“Poco a poquillo hace el pájaro su nidillo”

I’ve been having a great couple of weeks here in Murcia. Classes are going well, the weather is beautiful, and I feel like I’m finally comfortable with the language. Clearly, I still have a lot of room for improvement, but at least I’m not afraid to try to talk to people anymore. I feel like I'm really starting to make a life here for myself, which is why I thought the title for this blog was appropriate - it means, "Little by little, the bird makes his nest."

 I’ve been spending a lot of time with my friend Julie, who is from Germany. She speaks 4 languages (German, Spanish, Norwegian, and French) fluently and she also knows some English. However, she’s really adamant about only speaking Spanish while she’s here in Spain (which makes sense, right??) Anyway, when we’re together we only speak Spanish, which is helping me tremendously. I also have my two roommates who are from Mexico with whom I’m so, SO grateful to be living. We all get along really well in the flat and we spend a lot of time just chit-chatting in Spanish. For the most part we all understand each other really well. They laugh at me sometimes because I’ll be talking in Spanish and when I say something wrong I always say, “dammit” under my breath when I correct myself.

I’m really excited because my friend Jillian is coming to visit me toward the end of March! She’s studying abroad in Sweden right now and wants to come down to Spain to enjoy the sun and the beach. My friends and I have also been discussing the possibility of going to the Basque city of Bilbao, which is an art/architectural epicenter of northern Spain.

I’m also trying to start planning my 2 week vacation that’s coming up in April. We get all of Semana Santa (Holy Week) and the following week off from school. Almost every city in Spain has festivals to celebrate Holy Week, complete with parades and really historic rituals. We learned a lot about them in my Culture of Spain class last year at Wesleyan and I’m so excited to see it in person! A lot of people are using those two weeks to travel around all of Europe, but I’ve decided that I really want to get to know Spain while I’m living here, so I’m gonna stay in-country during those weeks with all the historic tradition and such.

Well, once again, this has turned into a pretty long blog post without me even realizing it. :) But – I have homework that I should be doing. Luckily the weather is kind of dreary today, so I’m not tempted to just pass my time outside when I should be studying.

Love to all -

A view from the top

On Saturday, Alvaro and David took the 3 of us (Keyla, Ale, and myself) hiking in the mountains around Murcia. We met up around 10:30 and drove out of the city to where the trail begins. David had his two dogs, Bella and Bianca, with him, which was so fun! They were really sweet and it was nice to get in some time with some animals. 

It was a perfect day! The weather was warm and sunny and there were a lot of people out and about. We got passed by mountain bikers every couple of minutes. Some of them rode past us going up the mountain and others flew by us on their way down. It seemed like they were having a lot of fun - but I’d be scared out of my mind riding down a mountain that fast!

We ate lunch at the very top of the trail. You could see all of the valley and the city of Murcia. It was breath-taking. Definitely worth the long hike up the mountain.

A clever title that I can't think of...

It’s nice to be settling into a daily schedule with classes and things. Every day I make a few new acquaintances; it’s nice to know a few local people in my classes. Also, most of my classes have a few other exchange students in them, so we all help each other stay caught up with notes/homework, etc.  I also joined the choir last week! It meets from 8:00 – 10:00pm on Mondays. During warm-ups, the conductor said, “Oh I forgot – we have new members this week.” And so a couple of other students and myself got to stand up and introduce ourselves; it was the usual – name, major, where you’re from, why you joined the choir, etc. So, when it came to be my turn I said, “Hi, my name’s Gretchen and I’m from the United States…” and there was a communal, “Ooooooh!” from the other members. They were all really welcoming and they seemed excited to have another exchange student in the group. Plus, I get to help them pronounce all of the words in the English song we’re singing.

I’ve also started meeting once a week with a local guy for a tandem exchange.  His name is Agustín, and he’s Murciano. He wants to learn English because a lot of his friends speak it and also it would be useful in his field of work as a civil engineer. It’s really fun! We meet up and chat for a few hours in a mixture of English and Spanish. We help each other when we don’t know the words for what we’re trying to say, and when we really just can’t understand each other, he as a notebook that we use to draw what we’re trying to say.

