Life in Murcia. New Season, New Episode
On the 19-th of
February in the morning after a very long trip I finally arrived at the airport
of Alicante or so called aeroport d’Alacant en Valenciano with sky-high mood
and “Limbo” in my headphones. Although my trip was rather tiring I was a way
too excited and full of enthusiasm, so once I stepped out of the plane, I went
running to grab my luggage from the recogida de equpaje (baggage claim) and
get out to the sunny city. At the exit I was warmly met by Sonia and Antonia, who
were patiently waiting for my arrival, holding a big paper with my name on it.
Y, ahora, ¡Bienvenido
a España! Land of contrasts, wine and olive, orange
trees, corrida de toros, Spanish music and bailes de Flamenco, Meditarrenean beaches, picturesque places and a lot more to add to the list,
but now we are in Murcia, south-east of Spain, a university town with a great
number of students.
My new life was awaiting
me in Murcia, the city Antonia drove me to from Alicante airport. The first
impressions were all about weather. Hoot !! Taking off my warm jacket I was
getting ready to enter the capital city of la Comunidad de Murcia as they call
it here.
Centro Social Universitario de Voluntariado |
In 40 minute
drive I was already at the Social Center of the University of Murcia, located
in the Campus of Espinardo, one of the 5 biggest Campuses of Murcia University
where I am supposed to work and promote volunteering at the social university
center called ADYV - Atención a la Diversidad y Voluntariado de la Universidad
de Murcia. I was accompanied to the office by Sonia and Antonia where I met my
mentor and supervisor of my project and the rest of the staff of ADyV and,
surely, Iris, my roommate and co-worker from Holland. The university center,
the office, the people around _everything was great, even greater than I had expected. Spanish people are so amiable and helpful with foreigners that
you can sometimes forget you’re not in your own hometown.
My first two
days, I should confess were really very intense, since I came a bit late than I
was supposed to and now I had to catch up with my new EVS life in a shorter
time and get to know to the city and everyone around in less time frames.
But, Alvaro, my
mentor did his best to make my first days interesting and easy to get along. He’s
been my fave guide those days for he knew everything about the city from bottom
to top, starting from the directions of all entertainment places to hard-to-remember
historical facts about every cathedral and monument out there.
Murcia at night |
In first 2 days
I even managed to take a language test of Spanish at the Language Centre and
got B 1.2 level for the beginning. But, I will start up with my Spanish classes
as soon as I come back from Córdoba, a very beautiful and historical city in la Comunidad de Andalucia, where I will
have my On-Arrival training course.
Yeah, too much
information about Murcia, its sightseeing, University life, Erasmus network,
volunteering perspectives and my future responsibilities in 2-3 days.
But, now Córdoba is waiting for Iris and me, lot’s of
new things to do, experience, see and… ah yes, excuse me for my Spanglish. This
is the way we EVS volunteers talk in Spain at least at the beginning of our
stay here, when we don’t have a very good command of the language.
So, see you soon
! ¡
Hasta la vista en Córdoba !
Aguilas |
Article and Photos by Nelly Paytyan/Voluntaria Europea en el Centro Social de Voluntariado ADyV, Universidad de Murcia