Hello from Tenerife. I hope all is well. We are currently sitting on the plane waiting to depart Tenerife South airport after three weeks in the sun. This will be the final entry to the blog from the fashion students.
On Thursday morning we woke mid morning and decided to go and find a fabric shop. We hopped on the tram and headed to the stop ‘Weyer’. I got the directions on my iPhone and led the girls around the streets until reaching the store. The shop was so amazing, with a range of fabrics in every colour, texture and print imaginable. It was so busy with locals buying fabrics to make their costumes for the carnival. After looking around for some time I decided to buy some embellishments as I couldn’t choose fabric, there were too many! After the fabric shop we headed back towards the tram stop and found a lovely little restaurant to have some lunch. The food was super and we all fell in love with their special red cabbage alioli. After a delicious lunch we hopped back on the tram to La Laguna. It is a beautiful town that is a protected UNESCO heritage site. We walked along the cobbled streets and picked up some pastries from a local bakery before heading home. The night before we attended the gala. The gala is the competition where all the designers and candidates compete to win the coveted prize that is carnival queen. The show was amazing and all based around the theme ‘the deep sea’. There were music acts, dancers, comedy sketches and much more. The atmosphere was amazing and we all had loads of fun dancing and laughing. We were all exhausted on Friday morning, so decided to have a lie in and take it easy for the day. We all went for a beautiful lunch in the Tenerife Opera House. The street parade took place on Friday night. It was literally on our doorstep, so it’s safe to say we were right in the middle of all the celebrations. The parade was bustling with dancers, drummers and other acts along with all the costumes from the gala. After spending some watching the festivities we headed back to the apartment to pack our bags. Today, Saturday, we are finally homeward bound after our Erasmus + work placement. I have enjoyed the island life and I am going to miss the amazing sunshine. -Rebeca
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Our Monday began by waking up in the south. We travelled here for the weekend for a change of scenery and atmosphere. We caught the bus back to Santa Cruz at 11am and had some lunch before heading to work. Our first task was to glue different size sequences on to a section of the float. There were a variety of appliqués on the structure which needed to be outlined with diamontes. This process took about 40 minutes to complete.
Next up, Steph and myself painted a metal frame for one of the floats. We ensured to cover the frame early and ensure we didn’t get any paint on the floor. Some parts of the frame were more difficult to paint as the metal was coarse and uneven. On Tuesday evening all of the costumes had to be moved to the gala venue. We arrived to work a little early to help with the finishing touches. We began by glueing feathers to some of the big petals for the floral costume. Afterwards we had to prepare the final frame by glueing fabric to it and making sure each part was covered. It was similar to the first frames we did in week one and two which came in handy as we had to get the job done quickly. Overall the working environment was different to any other job I have had. The language barrier made things difficult and tense at times, but this problem resolved itself by the final week. Santi and his family made us feel so welcome and took great care of us. I have never been given snacks and drinks at work before which was unusual at the beginning as I wasn’t used to it! The work was physical and at time quite repetitive but with each day I became better able to handle tasks. On Wednesday morning we headed to Las Terrisitas beach to catch some final sun before heading home on Monday. The big gala event took place on Wednesday night. We arrived at the venue at 5 o’clock and began to queue. The event didn’t start until 9.30 but it is so popular that people queue for hours prior the the event. At 7 o’clock Mariví came and brought us backstage to see all the design candidates that were going to take the stage at the gala. It was interesting to see the different styles of costumes and the approach they had to creating their work. The show began at 9.30 with a mix of candidates and Spanish performers. Santis candidates looked beautiful on stage and he won a prize for one of them. The street parade will take place on Friday to mark the official start of the Santa Cruz carnival. As for Tenerife, what more can I say other than SUNSHINE! The weather here, for February is gorgeous. It definitely trumps walking up to grey skies at home. The people here in the North are very friendly and helpful. The service in shops and restaurants is brilliant, they are so accommodating and appreciate when you attempt to speak a few words of Spanish. It’s been another great travel experience for me. -Megan Friday: Today we got up early and headed straight out to go sightseeing as we try and make the most of our mornings as we start work at 3pm each day. After getting the bus to the station we walked towards the coast to the auditorium where we had breakfast before continuing our walk, we also went to the botanical garden here in Santa Cruz where we walked all 12 hectares and took in numerous plants from all over the world. We have taken loads of inspiration from our visit for prints, silhouettes and more. The history behind the garden is very interesting as it was once a dumping ground, covered in litter. It has taken twenty years to get it to the condition it is is now. Every plant had it's own story and the track itself was immaculately kept, we met the groundkeepers along the way and spoke with some tourists also.
