​After we finish our work at Friday, I had run some last minute errands and headed back to our appartment to get my luggage. I had a problem closing it down, I had so many things but I manage. I had called taxi for us, because we would not be able to carry it so far away. We had last stop in Peserpa to give them back keys and went to the port where we met with other group of studens and Ashley. 

We went with  belearia ferry back to Algecira. Time was flying really fast and I am very sad to be living. It seems to me that trip to the city was very short and ferry was a little bit different that the one we came in with. We took some pictures and it was time to land. 

We took the bus to Malaga, which is amazing huge city. We notice they even have Dunnes Stores :D. Again we went to the hotel and check-in as we were spending the night in Malage. We took adventage what little time we had and headed into the town to explore area a bit. 

The morning was in the same manner. We got up early and explore some more. When was time to go to airport we check out and went. Everything was very smooth without any problems and we were waiting for departure. The weather was unbelievably beautiful, very hot even in early morning which I completely adored.  

Flight was very smooth, without any problems and suddenly we were already landing and departing the Airport. We had to wait for bus and headed home, back to Galway. 

​- Patricia

Week 3 - Monday

It was really sad to realise that this is our last week on our work placements in Ceuta. In the supermarket where I fit in like a family member, staff personal were upset that they have me only for 2 weeks. However, the good thing is that they offered me to go to Ceuta next year and work in Eroski supermarket once again. As well as that Marta my mentor gave me a nickname - Son. This is how close our relationship developed throughout the 2 weeks. I was also invited to Marta's wedding in 2017 which I can not wait to go to. 

In relation to my job, I have been given a job baking bread also setting the bar codes for the products, stock shelves etc. This practice helps me understand how things operate in a supermarket and what jobs people have to do on daily basis. 

Week 3 - Tuesday

The time is running out and on Friday we are already leaving for Malaga. The shopping also has to be done, and gifts bought for our families. I started my work at 10:30am and as usual, had a conversation with my mentor Marta. She said she is going to miss me therefore we added each other on facebook and will keep in touch. I have made many friends while being on my work placement in Ceuta, and I really enjoyed that. 

I have improved on my Spanish a little, however this year when I start in the University in Estonia, I will choose spanish to study as my new module, and I am definitely going to return to Spain with full knowledge of the language in the future. As well as that I have been really enjoying the Italian restaurant, which is near my work placement. They offer the best lasagnas ever, that's why me and and my fellow friends enjoy this restaurant after a long working day. 

Week 3 - Wednesday 

The sad feeling of leaving this beautiful place has hit us all, however we must make sure that we make the best of these days. Me and Patricia went to many beautiful places because the bus was only 80 cents one way. We went to Benzu, which is one of the best beaches in Ceuta, as well as La Ribera beach, where we were enjoying sun almost everyday. The workload in other words, wasn't that rough, this is why we got some time for ourselves to enjoy the beautiful city. 

Week 3 - Thursday 

This was my last proper working day. I started my work as usual, at 10:30am. I met my co workers, and had a little chat about what I am going to do next. I would like to have some more time to continue this experience, however I am already home sick and can't wait to see my family and sleep in my comfy bed. 

Today again I baked some bread, stacked products and had a laugh with the staff personal because they always like to make jokes about something. I finished work at 15:00pm, then we went to eat at the Italian restaurant for the last time, and it was sad because in soon I wont be able to taste this delicious lasagna any more. In the evening we had a dinner organised, for all of the erasmus students, teacher and people who found the work placement for us. We had a lovely evening, in the burger restaurant near the Ceuta beach. We exchanged our thoughts about how the placements went overall and whether we would like to come back some day. The evening was really nice and we made some gifts for Juan and Javier who helped us to get the placements. Hopefully we see them in near future.

Week 3 - Friday

This is the last day in Ceuta. This day was sunny, however moody because no one wanted to go home yet. We were discussing with the other Erasmus students that it would be nice to get another bursary to stay longer but this year the Erasmus+ programme sadly has come to an end. I went to my work placement and brought a gift to my mentor Marta, a chocolate box which I brought from Ireland. She was very sad to see me leave, however I am invited to her wedding in 2 years so lets see how that goes. We promised each other to stay in touch on Facebook and hopefully we meet each other some day.

