Thursday, November 20, 2014

Shower like a Spaniard

Today is Thursday and as the dialogue of local Murcian news is streaming from an undetermined origin from my computer the day is progressing in orderly fashion. After four hours of assisting two English professors at Vicente Medina, a primary school located along the border between the Murcian towns of El Esparragal and La Orilla de Azarbe, the work week has officially ended. I share time each week between this school and La Señora de los Angeles which is centrally located in El Esparragal and both locations provide different yet equally uplifting environments. Between language exchanges with a couple of the town's really nice locals and frequenting a local bakery on a habitual basis for empanadas I am beginning to feel like a quasi part of the town.

After seven weeks of working as an English language assistant I feel fortunate to be a part of both school's bilingual programs and each day continues to be a learning experience. As of this past Monday there is now a new love in my life: Mandarines. Murcia as a region doesn't boast the most prominent architecture or traveler friendly scene compared to the rest of the country however it does happen to be Spain's leading producer of delicious fruit and vegatables. Local food products can be found at absurdly cheap prices within nearly every grocery store and as stated above I have found a new addiction towards mandarines. On Monday I was awarded a bag full of them by the grandfather of a friend who lives in El Esparragal and the rich juicy citrus of their orange inspired deliciousness has me completely hooked.

Last Sunday after hiking along a sunny coastal trail with Lola, Lucia, and Leiven within the nature preserve of Calblanque, roughly thirty minutes outside of La Manga towards Mar Manor, a second love of my life entered the realm of my tastebuds: Paella. Inside a local restaurant and while sharing una jarra of Estrella beer a massive black simmering saucepan was placed at the center of our table. Garnished with wide sliced limes an assortment of green peppers, red peppers, calamari, clams, & full pieces of chicken sat docked within the shores of a savory saffron rice lagoon. Despite all of us equally being starving after the hike we weren't able to finish the enormous serving of Paella and elected to rename it's role into leftovers.

Like an echo of the first sentence within this blog post it is currently Thursday and the sky outside is cloudy with possible hints of rain in the forecast. Since flicking enough keyboard combinations to create three paragraphs the background soundtrack to my afternoon has now shifted to underground Hip-Hop, a rhythm reminiscent of living back home. After seven weeks of living a semi-expat lifestyle in Murcia I sincerely miss the good music from home but more importantly I miss the people who I once shared it with. Mexican food, hot sauce, bicycle lanes, and social acceptance for wearing flip-flops are a handful of other things that I miss but luckily there are new aspects of life that have taken their place. The ability to share a delicious tapas dinner among friends at a whopping price of $7 is a nice change. Instead of addressing friends as "man" or "buddy" you now have "acho", "tio", and "hombre." The word "joder" has multiple entertaining meanings and children as young as 6 can be heard expressing it is various contexts. Instead of scratching your head with a good response to something you didn't quite understand in conversation there now exists a simple melodic verbal solution: "vale". People here are also very helpful and open, often to the point of excessiveness. Without knowing who you are a family will gladly invite you to lunch and without question offer you a glass of local wine as if it were part of their daily routine. People here are also for the most part very proud, honest, and friendly despite assuming that since I'm American I have a fondness for hamburgers, shooting things, and being late to everything.

As I sit here in front of my computer I realize that this morning I didn't wait to see if any of my roommates were going to use the shower. I simply woke up, stumbled half-awake into the bathroom and did what needed to be done in order start the day before school. When I first moved into the place where I currently am living it was a different story. Taking showers, like crossing a busy street, ordering a beer at a popular bar, or simply living life in most cases requires you to simply just take the lead and make the first move. By the time you wait for everyone to wake up then ask if they need the bathroom you might have already missed the bus for work. People here seemed to have figured this out and it's something that I want to take into daily accordance as long as respect for others is maintained.

If I walk away from this experience having gained nothing else at the very least I can say that I can now shower like a Spaniard.

