A place to live!!

On Monday we went to Archena to try and find a place to live.  I have received several emails and posts from people in the program looking for a roommate but I wanted to at least attempt to find some local roomies.  So Andres, his mother Sylvana and I all went to Murcia and we parked our rental car and started to walk towards the Cathedral because I had been told it was a nicer neighborhood than what I would find closer to the bus station that I would be utilizing to get to Archena in the mornings. 

A phone is essential to an apartment search so that was the first step.   We went to Movistar which is a name I have seen constantly since arriving in Spain and while in there I decided that this was sort of like the Time Warner Cable of Spain.  Widely available, completely overpriced.  Don’t worry, those of you who knew me in San Marcos know that I prefer companies like Grande. :D  So we went to the Phone House which has a nice conglomerate of companies and I got a cheapie little phone on a prepay plan with YoiGo.   Not bad, but don’t be surprised when all of the plans are more expensive than the states. 

Now, phone in hand, we start walking the walk and calling places to find out what’s available.  It was so frustrating!  My Spanish isn’t that great, I can understand a lot but not everything and being able to spit out what I’m trying to say is really difficult, especially when the person on the other line is losing patience.  Then you add a cheap phone as the medium and I just wanted to throw my hands up and cry.  I could have used a locator, but my good friend Cassie, who lived here last year, told me that it costs 100-200 euros!!  No way José, I’m way too frugal for that.  Besides, I should be practicing my Spanish shouldn’t I?  But after several calls to “se alquila” signs hanging on balconies I realized I had a problem.  Most of these people wanted to rent out the entire floor or “el piso” not just one room.   So we decided to try plan B.  We went to the very close by campus and started looking for roommate signs.  We had much more luck here, though I was still battling the language barrier.  After looking at a couple of places that were do-able but not really what I wanted for some reason we were standing in front of a sign and we had a little godsend. 

We had just called this number and I hung up and told Andres and Sylvana that it was a no go and this older woman with for rent notices in her hand stopped and asked us if we were looking for a room.  Well, yes, as a matter of fact we are!  In the states I might have hesitated to follow someone right then and there but after the last 5 hours that I’d spent struggling there wasn’t even a seconds hesitation.  This was obviously going to be a blessing in disguise.  Andres even called it.  So we’re walking with this lady and she’s asking about us and telling me about the rooms that she has and how much they are and what’s included.  She shows us her posts and I’m listening to her and I’ve never felt so religious as I did in that moment.  This lady was very sweet, friendly, and she was speaking at a pace that I could truly understand!  YES!!!!!!  She has a piso that she rents out and then she also is trying to rent out 2 rooms at her own place and so we looked at hers first and I started to have my doubts.  I really, really wanted to live with people my own age.  She seemed exceptionally easy to live with, it just wasn’t the environment that I wanted.  I think I’ve lived too long without parents (since I was 18) to start again.  But then we went to her other piso. 

And now I have a place to live!  (Pictures later, I'm having camera issues)

Pilar, the sweet older lady who found us is my new landlord.  I’ve met one of my roommates, Jake, who is from England (don’t worry, he avoided speaking to me in English even when I tried to speak to him in English) and the other is from the states and her name is Emily, but I have yet to meet her, she’s out of town right now.  The rent for the room is a little steep and more than I originally wanted to pay.  We tried to talk Pilar down a bit but she felt that it would be unfair when the other two roomies were paying that amount already.  I felt some real sympathy here because I agree that equality is essential but we got creative.  I will now be giving English lessons to Pilar and possibly spending some time with her adorable little dog Tobi who I’m already completely pulled in by (Don’t worry Zinc, you’ll always be the love of my life!). 

There are 3 things that make this room worth the extra buck: 

1.     Pilar doesn’t mind if Andres stays for the next month!  (This was a deal breaker at other places we looked at)

2.     It’s bigger than most rooms we looked at.

3.     I have two twin size beds!!!!!!!!!  So come on ladies and gentlemen, take advantage of me and come see me!   Oh, and they’re pretty comfortable which seems to be a rare and beautiful thing around here.  J

Toledo y el Metro

We went to Toledo for a day and when you go to Toledo you can either take the AVE for 18 euros round trip, or you can take the metro and then the bus.  We decided that we wanted to save a little money and to learn the Metro system.  It's confusing. :P  I live in Texas so a metro system is completely foreign to me, especially underground, but I used to go to San Diego all the time and I've ridden the tram and buses in Puerto Rico so public transportation isn't really scary for me anymore, I know that there's a learning curve, but I can usually figure it out.  