At 2.30pm we left Ceuta with Balearia ferrys to Algeciras. The weather was stunning, around 25 degrees. We took some beautiful photos, which will stay in our minds for a long time. We arrived to Algeciras after one hour, and then took a bus to Malaga, which was a 2 hour ride. Malaga was beautiful, even more beautiful than Ceuta. We went through the city and discovered a lot of beautiful places, as well as cheap shops where we spent our last bursary on. It was worth it. In the evening we gathered together to sit down and talk about the experience. In other words, we had a beautiful evening, talking about things we've done in the beautiful sunset. 

Monday - This was quite a cloudy start to the day. I started work at 9.30 in the house of commerce situated just of the main street and located in front of Ceuta main beach. After arriving at work i was greeted by Alejandro´s assistant Sabrina who informed me on my tasks for the day. I was made investigate how people from northern Morocco pass through the border everyday to buy goods in Ceuta and return to Morocco to be sold for a profit in Morocco. My research showed this is not an issue in Ceuta but it is when you return to Morocco that it is a problem. I found this research very interesting as it is happening out here on a daily basis.
 
After work i would go home for food followed by changing into my summer clothes. by the evening time in Ceuta it would of cleared up to hit 25 degrees and I would then go the beach till the evening time. Followed by going for dinner somewhere in the city centre. After the meal we would all split and go home to be ready for the following day.

Tuesday - this was also a cloudy start to the day but we knew that by evening time the sun would be out. I arrived at work at 9.30 as usual. On tuesday i continued on with my investigation into the illegal commerce performed by the Moroccan´s. their was a decent amount of research that had to be done on the issue as it is a problem for both sides, which is the spanish government and Moroccan government. Alejandro had told me that the issue is blindsided by the moroccan government as it still sees Ceuta as their city. In the 1960´s and 70´s their was civil war in Ceuta over if it belonged to Spain or Morocco. The author believes this issue is not quite put to bed yet.
 
later in the day i walked around the shops in the main street and picked up some food to bring home. i went home to eat and change, to then go the beach. while on the beach i would be chatting with local Ceuta boys around our age finding out how the feel about Cueta, if their is much employment and of course playing some football. we then went for dinner around 8.45 which we tried to experience some spanish tapas, some enjoyed it and some did not. we decided to head home after dinner as the town does be empty early in the week.

Wednesday - this was a beautiful morning in Ceuta, woke up to blue skies and a freshness in the air. As usual I arrived at work and was greeted this time by Alejandro he asked me how i found the last exercise and we discussed some of the main issues. This is an issue that means a lot to Alejandro as he was in born in Ceuta. After all the talking, he then gave me a new task in which i needed to investigate the different tax rates in Ireland, Spain and Ceuta. Alejandro was also available to myself and Farris. He would remind us constantly to not hesitate to ask any questions  to himself or his assistant Sabrina. They were always very kind and helpful.
 
After work on wednesday i done my usual routine of eating and changing. Afterwards i went down to the shops to look around for gifts for my family. Ceuta has not the best shopping stores as it is a small city but i tried to look for some gifts. I then met up with the group at our hangout spot in the beach. It is the most amazing beach when it comes to scenery i have ever witnessed. From the beach you can see Morocco right across the water and some of the views are excellent. You would always find locals gathering at the beach in the evenings also. when we went home to change we went to eat in a mister noodles which is a new restaurant in Cueta only open a year, very clean inside and everyone enjoyed their meal. Afterwards we went to the dublin which is an Irish pub for one drink. Followed by home for 11.

Thursday - lovely sunny morning in Ceuta as i make my way to work. When i arrive i'm aware of my task as Alejandro had given it to me yesterday. So when i come into work i know to get started on researching the different tax rates. While me and Farris would be working Sabrina would be very helpful coming in asking us if we need anything and if we are stuck, most of the time we were perfect but was nice to see. Alejandro came into us later in the day to see how we were doing. From my research i had noticed that Ceuta has much lower tax rates than Spain although it is owned by Spain. Here Alejandro explained to me that this is due to the fact that Ceuta receive certain benefits. Due to the fact Ceuta is not on the mainland of Spain the government made changes to benefit Ceuta. With their lack of services, industries and their difficulty to import and export goods to Europe, the Spanish government lower taxes to try to make Ceuta a more appealing place for businesses and people alike.
 
