Two days later I got a text from Pacqui saying that I'm in. She said for me to come by tomorrow and we could exchange money and such. When I got there at 11, guess what? Nobody answered AGAIN. But this time I had a lot more confidence and just kept ringin that buzzer until she finally answered through the intercom.
When I got to the 3rd floor, she was waiting for me at the door. She said the other roommate was going to come over so we could meet each other. In the meantime, she brought me to the big room with the queen sized bed and told me that she had been thinking. She thought it was kinda silly to have me and Tony sleeping in the little single bed when he comes. She said "so, while you're boyfriend's here why don't you have this room and bed and pay 300€ a month while he's here and pay 235€ when he's not here for having the bigger room and bed." Sounded like a pretty good deal to me. But I did feel a little guilty because I didn't know where she would then sleep and she IS the homeowner afterall.
As it turns out she had applied for a job in Granada and had just found out today that she got the position. She is a flamenco dance teacher (how cool!!) and has a secret boyfriend who lives in Granada that her parents don't know about. She's going to stay with him during the week and then he is going to drive her back to Cordoba for the weekends and spend them with her here. This weekend she showed up with a mountain of stuff from IKEA (pronounced EE-KAY-UH). Yes, they have those here too, in fact everywhere. Just about every major city has one. All of us roommates, including Juliana, spent the weekend helping put together bookshelves, lamps, tables, desks, chairs and nightstands from IKEA. I learned lots of new words pertaining to carpentry and building this weekend. She also bought us our own towels, wastebasket, closet organizers, sheets, pillows, and curtains. I feel so spoiled right now. I thought I would have to spend this entire 9 months with my one pink sheet that I brought, my thin white towel from Olympic Medical Center and would have to buy a pillow once I got here. When she advertised her piso as furnished, she wasn't playin. She has gone above and beyond the call of duty in making sure that her roommates have every thing they need in order to be comfortable.
Irene (pronounced EE-Ray-nay) is my other roommate who just moved here from Huelva. She is here in Cordoba studying translation and interpretation in English and Spanish. Her and I go back and forth in both languages which is nice for both of us. I have a feeling she is going to teach me a lot. We are able to practice and learn from each other and when we can't explain something in one language we switch to the other. So, we are able to communicate pretty well. She has a girlfriend from Huelva who visits her here on the weekends.
Tony and I will probably be here on the weekdays and then travel around a little on the weekends. So that should work out pretty well. That way they can have a break from the strange foreigners and the house won't be too crowded with 3 couples in one tiny apartment on the weekends.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Finding a Place to Live in Cordoba
It was Friday, Sept. 17th when I arrived in Cordoba with my 80 lb suitcase in tow. While staying at the Seneca hostel, I started my piso search on Easypiso.com. I paid the 19€ to have a month long access to people's profiles including their phone #s. The profiles tell all sorts of things from sexual orientation of the room mates to whether they accept pets or couples living with them or not. Since sharing flats is so common here in Spain, it's meant to hook people up with the right kind of room mates. It doesn't cost anything to view the profiles but there are these fees to have access to their telephone #s and to be able to send them emails. I started by sending messages to places I was interested in... in Spanish of course. Let's just say that they weren't filling up my inbox with responses...in fact nobody responded for a couple days even though I had sent about 20 messages since I had purchased my membership. In total I only got maybe 4 messages back and most to tell me that it probably wouldn't work out with me having Tony come live with me here for 3 months. But I'm sure part of the reason was because my Spanish sounds almost as funny in writing as it does when I speak.
Finally, I got the cajones to make some phone calls. The first lady I called was supernice over the phone and said she would email me to set up an appointment to view the apartment but not until that next Friday cuz she didn't have the keys yet. After having a positive experience with that lady, it was easier to muster up the courage for my next phone call in Spanish. I called a lady named Paqui (seems to be a pretty popular name here believe it or not). She was nice as well and set up an appointment for 6 that night. Now that's more the pace I was looking for people!!! I don't love shelling out money for a hostel no matter how cheap they are. Plus, I wanted to feel settled instead of living in uncertainty of whether or not anyone would EVER want this strange foreigner and her boyfriend living with them. Maybe it will be too much work for them to communicate with me. Maybe they will view me as unintelligent because of my accent and grammer mistakes. Maybe my blank, deer-in-the-headlights looks will cause them too much frustration and awkwardness to live with for the next 9 months. These were my negative, yet realistic, thoughts getting the best of me again. But I tried my best to stay positive. It had only been a few days after all.
