Lorca

Yesterday was a holiday for university students, so a few friends that I have met through ISEP and I took full advantage and took a daytrip to Lorca.  Lorca is a little smaller than the city of Murcia but is still in the region (like a state) of Murcia.  It was so pretty! We had to wake up rather early to catch the 6:45 bus, but it was well worth it!  I would like you all to know that I climbed not one but TWO mountains while I was there.  One had a church on top, and the other had a castle: both of them had spectacular views of the city below.  We also went to an archeology museum with some artifacts that had been discovered there; some of them dated back to Roman rule! One of the best parts of the trip was that the whole day cost me less than 20 Euros including food and transportation.  This daytrip was such a success that I cannot wait to plan the next one!

See pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066642&id=1401660433#!/album.php?fbid=1551831401336&id=1401660433&aid=2066642

Side note: I have widened my repertoire of recipes.  I successfully cooked some chicken filets and made chicken salad.  I also used some to put on green salad.  This morning I made an omelet with onions and tomatoes. (Yes, I bought a tomato.  I don’t know why, but it looked so delicious in the market that I bought one.  It was actually decent!)  The price of produce is encouraging me to eat fresh food; it’s a win-win situation!

Piso

A quick tour of my apartment!!

The central hallway



My bedroom



The utility room

The kitchen

The living room

Clase

Oh, boy! It is so hard to wake up in the morning now that I have been on an eternal Christmas break.  I am liking this Spanish language course, though, because there are students from all over, mostly through the ERASMUS program which is the program that all of my roommates are here through.  It’s a program that allows European students to study in another European university for a year in their course of study.  There are really quite a few international students here!

I am beginning to feel a little more comfortable here in Murcia: at least I can tell where my apartment is in relation to where I am in the city.  I went grocery shopping again, today! This time I bought real food to cook…we’ll see how this goes!! I caved and bought some peanut butter, though….so American!  I am in the process of arranging my classes and possible weekend travel plans for this weekend.  Time on the internet is precious, so I will post later…hopefully some pictures.

Demasidas maletas...

Too many bags!! The backpack came in handy; it was
really easy to carry!

Vale

This weekend was spent getting accustomed to Spanish life.  "Vale" is the most common word here in Murcia.  I have heard it a million times per day; it can mean "it's ok", "I'm ok", “good”, "okay, sure", "yes", and "good bye"--it's kind of funny.  My apartment is not very well equipped; so, Saturday I met some friends for a shopping trip to the suburbs where we found the Spanish version of Wal-mart called "Alcampo" which is more clean but just as chaotic as the Wal-marts in the US.  I was able to buy some towels and a hairdryer that wouldn't burn my apartment down for a reasonable price.  Then, I ventured out for groceries; the produce here is so cheap!! There are oranges everywhere so they are basically free at the market.  My roommates are constantly cooking delicious looking food while I am eating American-style sandwiches; I need to come up with some American recipes that look a little more appetizing.  On Sundays, everything is closed: it's really a day of rest.  So, my roomates and I watched a movie on my laptop: When Harry Met Sally; they thought it was funny.  My language intensive course starts this weeks so it's back to the books for me!

¡Bienvenido!

So, I have officially made it to Spain! My day of traveling was super long, but luckily no big problems like missed connections or lost luggage.  My flight out of Raleigh was delayed over an hour, but thankfully my flight from JFK to Madrid was also delayed.  It was a close call, though; I was one of those lucky people that gets introduced to the entire airport over the intercom.  Needless to say, I got my exercise for the day running from one end of the terminal to the other.  When I arrived in Spain the next morning, I had a long wait in Madrid, but it went quickly, and I began to meet other students that were going to the same program.  We were able to travel together from that point.  We landed in Alicante which is on the Mediterranean and extremely sunny.  Customs did not even check my bag leaving the airport!  I then had to take a bus ride to Murcia and was extremely tired by this point, but the fun was just beginning.  I hailed a cab outside the bus station in Murcia, and found my apartment.  A nice girl that lives next store helped me call my landlord and he let me in to my apartment.  The area I live in is awesome; there are tons of things to do right down my street and mostly young people living here: the streets are alive until six in the morning.  I live so close to the university; all of the other kids in my program are jealous, but my apartment is...quaint.  There are a couple of features to be desired, like heat and hot water.  It's not too bad though because it will get warm here soon.  Well, I must go because I am at a cafe and my battery is dying, but I will post soon!!

¡Adiós!

"Am I 'under-freaking-out'?" I asked my mom yesterday as we were doing some last minute shopping.  "That's for sure!" she replied.  I have been gearing up for this trip for months, but it has yet to seem real.  Well, today's the day I leave for Spain for six months.  I head to the airport in little under an hour.  It feels weird to start a blog with goodbye, but I suppose that's how this journey begins.  I have three flights, a bus trip, and a taxi ride ahead of me within the next 24 hours.  I am a little nervous about the plunge into Spanish as I have had an extra-long break to forget everything I have learned! I have been taking Spanish for several years but never before been to a Spanish-speaking country.  It will be quite the adventure; I'm sure. 



A sweet going-away poster my family made me. 
An effort spear-headed by my 10-year-old sister. 
I will miss you guys, too!!



It was hard saying all my farewells, but hopefully it will be easy enough to keep in contact with everyone over the internet: e-mail, Facebook, Skype, Google chat (take your pick).  I do not know the specifics of my living arrangement over there except that it will be an apartment shared with other international students.  I am hoping there's a connection.  (I may be a little lost without it!)  Also, another predicament with leaving for such a long period of time was figuring out how much to pack.  I have an internal frame backpack, a carry-on rolling suitcase, and my pink school backpack.  They are all stuffed to capacity.  I hope that they all clear American Airlines' requirements for height and weight.  It will be an interesting game of "what-can-we-leave-in-Raleigh" if they don't.