My first week in Spain was a success! At first it was a bit stressful. My landlady spoke little English, so communicating with her was definitely a challenge... especially when she was trying to explain to me how to use household appliances! But she stayed very patient with me and after some really hard thinking I was able to get my questions answered.
The apartment is very cute. When you walk in the living room is on the left and it has a balcony, a couch, a TV, and a table with six chairs. Across from that room is the kitchen which has a fridge, microwave, and stove. Francisca was also kind enough to stock the house with utensils, plates, cooking appliances, etc. Attached to the kitchen is the laundry room, which has a big window so that I am able to hang my clothes up after I wash them... since there is no dryer. Walking down the hallway from the kitchen is the bathroom. The bathroom is by far the newest room in the apartment and it is more modern and works perfectly. Down that hallway to the right is my roommate Emily's room. It's a little bigger than mine and has a sliding window and lots of closet space. Across from her room is my room. It is small but very cute. Next to my bed I have a night stand where I can put all my charging ports and then I have a dresser with plenty of space and a cute desk. Overall, I was very pleased with the apartment.
Our apartment is also next to so many little convenient hole in the wall places. To the left of our apartment, at the end of the street there is a Panadería, which a bread bakery that sells fresh bread every day. Ten feet across from the Panadería there is a small fruit market called Frutería Martínez, and they sell fresh fruits and vegetables. Ten feet to the right of the Frutería, is a small fish market corner store that sells fresh fish. At the other end of our street there is a small tapas bar called "Bar Kuki." The owner of the bar is named Kuki, and he is extremely friendly and is very patient with me when speaking Spanish. His café con leche is also only 1€ which is very convenient. Then right next to the Kuki's bar is a dominos. I learned very quickly that pizza is definitely a Mediterranean thing because almost every restaurant you go to, there is a pizza menu.
Here is the first pizza I had in Murcia, it is a truffle pizza from Mano a Mano:
The first couple days were filled with errands. I first had to set up a bank account at Santander. It was hard to communicate at times but I was able to successfully get everything I needed. I also had to purchase a new SIM card which was also a challenge because the workers at the phone store, Orange, barely spoke english. Although they were hard to understand at times I was able to purchase a SIM card and have access to data again. Another errand was trips to the local supermercados, Mercadona and Coviran. To my surprise, the supermarkets here in Murcia, Spain have much better selection and are much cheaper! I kept all my receipts to have an idea of how much I would be spending and for example it was 0.65€ for a gallon of water. We also went to local Bazars to find other necessities like hangers, a laundry basket, clothes pins, a picture frame, etc.
Later in the week my friends and I went out to some local bars. We met many Erasmus and other ISEP students who have been here since September. I also got to know the bartenders and was able to practice a lot of Spanish while learning about Spain's culture. One thing that I found very interesting was that when the bars close (they close at 1am until February due to COVID restrictions), all the university students go outside and socialize. Everybody goes around and talks to people and makes new friends. The locals also apparently love eating at kebob stands after a night out at bars and discotecas. They put their food in little take out boxes similar to the Chinese to go boxes, and fill it with chicken and french fries and queso and hot sauce. It is definitely a staple food in Murcia's culture -- my favorite is definitely the "Kebob Box," it's delicious. Overall it was very cool to see and learn about Murcia's traditions and ways of life this last week. I look forward to learning even more this coming week!
Here is a picture of my friends and I with a local we met, at "El Sur:"
The day before my parents left, we took a ride to Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain to see the beach. It was very beautiful and we were very excited to see the Mediterranean sea up close. We ate at a beautiful restaurant called "La Encarnacion." My dad and I tried our first paella of Spain and it was very good.
Here is a picture of Los Alcázares:
I also had orientation this week and I was able to see the campus. The architecture is beautiful. Most of my classes will be at the Espiñardo campus which is about a 20 minute bus ride from my apartment. The Merced campus, however, has a library I can use for WiFi and a cafeteria with discounted meals for faculty and students.
To conclude it was a great first week and my Spanish has definitely improved! I start my intensive course tomorrow and my regular classes begin Wednesday. Scheduling has been a challenge, but I will hopefully figure it out tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Here is a picture of me and my parents by the Cathedral in Plaza del Cardenal Belluga:
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