The end of my first full month

It has been very busy since I last wrote, and a lot has happened in the interim, so I will try to give you a brief overview of an average weekday and then tell you about some of the fun things I have done.

An average day

I start my first lecture at the University at 09:30; Análisis Industrial y Medioambiental, and then I have a half hour break at 10:30 for "almuerzo". I do not usually bring anything to eat during this break, so I just go to the cafeteria with my friends, who might have a small sandwich or a snack which is a bit like a breadstick, but flatter and nicer, with sunflower seeds in the dough. At 11:00 we go to the second lecture which is Ciencias de las Materiales. I am very lucky because I am quite enjoying the courses themselves, and I will have to do an hour of each almost every day until Christmas. I am lucky that both of the lecturers speak relatively clearly, although one of them does talk really quietly so I have to focus very carefully on what he is saying. My friends are quick to make sure I have understood if something really important (like the exam) is mentioned!

After this I go to the lab with Paula, who is, luckily, in both of my classes and with the same research group for her final year project. In the lab I just get on with my work, until about 18:30, stopping for a lunch break from around 14:00 till 15:00.

With Paula

When I leave the lab I go back home to my flat where I cook dinner and chat with my housemates about our days and other topics like education and world problems. Having such a large diversity of nations represented with only five people in the house means there are often a lot of different points of view which makes most conversations more interesting. We do always speak Spanish to each other, unless there is a word we are really struggling to remember or describe, and then we look it up. I have a list on my phone of random vocabulary that I have picked up.

After dinner I might speak to my friends and family via Skype and by then it is quite late and I have to go to bed.

Weekend activities

In the first weekend Meike invited me to go on a walking tour of Valencia. This was free, but everyone gave tips at the end because it was so good! The old city is full of interesting history and the architecture is stunning.

This is a picture inside the Mercado Central, I was trying to show how big it is, but this is not even all of it. It extends really far to the right, with all the fresh fish in a wing at the side.

About as fresh as you can get - these are live eels for sale.

This is our tour guide showing us the roots that are key to a Valencian drink "Horchata", which is like almond or soy milk. It is made by soaking the chufa nuts and then blitzing them with more water, this mixture is strained and sweetened with sugar. It is traditionally served with fartons, which are a sort of long bread stick, a bit like a brioche.

The entrance to a house that was owned by a very wealthy family the two men either side of the door symbolise the two rivers around Valencia. The Virgin Mary above the door was revolutionary...literally. She spun around, so when the members of the family were in the house, she faced inwards to look over and protect them, and when they were out of the house, she faced the street, to ensure their safety whilst going about their business.

When an architect's team was digging to build foundations, they discovered the remains of the Roman city. Being a good and honest architect, he reported it, and now this shallow, glass-bottomed pool means anyone can look straight down onto history. It also reflects the modern buildings around it beautifully.

Plaza de la virgen - The main square where our tour started and finished. The Church behind the tree has a large Star of David over the entrance, because wealthy Jews helped fund the building of the church, and this was what they requested in exchange for the money.

The next Friday was a day off, and I was lucky enough to be invited to go on a trip to the mountains with some people in my lab group. After a two hour drive, we were in a small Spa town called Montanejos, and we went for a walk along the river. It was honestly breathtakingly beautiful and my photos don't do it justice. The river water was an amazing clear turquoise-green, and there were lots of people swimming. We turned up onto a mountainous track and walked until we couldn't go any further. One thing I noticed was how fresh and delicious it all smelled - there was rosemary growing all over the place. I wish I could have picked some like other hikers were doing, but it wasn't the easiest thing to transport, so unfortunately I didn't get any. We went and had lunch by the river before wandering around the town and going for a coffee. Then we got back in the car and had an hour-long drive to a small city called Onda.We went up to the castle, which had some really stunning views, and probably some fantastic history, but we didn't stop in the dingy museum for long.

The walk down to the river

The view across the river. This photo is not good enough to capture the beauty of the landscape.

Fish swimming in the clear river

The "dead end" where the path hit the river and we had to turn back.

The view of the castle from the road.

The view from the castle of the town below

After that weekend I had my first proper week, when I started lectures. On the Friday evening, my supervisor invited me to join him and some others from the lab. At about 22:30, everyone decided it was time to eat. So we went to a restaurant and ordered some tapas...

On the left is "sepia" - cuttlefish, which was delicious and delicate, on the right is "morro" - fried pig snout, it tasted fine, just like very fatty pork crackling, but still had some hairs in it, which put me off having more than one piece!

The next day I went to the Mercado Central on my own, because I love anything to do with good, fresh food. It was also a good opportunity to practise my Spanish with people who did not know that I am English, and I am pleased to say that, in general, it went well.

The view into the river bed garden which passes under the bridge leading into the old city.

After another full week of a normal university timetable, I was invited to a party on the Friday. The way the Spanish do parties is very different from the British. We met at a tram stop at 21:00, and went to buy some provisions for the party. At about 22:00, we went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. The price for three savoury dishes plus a small dessert of ice cream, and a coffee was 6€. I was astounded, but then again, I was also shocked that the sweet and sour sauce they placed on the table had a tiny fly in it...
We finished eating dinner at midnight, and then went to the house, where there was a group of people who were friends of the other housemates in the flat. I had a good time talking to people, although a lot of it was in English, because there were lots of Erasmus students from various countries who are not very proficient in Spanish. One girl from Germany said she thought she would be fine coming to Spain with a good level of English, and she was quite shocked at how few Spaniards speak a high level of English. This all goes to show how much English is taken for granted as a global language, but it just is not the case. It is a good demonstration of why we need to have more language classes in schools, and understand that the world is far more accessible when we speak to the natives in their own language!
I left the party at 03:00, and I went home to bed, because I was exhausted, but for others, it was just the beginning.

Extra

Last week I received an email asking if I would be interested in giving private English tutorials. To cut a long story short, I had an informal interview with the parents of 12 year old twins. The meeting went really well, so next Tuesday I am going to meet the twins and we will see how the session goes. The tutees have been told that I do not speak any Spanish, so I will have to pretend that I cannot understand them if they try to communicate with me in Spanish.


I am finishing my sixth week here in Spain and I think I am settling in quite well, considering how different everything is. The routine of my week is definitely helping in that respect. My next blog post will probably not be as long, because fewer things will be brand new, so it will probably just be all in one.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my first month in Spain. Here are some other photos:

This is the best ham in Spain, apparently. It comes from the village of my Spanish housemate, and I have to say, it is really delicious.

Paellera - We had a chemistry Erasmus student talk. Students who had gone away last year and returned gave presentations about their research projects, and we all had paella afterwards. The dish must have been at least a metre across.

Vicky, who does the same classes as me, made these "cake pops" they are simply Oreos, crushed and mixed with cream cheese until you have a kind of dough that you can roll into balls. They were so good!