3 weeks of classes done in Jumilla! After my first week commuting from Isabel's, I found a cute little apartment with two other roommates. The rent: 133 euros a month! Here's a photo of my bedroom, as well as the views of the mountains that surround the town. It's a pretty good setup! As quiet as the town is, I'm grateful to not be commuting an hour every day. Instead of waking
up early to drive an
hour, I sleep in and have a 3-minute commute to school! There are about 7 auxiliaries in Jumilla to my knowledge, all a variety of ages with different
backgrounds. I've enjoyed getting to know some of them, but I also find the auxes and I tend to agree that it would be great to be more a part of the community here. I just joined a gym and have started taking some exercise classes, so we'll see if anything comes of that! Until then, I'll enjoy my peaceful life at the foot of the Castillo de Jumilla.
On the tail end of their trip to Turkey and Greece, my parents joined me in Jumilla for a night before we drove to Madrid for the Oct 26-29 (my birthday!) weekend. Here are some photos of us wine tasting at their shockingly quaint Airbnb, along with my new Aux friend Annie joining us for tapas later that night! And of course, couldn't forget the paella.
I'm so fortunate I got to spend my birthday with not only my parents, but one of my best friends from high school, Valeria.
She's been living in Madrid for a couple of months, and I'm so grateful she's close (3-hour drive, but still). We had a great weekend eating yummy food, dancing, and living la vida Madrileña. I'd be lying if I didn't say a big part of me wishes I'd been placed in Madrid, but I'm making the most of being in Murcia. It was a bit of a complicated journey back to Jumilla, taking a combination of train travel and a car-sharing app called Bla Bla Car, but overall it went surprisingly smoothly. Enjoy some pics from Madrid below!
Halloweekend isn't much of a thing in Spain, but because they have Nov 1st off for All Saint's Day, I was able to head into Murcia to dress up and hit some discotecas! Honestly, I'm not sure how I wasn't exhausted from my weekend before in Madrid. I met up with Cass and William, two friends in the main city that I've been spending a good amount of time with. Cass even lets me stay at her place when I come into town, which is perfect because she lives a block away from the bus station! The morning after Halloween, we walked around town a little before my bus back to Jumilla. The city of Murcia feels a lot like a smaller version of Seville, with a lovely cathedral and old town, but a slightly drier version of Seville's river, the Guadalquivir.
I went to Murcia again this past weekend, and I got to meet Cass and William's friend Izzy. We checked out some new places, including a club in the bullfighting ring! And of course, we ended the night with kebabs. I guess technically started our day with kebabs, given we didn't get to bed until 7 am. I never understood what Spaniards were doing all that time they were out, but I understand a little better now. When you're spending time with people you enjoy, you purposefully try to live a little slower. Again, would it be nice to live closer to the main city instead of a pueblo an hour away? Absolutely. But I suspect that with time, I'll be forever grateful for my unique, niche experience here.
Until next time!