2nd Semester and a trip to SALAMANCA!

Well it's been ages since I last posted an article and I feel very guilty about that. I've been finding it very difficult to find the time to do things for myself here in Murcia that are non-university related and when it's time to relax, it's not time to write articles :P Anyway, despite the moody tone of that last sentence, I'm really enjoying my second semester at uni here in Spain. Now that we're into March the weather has started to significantly improve and we're now into the 20 degree territory...happy days! 

Being home for Christmas was fantastic. Seeing my friends and family again after many months was a great help although I was lucky to have had a couple of visits from friends during the first semester. Glasgow was all lit up with Christmas lights and this year I managed to make a trip to George Square to take a ride on the ferris wheel. I'd love to say the cold was a welcome break but I would be lying, I'll definitely miss the good weather when I leave Murcia. 

Over the past few weeks I've been juggling university work with parties and trips. I've been to London and Salamanca and this weekend I'm off to a town called Elche, which is next to Alicante in the southeast of Spain, to have a guided tour and go ice skating! Such fun! 

The trip to Salamanca was something I will never forget. The city itself is beautiful and there are hundreds of choices for food, drink and entertainment. The local gastronomy is excellent and, for the most part, very cheap. One day we had a deal for 3 tapas dishes and a drink (beer, wine, water) for 4 euros (picture below). You can't beat that, can you? 

The reason for the trip was to celebrate 25 years of Erasmus (Click here for a news report on the event

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC2iTX3UzHQ) and over 1000 erasmus students from all over Spain participated in the event. We did tours of the city, ate, drank, partied, competed with other cities in various games, did a flash mob in the Plaza Mayor (see video) and had a Gala dinner with music and dancing with all of the students gathered in one hall. I am so glad I went on the trip organised by the local ESN Murcia group (Erasmus Student Network) and I would definitely recommend a visit to Salamanca to anyone, young or old. 

Pre-Erasmus Blues

I thought I would take a break from all the studying for the looming exams to talk a bit about this strange time when you've finished classes at Uni, but still have exams and a summer holiday before you get to leave for your year abroad. Unless you are one of those lucky people that has enough money to spend the whole summer in the place you're going to be for a year, I think this time can be very frustrating. 

So you've heard about the 'Post-Erasmus Blues' right? This phenomenon that everyone seems to experience after coming back home from the best year of their life. Well, I've been speaking to some friends who are also doing Erasmus 2011-2012, and the general consensus seems to be... meh! Nobody can be bothered with studying for their exams as they just want it to be summer so they can start arranging things for going abroad. The fact that we have horrible exams just now, coupled with the not-so-summery weather and the apprehension about the coming year, seems to be making us all feel like there's a big cloud hanging over us. That's one of the reasons why I picked such a beautiful scene for the picture to this article. There's this dismal storm cloud filled with worries drifting over us, but we know that once it lifts, the sun will come out and everything will be fine. I feel like we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and we're all in such a rush to get there, that we're not really considering the possibility that we'll fail our university exams and have no Erasmus grant to support us! 

Nobody warned us about this in the meetings! I knew I would have worries about going away but I feel like I need to get things sorted NOW! A flat in Spain, money, a whole new wardrobe, a camera etc. In this case it's actually a shame that the Spanish are so relaxed about things like flat-hunting, because it's such a big step for us. Being British, I think that I want to have things very organised and secure in advance so that I can enjoy my year. But the Spanish 'mañana' attitude seems to tell them that you'll find a flat in 2 days, BING BANG BOOM you're sorted. I wish I were so relaxed about it!

 I'm also extremely glad that we live in a time of Skype where we can easily keep in face-to-face contact with friends and family both at home and in various European countries. That fact is giving me a bit of reassurance as I know that if and when I miss people, they are just a click away. I'll no doubt post another article once my exams are done. Cannot wait =D xox