had not seen them for a long time, since the summer of 2019, because with this covid it was more complicated be able to see them. At 2:00 p.m. I took the car and went to look for a friend who was going to eat the group all together. That day we ate in a very nice place that was in Salceda de Caselas, and in the afternoon we went to Liméns, where there is a bar-restaurant called the three monkeys, which has very beautiful views of the sea. And at 8:30 p.m. we left so that we could get home within curfew.

The next day I went home all day, woke up early and went with my friends. They picked me up at home, and when we arrived, we made a very nice route, then we took some tuppers and went to a viewpoint to eat, in the afternoon we went to the beach, and it was also a very good day. And when the sun was setting, we went to the conch to see the sunset. That day I came home very tired, so I had dinner and went to sleep.

On Sunday morning I went to mass early, and then I went with my parents and my sister to Baiona, we ate at the parador and then we went for a walk. My cousins ​​came for it and we were all together. We left early for home, around 7pm, so then I stayed for a drink with my friends. And at 9:30 p.m. I went home.

How having a dog changed my life for the better

When I was given this assignment, I knew I was going to have a difficult time figuring out what to write about, but that is the problem associated with free writing activities, they are too general. Whenever I’m not given a specific topic to write about I feel that this adds additional pressure when it comes to making a valuable contribution to the blog that I can be proud of and that my classmates can find interesting. 

After giving it a lot of thought I was going to write about my experience as an exchange student in Oregon, nevertheless, there has been a last-minute change of plans and I’ve decided to write about my pet. I feel that if I talked to you about my school year in the USA I would not be completely honest as I would probably choose to leave out many interesting details that I’d rather keep to myself. 

We are halfway through the trimester already and I’ve noticed that nobody has still written anything related to pets or animals, so I guess that this could be an interesting topic to cover taking into account that in our country there are more pets than kids and that I've recently become a dog owner myself.

I had been asking for a dog for Christmas for as long as I could remember, though these efforts had been in vain up until two years ago, when my parents gave me the best present ever, a golden retriever puppy and as you can imagine, I've been on cloud nine ever since. I’m pretty obsessed with her actually and she is always by my side, in fact, as I’m typing this, Nala (that’s her name by the way) is resting her head on my lap.

If you ask me, dogs are the best lifelong companions. They live to love and please us and they never ask for nothing but love in return, they are just so selfless, they make you feel valued and they are loyal through and through. But, as I see it, the best thing about dogs is that they don't give a damn about how you look, whether you look tired or at your best, they just want to spend time with you. Besides that, I have also come to realise that dogs have a sixth sense and they can feel our emotional ups and downs. Whenever I feel a bit low, Nala senses it and she cuddles with me until I start feeling better. She is always by my side and she is so intuitive that I often joke about how I often feel that I’m hanging out with a furry little human toddler who just wants to feel included at all times. Nala’s temperament never ceases to amaze me. She is really well-behaved and smart for a dog her age who has never received any type of formal training. I love spending time with her and teaching her new tricks now that she knows how to answer basic commands such as “sit”, “paw”, “down”, “come” and “stay”. 

If you have spent time with me before Nala,  I’m quite sure that you have come to notice that I was a really nervous person who got easily frustrated when things didn't go as planned. Having her in my life has made me a calmer and more understanding person, in fact, I’ve never been calmer. A couple years ago, I always felt that my mind was running a million miles per hour and that made me feel completely overwhelmed  but now I don’t even identify with the person I once was anymore. I find much more joy in the day to day now that she is around and I don't get so irritated at myself for not having everything together as I know I'm doing my best. I know that the fact that I’m older also helps but deep down I know that Nala has definitely had a positive impact in my life.

I’ve talked about the positive effect that my dog has had on my mental health but besides that, she has also made an impact in my physical health. Growing up I had always been into sports, I’ve practiced several sports such as cross country running, kung-fu, dancing and swimming among others all through primary school and high school, however ever since I started university I have been struggling to find motivation to work out.  Lately, Nala has become a unique motivator for sustained physical activity. Going for walks makes her happy and seeing her that way makes me happy too, so it's a win-win for everyone.

Let me tell you that despite having wanted a dog for such a long time, I had no idea that having a dog would be like this, I’m quite impressed by how Nala has shaped my life for the better and she has even contributed towards helping me be at peace with myself. Something that really gets on my nerves is hearing someone say “it’s just a dog”, it’s not just a dog, actually this couldn’t be more far off from the truth. I am completely aware that pets are not human, notwithstanding I feel that I speak for the vast majority of dog owners when I say that dogs are a huge part of our families and that our lives would be incomplete without them, in fact, Nala’s arrival has brought us closer as a family.

Four days in a fantasy world

I fondly remember my trip to Disneyland Paris. I was only 8 years old when my parents decided to go as my communion gift. The news that my uncles and my cousin Martín were also coming was what made this experience unforgettable for me.

The first thing I did when I arrived was go buy an autograph book that I still have today with the signature of all my favorite characters.

         

From this moment we began our tour of the amusement park. It was very exciting to see there everything that I had always seen on television since my age kept me from differentiating the real from the imaginary.

Rather than saying that there were many attractions in Disney, I would say that everything was an attraction in itself, full of performances and unexpected surprises that always made me smile.

Everything went as we had expected. The weather conditions were spectacular and the food in the park was very tasty, especially in one of the restaurants where we ate the best croque monsieur we had ever tried.