Anyways, back to Paqui and the apartment. Juliana came with me just to be on the safe side. We asked the receptionist at the hotel to show us on the map where calle Dona Engracia was. She marked it with an X and we were on our way. Like anal americans, we gave ourselves nearly 2 hours to find this place...just in case something happened and it's better to be early than late, right????? WRONG. We didn't actually ring the bell to the apartment til about quarter to 6 but still no one answered. I rang it again...nobody. Many things ran through my mind at this point...did I not know how to work the intercom thingy?, did I have the wrong address?, was I too early?, did she change her mind?, was she not home?, had she forgotten about our appointment? Then, an older Spanish lady appeared in the doorway. I said in Spanish "are you Pacqui?" and she said "yes, I'm Pacqui". I said "we have an appointment...". She shook her head slowly side to side "Noooo". I turned around and said "come on Juliana, lets go" and started walking speadily down the street with the lady following behind us, going wherever she was going. I was thinking the worst and that she had changed her mind and decided to say that we didn't have an appointment after all. Juliana said "maybe there's another Pacqui?" and me never having heard that name in my life, thought "no, there can't be two Pacquis living in the same building." But then, I remembered that the lady I was supposed to meet with was 37 on her profile. Wait a minute, that can't be right. We sat on a bench in front of a beautiful old apartment building where I could regather my thoughts. Okay, it's only just 6 now, and I've always heard about the Spanish tendency to show up late for everything. We went back at 6:15 and tried the button again. This time someone answered "Hola, soy Pacqui". Phew I was so relieved but definately not over my jitters cuz I couldn't think to figure out how to respond back. Push the button my the speaker you idiot!!! It would have been so much easier to turn around and walk away. In fact, I think I did for a second. But then my phone rang. It looked like the number I had called before. It was Pacqui and I was able to tell her that I was downstairs in the street. I pushed the button again and because the iron gate was so old looking we had no idea that it opened electronically. Thus, we missed the click sound that opened the old iron gate to the building. So, for the FIFTH TIME I pushed the stinkin button. Click!! We ran through sighing and laughing nervously. We made our way up the 3 flights of white marble staircase until we saw a short, curly haired and much younger lady standing in a doorway. I said in Spanish "we had some problems" with a laugh and she welcomed us in. She was in the middle of cleaning and didn't want to open the door yet apparently so she apologized for that.
The apartment was small but beautiful. Dark wood floors, a white and grey marble kitchen, asian decor (my personal favorite), three bedrooms and one bathroom with..get this..a bade'(probably not spelled correctly). It seems that all the houses here have them. She wants to have it removed though she said to have more room in the bathroom. She showed me the room that was available...very small with a single little bed but lots of closet space. I told her about Tony coming and she said that was okay with her but that she would have to check with the other potential room mate. She also said that it was an awful small bed for a couple to sleep in. I joked and said "its okay, Tony can sleep on the floor". The joke didn't translate well cuz she looked mortified when I said that. She said she would call me in the next few days after she talked to the other potential housemate. I thanked her and the waiting game began.
Finally, I got the cajones to make some phone calls. The first lady I called was supernice over the phone and said she would email me to set up an appointment to view the apartment but not until that next Friday cuz she didn't have the keys yet. After having a positive experience with that lady, it was easier to muster up the courage for my next phone call in Spanish. I called a lady named Paqui (seems to be a pretty popular name here believe it or not). She was nice as well and set up an appointment for 6 that night. Now that's more the pace I was looking for people!!! I don't love shelling out money for a hostel no matter how cheap they are. Plus, I wanted to feel settled instead of living in uncertainty of whether or not anyone would EVER want this strange foreigner and her boyfriend living with them. Maybe it will be too much work for them to communicate with me. Maybe they will view me as unintelligent because of my accent and grammer mistakes. Maybe my blank, deer-in-the-headlights looks will cause them too much frustration and awkwardness to live with for the next 9 months. These were my negative, yet realistic, thoughts getting the best of me again. But I tried my best to stay positive. It had only been a few days after all.
