bmgray’s blog

Día Uno

Posted on January 26th, 2008 by bmgray.
Categories: Uncategorized.

I’m a firm believer that if you tell yourself you’re good at something, even if you’re terrible, you can convince yourself and others with a positive attitude. For example, I am a terrible dancer but I pretend I’m brilliant and everyone is convinced (or so I think). It’s a great plan and it works most of the time, but I’ve learned there is one thing no matter what I tell myself I will never have and that is a good sense of direction. Yesterday was the first day of orientation and I spent the day lost in Murcia. I thought the city would be easy to navigate because Lize gave me a map and told me exactly where to go street by street; I was wrong. I turned by my apartment and passed La Plaza de Toros, just as she said. I kept going straight until I got to the circle and I turned exactly where she told me to turn. At that point I knew I was in the right spot, I just had to turn on one of the streets going out from the circle and then I would be on campus. There was an old man standing on the corner in a suit, he looked like a decent man so I showed him my map and asked him where I needed to turn. He told me I was in the wrong circle; apparently there are about 15 in town. He asked me where I was from and then began talking about his pen pal that he had in the states when he was younger. He went on forever so I interrupted him to tell him that I was already late for my appointment and I really needed to find the office. He said “Well precious, I will take you to the very door!” I’m really not used to strangers calling me things like “preciosa” or “bonita” but it seems to be normal here. At first I wondered if he was just a creepy old man and questioned if I should follow him, but after listening to people as we walk even if you are not very “bonita” people will still call you such names. I finally arrived to the office, luckily only 30 minutes late for orientation. There were other Americans in the class but I didn’t really get to talk to any of them. Afterwards I walked home alone, lost again! I kept stopping and asking people where I needed to go. The way home was even worse than the way there. At one point I even fell down the stairs of a bank building! The two girls in front of me were snickering at me as a toppled down the stairs. I wanted to scream! I eventually found my way back to the Gran Via and from there I knew where to find my apartment. YES! I did it!

After finally getting home I sat and had a cup of coffee with Christine, my German roommate. She asked me if I wanted to go with her and her friend to a shopping center on the outskirts of the city later that evening. I told her I would go but first Lize and I had to go to the Supermercado because I had nothing to eat. I walked there with Lize and then lugged all of my groceries back. The director at orientation told us that every Thursday morning there is a big outdoor market in the city center with fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat. I will have to check that out next week. After I got home Christine and I met her Norwegian friend at the bus station on Gran Via. We rode out to the shopping center where I was able to buy a phone card, some towels, and bedding at IKEA. After dinner we came home and I crashed, the jet lag had finally caught up with me.

I didn’t wake up today until 1:45! I felt like I had wasted the day, but I was so tired. After lunch Lize showed me the best way to walk to the international office. Christine is out of town this weekend on a trip to Córdoba. When we were outside the office there was a lost French girl who barely spoke any Spanish (I felt better than I wasn’t the only one lost in town). She told us she had been living in a hostel and she will start classes next week at the University. She was having trouble finding an apartment. Lize knew where people posted apartment openings so we went there next. I gave her my number so I will at least have one friend after Lize and Christine leave next week. Now I think I will go buy some water because I don’t have anything to drink! The tap water is not sanitary and I didn’t want to carry the heavy jug of water all the way back from the grocery store. There are little stores everywhere that the people here call “tiendas de chinos”. They are little stores that are typically ran by Chinese people where they sell a little bit of everything. I feel bad calling it a “tienda de chinos” when they are not all ran by Chinese people but I guess my opinion is irrelevant.

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