Thursday after work was usually my day to do some house chores. So after a normal routine after work, i went to the beach for a couple of hours to try to get the sun as much as possible before going home to rainy Galway. I then went home to clean around the apartment, my room and some of the kitchen. Had to get my clothes washed and change my sheets and do some household chores. when i had this done i then went to meet the group for a meal and i was home early afterwards.

Friday - this was yet again a wonderful day in Ceuta. It was sunny and busy around the streets in the morning on my way to work. On arrival into work i was greeted by Sabrina and Alejandro who informed myself and Farris that we would be taking a trip to the border to see the moroccan people carrying the goods they had purchased in Ceuta across to Morocco. From working on this task earlier and after numerous conversations with Alejandro about the border i was fascinated to go see first hand the kinds of struggle the people have to endure. I witnessed old women and young children with big rucksacks of goods for example clothes, food and accessories, on their backs and Alejandro said it could take them all day till their home. It is horrific to see first hand some of the struggles people have to go through and makes you think how lucky you are.He also brought us to some of the scenic views around Ceuta, their are a number of points around Ceuta where you can look out on the ocean for miles, this was quite enjoyable. When we got back the office, Alejandro wanted us to prepare a document highlighting what we saw today and what we thought of the commerce going on at the border. After completing are document we then headed home.
 
Afterwards I returned to the house with the other students and we had lunch at our apartment. our apartment is situated in the city centre which is close to work and very handy for heading home and heading out. By living so close to everything you can really come and go as you please which is always a great factor. the neighbours all seem friendly and it is a very family orientated apartment block which we were all glad to see. we chilled out at mine for a while and went beach. We then went for dinner at around 8.30. we had Italian which was nice. Their is not a lot of options when it comes to restaurants in Ceuta. They have a lot of fish orientated restaurants as Ceuta is so close to the ocean. We went to a local bar on the street after dinner the six of us and relaxed with a few drinks. After a couple we headed home to be home for about 12.

Saturday - When we got up on saturday morning it was a wonderful day and we wanted to make the most of our days off. Even though we are here for three weeks, we only actually have two weekends to ourselves so we wanted to make the most of it. We got up early and headed off down for breakfast, after having a meal in the morning, we then decided what we were going to do. So, we set off up the mountains in search of some scenic views which we were taken away from the scenes Ceuta had to offer. 
we then came back into the town of Ceuta and visited the water park as it was hitting nearly 25 degrees.

-Conor-

Time is really flying and countdown started already. I love it here and I would like to stay much longer, but Ireland is waiting and with that responsibilities.

Monday (23/05/2016) (I was working on translating the taxes and printing some documents from email and put them into the right folders. Spanish language has a lot of similarities with english, but business spanish is very hard, so it goes very slowly.  We chatted about my weekends, what we've been up to, how we like it here and so on. Again they point out some good places to eat here in Ceuta and in Málaga, which we will spend night at before flying home.

At monday we have a  meeting with Ashley and her sister and we met to catch up on things as we enjoyed sunny afternoon. Javier was also able to join us and he asked us about workplacements and how we like ceuta etc.  After that we went to eat something as we were little peckish and headed home. 

Tuesday, Wednesday (24-25/05/2016)  I was continuing to work on those taxes and declarations and translating text. It kept me occupied and help me to learn more spanish. 
After work I would meet with Max and we went to different places to eat, but the favourite cuisine was italian.  One of the best lasagnas we have eaten. Together with guys we were there a lot as well. After that we would cleanup, change clothes and head to beach and enjoy as much sunshine as possible and the sea. 

As we are approaching the final days in Ceuta, I can' t help but notice that time flew by and I am sad that we are leaving so soon. I will miss it here as Ceuta grown on me and the Internet does not do any justice to it. 

Thursday (26/05/2016) everyday I am starting around 9 o'clock and today Ashley popped in to see where I am working and she met Monika. We talked what I was working on, what I learned, showed he beautiful view from the office and point out where others work so she won't have any problem to find their workplaces. 

Friday (27/05/2016) FINAL DAY
We exchanged numbers with Monika and she said when she comes to Ireland, she will visit me. I will miss girls from the office. This particular office has different work culture than the others and Isaac point out that he looks out for talents and the style of enterprise is more in tune with Swiss or Lichtenstein, or Netherlanden then typical spanish one. He is CEO in the firm and he is also in the board of directors for other company. 

