Murcia, España: 31-5
8-31-06
Day 1 of my adventure has begun! Thousands of dollars and many hours have transpired since I began, and now I am boarding my plane. It feels a bit strange to be finally leaving. After all that prep work, reality swoops in and drives home the unexpected. Truly, there is no turning back. My cousin Mark got married this weekend, and the rehearsal luau was on Friday night. I spent most of my afternoon trying to contact people concerning my yet uncleared visa. I gave up for the night and went to the luau. Laura trimmed my hair on Saturday and she and Daron braided it. Sunday was a lovely time to say goodbye to the "gob", (my friends in Butte area). We went to Melaques for lunch and I bid them farewell. I had to cancel my flight and book another, which cost almost 3x what my original ticket cost. My visa actually just arrived yesterday morning. It was a good delay, however. I actually fel like I had everything ready to leave. Everything except my brain.
9-1-06 London Gatwick Airport
I sat next to a most congenial lady from Minneapolis to London. It was retardedly difficult to sleep on the plane. It was crazy to fly from one day, early afternoon to where the moon is shining, and then to the dawn of a new day. LGW is very different from US airports. God keeps placing helpful contacts in my way, however, so I will most likely survive. ;) A guy sitting in front of us overheard us talking during our flight, and, at the end of it, he turned around and, in a fabulous British accent, informed me that his dad is murciano, and gave me some tips and directions. Now, to make it to Alicante and Murcia...
9-1-06 Spain Alicant Airport
I sat next to a lady from Alicante on my last flight. She is an English teacher name Lourdes. We exchanged email addresses adn said our goodbyes when she found her luggage...but I never found mine. So now I wait for a bus to take me to Murcia "sin mi maleta". I will have to wait for them to find my luggage. I also have to discover how to use the phone.
9-2-06
Yesterday was a VERY interesting day. I arrived to Murcia with a girl from Ennis, MT. And she knows the Klaumanns! Crazy, I know. I was sitting there at the bus stop, asking in horrible Spanish which bus was headed where, how much it cost, how to pay, etc., and Megan was like, "Um, do you speak English?" And so she and I rode the bus together to Murcia. Then we found a taxi to take us to our respective flats. The taxi driver was very amiable, and helped me find where I live. It was a bit obscure, but he asked people on the street, and we eventually found the general area. He let me borrow his cell phone to call my landlord, and then, when I said I was set, he placed two gigantic kissed, (the loudest I´ve ever heard), on each side of my face. I was a BIT taken aback, but since then, I have learned that this is normal. I have been kissed like this many times. It´s their normal handshake. My landlords are very nice, although they speak not a word of English, and speak very quickly in the murciano accent, so it has taken me a couple days to understand what they´re saying most of the time. They showed me my flat, which is already occupied by two French girls named Valerie and Marion. My flat has no communication facilities whatsoever. Which is fine with me. I have a terrace that wraps around the corner of the building and is perfect for hanging out. I can climb through my window to reach it, if I so chose. (I COULD use the door, but that would be boring, now wouldn´t it?) My luggage arrived at 3 this afternoon, and then my landlady introduced me to some other americanas in a nearby building. Laura is from Tennessee, and Erin is from Missouri. Erin also has a French roommate, and Laura lives with David, a guy from Wisconsin. We spoke in English quite a bit this afternoon, mostly about our adventures in finding ourselves in a new country, away from everything familiar, and a bit about each of our home lives. We walked around the streets until 1 AM.
