Almeria

After I got back to the Tourism School from my field trip, I headed to the bus station and bought a one-way ticket to Almeria.

One of my best friends from State, Bobby (Nighthawk), is studying abroad there and I finally got to visit!

Yesterday, Nighthawk showed me around the city. Our first stop was the fanciest Mercadona, the same grocery store I frequent in Murcia, but this one was built inside an old train station so it was two stories tall!

We bought just enough food to last us through Tuesday morning when I go home to Murcia--plus some Spanish Edition M&Ms because I couldn't resist.

They have the coolest trees in Almeria--they're all groomed to be circular!

And thus, they have cool shadows.

It's been so windy here that it's almost hard to walk!

 We put on some warm clothes and set out to brave a windy day in Almeria. We found a cool photography museum and spent some time learning about Spanish history. We found an interesting bar and vintage store (they were attached) that Bobby had been looking for since the beginning. We meant to order some tea and coffee, but their machine was broken.

Inside the vintage bar; intersting Medusa-esque painting

Inside the photography museum

Tiles on the ground outside the photography museum

I enjoyed the interesting landscaping, pretty architecture, and lots of roses! Nighthawk thought I was weird for taking so many pictures of the flowers--I decided that some men just don't understand the beauty and wonderfulness of flowers (also, Ricky).

Nope, not beautiful at all

Eww, what a nasty rose!

This is Almeria's symbol. NH said it has something to do with a hieroglyph found in a cave.

Lots of shops along this street. Here's another view of the cool trees!

Painting outside the Russian shop; you can see the Almeria guy poking out.

At night, we met up with a few of Bobby's friends for tapas at Tio Tom's. If you bought a drink, it came with a free tapa. The tapas were like full meals! I got two glasses of rose wine, so it came with two tapas. The first one was a huge, loaded baked potato. The second was "Superpollo" a slab of chicken, a fried egg, bread, and a mini-salad.

Believe it or not, Almeria is actually a beach town! It's just been freezing and windy every day..

Thought this was cute: "I am an orange, planted by...Carmen Loipez Ruiz" in front of an orange tree!

Yup, that's a marijuana grow shop...No worries, it was closed!

Nighthawk in front of the City Museum

Me with Bobby's friend Katie as we explored Almeria's nightlife scene

Just me and my sunburnt BFF

Feria del Turismo

Yesterday I took my first school field trip in Spain! It was an optional field trip organized through the Tourism School, so naturally we went to the Turismur Tourism Fair.

I think Sandy likes my weird poses

The fair, about a forty-minute bus from campus, was totally paid for by the school (bus ticket and admission). The idea behind the fair is to showcase what tourism opportunities are available throughout the Region of Murcia.

Credit: http://www.ifepaweb.es/blog/?p=2078

Each small city or pueblo in Murcia has its own booth set up with pamphlets, video presentations, and representatives there to answer any questions. There was a huge section of mobile homes and cars on display for consumers. I noticed that there were a lot of rural and adventure tourism "vendors" showing off their offers of spelunking, rafting, senderismo or hiking, mountain climbing, canoeing/kayaking, etc.

Sandy and me chillin' inside a motor-home

It made me really want to get out and do some adventure tourism before I go home in less than two months! It's really getting down to the wire, so I made a mini bucket list of ideas from the fair, just to keep me on track.

• camping
• rafting
• hiking (senderismo) 
• cueva sima de la Serreta (Cieza)--planned for Saturday 
• Mula (my classmate Vero's pueblo)--planned for Friday
• Museo Salzillo, by the bus station in Murcia
• Mueseo de la Ciudad (Murcia City Museum) 
• Sierra Espuña (mountain range/national park)
• a cementary? They look really cool, like the above-ground ones in New Orleans

I was very happy that Sandy introduced me to Vero, a girl in our tourism classes--it was nice to meet a new friend and practice my español!

Mari recommended that we try a "picardia," one of the sweets famous from her pueblo of Abaran. It looked like a fried egg, but it tasted like caramel! 

It's got a little nut inside!

Marta, Sandy, Vero and me

Vero, Sandy, and me :)

Vero and me inside a motor-home!

Loving Sandy in front of Fortuna's pueblo booth.

Any soccer fans out there?

I just made an interesting discovery about the massive rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona, here in España.

So my professor walks up to ME at the beginning of the class, essentially asking "Do you know why class is ending early today?"

My answer: "Porque queremos?" "Because we want to?"

His answer: "Porque esta noche hay un partido de fútbol" "Obviously there is a soccer game tonight, stupid american guiri"

PS. 'Guiri' means foreigner/tourist/obviously-not-Spanish

"Breaking the rules of fashion since the dawn of time"
Credit: http://lacomunidad.elpais.com/a-casanova/2011/5/11/guiri

Okay, so not really that harsh... but that's how it felt when my face burned with redness and "damn-I-should've-thought-about-that"-ness. (He was actually just trying to be nice and explain it to me).

    Moral of the story, fútbol is very important here in Spain, important enough to end class halfway through. He continued to explain to me that Real Madrid and Barcelona have a very important, heated rivalry

--okay, okay I already knew that! Don't make me look like too much of a noob!