Anyways, back to Paqui and the apartment. Juliana came with me just to be on the safe side. We asked the receptionist at the hotel to show us on the map where calle Dona Engracia was. She marked it with an X and we were on our way. Like anal americans, we gave ourselves nearly 2 hours to find this place...just in case something happened and it's better to be early than late, right????? WRONG. We didn't actually ring the bell to the apartment til about quarter to 6 but still no one answered. I rang it again...nobody. Many things ran through my mind at this point...did I not know how to work the intercom thingy?, did I have the wrong address?, was I too early?, did she change her mind?, was she not home?, had she forgotten about our appointment? Then, an older Spanish lady appeared in the doorway. I said in Spanish "are you Pacqui?" and she said "yes, I'm Pacqui". I said "we have an appointment...". She shook her head slowly side to side "Noooo". I turned around and said "come on Juliana, lets go" and started walking speadily down the street with the lady following behind us, going wherever she was going. I was thinking the worst and that she had changed her mind and decided to say that we didn't have an appointment after all. Juliana said "maybe there's another Pacqui?" and me never having heard that name in my life, thought "no, there can't be two Pacquis living in the same building." But then, I remembered that the lady I was supposed to meet with was 37 on her profile. Wait a minute, that can't be right. We sat on a bench in front of a beautiful old apartment building where I could regather my thoughts. Okay, it's only just 6 now, and I've always heard about the Spanish tendency to show up late for everything. We went back at 6:15 and tried the button again. This time someone answered "Hola, soy Pacqui". Phew I was so relieved but definately not over my jitters cuz I couldn't think to figure out how to respond back. Push the button my the speaker you idiot!!! It would have been so much easier to turn around and walk away. In fact, I think I did for a second. But then my phone rang. It looked like the number I had called before. It was Pacqui and I was able to tell her that I was downstairs in the street. I pushed the button again and because the iron gate was so old looking we had no idea that it opened electronically. Thus, we missed the click sound that opened the old iron gate to the building. So, for the FIFTH TIME I pushed the stinkin button. Click!! We ran through sighing and laughing nervously. We made our way up the 3 flights of white marble staircase until we saw a short, curly haired and much younger lady standing in a doorway. I said in Spanish "we had some problems" with a laugh and she welcomed us in. She was in the middle of cleaning and didn't want to open the door yet apparently so she apologized for that.
The apartment was small but beautiful. Dark wood floors, a white and grey marble kitchen, asian decor (my personal favorite), three bedrooms and one bathroom with..get this..a bade'(probably not spelled correctly). It seems that all the houses here have them. She wants to have it removed though she said to have more room in the bathroom. She showed me the room that was available...very small with a single little bed but lots of closet space. I told her about Tony coming and she said that was okay with her but that she would have to check with the other potential room mate. She also said that it was an awful small bed for a couple to sleep in. I joked and said "its okay, Tony can sleep on the floor". The joke didn't translate well cuz she looked mortified when I said that. She said she would call me in the next few days after she talked to the other potential housemate. I thanked her and the waiting game began.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The Bus Ride
After resting up one night at a hostel in Madrid we headed to the bus station in the south of the city to catch a bus to Cordoba. I had read on their website that they have buses going to Cordoba every 2 hrs. So, we figured we could just get up at our liesure and make the trek to the station and catch a bus shortly thereafter. When we got to the ticket booth at around 10:30 or 11:00am, they informed us that there wasn't a bus to Cordoba until 6:30 pm. So, we had to wait at the station for 7 1/2 hrs killing time until the bus came. Mind you we still had our 80 lbs worth of luggage a piece, so our options were limited. We ended up going accross the highway and doing a little grocery shopping for our food for the day.
We had to call the hostel and tell them we'd be late so they wouldn't give our room away. That was Juliana and I's first encounter with a spanish pay phone AND a phone call period. Juliana kept dialing and dialing this number to no avail. It just would not go through. We asked people in our broken Spanish to help us but either nobody understood what we were saying or they just didn't want to help. Eventually though, we figured out that we were actually dialing the country code first and you dont do that when you're already in the country. Dur! The number on their website was for those calling from other countries appartently. So, as we figured out that day, Spanish phone #s are 9 digits not 11. Anyhow.....paid for our tickets which were 15€ a piece and headed on the 5 hr bus ride to Cordoba.
I thought the countryside was quite pretty for most of the way. There were miles and miles of slightly rolling red dirt hills that would have been bare if not for the rows and rows of what looked to be olive trees. We also saw many grape vineyards along the way. But as you'lle see in the video there were very jagged, rocky parts as well and little forests packed with strange combinations of trees of varying shades of greens.