After completing the walk we headed down to the pools to cool down. We got some food in El Corte ingles and sat outside to eat it soaking up the last of the sun before work. we got our usual bus to work where we created large fan like features using the metal frames we wrapped yesterday and feathers. we spent the day separating the feathers into groups before applying them onto the frames using hot glue, sticking them into their allocated spot. Santi gave us a snack before we proceeded with work. Whilst working today we got to see the garments Santi has created and speak with him about how he did them. The work today combined with Santis outfit for his model reminded me of the looks presented on the Victoria's secret catwalk show. Saturday morning we were up and ready to go down to El Plaza Espania to take in some more sights and do some shopping. We went to the bus station to get our bus. At work today we worked with beads, threading them onto a piece Santi had created to complete one of his accessories. We then had to cut iridescent shapes which we used to create a texture we then glued onto the main feature of the design. We are now seeing it all coming together. After work we went for dinner to celebrate two two weeks work and our last Saturday night in Tenerife. On Sunday, we were up and packed to go to the south, we got our two buses and arrived down mid morning. We got some breakfast in Coco Beach sunset bar by the beach. After fuelling up for the day we headed to find a spot on the beach where we spent all afternoon. The difference between the north and South of Tenerife is noticeable. Up in the north where we live and work everybody speaks Spanish with very little English, down south most people are English speakers who have a little Spanish. I would say that to live and work somewhere speaking the same language is vital but I enjoyed the exposure to another language. -Stephanie On Tuesday at work I was given the task of ripping golden foam pieces off of a feathered piece which is to be added to the costume. The job was tough on the nails as it required something less damaging than scissors which would scratch the paint from the feathers. I also started work on some of the metal pieces. I had to wrap black sequinned fabric around the frame. There were seven to complete. I'm getting pretty canny with a hot glue gun now!
On the way home, we all went to Carrfour to do some shopping. We started the day at 3pm and finished at 9pm so priorities have to be decided in relation to what we had to do. Do I sleep in or shop? Do I do my laundry or get food? It's an interesting and busy experience. It isn't very cultural but Mushroom Ravioli is great here. Oh and the dry pork sausage is delicious! If you like cured meats you are in for a treat. It's called a 'fuet' here. On Wednesday at lunch I had some great food at the Udon restaurant in the shopping centre, near the bus station. I had some noodle salmon sushi rolls and a pork bun. I wasn't very hungry as I'm currently unwell but it was really good food. I worked on the metal frames again, this time placing black fabric over the centre so it's taut and adding a boarder to cover the messy glue. As we ran out of fabric I've had to cobble together the fabric before gluing it over the iron work. It's a painstaking task trying to make it match up and cutting off pieces that go no where. On Thursday I had the job of finishing off the black material metal shapes by adding plastic gems to the tips. They look very good. After that task was done I had to sort out feathers into different piles, some straight and others that lean-to the left or right. After that I was gluing the feathers to a metal circle structure. This was very precise work which I was unable to do to the best of my ability as I am sick. -Janet After a very long day on Thursday we all decided it was best to have a chill morning where we wouldn't try to cram in activities before work. Obviously this plan was scrapped and we ended up going to get lunch in town. I'm finding the language a bit of a challenge, especially when I'm tired so one of the girls usually has to intervene and order on my behalf as I just repeat "agua por favor!". With that being said I am improving and picking up lots of new words - I just wish I knew how to string them together...but give it time!
Everyone here is so welcoming and ready to help, and in a lot of ways they remind me of the people at home. As we leave the bus station for work it's really looking like home as the rain starts. The work we were doing today was the same as the other days, we used hot glue guns on metal sculptural pieces to jazz them up and the rest of the day we fluffed up feathers again. Before we finished up for the day Santi brought us down to the warehouse to show us the things he made for the children's show. This was very interesting and we look forward to seeing the show come together. We finished off the day with group a group picture, before going home to make dinner and get an early night. Just one more day before our well earned day off on Sunday. -Alannah As the forecast promised yesterday, today we woke up with amazing sunlight and a lovely temperature. Since we arrived I found it so nice to open the curtains in the morning, look outside my balcony and feel the energy of the good craic that is waiting for us and today. After a good breakfast we headed down to Santa Cruz city. To be honest we just love it. The views are amazing and also there is a bar where the food is cheap and super nice.
