Trip to Águilas

Posted on February 12th, 2008 by bmgray.
Categories: Uncategorized.

I have been having an amazing time here in Murcia. My new friends in my Spanish class are great and a lot of fun to be around. After class we usually go together and get a coffee or go get some tapas. Yesterday we went to a place called “The Tapa” in the Plaza de flores, the tapas were amazing. We tried the Murcian Salad, the various Russian salads with octopus and tuna, roast with garlic and tomato, and more. Olives and tuna are very popular in the food around here. In a couple hours I am leaving with two of my friends to Madrid. We are going to spend 4 days there and have plans to go to Toledo, the Escorial, Museo de Prado, La Reina Sofia, and more! Next weekend Mathilde is going to meet me in Paris. Never in my life did I think I would visit two world capitals in two weeks!

I really miss my dryer, I have to hang dry my clothes and takes 3 days for them to dry. Today I decided to try the line in the courtyard instead of using the rack in the salon. It rains about 5% of the year here in Murcia and of course it began raining as soon as I left the house to go to class after hanging all my clothes! A couple days ago our water heater wasn’t working and I couldn’t figure out how to relight the gas. I had to boil water on the stove and dump it into my bathtub. I also have trouble with the hard floors in the apartment. They are all marble and when I walk around in socks I constantly slip and fall, I am bruised up and down my legs! Right now there is a girl from the German part of Switzerland living with us until she can move into here apartment.

Last weekend I went to a town called Aguilas to celebrate the Carnival with a big group from Erasmus. We were with students from Norway, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Belgium, and more. It was the craziest party I have ever seen! The parade was huge and afterward everyone stayed out until 7 in the morning. Everyone was wearing wild costumes with their faces painted. The day before we walked from the train station to our hostel and it took us two hours! The second day after the carnival we had to walk back and we were so tired. The walk was breathtaking! We walked up and down cliffs along the Mediterranean Sea. I wanted to stop and take a picture every two seconds because everything was so beautiful. I love the “hustle and bustle” of the city but the feeling you get when you are in the middle of nowhere listening to the waves crash against the coast is one of a kind

When you go on vacation everything is exciting, and exotic. Studying abroad is such an amazing experience because at first everything new and then you start seeing things in a different light. You see the pluses and the minuses and you love the place for both!

Our intensive Spanish class is over and we start our regular classes next week. Today we had an exam and a presentation. I think the class was very helpful because I was able to listen to a native speaker 5 hours a day. Our teacher was always open to any question we had over the language and was willing to help us with everything. I think he did an amazing job keeping the class animated, he always had funny expressions! I have to go pack my bags for Madrid because our bus leaves in two hours! Besitos!

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