We're Halfway There!

#universidaddemurcia #bloodmeat #tolerance #respect #realcasino #tapas #familiademurcia #homestay #vineyard #granizado #cartagena

I have been at the Universidad de Murcia for about a week and a half, and I must say that I am getting more familiar with the city and am sad that I am already halfway through my trip.

On day two of our trip, we went on a tour of Murcia and the beautiful landmarks. The tour helped to demonstrate a couple of shining virtues of Murcia; tolerance and respect. We saw these virtues displayed in a piece of artwork at the Real Casino. Pictured on the left is a mother with two children above an archway in the casino. The story of the art piece is that the mother is feeding her child, and a hungry child who is not hers comes to her. She removes her own child from her breast to feed the foreign child. The story represents Murcia’s values to treat everyone like their own. These characteristics are demonstrated every day in Murcia. The local students have been unbelievably friendly, and the locals around town have been as well.

The first Saturday after our arrival, our group went out for tapas. We learned that going out to eat tapas is more about going out with friends and socializing and less about the food (though it was still delicious). The most interesting tapas we ate were the Montadito de Morcilla, which is a sandwich filled with a mixture of onions and gelatinous pork blood. It may not sound appetizing, but you shouldn’t knock it until you’ve tried it. My favorite tapas from that night are cabellitos, which translates to “little horse” but are actually perfectly seasoned and cooked jumbo shrimp. It was wonderful trying all of the unique tapas while getting to know the students who I would be spending the next three weeks with.

Fast forward almost a week to this last Friday, we took a trip to Jumilla, a rural town in Murcia, where we visited a local vineyard. They shared with us the process of how they make their wines, and in the museum we saw how their techniques have changed and evolved through time. We also enjoyed their delicious jams made from the green and red grapes from their vineyard. The vineyard also grew olive trees, and were served olive oil and balsamic vinegar over bread.

After our trip to the vineyard, we stopped for lunch. We enjoyed more tapas, new but just as delicious and fresh as the ones that we’d had the night our group went out that first weekend. We had grilled artichoke hearts with a carrot sauce, and pictured to the left are the toast with veggies and octopus! It was all as delicious as it looks.

The night after our trip to the vineyard, we left to our homestays. My host family consisted of a couple named Maria and Jose Manuel and their two year-old son Marcos, and that night we got tapas and ice cream near the Catedral.

On Saturday, we had a barbecue (where I had more of the tasty Morcilla!) and I met some of their friends, and we all talked about our travel experiences, Murcian and Spanish politics, and I also shared some information about the United States with them. Pictured to the left is Maria with Marcos, and their friends and I enjoying the barbecue!

On Sunday, we went to a beach in Cartagena, where I played with Marcos in the water and tried paella and a coffee drink called Asiaticos! To wrap up our weekend, we went back to the ice cream shop we had started at, where I tried another coffee beverage, this one called granizado de cafe.

Even though I have only spent a small amount of time in Murcia, I have gotten a taste of Spanish culture and family life, and feel excited and hopeful for the next half of this trip!