Bye, bye Teatinos, hello piso living!

I have made new moves in my life…literally. I moved out of the dorms at the beginning of this month and now I am living in a beautiful piso (apartment). Although it was fine living in the residence halls, I moved out for several reasons. But first, let me tell you a little about my life when I lived in the dorm.

The residence hall is super nice and quite a modern looking place. They have some 200 students living there. One thing I really liked about living there was spending time with my friends at mealtime. I met two wonderful ladies Ana and Fabiola, exchange students from Mexico. When I met them we clicked instantly. Although I had been here since January, they only arrived mid to the end of February right before the start of classes. I did my best to help them get oriented in the dorms and in any other way that I could. Everytime we are with each other we just laugh and have a great time. Fabiola, aka Faa or Fabby is young, but so much fun. She has a cool get-along-with-anyone type of personality. Ana is super fun too. Her and I have the most interesting conversations. I feel like Ana and I have become close and I really feel comfortable around her. So meal times with these two were always a blast. The luxury I had while living in the dorms was that they fed us three meals a day, buffet style. They also wash your sheets once a week and also have a cleaning lady come push around the dirt in your room with a broom every afternoon.

On the flip side, there were many things I discovered I didn’t like. First of all it was really expensive. And I think this was my number one reason for moving out. I had always considered the cost of me living there even since I was back in the States, but it was the only place we knew of. Our study abroad director knew the director of the residence hall and so recommended the place to us. After all, you cannot properly apartment-shop from across the Atlantic and without ending up living in dump or con gente loca (with crazy people). I just figured I would come to Málaga, stay in the dorms for a while until I could find something that I liked, and a little less expensive. Here, the majority of Erasmus student as well as others from the States rent shared pisos. (Ok, I should say everyone except the GSU students). And it’s more affordable that way. 

One day when I felt myself getting too comfortable in the “luxury” of the dorms I had to give myself a wake up call. I had to reconsider my personal goals in being here. One of my biggest goals is to travel. I mean, I plan to travel-up-a-storm throughout Spain and Europe while I am here. Although I had the money for the dorms, I asked myself…why am I giving the dorms money that I could use to travel even more? I didn’t want to get home and think…"hmm what did I do with all that money? I spent it on dorm rent." Hello! That's a negative. Teljer is not that crazy. Plus, I wanted the freedom to go shopping or go out whenever I wanted to without having to think about the money. Back in the States I work so hard and I keep myself on a strict budge to save money. I really didn’t want to do that here while in Spain. I wanted to be free…financially. No penny pinching here! I want my cake and you better believe I'm eating it too!

Although lunch and dinner time were some of my favorite times at the dorms, at the same time the controlling schedule was one of my least favorite things. That is, meals are at a set time and if you’re not there, you don’t eat. Huh? And I’ve already pre-paid? I don’t think so. I really felt restricted with this. I couldn’t eat when I wanted to. There would be times when I would eat when I wasn't hungry or overeat (not good for the figure) or others where I would be starving while having to wait for the 9:45p.m dinner (when I had lunch at 1:45p.m) or at least the 5:00p.m merienda Mon-Thurs. Also, I might be at school and someone might invite me to go to the library with them during the day or to tomar un café, and my response would most likely be “um…I have to get back to the dorms because its lunch time and I don’t want to miss it.” It would always suck when someone would invite me out for dinner too. I would feel guilty about having already paid all that money to live in the dorms (that included my meals) and then have to pay again for dinner. I did actually go out for dinner or tapas with friends once in a while, but it was always in the back of my mind that I was really wasting money. Not only that, I really wanted to have more control over my time and experience here. If I want to eat out, I'm gonna eat out. If I want to come home late, I'm gonna do that too. If I want to invite people over (something prohibited at the dorms) then, hey, there are going to be people over. I just felt too restricted at the dorms and I'm too old for that kind of stuff.

