Murcia, España: 10-18
9-10-06
Again, I cleaned up the kitchen this morning and then lounged about until Erin and Laura came. We ambled down to check out what was left of the fair. Afterward, we had a homework party at my house involving homework, of course!
9-11-06
Class doesn´t start until 10 AM now, as it seems some of the students think that 9:30 is too early. I would prefer the earlier time, as we could finish earlier, but I am a minority, and therefore have no voice in the matter. We ate breakfast during our 20 minute pause at this small pastry shop called Don Croissant. They have amazing pastries with chocolate or apples as well as some with meat and cheese. Kari, (pronounced car-ee), came over after a bit and I braided her hair. It looked awesome, but she wasn´t able to leave it in very long because it gave her a headache. Tsk tsk tsk. I guess braids are not for everyone. We had an awesome chat. Later, Laura, Erin, and I...(henceforth until there are more of us who hang out regularly, I shall call us the Trio)...went to the Carrefour to shop for a few things as tomorrow, nothing will be open due to it being the last day of the fair. A little lesson about Murcia. Every day, rain or shine, almost everything closes down from 2-5 PM. The locutorio, (internet café), remains open, and I think that the Corte Inglés stays open, (like a big mall of English name brand things), but the rest close down. Banks do not open after the break, other than on Thursdays. People go to their homes, cook lunch, watch TV, talk with their families, and rest during the hottest hours of the day, and then they return to work later. They don´t prepare dinner until 10 or 10:30 PM, and will walk along the streets all dressed up and chat with friends in the plazas that are everywhere. Life in Murcia is one in the streets. But here, that is a positive thing. People are always in the streets having a beer, eating tapas, playing dominos, chatting with their friends...it´s pleasantly quaint. Erin and I went running for a bit later on after the sun was down, and then the Trio watched a special on TV about 9/11. It was very interesting, because all day, all the TV channels had special programs commemorating the September 11th Trade Towers tragedy. They had real video clips, they had acted out scenes from people´s lives, and had discussion about what happened that day, and how people´s lives have been affected because of it. It touched me that here in a country so removed from the USA, in a place that doesn´t necessarily agree with our government at all, they made such a big deal about something that happened 5 years ago. Qué interesante. We ate Nutella and fruit while we watched. I have become a serious Nutella addict. Books and Nutella. This could be interesting. :)
9-15-06
I am overjoyed to be here in Spain...but I do NOT understand their fashion. I came to Spain expecting some high class fashion. What I have discovered, however, is that the younger generation is infected with 80´s fashion and mullets. The Spaniards call mullets "mofetas", which is the same as the word for skunks...my thoughts exactly. Anyway, I detest them, and they are everywhere! Also, the clothing stores are showing off those oh-so-detested spandex leggings again, accompanied by miniskirts and small jackets. I am very determined to find something to wear that does NOT stink of the 80s! However, there are many things about Spain that fascinate me, and will be sorely missed when I return to the States. First of all, I love that you can find fruit and pastries on pretty much every street and corner for very little money. And everything is terribly fresh. Murcia is an agricultural region, and grow much of the fruit and vegetables for the rest of Spain. I guess it would sort of be like the US´s California or perhaps the Baja Peninsula. They ship off tomatoes, seafood, fruit, veggies, etc. to the other regions of Spain. The seafood here is amazing. I love eating outside in the plazas when the sun is down and the weather is quite perfect indeed. The days are much too hot for my Montana blood, but the nights are, in a word, sultry. It rarely falls below 80 F during the night, but it feels perfect after the sweltering hot, humid days. I love that noone here is in a hurry. They always seem to be terribly relaxed and if something doesn´t get done on one day, it will the next. It will be awfully hard to return to the US, where everything jumps from moment to moment, and it feels as though the world will end if 5 minutes pass without accomplishing something constructive.
On the 12th, noone had classes. I woke up rather late, cooked potatoes and eggs for breakfast/lunch. That was pretty much it. Another roomie arrived on Wednesday. Her name is Eva and she is from Bulgaria. My first Bulgarian acquaintance ever. She brought her younger bro, Antoine, to help her bring all her luggage. He is about Mateo´s age, and hanging out with him has really made me miss my bros. :´( I would say I´m not homesick, but there are many things here that I would love to share with my family and friends. I want to bring them with me to the Mercadona and check out all the crazy types of food. I want to show them the streets here, and have them listen to the "chicharras", (cicadas). I want them to experience the amazing culinary arts of the Mediterranean.
