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 :)