A Sigh of Relief

I FINALLY found an apartment. But naturally this did not happen easily, oh no it did not.

Last time I left off I was frustrated as hell. Things were not going my way in the slightest. For some reason, in the entire city of Barcelona, Spain, a rather large city with an impressively large young population, did not have an apartment that I could live in for even a week. But, I still had a week, right?

In the end, I made 14 appointments and saw 11 apartments. I was stood up twice. Then, on Thursday I went to see an apartment in what is apparently the industrial district. I was really looking for a place to live short term while I found something long term. The second to last place I saw, I walked up, and was instantly creeped out. But I had made an appointment so I called the guy (we had agreed to meet at 2:30) to let him know I would be there in 5 minutes and he was like oh, I'll be there in 15. I waited almost half an hour and left without seeing the place. Fortunately, I took the next place I saw. So currently, right now, I'm sitting in the living room of my apartment.

I like it a lot. It's in a great area, I have a huge bed, and an interior window. The interior window is fun because I can hear everyone's business.  Although, for the most part I cannot understand, but that will come soon enough. And even though I don't get direct air circulation, it still gets chilly when I sleep because I have a giant fan to help me out. It's also 3 blocks from la Sagrada Familia. Every time I get off the Metro I am taken aback. It is so awesome that I get to live so close to such an amazing piece of architecture and art. I moved in yesterday. It's on the third floor (American standards, el primer piso Spanish standards) with no stairs, which is fine as long as I'm not hauling my suitcases up. Today I went to the grocery store for the first time, and cooked my first meal. I had cheese raviolis with pesto and sauteed zucchini. It wasn't bad. I also bought toilet paper, water (you don't really drink from the tap in Spain), bread, and cheese. And today I went to El Corte Inglés, the supermarket, and bought TORTILLAS and REFRIED BLACK BEANS. Tomorrow I will make quesadillas.

Side note. So this supermarket in El Corte Inglés is AMAZING. I could die in there. I love grocery stores. This place had an entire aisle of canned clams. Which didn't really interest me that much. However, I do plan to try cooking lentils soon, since I discovered I actually like them, since they are a lot like beans and I love beans. If you have any good recipes, post them because I fancy some lentils soon.

Back to my apartment. I really like the people I live with. My roommates consist of a couple (both are 30) and a Brazilian woman who is probably around 30, and they are great. Most importantly, they do not hesitate to correct my Spanish, which I prefer because I would rather be corrected that talk incorrectly, and they're super nice about it. I will not lie, it's a little intimidating. David, the man, speaks English, so sometimes if I'm flustered I resort to that, but I'm trying really hard to talk to them a lot so my Spanish will get better quickly. My conversation teacher told us the best way to become fluent is to have a boyfriend or girlfriend that natively speaks the language you want to learn. I will get on that pronto.

Side note. Today was a clumsy day. Not a bad day, I just couldn't manage to put one foot in front of the other without some serious consequences. The climax of my clumsy day was at McDonald's. I had just spent an entire hour in the mega Spanish grocery store and was dying of hunger. So I take my tray and start up the stairs to find a table. What do I do? Eat shit. Spill everything, right there on the stairs immediately interrupting the flow of everything. Luckily 4 people who worked there immediately came to my aid, and they replaced my lunch no problem. But oh man was I embarrassed. Of course, as soon as I sat down, I looked down and realized my fly had been unzipped for a solid 2 hours (now I know how it feels to be ZAW). Luckily no other accidents occurred, but I was glad I didn't actually know anyone that saw me fall.

Other than apartment hunting, and class, I haven't been able to do a whole lot. Friday night I went out with some people from the group, to a bar called Pippermint, where if one so desires, one can purchase a 13 liter beer or sangria or mixed drink. This writer does not desire to drink 13 liters of alcohol in one sitting, contrary to some opinions. After that we had scored free passes to a club, Bikini, and went dancing until the wee hours. Naturally, I slept until 3:30P on Saturday, packed my stuff up, and on Sunday moved in. Yesterday everyone was closed so I couldn't go to the grocery store, so I met up with Adam and we got surprisingly delicious pizza from a place right up the street from me.

Tomorrow is the last day of ILP (the language program), finally. I think I have 2 quizzes that I should probably study for. After tomorrow, classes don't resume until the 21st of September, so we have this surprise 5 day vacation. I was thinking about traveling, but due to a certain loan company's propensity towards paper checks that take weeks to clear, and having just moved in, I've decided to stay here and work on grad school stuff (GMAT here I come) and get to know the area a little better. Today a cluster of thunderstorms brought in a cool front, and it's absolutely blissful outside. I feel so much less stressed and overwhelmed now that I have finally found a place to settle into. It is really a sigh of relief.