Alojamiento

I woke up Friday morning, and went to the student housing company to finish up some details, get the keys, and move in. I could have taken the bus, but I didn’t know how it worked so I just walked. The office was a bit far, but it was on a main road in the city so I wasn’t lost. But it was definitely hot walking…

Anyway, I got to the office, signed papers, and the key. But I had to go out to bank to withdraw money because I had to pay first month’s rent at that moment. Well, I was informed that Spain was somewhat notorious for pick-pocketing and theft, so I was a bit scared walking back with like bills and bills of Euros in my wallet. (Just for the information, I passed by a school, I think, and the students looked pretty ghetto and sketchy…). So I paid my rent, and that time the office told me about my roommates. I currently have 3 (2 Italians and 1 Portuguese, all guys), but they are moving out at the end of the month. They told me they’ve been there for like a year or two? And they had their contract set at that date, so they’re just moving to a different apartment in the city. I felt weird hearing that. Oh well, I do know that I have another roommate (Spanish) moving in like next week or two, so that’s not bad.

I walked back to the hostel, packed a small-duffel load of clothes, and went to the apartment. The apartment was exactly where I had seen days earlier! The entrance and lobby was nice and had a securing feeling. I got to my apartment floor, and kind of struggled opening the door because there were 2 doors, and I had 3 keys to use… But eventually I opened it! The door opened to the kitchen and to the left is the laundry area. There’s another door towards the left of the kitchen, so I opened it, and it lead to corridor… with more doors…

Just as I was walking to figure out which room was mine, I passed by the first bathroom and TAH DAH my roommate was washing his face… in the dark. I introduced myself to him, and his name’s Francesco, de Italia (Sicily). Another roommate came out, and he was Lorenzo, from Portugal. They guided me to my room, which was on the right side of the kitchen door. My room door looks like a living room door, wooden and with a sophisticated lock! And the room looked just like I had seen in the photos, but better and brighter! Fireplace (I wonder why???), small chandelier, big window, long green drapes (somewhat broken, but it’s going to be fixed by the company), and a nice view of the park and city!

I started to unpack and went back to the hostel to get more things (it wasn’t that far; and I get to see the narrow and tranquil alleys during siesta). I came back and just when I was going to take a nap (or have my own little siesta) my other roommate Danillo (from Sicily, Italy too!) came in and greeted me. He has been here the longest, so he showed me around some of the things in the house and a basic rule: no noise or open doors before 11:00 am or during siesta because they’d be sleeping. LOL. That’s not a hard rule for me.

I skipped siesta and went to do grocery shopping. Now there is a difference between Spanish groceries and Canadian ones. First thing, it’s CHEAPER, especially with seafood (compared to seafood prices in Toronto). I got all kinds of fish fillet (salmon, cod … etc), and they were good portion and each is less than 2 Euros!!! Another difference is with fresh produce. You know how you put fruits or vegetables in the plastic bag and have them weighed and priced at the cashier, right? Well, in Spain the cashiers don’t do that. You had to do it yourself with a scale that’s in the area. When I got to the cashier she told me I had to go back and weigh them, but first I have to pay the things first because there were like 7 people behind me (another EMBARRASSMENT). I did that, went back to the cashier, paid, and walked back home to cook. The stove was interesting. It’s gas, but instead of the stove starting the fire, it only gives out gas, so you’d had to use a lighter to light it. WTF… I’ve played with fire but NEVER with gas because it’ll be dangerous!!! So I asked Lorenzo for help…