After a fervent lecture on the Desaparecidos and genocide of Argentina, I asked my classmate Fran if the majority of Murcianos favor Barcelona. I've seen a lot of advertising by Barcelona, but not much from Real Madrid. This weekend when we watched the Barca-Madrid game in a busy restaurant, the vast majority of patrons cheered for Barcelona.

My favorite parts of soccer are the celebrations, AKA man-hugs and butt-slaps.
Credit: http://marioschumacher.blogspot.com.es/2011/04/el-fc-barcelona-y-real-madrid-se.html

Fran set me straight. He explained that there's no 'vast majority' in Murcia, leaning towards one team or the other. Interestingly, Barcelona tends to be favored by the less-moneyed folks, generally popular in pueblos and with the working class. He cautioned that this is how it is with his pueblo and in general but obviously is not always the case. I thought it was hilarious when he told me to ask a gypsy--he said they will always cheer for Barca!

When I asked him why Barcelona seemed to be favored by the less-wealthy, he didn't seem to know. I wonder if they somehow represent "the people" better in some regions...?

PS. throughout this blog post, I have heard noisemakers, whistles and firecrackers go off, cars honk repeatedly and "GOLLLLLLL!!!!" screamed from the adjacent apartments and streets below.

I did not take this photo, but I thought it seemed fitting. I found it here: http://honestlywtf.com/rarebirds/gol

El Pueblito de Abaran

Mari, Sandy, Kayla and me after a yummy chocolate crepe! (Before leaving Murcia)

Today, I took a wonderful daytrip to Abarán, a small town about an hour's bus ride from Murcia. My classmate Mari was very excited to show Sandy, Kayla and me around her pueblo.

I have noticed that many Spaniards have an immense sense of pride about where they're from. My landlady constantly presents me with ideas for where to eat and explore around Murcia, cab drivers and cashiers have been more than willing to tell us which sites to see, and many of my classmates talk about their small towns as if they were glamorous tourist destinations, often referring to attractions as "precioso!"

Me 'n Kayla on the bus to Abaran

Finally in Abaran!

Upon arrival in the pueblo, our first stop was a convenience store owned by Mari's grandfather. He was friendly, so I decided to buy something. I sifted through the magazines and opted for a Cosmo. The Cosmo is not always sold by itself like in the States, but often comes in a pack: a few things attached to a big, square piece of cardboard and wrapped in saran wrap. For only €3,50 I got a pretty thick Cosmo, a supplement Cosmo Beauty issue, and a full-length DVD of Una Pareja de Tres (Marley & Me) in Spanish and English. When I later paged through my magazines, I found that they had wayyy less advertisements! I wonder if there are more subtle advertisements (make-up & clothes in articles, that don't look like ads)? 

There were two birds in hanging cages outside the store. Their names are Pimpón (ping-pong) and Happy!

Then it was just about lunchtime, so Mari gave us a few options and we decided on a Chinese restaurant. It's a cuisine that I have so rarely indulged in while in Spain (I've heard that the Chinese restaurants are hit-or-miss in Murcia). This place, however, was good and cheap! We split two bowls of mixed rice and veggies, and each got a coke, for €3 per person. 

Kayla with our food. Yum!

I did get to meet Mari's cobaya or, guinea pig!

 After a tasty lunch, Mari invited us inside her apartment where she lives with her parents and sixteen-year-old sister. When we met her mother, she offered us a variety of drinks and snacks, but we settled on tea (of course, after we politely declined several times). Sandy, Kayla, Mari and I chatted with her mom and sister over red tea and Kit-Kats. I wish I had taken a picture! They were so sweet and really nice to talk to. We discussed lots of cultural differences in schooling, our countries' respective geographical organization/ city-planning, festivals, television, language, and ages to drive, drink, and attend university. 

Done with lunch and tea, we grabbed Mari's sister and set out to explore Abarán. We climbed and descended several steep streets in order to reach the Ermita (hermitage) and beautiful view of the land. Mari assured us that these streets were "nothing" and that she was sparing us from the truly steep ones!

 There was a little below-ground convenience store set up beneath the church. We took full advantage of the granizados de limon, basically lemon slushies.

Sandy 'n Me at the overlook

Kayla and me with our granizados

I love seeing new places :)

 Our next stop was one of the Norias of Abaran, waterwheels that the town is famous for. According to Wikipedia, Abaran has four of the seven Norias that still function in the region of Murcia and the Noria Grande is the largest functioning waterwheel in Europe!

We had just enough time left to wander along the river Rio Segura, coincidentally the same river that runs through Murcia and right past the Tourism School!

I begged Mari to show us some nature since I've been so deprived of it, living in a city for the past few months. Rio Segura sparkled in the afternoon sunlight and the sky was just the clearest, perfect blue. The river was lined with little white and yellow daisies, golden wheat that gently swayed with the breeze, and bright red poppies that really popped out from the surrounding earth tones. I love flowers (especially poppies), so I really enjoyed our walk. No wonder Sandy calls me "Flor!"

I love poppies because they are so silky and fragile,
but they still really pop with color

Sunshine sparkling on the Rio Segura

Golden wheat swaying in the breeze

Incredible blue sky

Eucalyptus trees' leaves are green on top and white on the bottom.
It looks sort of mystical when they blow in the wind!

Sandy, me and Mari on a mini-pier

A wide, shallow section of the river--there's a little pier for fishing