A few nights ago, my friend Makenzie and I went to see “Valor de la Ley” (True Grit) in the theater next to my apartment. Agustín told me that it’s the same theater he used to go to when he was growing up here. Anyway, the movie was really good – I was afraid I wouldn’t understand much of it because I’d heard that the English version had a lot of really old Western dialogue and I didn’t know if it would translate well. It’s not quite the same seeing Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon but not hearing their voices. “Cisne Negro” (Black Swan) is in the theaters here now, and my roommates and I really want to go see that because none of us had a chance to go to it before we left the States.

I’ve gotten my first couple of homework assignments over the past few days. One of them (for my Phraseology class) is more like a research project so we have 2 weeks to do that one. Compared to my schedule in the US, my schedule here is really laid back. I actually have free time! And I’m really perfecting the art of doing nothing, haha!

Hope all is well with everyone! Love you all -

P.S. - My roommates and I went hiking over the weekend, so I'll be posting a blog/photos of that soon!

Old friends, new places.

On Saturday, Keyla, Ale, and I went on a daytrip to Santiago de la Ribera to visit my friend Alvaro, who I met last semester while he was studying at Nebraska Wesleyan. We got there around 9:30 and Alvaro and his friend David took us to the beach of the Mar Menor. The Mar Menor is a lagoon that is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a strip of land called La Manga (The Sleeve.) It’s a really popular place for swimming and sailing because the water stays really calm. Along La Manga there are buildings and restaurants. I can’t wait to come back when it’s a little warmer! We walked out on a boardwalk and took some pictures. The water is so clear and sparkly. We went walking along the water’s edge and I stuck my hand in the water – the first time I’ve ever touched the Mediterranean Sea! ¡Que emoción! I found some sweet seashells, and I was really happy that I managed to carry them around the rest of the day in my coat pocket without breaking them!

After spending about an hour at the Mar Menor, we started driving to Torrevieja, which is about a 35 minute drive. Once there, we started walking toward the beach. Here the water was much rougher, but the sand was so fine and soft. I could barely resist taking my shoes off. Then we sat at this little café and had a cerveza (yeah, it was only about noon, but when in Spain…)

After Torrevieja, we went back to a little town called San Pedro, where Alvaro’s parents live. We went to their house and his mother made lunch for us. I don’t even know where to begin describing it. It was the best food I’ve eaten in the 4 weeks I have here in Spain. First we had bread with ham and cheese and this salad made of seafood and lettuce, and then we had rice with chicken, and then later a fruit salad with oranges, kiwi, and persimmon. It was amazing, and his parents were very sweet and hospitable to us.

It was a wonderful day spent with wonderful people.

Back to school...

This week has been . . . Interesting? Frustrating? Trying my patience? All of the above. It was the first week of classes, and even though I spent about 6 or 7 hours of the previous week planning my courses, I was still running around the city like crazy, missing classes, having classes cancelled on me, and redoing my schedule every day (sometimes twice a day.) Here’s a little taste of my week:

Monday @ 11:00am – I took the bus to the other campus for Social Structure, found the classroom and sat outside and waited for about 30 minutes. I knew that classes wouldn’t typically start right on time, but at around 12:15 I started to wonder if something wasn’t right. So I checked the schedule on my computer and found out that I had missed the class by an hour. That was the only class I had on my (then) schedule for Mondays, so I just went home.

Tuesday @ 9:00am – I took the bus again to the other campus and waited outside the classroom of Spanish Language for Mediums of Social Communication. I met up with two other international students and we sat in the lobby and talked for about 15 minutes. After about 20 minutes after our class was supposed to start, we went to the information desk and asked if the professor was coming – the woman told us yes, that he would be here soon and to go wait in the classroom. About 5 minutes later a man came in and said, “Your professor for this class is on leave until March, but in the meantime you’ll be doing work on the online virtual campus.” Well, since I’m not officially registered in the system and won’t be for 3-4 more weeks, I can’t access the virtual campus. So I would be a month behind when that class started.

Tuesday @ 8:00pm – I went to Phraseology & Translation with a few people. It sounds boring, but it’s actually really interesting to me.

