Number One

This is the first time I have started anything like this.  It's more of a journal than a blog.  Something of my life at the moment, living the dream, to look back on in years to come.  Who knows?  Knowing me, this will probably be the one and only time I log on to this website, I lose motivation very quickly to keep this kind of thing up.

I spent the last 2 and a half years living in Gran Canaria.  I now live next door in Fuerteventura and have done for the past 5 weeks.  Hense the username, Canarybird.  Bird as in the actual Canary bird, I don't think of myself as a "bird".

I like it in Fuerteventura, it's very different in a lot of ways but also very similar to Gran Canaria, which I loved, most of the time!  Fuerteventura (FV) is a lot calmer, slower, older and civilised.  There's a sense of community and people seem to have been living here a long time, not like in Gran Canaria (GC), where most of the ex pats are generally younger and only stay for the Summer or a year or two.  So if a lot of British people have been here for many years and have chosen to have their families here, it can't be a bad place.  I'm giving it a go, no complaints at the moment.

I live with my boyfriend of 2 years.  Like all couples, we've had our ups and downs, but this is an "up" time, we finally have our own place after only ever sharing with friends, families and strangers!  We like our new life on a new island and we are discovering it together.  There are difficult things about living abroad.  First thing is obviously being away from the family and friends, missing nieces and nephews grow up, missing special occasions and not being part of stories that will be passed down the generations.  Other negative things include missing familiar food, shopping, going to the cinema, good TV and driving on safe roads.  More in depth details to follow when I incur a moment that I can't buy shoes in my size or fancy a KFC that I can't have - or probably more often than those, nearly get hit by a Spanish driver going all the way round a rounabout in the outside lane!

Of course, there are many more positives than negatives (why would I be here otherwise?), the weather, the simple way of life, the minimal cost of living...  The list goes on.

But for now, I'm going to continue to sit in a bar with WiFi, while I download all the episodes of Celebrity Juice that I can't watch on Spanish TV.  Plus I have to get up early(ish) tomorrow for my waitressing job in a restaurant by the sea.

So it's "adios" for now!  I'll write again soon - maybe...