On Thursday, I went out to a bar with my Spanish roomies, (Cristina and Cristina), and one of their friends. We ate green olives and patatas fritas, (potato chips), and I drank "un vaso de zumo", (a glass of fruit juice). They of course had beer. Blech!! It was great for me to listen to their conversations. They talk in slang much more than my teacher, and it helped me train my ear better. I didn´t understand everything they said, but I got the gist, and they would stop periodically to explain certain phrases or to ask me a question about my experience with the topic. After that, I went out to eat at a pizzeria with Erin, Eva, and Tony. We didn´t get home until 1:30 or so in the morning.
Today, (the 15th), Eva, Tony, and I went to the Mercadona for groceries. I bought a Spanish perfume called "Pasión". I like it, and it didn´t cost much. Another thing I like about Murcia is the fact that many people wear perfume that smells GOOD. I am used to some people wearing perfume once in a while for special occasions, or aftershave that smells good, but there are many scents that I don´t like at all. Here, I haven´t smelled one perfume/cologne that made me wrinkle my nose. Even the old men here smell good. The streets don´t always smell like a bed of roses, but the people do. So I bought my first Spanish perfume so I too can smell good as I walk down the "calles".
9-17-06
I slept in pretty late this morning, trying to get over my slight cold. It hasn´t been so bad, but I have a slight, itchy cough that I wanted to rid myself of ASAP, so I slept in. It worked. I feel tons better. This afternoon, we all went to Laura and David´s flat for a mini fiesta. Borja and Roberto cooked paella, (pie-eh-ya), for all the ISEP students. It was paella con mariscos, which meant it was rice with seafood in it. It was quite savory. It was followed by cappucino flavored ice cream. My stomach was very happy indeed. I helped clean up a bit and then returned home, used Erin´s computer to do a bit of email, and then called my family. It was the first time I´ve talked to them since I left the US. It was great to hear a bit of what was going on with each. But it is expensive to talk on the phone, so I will most likely stick to internet as much as possible.
9-18-06
Today, we talked of flamenco music in class. We got to hear the difference between pure flamenco and "flamenco fusión". The second is more modern and combines other styles with the traditional form. It is a snatch of poetry, which made me want to write poetry. We´ll see if I get to do that...only if I finish my homework first. I still have to go shopping for some more groceries, I will do my homework, and then who knows? Maybe I will sleep at a normal hour and get up early tomorrow to open a bank account.
Again, I cleaned up the kitchen this morning and then lounged about until Erin and Laura came. We ambled down to check out what was left of the fair. Afterward, we had a homework party at my house involving homework, of course!
9-11-06
Class doesn´t start until 10 AM now, as it seems some of the students think that 9:30 is too early. I would prefer the earlier time, as we could finish earlier, but I am a minority, and therefore have no voice in the matter. We ate breakfast during our 20 minute pause at this small pastry shop called Don Croissant. They have amazing pastries with chocolate or apples as well as some with meat and cheese. Kari, (pronounced car-ee), came over after a bit and I braided her hair. It looked awesome, but she wasn´t able to leave it in very long because it gave her a headache. Tsk tsk tsk. I guess braids are not for everyone. We had an awesome chat. Later, Laura, Erin, and I...(henceforth until there are more of us who hang out regularly, I shall call us the Trio)...went to the Carrefour to shop for a few things as tomorrow, nothing will be open due to it being the last day of the fair. A little lesson about Murcia. Every day, rain or shine, almost everything closes down from 2-5 PM. The locutorio, (internet café), remains open, and I think that the Corte Inglés stays open, (like a big mall of English name brand things), but the rest close down. Banks do not open after the break, other than on Thursdays. People go to their homes, cook lunch, watch TV, talk with their families, and rest during the hottest hours of the day, and then they return to work later. They don´t prepare dinner until 10 or 10:30 PM, and will walk along the streets all dressed up and chat with friends in the plazas that are everywhere. Life in Murcia is one in the streets. But here, that is a positive thing. People are always in the streets having a beer, eating tapas, playing dominos, chatting with their friends...it´s pleasantly quaint. Erin and I went running for a bit later on after the sun was down, and then the Trio watched a special on TV about 9/11. It was very interesting, because all day, all the TV channels had special programs commemorating the September 11th Trade Towers tragedy. They had real video clips, they had acted out scenes from people´s lives, and had discussion about what happened that day, and how people´s lives have been affected because of it. It touched me that here in a country so removed from the USA, in a place that doesn´t necessarily agree with our government at all, they made such a big deal about something that happened 5 years ago. Qué interesante. We ate Nutella and fruit while we watched. I have become a serious Nutella addict. Books and Nutella. This could be interesting. :)