Wednesday @ 8:00am – Went (again) to the other campus to attend History of the Modern World. You guessed it – it was cancelled. When will I learn?

Wednesday @ 10:00am – (Back at the city campus) I tried to go to Syntax/Semantics of Spanish – cancelled.

Wednesday @ 7:00pm – Literature Theory – postponed.

Thursday @ 11:00 – Went to Applied Linguistics. It seemed really interesting and useful, so I put it in my schedule.

Friday @ 9:00 – Tried (again) to go to Syntax/Semantics. The professor never showed up, so about 45 minutes later the whole class started to leave.

Friday @ 11:00 – I went back to Applied Linguistics for the first day of lecture . . . and I realized that I was in waaaayyyyy over my head. During the break, I left, practically running.

Since then, I’ve sat down and talked to a few other international students. My friend Julie recommended a few classes to me, so I think I finally have a schedule set. Through this whole thing, I’ve tried to be flexible – things are bound to be disorganized during the first week. However, I’m really happy to have everything figured out – especially now that I won’t have to go to the other campus for any classes. I think it’s been a stressful week for a lot of people here. It’s all part of the experience, I suppose. :)

Tomorrow my roommates and I are going to visit my friend Alvaro in Santiago de la Ribera. A nice day trip after a long week.

Blogapolooza - Cartagena, España

Wow, I feel like this is a lot of blogging in a short period of time! But, I need to post about Cartagena before the details start to slip my mind –



We caught the bus at 10:15 and drove about 45 minutes south of Murcia to the port city of Cartagena. This city has a strong naval history and has been an important naval base in the country since the 16^th century. The first thing we did was go to the tourism office and they gave us a map and circled all the places that would be interesting (and recommended the places that didn’t charge entrance fees.) We went to the Castillo (castle) first and the view from up there was spectacular. It was really cool to see the ocean; as soon as I saw it, I was just dying to go down to the docks.

After the castle, we started walking down toward the harbor. We stopped to get lunch because we were all pretty hungry, and then we started walking around the city square and down by the water’s edge.

Being next to the Mediterranean was really overwhelming, but in a really good way. I think at that moment it really hit me that I am halfway across the world. There’s a whole ocean between myself and the place that I’ve spent my entire life. I don’t know; I’m still wrapping my mind around that. Haha! Anyway, my roommates and I went on a boat ride that took us around the harbor. There was a narration playing over the loud speakers during the trip, telling us about all of the buildings and things that we were passing by. It was warm in the sun and the wind was in my hair - I could have stayed on that boat forever. It was absolute perfection.

After getting back on dry land, we went to the ruins of the Roman amphitheatre. I, sadly, did not go into the museum. It cost 4€, and I needed bus fare to get back to Murcia, so I opted out. Dad, I can just hear you saying, “Oh, come on!” or something like that, but I promise you – I’ll go back and visit it before I leave.

Overall, it was a nice day trip. The thing that had the most lasting impression on me was the Mediterranean Sea. It completely took my breath away - I can’t wait to see it again.

Classic Gretchen...

I missed my first class today because I misread the schedule. I thought my class was at 12:00, but it was really at 11:00. Damn. Oh well - it was a nice morning to it was good to be out and about. I came back and went to buy groceries, ate lunch in the sunshine, and then took a nice nap. Not a bad day so far.

I’m double-checking my schedule for tomorrow. I think I have everything figured out right this time. Fingers crossed.

Hope everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl and the commercials/food/beer that come with it.

Let me be clear that I promise you, dear, a little more sunshine...

It’s finally starting to warm up here, which makes me a very happy girl. I still take my coat with my everywhere, but now I can take it off and warm up in the sun while I walk or sit in the plaza. Sorry to all the Nebraskans who are getting buried in snow right now. I’ve also been thinking that I need to keep my eye out for some sun block. As the whole world knows, I have a really fair complexion and I sunburn really easily. Back at home I usually have to wear SPF 50+ to keep from burning… as Aunt Mary Pat said once, “SPF 8!? We wear that to bed!”