At first the ride was a little scary though because the bus swayed side to side as it went down the road. Almost like it might tip over on its side. Maybe thats because about 4 seats in front of us a young couple were making out......for hours. No joke. HOURS. I don't know how they did it. Talk about staying power...they just kept smooching and smoothing and smooching. We were a little disgusted by their PDAs at first but then I started to think, good for them. If they have that kind of passion, take advantage of it. They must still be in the early stages of their relationship. Who knows? Young love I suppose. But the funny thing is that in the US someone would probably make a comment like "get a room!". Here in Spain though, it seems to be perfectly socially acceptable to make out in public cuz right when we arrived in Cordoba we saw another couple making out at the city bus stop. Maybe I'll make out with Tony at the bus station when he gets here. Por que no?
We had to call the hostel and tell them we'd be late so they wouldn't give our room away. That was Juliana and I's first encounter with a spanish pay phone AND a phone call period. Juliana kept dialing and dialing this number to no avail. It just would not go through. We asked people in our broken Spanish to help us but either nobody understood what we were saying or they just didn't want to help. Eventually though, we figured out that we were actually dialing the country code first and you dont do that when you're already in the country. Dur! The number on their website was for those calling from other countries appartently. So, as we figured out that day, Spanish phone #s are 9 digits not 11. Anyhow.....paid for our tickets which were 15€ a piece and headed on the 5 hr bus ride to Cordoba.
I thought the countryside was quite pretty for most of the way. There were miles and miles of slightly rolling red dirt hills that would have been bare if not for the rows and rows of what looked to be olive trees. We also saw many grape vineyards along the way. But as you'lle see in the video there were very jagged, rocky parts as well and little forests packed with strange combinations of trees of varying shades of greens.
At first the ride was a little scary though because the bus swayed side to side as it went down the road. Almost like it might tip over on its side. Maybe thats because about 4 seats in front of us a young couple were making out......for hours. No joke. HOURS. I don't know how they did it. Talk about staying power...they just kept smooching and smoothing and smooching. We were a little disgusted by their PDAs at first but then I started to think, good for them. If they have that kind of passion, take advantage of it. They must still be in the early stages of their relationship. Who knows? Young love I suppose. But the funny thing is that in the US someone would probably make a comment like "get a room!". Here in Spain though, it seems to be perfectly socially acceptable to make out in public cuz right when we arrived in Cordoba we saw another couple making out at the city bus stop. Maybe I'll make out with Tony at the bus station when he gets here. Por que no?
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Madrid, First Impressions
We arrived at 8:30 am Madrid time. The outskirts as we flew in looked something like parts California or Eastern Washington, dry. Then, we spent about 2 hrs navigating the airport and subway system to get to our hostel. When we surfaced from the subway after toting 80 lbs of luggage a piece, and this includes up flights of stairs mind you , it was such a pleasant surprise. Although it was raining and cloudy, the sunny colors of the buildings and beautiful architecture made us giddy with excitement. The orange, lemon and peach colored buildings made the rain and gloom seem sunny and happy in spite. The flowers blooming over iron terraces in nearly every window didn't hurt either. To look down the narrow cobble stone streets and see these rows of gigantic fruit colored buildings with flowers adorning their terraces was just what I needed to renew my faith that I am going to love this place. And speaking of fruit...I may have had the best orange of my life yesterday. Outside of a little convenient store specializing in fruit were these great looking oranges. I know they grow oranges here in Spain so I thought I'd better try one since they aren't likely imported like in Washington State. This sucker was so juicy it dripped all down my elbows(and you know how I feel about food that drips down your elbows) and SO tart. It wasn't sweet so much as vibrant and tart like a orange SHOULD be...like its filled with Vitamin C goodness. I will be eating a lot of oranges here I have a feeling.
After a small siesta(we were exhausted from jetlag and toting the luggage all over town), we hung out in the common area of the hostel. It was packed. A lot of foreigners but also a lot of Spaniards. A group of Spaniard guys, that I think must work for the hostel, were making and showing off their silver jewelry collections made from sterling. And there were bottles of red wine everywhere. Also, there was a big silver bowl on a little table with a small plastic dixie cup for a ladle. As suspected, it was full of sangria over ice. I had a few glasses and by 11pm I was shot. After a long day of navigating, trying to speak and understand this rapid Spanish and walking the city I was ready to hit the pillow. Nevermind the fact that we had a 15 hour flight and had been up for almost 2 days and nights in a row. Buenas noches Madrid. I slept like a baby.