Today Monika gave me and Chigo small gift to remember her. She makes me sad to be leaving. I hope once I would return here at least for some short trip. 

- Patricia

The days are flying by, and some days are very busy, some of them very quite, especially Fridays. This week I have work with Monica, Rabah and Isaac in the office. They are really very nice, and they always try to help me. We communicate well, although I did not have many chances to practice, Isaac speaks English, and Rabah speaks very little and of course google translate is priceless. So the language barrier is there, but we are managing by fine.  

Since I did not mention it before, Staff Personal Ceuta is situated at the Paseo Alcalde Sánchez Prados. The view is gorgeous with all palmas, shops, and people moving around. It's a very noisy place because the bus stops are just across the road at the Plaza de la Consitución which is bus stops location.

When I talked with Isaac, he always offers me an insight into the social, economical, and tourist situation of Ceuta and how does it works here. We notice that the city has a lot of soldiers and police officers  and he explained that for every 5 citizens there is 1 police officer and he said it's not enough. Isaac and his family live in an apartment building where there are 5 police officers living there as well. 

The heavy presence of police and soldiers is because of the strategic position of Ceuta, and they are concerned about drugs, terrorists and illegal crossings of borders. He said that for every €10 he makes, he has to pay €1 for protection. But on the other side, it protects the city and the people are safe on the streets.  

Since we came in, we saw Russian Soldiers and Marines, they have been in Ceuta a couple of hours. Then we saw a huge cruise boat which brought tourists from America for a day trip, and also on Friday (another cruise boat came in this time with different tourists from Europe).

Monday (16.05.2016)
I worked in the afternoon, again it was very quite, and we talked about the activities and what we are doing in school and erasmus program. He gave me some document to translate that might be used when hiring people and he helped me to understand about taxes.

Tuesday (17.05.2016)
Today I met another girl who is working in the office  (Rabah) and they gave me some work to complete. I had to copy documents, translate some texts as everything was in Spanish and it was quite hard as the translator did not translate everything properly.

I also had to digitalise documents and make sure that everything is scanned in the folder, I have to properly name them and create folders with the years and sort them out. It was fine and it kept me occupied for the rest of the shift. I still have some documents left for digitalisation so I will continue at wednesday. I also have to convert documents into the PDF format and name them properly.

Wednesday (18.05.2016)
I thought that the digitalising was finished, but I was wrong. Monika brought another thick folder and this time she helped me, because it was more complicated. These documents are also going to both parties, the client and finance department so it is necessary to have them all. After all digitalising, converting, re-naming I have to count all expenses in the receipts, invoices, bills and input data into the spreadsheet file. Monika showed me what was their prefer formatting and then it was easy as spreadsheet is one of my favourite subject in school.

Thursday (19.05.2016)
I finished the scanning, and this time I was translating Spanish text to english regarding necessary taxes in Spain and especially in Ceuta, since Ceuta is not part of EU customs. They have IPSI which also apply in Mellilla, another conclave belonging to Spain. This is very long document and I have to make sure what I translate make sense. It is very hard as google translator and another dictionary don't have some of the words.

The afternoon was very interesting in terms of the trip. Max's co-worker Mohamed took us to Morocco, to the city called Tetouán. It's situated directly  opposite to Ceuta Beach Playa de la Ribera across the sea. Mohamed and his friend Nabir took us to Marina which is close to borders which was very nice, and then we headed into Tetouan. We also stopped at the fisherman port and they offered us dinner, but for us it was too early. 

In Tetouan, we were able to see the Royal Palace, which was surrounded by guards. We also went to the traditional market which was huge. Street after street offered different goods, from gold to dresses, hand made shoes, food, electronics, sport clothes, bags.  We only exchanged €10 to dirham which is Moroccan currency, so at first we did not buy much, but then we left the market and ventured into the city which was like an extension of the market. Phones, shoes, t-shirts, bags, hats, really anything with  Cafés on every corner which was interesting for us to experiencing different culture, which is so different from what we are used to.

I only made few pictures as people did not want us to take pictures of goods and we did not wanted to offend someone and of course from car. We also stopped in Marina Smir, which is very beautiful on our way there.