I was talking to Claire on Facebook chat earlier and I was telling her that I get called “rubia” a lot. Rubia is Spanish for blonde, and blonde hair isn’t very common here. For example, in the market, the woman will ask me, “Te puedo ayudar, rubia?” (Can I help you, blondie?) I had one woman come up to me and touch my hair and ask me if it was naturally this color. Hmmmm, qué más? I’m still getting used to the whole “kiss when you greet” thing. Here they do a kiss on each cheek (always going to the left first!) when they meet a new person or when they meet up with friends. Personal space is so different here than in the U.S. People stroll down the street arm-in-arm and they stand really close together when they talk. It’s very sweet to me. When I see the little old ladies walking hand-in-hand and talking I can just tell that they’ve been friends their whole lives. It reminds me of Keely and me – we always hold hands when we’re out walking around. We’d fit right in here!

I was thinking earlier today that it’s been almost a full 2 months since I’ve been in class. I hope I haven’t gotten too used to having all of this free time! My classes start here tomorrow morning… actually, afternoon for me. As of right now, my only class on Mondays is from noon to 1:00. The classes I’m taking are Social Structure, Spanish Language for Mediums of Social Communication (I have just no idea what this is gonna be – it was under the Journalism major, which is in the School of Communication, so I’m hoping it counts for something!) Where was I…? I’m also taking History of the Modern World, Literature Theory & Comparative Literature, and Spanish Literature of the Middle Ages.

Over the weekend I went to a port city nearby named Cartagena. I'll post a seperate blog about that trip, though, because I want to include pictures. I also still need to post the photos from our tourist day, which was almost two weeks ago already... time is already flying by too quickly. All of that will be coming soon. :)

Gretchen's thoughts

A little commentary on the day-to-day activity that I’ve come to know –

1.       There is PDA everywhere. On a given day, I usually witness anywhere from 5 to 10 public displays of affection. They range from very subtle, like a light kiss on the cheek, to hot-and-heavy, a couple groping on the bus. I’ve also seen some there are just plain hilarious, like a walking make-out. Yeah, I saw it. I was worried they might accidentally walk into traffic. After seeing one PDA-fest, my roommate, who is in a relationship and desperately missing her boyfriend said, “Están comiendo pan en frente de los hambrientes.” Translation – They’re eating bread in front of the starving. :)

2.       There are dogs everywhere. It makes me want a puppy soooo bad! Most of them are on leashes, but I’ve seen some that just follow behind their owners. It’s actually very cute. Also, people do not pick up after their dogs, not matter if it’s in the street or the middle of a crowded sidewalk. You just have to watch where you’re walking. Not so cute.

3.       No one here can say my name. I get the strangest looks when I say it and whenever anyone has to read it off a piece of paper they always pause for like 7 seconds before giving it a try. Something about the “t-c-h” in a row must throw people off. My roommate Alejandra called me “Rachel” for like 4 days.

I’m still in the process of choosing my classes. The university is structured much, much differently here than at Nebraska Wesleyan. Here, students choose their major their first year and then follow a curriculum that has already been laid out for them. They rarely choose electives outside of their chosen field. As an international student, I get to pick and choose classes from different specialties, but it’s difficult because many of them overlap. The classes that I’m sure about are “Social Structure” and “Publicity and Mass Culture.” I’m also looking at taking a few literature classes, but so far the only ones that I can find that will fit into my schedule are “Literature of the Middle Ages” and “Hispanic-American Literature,” both of which seem interesting. I’m hesitant to take a lot of literature because I don’t want to get buried in reading and fall behind. I’m still looking, though, and there are a few days left to decide.

Nothing much else has been happening. It’s nice to be settling into a daily routine.  My language class finishes up this week; it’s been nice to get back into studying some grammar, but I’m always ready for class to be over at 1:30 because it gets kind of dense. I buy the local paper every few days and make my way through a few articles – I’m getting better! I also try to talk to at least 2-3 local people a day. Today, I talked to a woman at the bank when I was setting up my account – she asked me how long I had been here and told me that for only having been here for 2 weeks my Spanish was really good! :) I’m also thinking about joining the choir – it’s open to international students and it’s non-auditioned, so I think it’d be a good way to keep meeting people. I want Murcian friends, haha!

Wow, I didn’t mean for this post to get this long. More later!