Have a great day and more updates coming soon :)






Wednesday, November 12, 2014

ValenciAhhh

Sometime around 8pm last Friday an ALSA bus that originated in Murcia made its final stop within the city of Valencia. After conducting routine pick-ups in Elche and Benidorm, a pair of smaller cities a short distance from Alicante, the mode of transport passively lurched into a nesting place between two brightly tinted yellow lines painted on asphalt inside an airplane hangar style terminal. The sky was dark and once the buses' rear doors glided open a sprawl of disembarking passengers scattered in unseen directions with varied degrees of urgency. After waiting my turn in a moderately progressing line and five careful downward steps I was now officially in the city.

With zero plan of action and not a clue of where anything was located I managed to make way towards the neighborhood El Carmen, one of the oldest barrios of Valencia. During the bus trip I booked a single night at the Central Valencia Youth Hostel via my phone in order to have at least a small point of reference upon arrival. The hostel, like its title, is conveniently located in the center of many important landmarks like Plaza de La Virgen and los Torres de Serranos. After charging my phone, meeting a couple backpackers from Australia and Sweden, then sending out a series of last minute couchsurfing requests for the following day, I exited the hostel with not a single idea where to go. 

The soft sliding shut of the trendy Euro-hostel's glass door changed my role from casual vacationer to street dweller and impulse driven corner crosser. With the door closed behind me the first major decision of the weekend presented itself before my very eyes. 

Turn left or turn right?

My first evening in Valencia proceded in this kind of fashion. Sneaking between allies, impromptu U-turns, and sudden curb jumping guided me first towards a hundred something person bicycle posse congregating around the Turia Fountain of La Plaza de La Virgin where middle aged men walked around with paper bags looking to sell overly priced street beers. A few more left and right turns sent me to Plaza Viriato to enjoy the closing of an electronic DJ set among scores of seemingly well-to-do Valencians donning nice evening attire and more street beer. Twisting along through confusingly titled streets and following along with various waves of strolling locals I encountered Alberto who was working at "The Hotdog Factory", a corner food restaurant selling what you probably can already guess. Alberto introduced me to a girl named Lola who then gave me directions to a music venue called "Loco Club" where a band from Madrid called Dinero was performing. With no plans I followed the directions that she drew on a white napkin and spent the rest of the evening listening to high energy Spanish rock music.

Once Saturday Morning introduced itself with a groggy handshake I was informed by the staff of the hostel where I was staying that the facility was fully booked and check-out was in 2 hours. Looking online not a single hostel in Valencia had space for less than 35 Euros which was way too expensive for my budget. No one responded to my Couchsurfing request either so it was looking like a return to Murcia was going to be happening later in the day.

While thinking of options on a hostel computer someone messaged me on Couchsurfing. An American named Nadia working as an Au Pair saw my request on CS and was interested in exploring the city later in the afternoon. Having not a clue what the next plan of action was as per usual, I put my personal backpack in hostel storage, checked out, then met her at Mercado Central. From there we wandered around various parts of Valencia's historical district with no destination in mind and it was a fun way become acquainted with the cityscape. Starting with creating our own bocadillos in a nearby plaza from goods bought at Mercado Central, people watching from my hostel's rooftop patio, and trying tinto de verano at "100 Montaditos," then taking pictures of countless exotic urban art the afternoon passed in flashing instants. After recollecting my backpack I decided to stay an extra night even though I didn't have a place to sleep.

With all of my possessions attached to my back Nadia and I met up with some of her friends who were from the city and spent most of the night in El Carmen. Between finding a feet stomping drum parade, stand-up comedy acts in a half-constructed building foundation, kebabs, having tea at a teteria, then dancing to funky-beats at a great bar called "Radio Music" my final night in Valencia was one that will forever leave me in a good mood. Laura, Nadia's friend, was nice enough to let us stay at her place for the evening and I will be forever thankful for that act of kindness.

Before saying good farewell to Valencia on Sunday we climbed the winding stairs of Micalet located within the cities' cathedral to catch some of the cities' best views and did some wandering a little bit more just for old time's sake. I feel very fortunate to have met Nadia and hope to repay the her fantastic role of tourguide to her or anyone else if they ever visit Murcia.