That’s the other thing I didn’t like – everyone was in the dorms was super young! I mean, 3 of my roommates were 18 years old!!! I have nothing against 18 year olds except for the fact that I have nothing in common with them. They were all really sweet and got along really well, but we could just not get past the friendly conversation in the hallway and surface talk about asignaturas. I mean even my little sister is waaaay older than them, for crying out loud. They made me feel like an old fogey. And after all, dorm life for me is a been-there-done-that. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED living in the dorms as an undergrad at Emory; I had some of the best moments of my life there and met some life-long friends. But even then my roommates were a lot older and more mature. I am not trying to propose an argument for being “old,” because I am certainly not old : ). However, dorm life was colcado in another stage of my life and I was just getting restless living there. And really, why would a baby, after having lived and seen the world want to crawl back into the womb anyway? It just didn’t make any sense.

After I came to my senses, I decided to be bold and make a move. After all, what was stopping me from moving out? Well, nothing…that and the dorm director. I informed her of my decision to move out and she asked me to come see her in her office. She was a little disappointed (she's really a good person) with my decision and tried her very hardest to try to convince me to stay. And I don't blame her; this is a business for her. Sticking to my plan and goals I kept my conversation professional and courteous. With a smile on my face, I kindly reiterated my decision to move. And like I said before, I was doing fine in the dorms. It is most definitely a nice place to live. And although I enjoyed my time there, it just wasn’t for me. I would just like to be able to get to the end of this experience feeling that I had the experience that I envisioned for myself at the beginning and that I achieved all of my goals. A mi me gusta complir con mis metas, and in order to do so, I needed to move out. 

I started piso hunting immediately. I looked everywhere. There are these cool websites here especially for those seeking pisos compartidos. I went to see a couple and hated them all (I'm picky). They were either all ugly or were not in a good location. I finally came across this ad for a beautiful looking piso that wasn't too far from campus. The pictures were actually so nice that when I spoke to the lady who had posted the ad, I had to ask her if those were the actual pictures of the apartment. Haha. When she confirmed I was intrigued. The price was right too! The only thing is that in speaking with her, she said her offer had changed (ie increased) since she'd posted the last ad on the interenet. Dang! I went to go see it anyway and ended up falling in love with it. What really sold me was the view. I went at night and when the lady opended the balcony window and I saw that the piso overlooked a view of downtown Málaga, I was sold. The  piso was nice too! It was a 3 bedroom and I would have my own bathroom (I grew to like it even more with every step). The kitchen was huge and there are several spaces to get comfortable in besides just on the couch in the living room. I liked that I had options of where I wanted to be in the house. To me this was luxury. Honestly, out of all the places I visited, this one jumped at me. It had a different flavor; it was elegant, in a good location, close to the centro, it had a killer view, and it was right on the line for 5 different buses...it was perfect! On top of that, I got my older, more mature roommate! She is a young architect originally from Granada and me cayó muy bien.

That same night I went to see another piso that I liked, but my heart was still with the place with the view. While waiting at the bus stop in the rain on the way back to the dorms, I got what I like to call a sign from God. At the very moment I was running through the prices in my head and comparing all the places to see what I could afford (rather what I wanted to afford, lol - I'm adamant about my shopping and traveling money), I received a text from the lady sweetening the deal a bit. It was so good I had to take it. Eventhough the price was a little more than what I had originally seen on the ad, after crunching the numbers, I realized that I would still be saving tons by moving out of the dorms. I accepted her offer and that very next day I packed and I moved out 3 days later. Yeah, I'm fast. I waved bye, bye to Teatinos (the area where the dorm is located) and stepped into a new phase of my Spain experience.

I have only been in my new place for a little while and I am still getting used to the new environment. I really want to have housewarming soon so I can invite people over and share my new crib. Stay tuned for more updates on my new place and how I'm adjusting.

¡Mama Mia! - Madrid

Who says reruns are boring? Well, I took my second trip to Madrid this weekend and it was anything but boring. I got to see a lot of Madrid back in 2006 while I was studying in Spain. However, there was much more to see, so I jumped at the opportunity to go back. A friend of mine wanted to go to visit a business college there and asked me to go with her. What can I say, I have a weakness for traveling…I just can’t say no.

