Ibiza: Life As A Worker – Part Two

Following on from Part One: Life as a Worker

Chapter 2: June

2:1 – Survival

Despite possessing a five year dream of wanting to experience a season working abroad, just under two months of this phenomenal island did prove challenging and difficult at times. Having spent the majority of my savings, the time had come to budget. I still hadn’t landed paid journalism work and with outgoings such as rent, necessities and pleasure to afford, I needed a solution and fast.

It was no secret, beyond life in the fast lane of none stop partying, spending days at the beach and generally having the best summer to date, times were also hard. Having not seen anyone from home in over eight weeks now, that long awaited feeling of home sickness began to settle in. Although I didn’t admit it to anyone, the voice of my mother shouting “Matt, your dinner is ready” and the heart to heart conversations with my father brought a smile to my face. From the laughs I had with my sisters to the nights out with the lads, home provided me with some fond yet what seemed distant memories and if I didn’t land a job fast, my time in Ibiza would be up sooner than I had originally anticipated.

This wasn’t the only cloud cast over my time in Ibiza. With rent due on the 15th of every month, it proved a greater challenge to pay the landlord on time as each month passed. With housemates constantly moving in and out, staying at Faro felt very similar to Birmingham City’s time during the summer transfer window. From May to August, I can recall staying with a total of 23 people – sometimes even up to ten at one time in an apartment that slept only five. This proved very difficult in terms of living at times as piles of washing up in the forms of clothes and dirty dishes mounted for days and once they were eventually cleaned, it would only take hours for it to return to its previous state. I think I cleaned up about five times in total, many thanks to Lucia for keeping the apartment tidy though!

2:2 – Independence

Speaking of household basics such as doing the clothes washing or cleaning up the dishes, this is something I rarely did back at home in England. Whilst I probably shouldn’t admit this, as a young 23 year old man, I was still far from house trained. I had no idea how to function a washing machine, instead of ironing my clothes I erased creases by leaving them on the hangers and my cooking skills were limited to soup and pot noodles. By travelling to Ibiza, I wanted to throw myself in at the deep end so to speak and gain some independence. During my first few months in Ibiza, I managed to learn all the basics of using a cooker, washing machine and generally remaining tidy. My cooking skills had developed significantly as I could now cook omelettes, a stir fry and even one of my favourite dishes, spaghetti bolognese. Now all I need to know is how to perfect a roast dinner and I’d be happy.

2:3 – The Boys Are Back In Town 

With my body in Ibiza, my mind was thinking of home quite a lot. I was missing the people I called family and friends. Despite several Skype calls and social media interactions with people from back at home, nothing felt better than when some of my best mates, Greg, Sam, Reiss and Tom, flew from Birmingham to San Antonio for a lads holiday.

As soon as I received a text to say they had landed, I started jumping for joy and stopped everything I was previously doing. I left my drink and paced it to Tropical Hotel where they were staying. I gave it three knocks on the door and was welcomed with smiles and hugs – the boys were here and I couldn’t wait to show them the Ibiza ropes.

We immediately hit the West End in typical British fashion as I took the lads on a expedition of the strip. We started in my favourite bar – Viva before ending the night in traditional fashion at Hush. Whilst my friends were in Ibiza, I took full advantage of the opportunity and spent as much time as possible with them. We attended a boat party where we made several international friends from countries like Australia and Belgium. We followed this up with a trip to Amnesia and a unique event called Holi Festival the following day where Zoo Project was normally held. The main difference being instead of getting pre-painted, you pelt everyone else with powder paint. A party I would recommend to anyone. We finished things off by watching England in the World Cup but their elimination didn’t dampen the much needed time with my friends in Ibiza.

2:4 – The Window of Opportunity

I soon made the decision to work two jobs in order to extend my stay on the island by landing work at Gatecrasheras a PR. The only difference with this PR job was it was day time work and offered a base pay rate which was perfect for me. This aided me for a good couple of weeks and helped me pay my rent through June and July. However, at the start of June, with help from a close friend called Isabelle, also a journalist, she put me in touch with Grahame of Data Transmission where I had found what I had been searching the entire summer for – a job as a journalist! I couldn’t have been more delighted and I will tell you more about my experiences as a journalist later on.

With confirmation of the dream job I had been searching for in Ibiza this summer taking it’s time to settle in, I felt there was no time like the present and promptly started with the excitement of a child in a candy store. My first assignment was none other than the Cream opening party being held at Amnesia headlined by the one and only Calvin Harris. A born entertainer, Harris was mesmerising to watch. He put on an opening party performance like no other resulting in me leaving the super club with tingles rattling my spine in awe of his talents.

By obtaining this exciting fixture in my Ibiza working life, I was able to enjoy plenty more pleasures with the “perks of the job”. I was able to review some of the finest parties the White Isle had to offer. From getting to see Ben Pearceand Route 94 at We Love Sundays… at Space to witnessing acts like Gesaffelstein and Foreign Beggars rock the Mass Bass opening party at the biggest club in the world, Privilege. Carl Cox was also sensational in his own right whilst DJing at his Tuesday night residency at Space with his own night – Music Is Revolution. Privilege in particular was a joy to experience as we received a guided tour of the entire club and considering I had never stepped foot in the world famous super dome. Inside it looked like a palace. It had its own pool, several different rooms and the sight looking out from the rafters of the club was simply beautiful. We even got to experience the DJ stage whilst Busy P was playing his set. Definitely a night I shall not forget.

The opening two months in Ibiza created some fantastic memories for me and ones I shall never forget. However, the second two months were as good, if not better as I got to explore the island further. Read Ibiza: Life As A Worker Part Two to find out what I got up to.