After a few dips in the pool ( even if the water was freezing - we are coming from Ireland so it was easy and lovely...) we had lunch and enjoyed the last minutes of sun. We then set off for another days work. Today the work was... non stop! More feathers and decorations for the kids’ big day that is on this Sunday. The work os long and repetitive but this builds patience and it will be great to see our work as part of the final designs. We met the beautiful girl that is going to model Santi’s design and to be honest I think she will rock it. -Rebeca Today is day 5 of our Erasmus trip. The weather has been fabulous and I am enjoying settling in to a new country and learning a new language. So far my Spanish is far from superb, but each day I try to speak a little more and can better understand what others are saying.
This trip is not very new or alien to me. (I don’t know how else to say this, trying to say that I’m not a stranger to traveling alone or something like that) In 2015, I went on co-op whilst studying at the University of Limerick. Co-op is cooperative education and is worked into each degree program. I travelled to Portugal along with two of my classmates and stayed for six months. It was my first time living in a foreign country and I was faced with many new challenges (that I wouldn’t have faced otherwise?) This experience allowed me to gain so much confidence and maturity and proves to be a great strength of mine when it comes to traveling abroad. I enjoy the slow and relaxed pace here, especially in the morning time after working until 9pm the night before! We headed to the pools this morning around 10am to catch some sun and take a plunge in the cold water. After finishing up, we had a quick lunch and headed to the mall to have a browse around the shops. After a quick lunch we headed to the bus station to get the bus to work. This journey takes about 20 minutes and we arrive to the warehouse with 10 minutes to spare. We began work today by finishing off the feathers from Monday. This involves taking each feather and fluffing them out and placing them in a pile so they can be used for a new piece. I have been gathering the bunches, bringing them to the table and cutting the cable ties open. We did this for around two hours before Santi came and gave us a new job. For the next few hours we were covering metal frames with iridescent plastic strips. It was a very intricate process involving a lot of care and patience. The strips were secured to the frame with a glue gun and we had to ensure that the strips were smooth and fitted tightly around the metal. This was my favourite job so far. Each task given has been incredibly rewarding as you begin with basic materials and end up with something beautiful. Repetitive tasks are often much more difficult to complete as it requires you to retain focus and stamina. I can relate my brief experience of working in a factory on a production line to this work, following strict instructions and working at a moderate pace. We had the opportunity to see some of the work Santi and his team have been working on and it are incredible. Overall, my first time in Tenerife is proving a massive success. I cannot stress the value of travel enough. You learn so much about the world, how it works, the people and the cultural differences. Each year I strive to take at least one trip abroad, so I’m starting 2019 on a high! -Megan Hola,
Today we were up early to head to the pools, Parque Marítimo which were designed by architect César Manrique. Our work day starts later so the mornings are great to explore and take in some of the culture. We spent the morning by the poolside and only went in for a quick swim because the water was so cold despite the 24° weather. We had lunch at a little on site cafe/ restaurant La Lechera. We went to the shop to get a few supplies before heading to the bus station to get our bus to Santi's studio warehouse. There we continued the job we were doing yesterday on the feathers before being taken down to the large warehouse to work on further tasks. We worked to prepare the frames of the design, cutting, wrapping and using hot glue guns to create each piece. With each piece the work got easier and quicker to complete. Santi brought us down a snack before we returned to work. This was the first time we got to see results of the work we were doing, which made the work very rewarding. It has also inspired some of the girls to consider a career in staging and costume. -Stephanie Sunday morning and we are greeted by the sound of a gospel choir singing in a church behind our apartments! After a much deserved sleep after our long day of travelling, Erasmus meetings, and a hefty grocery shopping trip to Mercadonna, we took it easy this morning in anticipation for our first day tomorrow. After breakfast, a group of us decided to get the bus out to the Playa Las Teresitas. It's about 7km east outside the city of Santa Cruz, and 150km away from the coast of Morocco! It is not a natural beach, and it was created in the 1970s using imported sand from the Western Sahara. We spent a few hours at the beach enjoying the pleasant, non-Irish weather all while soaking up the much needed vitamin D.
After we were sufficiently tanned (or more freckly in my case) we got a bus back to Santa Cruz. Many of the shops were closed at 5pm because today is Sunday and that's quite common in Spain. We did, however, use some of our Spanish phrases, and put these into practice when we found an ice cream parlour ("heladarìa") where I proudly managed to order "uno cono con M&M y cheesecake helado por favor". We ambled around the side streets, exploring our new environment, taking in the scenery before hopping on the bus home. Despite the day of relaxation, we're all exhausted. So, we will get an early night tonight, lying in anticipation of our first day working with Santí tomorrow and what that will entail. -Shifra |
Fashion Students 2018-19Janet Hilton Map of Tenerife |