The Big Move

On Friday we all packed up our measly belongings and headed to our respective pisos (apartments). It was really bittersweet—on the one hand I was excited to really start living in Granada, cooking my own meals, going to real university classes and hanging out with Spaniards. But on the other hand, living in the residencia was so comfortable. We knew everyone there, we got our rooms cleaned twice a week, we had our own bathroom, and we were fed huge amounts of (sometimes) delicious food!

Luckily my piso is only a 5 minute walk from the residencia, so I could walk there easily with all my stuff. I met all my roommates, who seem very nice. I’m living with a Swiss, an Italian and a German girl. I’m excited, although I do wish I were living with a Spaniard. All the girls know English, but we all want to improve our Spanish so we only speak Spanish to each other. Friday evening was the first time I’ve been remotely lonely/homesick here. I’m so used to being surrounded by Americans, so it was a little hard to be practically by myself in a quiet piso. Fittingly, Friday night was the first time it’s rained here.

The next morning I woke up to construction on the apartment above my room. The walls here are like paper, and not even hefty earplugs can block out 15 minutes of hammering. So I decided to start my morning by grocery shopping, since I will now have to be cooking for myself, and I can only afford so many afternoons of tapas. I went to this big indoor market with all kinds of meat, seafood, cheeses, prepared foods, and fruits and vegetables. I was just wandering around the place in awe, amazed by all the hanging pig carcasses, sting rays, and cut up fish sprawled out on ice. Then I found myself face to face with a dead goat’s head, eyes still intact, and decided I would try my hand at being a vegetarian for a while. Although I didn’t want to be the ultimate tourist by taking pictures at the butcher’s shop, here is a Google image that represents the situation quite well: 

Needless to say, I left and bought only produce. I went to a frutería (fruit and vegetable stand) right outside my apartment, and stood there awkwardly for about 5 minutes while all the Spaniards cut me in line. Eventually one of the men who worked there took pity on me and asked me what I wanted. I struggled so badly in Spanish because I was flustered and don’t know many words for fruits and vegetables. He was so friendly and started helping me in English, translating the produce names between the two languages. In the end, he gave me 2 onions, 4 sweet potatoes, 2 avocados, 5 plums, and 5 huge tomatoes for TWO euros!! The avocados alone would cost that much in the U.S. Most food is much cheaper here, although I also think the guy was being especially nice with the prices, since he didn’t weigh anything and seemed to pity my lack of cultural/linguistic knowledge.

It’s exciting to start living the Spanish life. I went to tapas with a Spanish girl and her cousin yesterday night, and then today I went to lunch with the Spanish girl Amalia who works in the Education Abroad office. Afterwards she showed me her apartment and we had coffee together—so cute! I’m getting less lonely as I realize that it’s only the first month, and before I know it I will have plenty of great friends here. It would be difficult not to, seeing how friendly Spaniards are!