Living in Murcia, an experience of a lifetime

Hi! My name is Carla Guerreiro, I am 26 years old and 4 years ago I was an Erasmus student. I am Portuguese and in 2006, the year when the best days of my life began, I decided to do something different. So I went from being a simple student in Veterinary in Lisbon, to going on an adventure. “And where to go on my Erasmus year? ” was my first question. I was thinking of going to Barcelona, because at the end of the day who wouldn’t want to live there for a year? In the end, after the process of selecting a place to go, I went to Murcia. To be truthful: although I was right next to Spain I had never heard of this city... I had no idea where it was on the map of Spain. I looked on the Internet and the first thing that I saw that I liked, was that it was in the south and not far from the Mediterranean.

When I arrived in Murcia, I found a lot of other Erasmus students, I signed up for the language course to learn Spanish and there I met people who today I would consider lifelong friends. One of them, who I will never forget, is Italian, a girl named Mara who was studying in Bologna. In my flat I lived with a girl from Germany, perhaps one of the people I have most enjoyed meeting in my life. The first few days were truly days of the unknown, of adventure and partying… I met Portuguese, Germans, Italians, French, South Americans and of course Spaniards… Parties and more parties, everyday there was an excuse for us to go to wherever. It didn’t last long and I realised that I now had true Erasmus friends, those who I experienced all of this adventure with.

Murcia, in my opinion, is one of the best cities in the world to go for your Erasmus year. It’s small so you can be wherever you want in 10 minutes, you will always see people you know in the street and always with a smile and a friendly word… “come on, let’s go and party’ is one that I can assure you you’ll hear. The bars and clubs are not very big so you will always find a friend there. There’s Badulake, where all the Erasmus students go to have free drinks on Wednesdays, Menos Cuarto where you can have something to eat or drink at the end of the afternoon, La clave, Cheche, Código, Boutique… and many more in the Atalayas area… overall, there are a wide variety of places to go and ones where you can go on a true night out.

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There are not just parties, there is also culture: the theatre Romeo (in the centre and with a lot of shows), the cinema (Filmoteca de Murcia), museums with free entry, fairs… there is also a medieval market… in all, Murcia doesn’t lack places to go at the weekend. When the nice weather begins, in less than an hour you can be at the beach, the beaches in La Manga del Mar Menor are quite nice and the water is quite warm.

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Today in Portugal, working my way through the demands of life and with an open mind to the world, I dare to say that, there in that unknown city, I was for a year, one of the happiest people in the world. Friends that I will never forget, memories at every corner, there in that city where the small but beautiful river passes through, I was sure that I was happy. Likewise, I met someone who has filled a place in my heart, who I fell in love with. During those incomparable moments in life everything had so much meaning, so much significance that will be difficult to experience again.

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The place where everything happens, including the time that goes so fast, in the place I almost lost on the map but where I found people who will not compare to anyone else. Do an Erasmus year and do it in Murcia, open yourself up to the world, let people know and meet people… you are going to see that when you open your eyes you will have had one of the best experiences of your life.

It happened to me, so why not to you?

Carla