Welcome to Spain!

OK, so I'm a little late.  But anyone that has known me for any length of time, understands my devotion to the art of procrastination.

So, I live in Madrid.  I arrived September 23rd.  Wow, almost 2 months.  How time flies!  Obviously, as I am still around to write, my planes didn't crash.  And as scintillating as it was for me to sit for hours on end at Tampa International, and again at Toronto Pearson International, not to mention the trans-Atlantic flight...as exciting as that was, I'll spare you the details.

I took all of two days to find an apartment this year.  This is not because the process was any easier.  I decided that I would be less picky this year.  I settled on two requirements: firstly, I wanted to live close to my school; and secondly, I didn't want to pay more than 400€ per month (rent, utilities, internet, everything).
I took the first apartment I was able to visit.  It's two blocks, at most, from my school.  It's great.  I can walk there in less than five minutes.  It's also only 350€ per month.  Check and check.  The main deciding factor, what made me decide to live here after only a short visit, was not the apartment itself (as you'll see in a moment when I enumerate the problems).  Ana, the owner, was very friendly and very hospitable.  I've found that, no matter how seemingly perfect a home is, it will always have some kind of problem.  And if the owner is unfriendly and unwilling to help, it makes the experience that much worse.


So, home sweet home.  It's tiny.
I am not exaggerating.

The bathroom has a half-sized tub.  And you have to carefully maneuver around the poorly arranged sink and toilet to get to it.  The kitchen is a closet.  There is a sink, a gas range, a fridge and a microwave, but no oven.




The living room, which is also the dining room, is not large enough to hold the couch and table that both reside there.  You can only sit on one side of the table because it is flush against the wall, and if you are seated at the table, it becomes impossible to cross the room.

But I chose to live here.  I like it.  It's cute.  Nevermind that it is half the size of my apartment in Huelva last year (and nearly twice the price too!) or that I can't bake anything, it's my new home.  On the plus side, I have central gas and heating, so I don't have to worry about freezing this winter.  Have I mentioned it can snow here?

I also have two new roommates.  Mariana is 21 and Brazilian.  She is an ERASMUS studying architecture at the Universidad Politécnica.  She's blonde, cute and never stops talking.  This is also not an exaggeration.  Megan is 20 and she's from California.  She's here studying communications on an exchange program through the Universidad Complutense.  She's bubbly, plays the guitar and loves cheese.  If I remember, I'll get pictures.