Guess What I Found!

Last night, we had an unexpectedly amazing time! I wasn’t sure if we would just chill out or go to bed, but of course neither of those things happened. We went up to the rooftop terrace of the hostel, which is a place where a ton of people gather. We met some really cool people from England and Holland and had fun copying each other’s accents. Apparently my British accent turns a bit Irish sometimes. Rebecca and I decided to grab a bit of food and we ran into another girl in our program downstairs. She and her friend joined us to go get food, and while we intended to get something to go and return to the terrace, to-go food was not really available so we sat down for some tapas. I was a bit disappointed about not returning to our new international friends, but we had a lovely time with the girls. Unfortunately, I ordered a tortilla de camarónes which was literally like the most greasy potato latke ever, but my croquetas caseras were delicious! Right as our dinner was ending after midnight, I spotted our other friends walking down the street. I, having absolutely no social shame, darted up from our table and ran over to them to apologize for not returning to the terrace. They picked on me for a bit and then invited us out to drinks. All four of us girls paid our bill and joined them in their quest to find an open bar. We found a spot and shared some deliciously sweet sangria and conversations. I had a wonderful time chatting with all of them. When that bar closed around 1:30, we went back to the hostel and I found my way through the dark room to my bed.

I woke up not enough hours later to a gorgeous guy speaking French. He said to me, “You are alone?” I turned toward Rebecca’s bed to tell him “No” but she was not there. In fact, I was the last one awake in the room, and it was only 9:30. Rebecca had been unable to sleep all night and was up on the terrace. She went to bed shortly after that and I headed out on a mission to find a cell phone. I went from phone store to phone store asking for the different prices and possibilities. No one spoke English, and I was very proud of myself for successfully maneuvering our Spanish conversations. I settled on Vodaphone for 19 cents per minute, but I’m not positive that was the best possible deal. I got a bright pink phone that is disappointing after 2 years with an iPhone but I will get used to it. If I find a better plan by word of mouth, I will just switch the sim card. I found my way back with only one glance at a map and woke up Rebecca after one hour of sleep because we had apartments to visit.

I was very hopeful about the first apartment we went to see, but it was absolutely disgusting. So disappointing! There was a middle-aged woman there with something like “The Price is Right” blasting from the TV and the room made me want to vomit. We dashed out of there and on to see the apartment that I had considered taking even before getting to Sevilla. It was quite a walk away but it was so much more beautiful than any others that I had seen so far. We spent a lot of time talking about the apartment with the renter (Inma), a fun Spanish woman who speaks perfect English. Then Rebecca and I spent even more time deciding whether or not to take it. Rebecca decided not to take it, but I really felt it was good for me. There was a Spanish boy literally waiting outside with his mother and brother until we made a decision because he also really wanted the apartment. We left it with Inma that she could rent it to the Spanish boy but that I would probably agree to take it later that night after seeing one more apartment. The Spanish boy is a second-year student in Sevilla, my age, and speaks no English, so I am super excited to speak only Spanish with him and hopefully meet his friends too. I felt very good about my decision, although it felt terrible to give up living with Rebecca.

We walked back toward the hostel and stopped for some pizza. We ordered a pizza with only cheese and tomato but got one with ham. We decided that “plain” in Spain means it has ham on it too. Also, they told us the pizza was for two people to share, and it was more than enough for us, but it was the exact size of a personal pizza in America. Gosh, Americans are large for a reason. Next, we stopped in a grocery store (sooo cool) to pick up some cereal and less than 1 euro bottles of wine and tinto de verano. After going through the check out, a lady approached me and basically offered me a position tutoring her 14-year-old daughter in English. Umm…awesome! Me gusta el dinero. So hopefully that will work out!

After a brief time in our hostel, and me feeling pretty much on cloud nine, we rushed to our next apartment appointment. This one was much better than most we have seen…it was very spacious compared to ones right in the city center. There was only one room available so we were searching for Rebecca to take it, and it is possible that she will. We wandered back from there through the gorgeous but under construction Plaza de España. Can you say “bonita?” I think I could spent hours just chilling in that area. I decided to call Inma and confirm that I will take the apartment. You know what that means?? I have an apartment!!! Wooohoo! I am very excited about the situation…I will be a bit far from the city but the bus connection seems great during the day and it is in the direction of my school. Plus, I will have to become fluent in Spanish, which is the most exciting prospect of it all. Rebecca spotted a fair going on and we walked around there for a while, admiring goods from all over the world. It was, like everything else in Sevilla, vibrant and beautiful.

Eventually, we returned to the hostel for some much needed sitting and internet access. Despite the lack of sleep, I am loving the atmosphere of hostels. I think I’ve chatted up more British guys here than ever in my life. I felt like a star sitting in the lobby and talking to everyone about their days. I just can never be too social and I get way too much pleasure out of it. Speaking of being friendly, people in Sevilla are super friendly so far! No one has gotten mad at us for struggling with Spanish, and a guy at a small stand talked with us for a bit about New York. That would never happen in New York, so we told him Sevilla was mucho mejor. I think this year is going to be amazing, and I feel much better knowing that I have a place to live. I will go over there tomorrow and pay for the place. She is being super nice and letting me only pay for the end of this month, and the rate is 300 euros per month flat. Not too shabby. I will post pictures of it once I move in. Who knows what this night holds, but I’m sure it will be something great! Or maybe I should just get some sleep…