Having returned from Valencia there were a lot of supposedly important things I didn't manage to experience. I didn't try the cities' famous Paella, I didn't make a small trek to the beach like a lot of visitors, I didn't see La Lonja & didn't go into The City of Arts and Sciences museum. If anyone asks what exactly I did do while in Valencia the answer is simple:

I had one of the best weekends of my life.




Friday, November 7, 2014

Bus Station Roulette

Today is Friday and I hope that who ever is reading this post is enjoying the start to their weekend :) Sitting in the backseat of a fairly full ALSA bus the sun has just dipped beneath the western horizon and formations of white circular lights from various passing buildings are the only signs civilization in what is now a completely black view from the window.

It's been a little while since updating this blog and as of yesterday I have completed five weeks of working as an Auxiliar de Cinversacion in the Murcian town of El Esparragal. Between dressing up for Halloween last Friday as a priest, playing games with the kids, and even guiding a handful of daily lesson plans, the experience has been very energy consuming yet also rewarding. After a few weeks of classes mixed with a number of language exchanges within the center of the city I am starting to feel ready to teach private English lessons as a form of extra income. If whoever reads this knows anyone interested have them whatsapp me haha.

While outside of the classroom a group of Auxiliares and myself have been meeting for Tapas and scavenging the city for the cheapest menu del dia. A current personal favorite is an Ecuadorian ran restaurant in the neighborhood of El Carmen which offers a very non Spanish menu but it's prices are the best I've seen in city. A Couchsurfing friend has introduced me to parts of the salsa dancing community and a new personal goal has been relearning the practice a few nights a week at a bar called Bora Bora. Last weekend a good friend and I went to Alicante for the day to soak up some remaining warm weather before the transition into Fall officially begins. Another day trip on Sunday to El Cañon de Almadenes made it a fourth consecutive weekend for getting out of Murcia. 

As I sit here within the speeding ALSA bus the fifth consecutive weekend for making a getaway towards a different region of Spain is about to begin. 

This morning I woke up with a strong urge to just show up at the bus station in Murcia, see when the next bus was leaving to any particular destination, buy a one way ticket and simply see what happens. It could be from a random desire to get lost or possibly a sensation to mix up the increasingly routine structure to each week. Whatever the reason I simply just needed a break.

After running two important errands at the bank I packed a small bag with one T-shirt, one pair of socks, underwear, toiletries, phone charger, guidebook, jacket, and ultimately my passport then walked across town to the station. At about 1:45pm I stood in a filed line at a mechanical ticket kiosk still not knowing where I wanted to go. Within moments it was now my turn and I had to make a quick decision because people were collectively gathering behind me in patience for their chance to buy a ticket to their predetermined destination. 

Standing at the machine I was lost in the scrolling sea of countless Spanish town and city names. A few immediately came to mind but there wasn't a bus leaving anytime soon. After a scrambling I finally typed a V then an A then maybe out of instinct an L and "Valencia" came up on the white screen.

Thinking for a moment I tapped a few buttons and suddenly a thin sheet of paper spat out at the palm of my lowered right hand from a small chamber of the kiosk.

The next bus bound for Spain's third largest city was leaving within an hour and now one of its future passengers was going to be me. 

I don't know how long I'll be in Valencia. Maybe 24 hours, maybe a couple days since school starts back up on Monday, or possibly just a handful of minutes. I have no idea. Not even knowing where I will sleep makes this seem like an unwise idea. However sometimes the best plan is having absolutely no plan whatsoever.

I've just played a game of  adventure roulette, let's see what happens :)

In my heart the results of this game hardly matter because inside I know I've already gained what I was hoping for. I wanted to feel the breaze of some place I've never been before, to see sights of previously unknown destinations, to be free.

My shoes are tied, a backpack is safely gaurded between my resting feet and I have an open mind so let's get lost :)

Updates coming soon!