There are different levels.  This is the key to the entire idea.  Unfortunately for us, no one felt the need to explain that.  So after a lot of confusion and a lot of asking, we finally discovered this important bit of information.  So the way it works is that you go underground, you buy your ticket, and then you go to the train.  The first level is one train.  If that's the line that you're looking for then all you have to do is make sure that you're on the right side.  Being on the correct side is easier than it seems.  The lines are labeled according to the last stops and on all the walls are the all the stops that the line is going to make, so on one side they have all the stops that the line is going to hit in that direction and on the other side there are the stops in that direction.  Are you still with me?  Now, if that's not the line that you wanted, or like us, you have to go from line 3 to line 6, you have to go further underground.  That idea might be common sense for people who grew up around a subway, but for me, a little texas girl, this was quite the lightbulb.  

http://www.viajesok.com/conoce-la-ruta-de-los-museos-gracias-al-metro-de-madrid.html

But alas, it was most definitely worth it.  When I can get some pictures for you I'll tell you all about Toledo, the most breathtakingly awesome town ever!  The cathedral, the walls, the views, the roads, all of it, absolutely mind-blowing if like me, you are fascinated by old things. 

Estamos aquí!

Well, here we are, in Madrid.  There's so much to tell you that I hardly know where to start.  My general impression is that 3 days is most definitely not enough time to explore Madrid, I feel like we only really got a taste of all that it can be.

I will say that it's pretty expensive here, but one should keep in mind that I'm extremely frugal, not to mention on a tight budget.  What everyone says about people looking nice is so true.  I have a huge weakness for shoes, I love to look at them, wear them, buy them; they're my accessory of choice.  Apparently, they are for the Spanish as well, because the majority of people have cute looking shoes.  I've mostly seen flats and sandals, but I almost feel grungy in my brand new Vans which lack the detail that theirs have.

Their excellent taste doesn't stop at their feet either.  In fact, everyone seems to just be generally attractive.  An overweight person is pretty rare and the ones that I do see look like tourists.  I'm wondering how different my perspective will be once I get out of Madrid.  It's very difficult to know who's a tourist and who's a local and I'm willing to bet that what I think that ratio is and what it actually is are pretty different.

The second day that we were here we went on a free walking tour and there were people from Italy, Argentina, Brazil, the United Kingdom and then of course us, the Americans.  What a variety!  We saw so many amazing things too.  They have huge, beautiful parks, the majority of the building are old and remodeled, and the amount of people on feet warms my heart.

This is the symbol of Madrid, a bear eating a rare tree called "Madroño".  We saw a live one too, it has little berries on it that our tour guide said are edible once they turn red.  

We have also gone to the Museo del Prado.  We went during the hours when admission was free and therefore didn't have a lot of time, but we were able to see some pretty amazing pieces and realize that we didn't even come close to seeing the entire collection. (you're not allowed to take pictures, sorry!)

I just got here and I'm already behind on blogging, but I don't have time to finish.  Next time I'll tell you about Toledo, the Metro and maybe even the flamenco that we're going to go see....right now. :P

Hasta luego....

Menos de 24 horas!

Less than 24 hours now.  I've been doing last minute clerical issues all day, changing addresses, paying last minute bills, trying to collect my mail from the post office (unsuccessful), switching around some cash and getting last minute purchases.

I packed yesterday and was struggling to downsize my wardrobe at all.  It takes up the bulk of my bags, but I worked so hard to build a nice, warm and professional selection in the spring that I just can't justify abandoning a lot of it.

My biggest bag actually has a lot of space but is already dangerously close to the overweight mark.  I'm bringing 4 bags.  2 checked bags, one of which I have to pay a $50 fee for, 1 carry-on and 1 "personal item".  I'm wearing my long, winter wool coat to preserve space.  It'll make a good blanket on the plane, but it's going to be miserable carrying it around, especially as we leave the 100 degree weather in San Antonio, TX.

Remember that I'm flying out over 2 weeks early so that my boyfriend Andres, his mother Sylvana and I may explore before I get down to business and so that I have enough time to find a place to live.

I just received an email from one of the teachers that I will be working with.  Her name is Loli and she told me that my first day would be October 3rd at 9am.

So, goodbye, until soon.  The nerves haven't really hit me yet, but I'll let you know once I'm there.

Diciendo Adios!

One week from today I will be in Spain!!!!!  So this week I have been driving all over Texas to say Goodbye to my family.  I'm halfway done tonight.  It has been a goodbye tour through north and east Texas that has been blessed with a surprisingly mild temperatures of 90˚F and almost 60˚F at night; unbelievably pleasant!  I'll have pictures and more later, but be patient with me, the next couple weeks will be pretty low on down time. :)

Hasta Luego....