Friday (20.05.2016)
Today, again I was in with Chigo from IT. I was continuing translating taxes and Monika gave me the tips what I should looking for as the document is around 100 pages. 

Afternoon we got some lunch and went to beach and done little shopping, some mementos, even after almost 2 weeks I still did not find postcards as Ceuta but I won't give up, until I get them and I bought some clothes.

Saturday & Sunday (21.-22.05.2016)
Beach, beach and more beach! It was very hot so we went there to enjoy sunshine as well as explore city some more. My boss recommended the beach in Benzu for me, especially water for my cough, we me and Max ventured there. The beach I was looking for was hidden and we went off the bus on the final bus stop. there is no signal for internet and after

​​-Patricia-
​

This was one of the happiest days here in Ceuta. I went to work at 10:00, and did some work on Euroski supermarket advertisement, as well as meet other new staff members which came back from holidays. It was a really hot day, and i thought about going for a swim in the ocean, however Mohamed came to me, and randomly asked if I want to go to Morocco. It was unexpected, because I know this guy for 3 day's, but I agreed, only if i can take one of my erasmus buddies with me, so I took Patricia. 

It was really the best day ever, we left Ceuta at around 5pm and it took us about 2 hours to get in Morocco, because of the border and guards. It was worth it though. Ceuta is beautiful, but Morocco has more art in it. We drove past Sheikhs palace, where we saw camels, went to the ocean, and most importantly did shopping, because the clothes in Morocco are very cheap. We also tried Moroccan food, which was marvelous, Mohamed even bought sweets for us to take back to Ceuta. This is not our last journey, on 24th of May we are going to Morocco AGAIN! where we will get to meet Mohamed's family as well as see Mujere Muerte, the Dead Woman's mountain in Morocco, which is famous tourist attraction place over there. ​
​
-Max-

Thursday, again I spent afternoon with Eva and Issac came later. We spent our time working on different company invoices and we inputted data about bank transfers and check out balance and we double check is all invoices are inputted and I was able to idenfity missing amounts, so she correct them.  We spoke more about Slovakia, Ireland and Ceuta and how long she works there and so on.  

As I mentioned afternoons are very quite and we heard the streets buzzing  and its very loud actually.  The time after work I again went to check the beach. I have met Javier and he explained to me as I comment that Friday, the office is close very early, that Issac is Jewish and they are not allowed to work afternoons fridays and weekends.  I was very surprised as I was sure that he is muslim. 

A day before we met with Jose Manuel and he invited us to come to school and talk to the students of his about Erasmus and our experience so far as well as Javier invided us to come to his IT class and talk to his students in english as they are very enthusiastic about it. I was not able to come as I was in work and he was very understanding but others went. 

Tuesday, I will come to Javier class so I will also have the opportunity to improve my spanish as well and maybe make a new friends as they are mature students and he teaches evening course.  So I am very enthusiastic about this event. 

I have explored are on the right from our appartment as I wanted to break stereotype and I find lovely places along as well as the beautiful view. ​I will post more photos later a bit. The view on the mountains is breathtaking, the only pitty is that camera is not able to zoom with more quality.

- Patricia

Finally Heat comes over Ceuta, replacing rain. We've been very happy and went into the park. It is a huge place with swimming pools, bars, restaurants etc and it belongs to Ceuta Casino. Just over the stones which acts as a border is the sea and the Ceuta Port is clearly visible and water is always very clear, no dirt or anythings which is amazing. 

We "baked" ourselves there for a few hours and than went to eat something and again we went to beach this time. I love it there as the view is breathtaking and Marrocco is so close, basically on the path of fingerprint. 

Me and Max than went to do some shopping in Eroski shopping center as well as around city centre and exploring city little bit more.  So far I love it in Ceuta, especially when finally rain was over. I was expected different weather as they are close to sea, yet it's different like in Galway. 

Even when people are different, and don´t speak english very well, they are trying to help us and understand, they are very charming.  

Sunday, we were planning with Max to go on the trip which was unsuccessul try on our part as the timetable for buses is almost non-existent and we waited long and nothing come up, than we spoke with some driver he explain in spanish that bus after one and half hour, so we went to eat something and finally were able to find some souvenirs. It´s not easy to find some. I also wanted postcards, and find none, which is weird, but I did not give up yet. 

- Patricia