9-3-06
This morning, the two girls and I met up and wandered through the streets. Today is Sunday, and there were not many people in the streets. We went to the Carrefour...(kind of like a mall and Walmart squished together)...and ate some breakfast. Over here, everything is open from 9 AM to 2 PM, and then open again from 5PM to 9PM. However, most shops are not open on Sundays, except for a couple more Anglicized places...like el Córte Inglés. Anyway, we had pastries for breakfast and explored again. There are fountains in these plazas all over the city. They are beautiful, especially since the weather here hasn´t dropped below 80. The other night, it was 85 all night, and they have insane humidity here. I sweat all the time, even on my face, which almost never happens. I know now why they have siestas! And I love them! Three hours with which to do whatever one pleases! The natives here take that time to hang out inside, eat lunch for a long time, nap, etc. We returned to my flat, and chatted some more. My next two roommates arrived. Both are Spanish, and are called Cristina...and Cristina. They are not related, come from different towns, and look completely different. Craziness. Both are going to vet school! Erin and I went running at 8:30 PM through the streets to explore and work out a bit.
9-5-06
Yesterday, all of us in this ISEP program met at the Saavedra Fajarda building for a placement test. It lasted 2 hours and was followed by an orientation by Roberto de Gea Canovás. Gotta love the names over here. After, we went to the Plaza Atalayas to get notebooks and such for school. We saw each other´s flats and went out to eat some "bocadillos" with tomato. (Bocadillos are NOT related to armadillos...their sandwiches on hard hoagie bun-type bread rather than sliced bread). Ham here is vastly different, but tasty anyway. Then we went to the market, (inside grocery store), and bought a few food items including this amazing ice cream with capuccino flavoring. Wowzers! It was some of the best ice cream in the world, I would say! Megan, (from Ennis), shares a flat with a Venezuelan guy named Alejandro Garcia Gonzalez. Once again, me encantan los nombres españoles.
This morning, we began class. We meet for 3 hours every morning from 9:30 to 12, with a break. Our professor is named Ana, and she is great. She is very easy to understand, and is very animated. I bought some things at el Mercadona after class and some email checking at this little internet cafe, and then I returned home to find all my roomies there at once. I took a nap, and in the evening, Erin and I played some cards, walked down to the river...which was disgusting, watched a bit of a parade for the fair going on all this week, and then returned about 9:30 to my flat, where I spent the rest of the night talking with the blond Cristina about our countries, Native Americans, our families, etc. In español por supuesto!
Day 1 of my adventure has begun! Thousands of dollars and many hours have transpired since I began, and now I am boarding my plane. It feels a bit strange to be finally leaving. After all that prep work, reality swoops in and drives home the unexpected. Truly, there is no turning back. My cousin Mark got married this weekend, and the rehearsal luau was on Friday night. I spent most of my afternoon trying to contact people concerning my yet uncleared visa. I gave up for the night and went to the luau. Laura trimmed my hair on Saturday and she and Daron braided it. Sunday was a lovely time to say goodbye to the "gob", (my friends in Butte area). We went to Melaques for lunch and I bid them farewell. I had to cancel my flight and book another, which cost almost 3x what my original ticket cost. My visa actually just arrived yesterday morning. It was a good delay, however. I actually fel like I had everything ready to leave. Everything except my brain.
9-1-06 London Gatwick Airport
I sat next to a most congenial lady from Minneapolis to London. It was retardedly difficult to sleep on the plane. It was crazy to fly from one day, early afternoon to where the moon is shining, and then to the dawn of a new day. LGW is very different from US airports. God keeps placing helpful contacts in my way, however, so I will most likely survive. ;) A guy sitting in front of us overheard us talking during our flight, and, at the end of it, he turned around and, in a fabulous British accent, informed me that his dad is murciano, and gave me some tips and directions. Now, to make it to Alicante and Murcia...
9-1-06 Spain Alicant Airport
I sat next to a lady from Alicante on my last flight. She is an English teacher name Lourdes. We exchanged email addresses adn said our goodbyes when she found her luggage...but I never found mine. So now I wait for a bus to take me to Murcia "sin mi maleta". I will have to wait for them to find my luggage. I also have to discover how to use the phone.
