A few weekends ago, I road tripped to Murcia, Spain with my roommate, Alvaro, and his best friend, Mario; my first road trip within Spain made me feel nostalgic and excited all in one. I consider myself to be one lucky gal for ending up with a great roommate my first week alone here, and meeting his best friend who has also become such a great friend as well. Murcia [pronounced: Moor-thia] is located about four hours away from the village that I am living in. Close to the coast of Spain, the weather there was always warm and the sun was strong, and the climate humid.
The vast views of the region Castilla-La Mancha were enough to take my breath away. This region of Spain is very dry and there are a lot of plains and farm areas. I absolutely love it. It may not be the most beautiful part of Spain (according to my roommates), but, it reminded me of home and of my university. We stayed with Alvaro’s family, which was extremely nice of them to house all of us! It felt wonderful to be around a family setting again, especially because I was feeling homesick. We had home cooked meals, made with lots of love from Alvaro’s mom, and indulged on second helpings. Having homemade paella [pr: pie-eya], espressos after a large lunch, and delicious traditional Spanish food – I think I may have fallen more in love with this country!
The majority of the weekend was spent exploring and sightseeing Murcia, clubbing until 8am (against my wishes!!), churros with chocolate to reward ourselves for staying up all night, staying up until sunrise, late afternoons, and visiting the Mediterranean ocean. My body has never felt so tired – trying to adjust to the schedule of my roommate and his friend! I still question how some Spaniards are able to stay up clubbing until dawn breaks and sleep all day. It’s very different for me, and I’m still trying to get used to it!!
The best part about traveling that weekend, was that it reminded me of my own group of friends back home. The excitement and anxiousness of going to see a new place and meeting different people! (: Although, I must give you a fair warning, it is definitely harder to meet people when most people have “rapid fire” Spanish. Also, my Spanish level is subpar (or less than subpar – at most) which made it harder for me to keep up with the conversation and come up with a response! Yikes. I suppose, with time and with more practice, speaking Spanish may come more easily for me…