After a small siesta(we were exhausted from jetlag and toting the luggage all over town), we hung out in the common area of the hostel. It was packed. A lot of foreigners but also a lot of Spaniards. A group of Spaniard guys, that I think must work for the hostel, were making and showing off their silver jewelry collections made from sterling. And there were bottles of red wine everywhere. Also, there was a big silver bowl on a little table with a small plastic dixie cup for a ladle. As suspected, it was full of sangria over ice. I had a few glasses and by 11pm I was shot. After a long day of navigating, trying to speak and understand this rapid Spanish and walking the city I was ready to hit the pillow. Nevermind the fact that we had a 15 hour flight and had been up for almost 2 days and nights in a row. Buenas noches Madrid. I slept like a baby.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tears and thank yous
I have said my goodbyes to almost everyone. Surprisingly I have gotten teary-eyed a couple of times but the tears really started flowin Sunday when I said goodbye to a lot of people in a short amount of time including my nephew Marcus. He asked "Are you gonna stay there a long time?" I said, "No, but I won't see you until after your birthday (which is in April)" He said "thats a long ways away". Then as we drove on the straight stretch out of Quincy, the tears began to stream full throttle from behind my aviators. I started to think "what if I need and miss these people much more than they need me?" But what I then realized was that its different for them...they only have to miss me, one person, whereas I will have to miss EVERYONE. Every single key player in this story I call my life. I am trying not to be overly dramatic but I also want to feel what I am supposed to feel in these moments.
Aside from emotional, I also feel thankful. Thank you to all of you who slipped me a little money to make the trip easier. Thank you to those who offered to watch my crazy dogs while we're gone. Thank you to those who get excited for me when I tell them what I'm doing and have faith in me. Thank you for the going away get-togethers, the cards, the presents and of course the delicious food. Thank you to Tony for uprooting his life to take a chance on adventure with me. Thank you to Grammy for letting me stay with her all summer to save money. If I am forgetting anyone or anything, thank you. I am so lucky to have all these positive minded people in my life. And as my gift to you, I will keep you posted on all the adventures good AND bad. I have my flip camera and am not afraid to use it. Much love!!!
Aside from emotional, I also feel thankful. Thank you to all of you who slipped me a little money to make the trip easier. Thank you to those who offered to watch my crazy dogs while we're gone. Thank you to those who get excited for me when I tell them what I'm doing and have faith in me. Thank you for the going away get-togethers, the cards, the presents and of course the delicious food. Thank you to Tony for uprooting his life to take a chance on adventure with me. Thank you to Grammy for letting me stay with her all summer to save money. If I am forgetting anyone or anything, thank you. I am so lucky to have all these positive minded people in my life. And as my gift to you, I will keep you posted on all the adventures good AND bad. I have my flip camera and am not afraid to use it. Much love!!!
Friday, September 10, 2010
A Dream Realized
Getting close to seeing a dream realized. This has been the dream of my twenties finally coming forth at 31. I get to live abroad in a Spanish-speaking country...and in Spain no less. What a rush!!! Thinking about it makes my eyes well up a little. I am finally in the idyllic position, like the quote about "when preparedness meets opportunity", they are finally intersecting.
Before I never quite had the confidence. I also wanted to get through school. Thanks to age, college and a great boyfriend I am now in the right place in my life, emotionally speaking. For so long I felt as though my dreams were untouchable...I could see them but never quite touch them. Its so crazy to think that its taken me this long to start making my dreams come true but I suppose I am luckier than many in that sense. Its quite possible that some people never see their dreams become a reality. So here's to soaking it in!!!!! This is one of those experiences where you just want to be "in the moment" as much as possible...to silence the responsible mind that wants to plan for the next "thing" before being finished with what I'm doing at the moment. This sort of behavior might be okay in your normal run-of-the-mill experiences but not here... not with this. I must go with the flow and see where it takes me.
Before I never quite had the confidence. I also wanted to get through school. Thanks to age, college and a great boyfriend I am now in the right place in my life, emotionally speaking. For so long I felt as though my dreams were untouchable...I could see them but never quite touch them. Its so crazy to think that its taken me this long to start making my dreams come true but I suppose I am luckier than many in that sense. Its quite possible that some people never see their dreams become a reality. So here's to soaking it in!!!!! This is one of those experiences where you just want to be "in the moment" as much as possible...to silence the responsible mind that wants to plan for the next "thing" before being finished with what I'm doing at the moment. This sort of behavior might be okay in your normal run-of-the-mill experiences but not here... not with this. I must go with the flow and see where it takes me.
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