However, there were some drawbacks. The first of these was the long lines that you had to wait to get on the attractions. Second and not least, the fear that I felt on various occasions. I have always considered myself a very scary person which prevented me from fully enjoying the experience.

It is for all this that I have been wanting to relive the trip. In my opinion, this adventure is worth seeing from two perspectives: that of the illusion and fantasy of a child's mind and from the adrenaline and adventure of an older person.

My life as a volunteer

Throughout our lives we repeatedly hear that helping others is essential, but how often do we help others? We constantly think about ourselves and we don't care about the reality of disadvantaged people or in different situations. Volunteering is not just working in a soup kitchen delivering food, it is much more, it is a lifestyle.

Being a volunteer means knowing the reality and problems of others, trying to help without expecting a reward, but I assure you that in most cases there is a reward. I started as a volunteer when I was 14 years old in a group called Marcha from my old school, we went to the nursing homes and we accompanied the older with songs, dances or games. I was very happy to see the elderly enjoying themselves with us, they said “Please come back”, because for them we were a source of hope and energy much better than any medicine.

But my reality changed when I was 18 years old, I became a monitor for this same group (Marcha) and I have been accompanying children for three years. My goal in Marcha is to create a place where they can grow, learn to express themselves and get to know themselves better, a space in which topics that are forgotten at school are discussed, but the fundamental question is: how are we? .

In this group we separate the children by stages, the first is called “Amanecer”, they are children between 11 and 14 years old, It is a stage in which they enjoy playing games in which they work on emotional content or do social activities, for example we painted the school a few months ago.

The next stage is “Aventura”, I am the monitor of a group of 10 childen of 4º E.S.O and we have meetings every Friday, the main thing in our sessions is to feel heard and learn to listen, the monitors are in charge of accompanying them during the adolescence and find in us a person who they trust to ask their questions and tell the problems that they have at school, with their friends or with their family. One of my greatest rewards as a volunteer with children is the connection that you can create with them, you can be really important to them and they appreciate your advice and words.

But my vision as a volunteer changed in 2019, here in the association they gave us the option of signing up for a service experience, they could select us to go to different centers such as an orphanage in Lisbon, a geriatric center in Salamanca or a reformatory in Ponferrada, but i went to Villasecino (Babia), a town lost in the mountains of the province of León. Watch the video to hear the experience that changed my life, first a small summary with photos and then I talk about the experience:

Mental Health

 

Throughout this life, an in my opinion, all human beings have a purpose, a goal, which is to be happy. However, life, circumstances do not make it so easy for us, so everything that is presented to us we have to learn to know how to take it.

Like everything in life, no one is born know, no one is born and already knows what solutions are for the different problems that this life presents us, and I am convinced that this life will end and without knowing how to solve many of the problems that we will  have at that time. Nevertheless, for that reason, and from my point of view, we should not settle for that we already have and that is resolved, but we must look for a series of tools or places where we feel safe and that help us to be as happy as possible.

To achieve that happiness and that goal, it is very important that our health is well-kept, and not only physics, which we stop most of the time, but that mental health that is equally dispensable. For this reason, I am going to talk to you about the five most important pillars of my day-to-day life in order to achieve this.

One of those pillars, and I will start talking about is the family. I think having a warm and pleasant atmosphere in our home is fundamental. If we stop to think, when we are comfortable with a group of friends, companions… we are always usually nicknamed family, because it is that refuge where you are comfortable. That is why, for me, it is one of my fundamental pillars. I am also grateful for the importance, in which my parents have educated my sisters and me, in the importance of union it, the affection and pride of all the goals we achieve together or individually, as from the support of when something does not go well, but striving to help us get everything we want. (Drawing by Pablo Rosendo).

On the other hand, the importance of a good social group. As I commented earlier from the family, I think friendship relationships are a very important pillar and that you have to know how to take care of very well. Since unlike family it is something you give, a very typical phrase says “friends that family you choose.” That is why, as in the previous one, I think a good healthy pillar of friendship, which will help you achieve that final goal that life presents and that, therefore, will achieve that mental health that everyone needs is friendship. Recognise your friends achievements, helps when the other need it, laugh, and accompany in the life process those who present themselves next to us.

To continue with the third and important to achieve that happiness of it is own to do what we really like, so in my case it is to educate. Thanks to life, I can study something I really like and that I do with affection and enthusiasm, which makes me happy. Throughout my life, I have had opportunities and experiences in which I have been able to meet and realise that this is something that really makes me happy. Not only thinking about educating only in the academic sphere, but also doing so, in the field of free time, accompanying teenagers in their process, growing with them and helping them in what I needed, being a guide. 

The fourth pillar, and very fundamental in my day life for a few years is to be aware of what surround us. Meditation is a tool that I have incorporated into my life for a few years, which helps me to be aware of what surrounds me, stop breathing and listen to what I have next to me. This tool has helped me a lot to keep my mind calm, namely, to identify what overwhelms me or is slowing me from moving forward, giving greater or less weight to my thoughts and concerns, and knowing how to value what other people were offended me. Therefore, meditation or mindfulness, even if they are not the same, make it achieve that mental health.

Finally, very related to the previous pillar, something that helps me a lot is space and music, and that space is the sea. Being aware of those needs I have, I have sought a place where I feel clam with something and myself that helps me connect with my inner self. So when I need to disconnect or when I feel more nervous, I am looking for that moment to go to the beach or the sea, put on music and relax, connect with myself.