When I got there, I found out that my old roommate from the residence, Liza (who left Málaga a few weeks prior) was spending a few days in Madrid before going back home to Argentina. We met up with her and the three of us went to check out the Botanical Gardens. Ok, bad idea, since that day was super cold! Everything looked dead :/ Oh well. I still enjoyed what was still alive.

The three of us then split up once my friend had to leave to go to her school visit. I was actually excited to venture out on my own. Camera? CHECK...City Map? CHECK. Ok, I was ready.  First, I headed to the Casa/Museo de Lope de Vega, but I missed the last tour of the day so I had to come back the following day. No prob. I then decided to stroll through the Barrio de los eruditos (the neighborhood where all the intellectuals lived). I think that was one of the things I enjoyed most. I actually felt sort of honored to be walking in the very area where all the famous poets and writers (like Cervantes) lived and spent their time. There is even this one street where they have famous quotes from some authors engraved right into the street. How exciting! I know, I’m such a nerd J

I left the barrio and made my way to the Royal Palace. On the way there I passed through the Plaza Mayor. It was filled with people eating, walking and having a good time. I had been there before so this time I just passed through. Using my map, I found my way to the Royal Palace. Sure, I got lost a few times, but I think that in those moments, I took my best pictures of the most unexpected things. As I was walking I kept looking around and taking in the sights. There was so much to see that I never got bored. And in Madrid it is almost as if every single building (even if it's a McDonalds) is so beautiful and elegant. Once at the palace I was happy. Man, the palace was gorgeous!! Out front kind of reminded me of Buckingham palace, with the gate and courtyard. I took a couple of pics and then went to sit down on a bench in a small plaza right in front of it so I could contemplate the beauty all around me.

All was going well up until that point. The entire day I’d been navigating with my map, but when I sat down, I realized that I’d lost it. Oh no! Ok, no “biggie.” I was supposed to meed Liza back at the Plaza Mayor at 4:00pm and I only had 30 minutes to find my way back. On top of that it was freezing that day and I was not wearing proper shoes. My feet were frozen! Ouch! So much so that I couldn’t feel the soles of my feet. I wabbled around trying to figure out where I was (of course, still enjoying the scenery). I love taking pictures and I think that I subconsciously walk around searching for the perfect black and white picture. After wandering for a bit, content in my ignorance of where I was, I soon found myself in the Plaza de España. After a round of photos,  I approached two police officers whom I asked for directions and who told me where I could get another map. I eventually found my way back to the Plaza Mayor, the only thing is that by the time I got there, Liza had already left L Oh well.

Later that night after a good nap, my friend and I got ready to go out to a nice dinner. Luckily, right when we were heading out the door, Liza called us. So the three of us were able to go to dinner together. Technically, since that was the last time I was going to see Liza, it was sort of "goodbye dinner." Eventhough we had only been rommates for about a month, we grew really close, so I was sad to see her go. We didn't want the evening to end, so we ended up going out to a club to check out the night life in Madrid. We went to Club Joy - it was super fun.

The next day I was finally able to go to Casa de Lope de Vega, which was the highlight of my day. I couldn't believe that I was there. I was in the actual place where he wrote some of his greatest works. It was amazing. I learned a lot that I didn't know about Lope himself and about life in Madrid during his lifetime. 

That second day was also a picture day. I also walked up and down the paseo del Prado, which I just ate up.  I didn't go to the Prado museum because I had had already gone back in 2006. Instead, I looked for places like the Real Academia de Las Letras (which controls the norms for the Spanish language). We ended our day with a trip to the Cathedral and then we later went to see the play Te quiero, eres perfecto, ya te cambiaré (I love you, you´re perfect, now change), which I really enjoyed.

This trip was definitely very touristy. But Madrid is so special to me. Madrid was actually the first city in Spain that I ever visited and I fell in love with it instantly. It is definitely a place where I can envision myself living. You name it and Madrid has it - culture, art, history, atmosphere etc. I secretly wish I could take Madrid and put it exactly where Málaga is now (shh! Don't tell anyone). Regardless, I enjoyed my time there and I can't wait to go back!!