livin la vida de la costa del sol
Well, I finally have a (temporary, 9 month) home. After living with my senora for a month, then bouncing from hotel to hotel for five days (including three different hotels in three different cities for three consecutive days), I have a place to unpack my suitcase.
For those of you who have never tried to rent a home in a different country, I advise that you don’t. Some highlights:
walking around for hours, looking for “se alquila” signs in windows. Then cold-calling said owners of the signs. Numerous, numerous times.
finding a four bedroom apartment for a decent price. Visiting said apartment and realizing that it is, in fact, an unfurbished former office building.
Seeing an apartment that was fairly nice... then seeing a cockroach in the kitchen. Then another. When we question the realtor about the “cucarachas en la cocina,” he merely shrugs and says that its because its in the center apartment. No, Juan, we will not be renting this apartment.
Despite all this, we finally found a fully furnished, three bedroom apartment for 200 euro (cada persona) per month. It also has two balconies, brand new appliances, and two bathrooms. Plus, the nicest landlord/landlady I think I’ve ever had. Not that I understand a single word that they say, but I fully comprehend when new comforters, duvets, and pillows are purchased for me. Still, its a little intimidating to sign a contract and understand about 6 words on it.
Today was also my first day of escuela. I am teaching a secondary high school, kids from about 12-18 (no big deal, I have 4 years on some of these children). Its a huuuuge school, with over 100 profesores, 1000 estudiantes and 3 edificios. From what I understand, I am teaching kids for some of my 12 hours of work per week, and for about 4 or 5 hours, I will be teaching other professors who are trying to learn the language.
Highlights of the first day would include being asked if I have a boyfriend (awkward? from a 12 year old? yep.) and also if I like American or Spanish boys better. I told them I had only been in Spain for a month so please give me time to decide. Also, teachers YELL at their students here. I thought the profesora I was teaching with was about to pop a blood vessel. On the other hand, all the people I’ve met thus far absolutely love me, so what more could I ask for?
No comments:
Post a Comment