9-15-06
I am overjoyed to be here in Spain...but I do NOT understand their fashion. I came to Spain expecting some high class fashion. What I have discovered, however, is that the younger generation is infected with 80´s fashion and mullets. The Spaniards call mullets "mofetas", which is the same as the word for skunks...my thoughts exactly. Anyway, I detest them, and they are everywhere! Also, the clothing stores are showing off those oh-so-detested spandex leggings again, accompanied by miniskirts and small jackets. I am very determined to find something to wear that does NOT stink of the 80s! However, there are many things about Spain that fascinate me, and will be sorely missed when I return to the States. First of all, I love that you can find fruit and pastries on pretty much every street and corner for very little money. And everything is terribly fresh. Murcia is an agricultural region, and grow much of the fruit and vegetables for the rest of Spain. I guess it would sort of be like the US´s California or perhaps the Baja Peninsula. They ship off tomatoes, seafood, fruit, veggies, etc. to the other regions of Spain. The seafood here is amazing. I love eating outside in the plazas when the sun is down and the weather is quite perfect indeed. The days are much too hot for my Montana blood, but the nights are, in a word, sultry. It rarely falls below 80 F during the night, but it feels perfect after the sweltering hot, humid days. I love that noone here is in a hurry. They always seem to be terribly relaxed and if something doesn´t get done on one day, it will the next. It will be awfully hard to return to the US, where everything jumps from moment to moment, and it feels as though the world will end if 5 minutes pass without accomplishing something constructive.
On the 12th, noone had classes. I woke up rather late, cooked potatoes and eggs for breakfast/lunch. That was pretty much it. Another roomie arrived on Wednesday. Her name is Eva and she is from Bulgaria. My first Bulgarian acquaintance ever. She brought her younger bro, Antoine, to help her bring all her luggage. He is about Mateo´s age, and hanging out with him has really made me miss my bros. :´( I would say I´m not homesick, but there are many things here that I would love to share with my family and friends. I want to bring them with me to the Mercadona and check out all the crazy types of food. I want to show them the streets here, and have them listen to the "chicharras", (cicadas). I want them to experience the amazing culinary arts of the Mediterranean.
On Thursday, I went out to a bar with my Spanish roomies, (Cristina and Cristina), and one of their friends. We ate green olives and patatas fritas, (potato chips), and I drank "un vaso de zumo", (a glass of fruit juice). They of course had beer. Blech!! It was great for me to listen to their conversations. They talk in slang much more than my teacher, and it helped me train my ear better. I didn´t understand everything they said, but I got the gist, and they would stop periodically to explain certain phrases or to ask me a question about my experience with the topic. After that, I went out to eat at a pizzeria with Erin, Eva, and Tony. We didn´t get home until 1:30 or so in the morning.
Today, (the 15th), Eva, Tony, and I went to the Mercadona for groceries. I bought a Spanish perfume called "Pasión". I like it, and it didn´t cost much. Another thing I like about Murcia is the fact that many people wear perfume that smells GOOD. I am used to some people wearing perfume once in a while for special occasions, or aftershave that smells good, but there are many scents that I don´t like at all. Here, I haven´t smelled one perfume/cologne that made me wrinkle my nose. Even the old men here smell good. The streets don´t always smell like a bed of roses, but the people do. So I bought my first Spanish perfume so I too can smell good as I walk down the "calles".
9-17-06
I slept in pretty late this morning, trying to get over my slight cold. It hasn´t been so bad, but I have a slight, itchy cough that I wanted to rid myself of ASAP, so I slept in. It worked. I feel tons better. This afternoon, we all went to Laura and David´s flat for a mini fiesta. Borja and Roberto cooked paella, (pie-eh-ya), for all the ISEP students. It was paella con mariscos, which meant it was rice with seafood in it. It was quite savory. It was followed by cappucino flavored ice cream. My stomach was very happy indeed. I helped clean up a bit and then returned home, used Erin´s computer to do a bit of email, and then called my family. It was the first time I´ve talked to them since I left the US. It was great to hear a bit of what was going on with each. But it is expensive to talk on the phone, so I will most likely stick to internet as much as possible.
9-18-06
Today, we talked of flamenco music in class. We got to hear the difference between pure flamenco and "flamenco fusión". The second is more modern and combines other styles with the traditional form. It is a snatch of poetry, which made me want to write poetry. We´ll see if I get to do that...only if I finish my homework first. I still have to go shopping for some more groceries, I will do my homework, and then who knows? Maybe I will sleep at a normal hour and get up early tomorrow to open a bank account.
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