Murciano

Today is Monday and currently I am enjoying the calmness of what been a very relaxing afternoon in Murcia. Its been nearly two weeks since updating this blog and for that I sincerely apologize. As I sit at the reigns of the keyboard in front of me a great deal of events have taken place since arriving in southern Spain on September 30th. It's hard to fully describe everything that has happened since stepping foot on a plane destined for here but I'm going to try and give whoever decides to read this a summary :)

At this very moment I have completed my first week as working as an Auxiliar de Conversación, also known as an English language assistant.  This program hires people primarily from the USA, England, and parts of the French speaking world to work in various elementary schools, high schools, and language schools throughout Spain with an intention of helping teachers provide students with a more complete immersion into English or French.

Also at this exact moment in time I find myself within the confines of what is now officially a permanent residence. After landing in Madrid from New York a plane was immediately boarded for Alicante from there an ALSA bus delivered me to the center of Murcia, my future home for the next eight months. Walking from the station, large backpack slung over my shoulders, I managed to find through a fray of nicely dressed locals The Cathedral Hostel  backpackers which was conveniently located in the heart of the cities' historical district. 

Within minutes of setting down my backpack in the cramped two bunk-bed dormitory style room I met two people who would ultimately play a huge role in my experience here in Murcia. Pierre a 28 year old from France and his friend Lola, a middle aged woman who hails from Murcia, entered the room within minutes of my arrival. After speaking broken Spanish with them for a few minutes Lola invited me to her house because she happened to be looking to rent an extra piso (room) out to someone. The three of us took her car to the neighborhood Vistalegre about three minutes away and after sharing a beer and introducing ourselves better, I decided to become her newest tenant. Within two hours of living in Murcia I had established a place to stay and I feel very fortunate to be here. Besides Lola and me there is another girl from Madrid named Lucia who is studying in Murcia for a Masters Degree. It's great for practicing Spanish and the house comes with bicycles, plenty of personal space, a large patio, plus a very relaxed atmosphere. The choice to move here was by complete intuition and so far its been well worth it.

In addition to finding a place I now currently have a BBVA bank account, a library card, a Spanish phone number, a Tranvia (public transit) pass, and in three weeks I will be receiving a student ID card. With the Huela (ID card) I will be able to stay in Spain for as long as am employed as a language assistant which is nice. 

Murcia is a very hot southern Spain city that stays pretty free of tourism but is within close proximity to some of the countries' more beautiful Mediterranean scenery. Despite being extremely warm at all moments of the day men never a seen wearing shorts or sandals. People love to eat outside, congregate in plazas, and go share tapas while savoring chilled Estrella beers. The overall population here is fairly young thanks to two large universities and overall locals a very inviting. After two weeks of living here I have been encountered by random people asking me directions to places I've never heard of so it seems like something must be working.

Officially after two weeks I feel safe to say that besides having the right to vote I am a semi Spanish citizen and thanks to a grueling 12 hour work week can be considered a productive member of European society. (I think)

As an Auxiliar de Conversación I have been placed in a village called El Esparragal and am working four days a week assisting six different English teachers within two elementary schools in various bilingual subjects. As stated before I work a total of 12 hours a week and have three day weekends which provides plenty of flexibility for traveling to other parts of Spain. In each hour of work I have been placed with students ranging from 6 years old up to 12 years old and so far the experience has been pretty interesting. I will provide more details later :)

This is all for now but more updates will be coming soon! If anyone who reads this wants to get in touch here is my Whatsapp: +014153021802! 

P.S. To anyone who reads this I strongly encourage you to come visit :)