9-2-06
Yesterday was a VERY interesting day. I arrived to Murcia with a girl from Ennis, MT. And she knows the Klaumanns! Crazy, I know. I was sitting there at the bus stop, asking in horrible Spanish which bus was headed where, how much it cost, how to pay, etc., and Megan was like, "Um, do you speak English?" And so she and I rode the bus together to Murcia. Then we found a taxi to take us to our respective flats. The taxi driver was very amiable, and helped me find where I live. It was a bit obscure, but he asked people on the street, and we eventually found the general area. He let me borrow his cell phone to call my landlord, and then, when I said I was set, he placed two gigantic kissed, (the loudest I´ve ever heard), on each side of my face. I was a BIT taken aback, but since then, I have learned that this is normal. I have been kissed like this many times. It´s their normal handshake. My landlords are very nice, although they speak not a word of English, and speak very quickly in the murciano accent, so it has taken me a couple days to understand what they´re saying most of the time. They showed me my flat, which is already occupied by two French girls named Valerie and Marion. My flat has no communication facilities whatsoever. Which is fine with me. I have a terrace that wraps around the corner of the building and is perfect for hanging out. I can climb through my window to reach it, if I so chose. (I COULD use the door, but that would be boring, now wouldn´t it?) My luggage arrived at 3 this afternoon, and then my landlady introduced me to some other americanas in a nearby building. Laura is from Tennessee, and Erin is from Missouri. Erin also has a French roommate, and Laura lives with David, a guy from Wisconsin. We spoke in English quite a bit this afternoon, mostly about our adventures in finding ourselves in a new country, away from everything familiar, and a bit about each of our home lives. We walked around the streets until 1 AM.
9-3-06
This morning, the two girls and I met up and wandered through the streets. Today is Sunday, and there were not many people in the streets. We went to the Carrefour...(kind of like a mall and Walmart squished together)...and ate some breakfast. Over here, everything is open from 9 AM to 2 PM, and then open again from 5PM to 9PM. However, most shops are not open on Sundays, except for a couple more Anglicized places...like el Córte Inglés. Anyway, we had pastries for breakfast and explored again. There are fountains in these plazas all over the city. They are beautiful, especially since the weather here hasn´t dropped below 80. The other night, it was 85 all night, and they have insane humidity here. I sweat all the time, even on my face, which almost never happens. I know now why they have siestas! And I love them! Three hours with which to do whatever one pleases! The natives here take that time to hang out inside, eat lunch for a long time, nap, etc. We returned to my flat, and chatted some more. My next two roommates arrived. Both are Spanish, and are called Cristina...and Cristina. They are not related, come from different towns, and look completely different. Craziness. Both are going to vet school! Erin and I went running at 8:30 PM through the streets to explore and work out a bit.
9-5-06
Yesterday, all of us in this ISEP program met at the Saavedra Fajarda building for a placement test. It lasted 2 hours and was followed by an orientation by Roberto de Gea Canovás. Gotta love the names over here. After, we went to the Plaza Atalayas to get notebooks and such for school. We saw each other´s flats and went out to eat some "bocadillos" with tomato. (Bocadillos are NOT related to armadillos...their sandwiches on hard hoagie bun-type bread rather than sliced bread). Ham here is vastly different, but tasty anyway. Then we went to the market, (inside grocery store), and bought a few food items including this amazing ice cream with capuccino flavoring. Wowzers! It was some of the best ice cream in the world, I would say! Megan, (from Ennis), shares a flat with a Venezuelan guy named Alejandro Garcia Gonzalez. Once again, me encantan los nombres españoles.
This morning, we began class. We meet for 3 hours every morning from 9:30 to 12, with a break. Our professor is named Ana, and she is great. She is very easy to understand, and is very animated. I bought some things at el Mercadona after class and some email checking at this little internet cafe, and then I returned home to find all my roomies there at once. I took a nap, and in the evening, Erin and I played some cards, walked down to the river...which was disgusting, watched a bit of a parade for the fair going on all this week, and then returned about 9:30 to my flat, where I spent the rest of the night talking with the blond Cristina about our countries, Native Americans, our families, etc. In español por supuesto!
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