I had only been here for 7 days until I found myself, Danielle, and Erin a piso! It is a beautiful planta 4 (5th floor) flat located in Chueca. It has three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and two balconies (both of which are located in my bedroom!). Chueca is a neighborhood in Madrid known for its nightlife, great cuisine, trendy stores, and for being home to lots of gay people!
Last weekend a group of kids in my program and I ventured into Chueca to find El Tigre, a tapas bar that Sydney recommended. El Tigre was cheap, delicious, and packed with people. For a giant mojito and a large plate of tapas, I only paid 6e. Yeah, we were big fans of that place. But anyways, the girls and I immediately fell in love with the area and said we wanted to live there. Didn't know it was really going to become a reality!I'm so excited to live in such a social and lively area. I think its going to feel like a combination of Isla Vista and San Francisco but in Europe, and SO much better.
The only reservation I had about taking this piso was that I wouldn't be living with spaniards or other international students. However, I don't think living with girls in my program is going to get in the way of my becoming fluent in Spanish because I'm determined to make spanish friends and practice spanish on the daily. Also, most spaniards my age live with their parents still. So the spaniards I would be trying to live with are in their late 20s. While it's possible that I could connect with them, its unlikely that we would really become great friends since they already have adult lives. And living with international students would be fun too, but who knows if they will even speak spanish or whatnot. So after much contemplation, we have decided to live together in this BEAUTIFUL place :) However, our contract for this piso in Chueca is on a month-to-month basis anyways, so if for some reason I feel like I need to live with spaniards this year, I can still make it happen.
The ILP has begun and I'm almost done with the first week of classes! I think it's actually helping my spanish too, at least I'm hoping it does. I just wish I didn't have to wake up so early. If I want to shower before class I have to wake up at 6:45am, eat breakfast at 7:30, walk to the bus stop by 8:30 and catch a bus to get me to the Somoaguas campus for class at 9am! It's definitely more of an ordeal to make it to class, but I like living in the city like this.
My favorite class is my Madrid class! We had a walking tour of Old Madrid today and I got to see parts of the city that are a little more hidden from the everyday tourists. What class lets you just wander around and PAYS for the students to eat tapas and drink sangria together? Only the best class ever.
This city makes me feel like I am an adult. I'm doing everything on my own and I'm actually getting by so far. I love how much more walking I do here and I thoroughly enjoy trying a different way of living. Waking up to spanish voices outside my window, going to a breakfast bar that has cereal but no cups, eating at dining tables that have salt and no pepper, fighting to try on a pair of shoes at the store, and getting anxiety over calling landlords and other people to only speak in spanish... all these little idiosyncrasies and obstacles are enlivening.
Mi vida, tu sueño.
