# Hi im new



## jess0104 (Jan 8, 2013)

Hi my names Jess , I've just moved to villamartin from the uk , felt like l needed sometime away from the uk , so have taken a year out and decided on villamartin as my base.
I'm looking to make some friends, any ideas on best way to meet people?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

jess0104 said:


> Hi my names Jess , I've just moved to villamartin from the uk , felt like l needed sometime away from the uk , so have taken a year out and decided on villamartin as my base.
> I'm looking to make some friends, any ideas on best way to meet people?


Dogs and children are always good friend makers. Have you got either of them?


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## jess0104 (Jan 8, 2013)

Nope got neither !!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

OK, what about Spanish classes or swapping English for Spanish conversation? Get in touch with the town hall for classes or a language academy, and if there are any Irish bars in Villamartín you'll often find Spanish people want to speak English and you may even find some Brits hanging around


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## stevec2x (Mar 24, 2012)

Hi Jess

Is that Villamartin on the Costa Blanca? We lived there for 6 months last year - might be able to help

Cheers

Steve


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## jess0104 (Jan 8, 2013)

Hi Steve 

Yes it's the same villamartin. 

It's very empty at the moment , I'm thinking its just the time if year ! I visited the area last August and the place was full of life .

I've got a car and willing to travel , would just be nice make some friends as I've been here since Saturday and spoken to no one !!!


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## stevec2x (Mar 24, 2012)

jess0104 said:


> Hi Steve
> 
> Yes it's the same villamartin.
> 
> ...


Yes - Villamartin is very much a summer holiday-home type of place - it got very quiet there starting about the end of September - which is part of the reason we moved on. You're lucky - you have a car - the other reason we moved on is because public transport in Villamartin is a right pain!

Sorry, Jess is a slightly ambigous name - I'm assuming you're female - and you're very brave to do this on your own!

What's your taste in music? There are live bands playing every Fri/Sat/Sun afternoon near the beach in Punt Prima - which is only a 10 minute drive from you.

My better half is Scottish and likes the Scottish bars around here - where are you from?

There are plenty of free English language papers to be found - Chadwicks bar, opposite the Plaza has most of them, and the staff there are very friendly if you say hello to them - and the breakfasts are good value!

If you say a little more about who you are I'm sure there's lots of people on this forum will offer advice.

Cheers

Steve


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## jess0104 (Jan 8, 2013)

Hi Steve 

Thanks for the reply ,
Well a bit about yes I'm female , I'm 38 yrs old and decided l needed a break and a chance to unwind from the stresses of uk , my main reason for this move is I've been suffering with psoriasis which is a skin condition , when l was out here in August it cleared completely and l felt a million times better .
I'm fortunate that lm able to do this and just want to make the most of my time away .
I'm very much into photography as that's my line of business back home .
I like all music really but never really been one for clubs , but like a good pub !!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Hi
You don't speak the language. None of us did (well only a few) at one time but we tried and it is surprising how quickly you get to know people if you only use a few words of Spanish:
"Hola, buenos días" _ola bwenos d*i*as_ (stress the letter in bold) = Hello good morning/day (you can use this up to lunchtime (about 2pm)
"Hola, buenas tardes" _ola bwenas tardes_ (don't forget to prounce the 'e' in tardes = Hello good afternoon/evening (you can use this after 2pm until dusk)
"Hola buenas noches" _ola bwenas noches_ = hello good evening (after dark, also when you want to say good night as in good bye at night)
"¿Qué tal?" _kay tal_ = an informal way of saying 'how are you'
"Hasta luego" _asta looaygo_ = Bye, see you later, until later
"Adiós" _adi*o*s_ = goodbye, sometimes used to say 'hello-goodbye' when people are just passing and not stopping to say more

Just use these simple phrases with people you see in the street. If the person wants to stop you in a Spanish conversation, don't get all flustered and run away just say in a gentle manner with a smile if you can manage it "No entiendo" _no entiendo_ = I don't understand

If they then ask ¿inglesa? = are you English? just reply "Sí" with a slight shrug of the shoulders and your hands out in front of you and palms upward (the meek surrender position). 

The chances are that more than one will drag you into her house (you will probably want to try this with other females first) and she will either get one of the family members who has learnt a bit of English at school or maybe show you off as her new found _guiri_ (foreigner) - you will have found a friend who will be glad to help you find your feet.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

baldilocks said:


> Hi
> You don't speak the language. None of us did (well only a few) at one time but we tried and it is surprising how quickly you get to know people if you only use a few words of Spanish:
> "Hola, buenos días" _ola bwenos d*i*as_ (stress the letter in bold) = Hello good morning/day (you can use this up to lunchtime (about 2pm)
> "Hola, buenas tardes" _ola bwenas tardes_ (don't forget to prounce the 'e' in tardes = Hello good afternoon/evening (you can use this after 2pm until dusk)
> ...



if I want a day off tomorrow, do you fancy taking a couple of classes for me


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

I was just saying what I did when I first came here and it worked wonders for our acceptance in the village. We all agree that we now have more friends and acquaintances than we have ever had. In UK, we only spoke to a couple of our neighbours, everyone else ignored everyone else.


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## stevec2x (Mar 24, 2012)

jess0104 said:


> Hi Steve
> 
> Thanks for the reply ,
> Well a bit about yes I'm female , I'm 38 yrs old and decided l needed a break and a chance to unwind from the stresses of uk , my main reason for this move is I've been suffering with psoriasis which is a skin condition , when l was out here in August it cleared completely and l felt a million times better .
> ...


lol! I had been here just a few weeks and my dandruff cleared up - even in my eyebrows! Don't get me wrong - I know psoriasis is much more serious.

If you've come here on your own, I assume you have some self-confidence - enough to try a pub/bar or two. There's a few bars around the plaza that you could try (but I don't know what they're like at this time of year) 

Rumours is a bit expensive but has a number of regulars (Tom normally props the bar around 3pm to read the papers and get away from his missus!) and the landlord is very friendly, just ask him a few questions. 

Chemies bar - Scottish and golf - if you pick the right afternoon you'll get free fish 'n' chips if you're prepared to wait until the golfers have satisfied themselves first!

The Winchester - Simon and his boss from Manchester work this bar which is the cheapest on the Plaza and is probably the nearest to an English 'pub'

For Villamartin, you're quite young - there's a young couple who work the Tavern - although I think it's closed for a couple of weeks right now..

...as I say though - it's the 'off' season so I'm not sure what any of these places are like right now

In general - the bars etc close to - and on the beachside of - the N332 road are much busier and more cosmopolitan than Villamartin. 

Every Friday afternoon - although at this time of year it may depend on the weather - not sure about this Friday coz it's predicted to be cloudy - a band called The Faith play from 2-5 approx next to the beach at a bar called 'el rincon del summat or other 'http://www.thefaith.biz/' - if the sun's out (normal!) then it's very busy and gloriously warm - they're a bit of a karaoke/cabaret band in my opinion - but very entertaining

On Sat afternoons there's LIXX at the same place - playing stuff from Eddie Cochran through to Scissor Sisters
but majoring on Stones/Purple/punk

It's late now! Can't be bothered with much more!

This level of detail is more appropriate to private messaging on this board - but I don't know how to do it - it's pretty invisible but I'm sure the moderators will help on this matter

Cheers

Steve


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