Mi piso

Today I moved into my apartment! Everything about it is great besides that my chair is broken and the bar in the closet that you put your hangers on (is there a name for this?) broke as I was hanging up my leather jacket soooo looks like I am living out of a suitcase for another week or so. Hopefully tomorrow I will go to EPS and give them back the inventory checklist and they will replace these crucial items for me. My roommates seem really nice so far. Here are two pictures, one of the street that I live on and another of the outside of our building. I will post some pictures of my room once it is presentable.

Sightseeing

Today Clay and I decided to do some sightseeing. Above I am standing on the terrace of the AC Palacio Hotel with a view of the Cathedral behind me. Above is a view of Calle Larios. This is where all of the main shops are. It is a beautiful street and my new apartment is off of it.
Above I am sitting on the terrace of the AC Palacio Hotel. It has a beautiful view of the entire city as well as the water.
Above I am standing in Calle Larios with a view of the Cathedral behind me.
Above I am standing in Plaza de la Merced. We generally go out to eat and to bars in this area.

"Gripe A"

Also known as Swine Flu, "Gripe A" is my arch nemesis. I have inquired many times about getting a flu shot here, but no one here is concerned about it. I specifically asked the director of our program if we would be able to get a "Gripe A" shot or a regular flu shot since we will be working with little children (walking disease and death), and she said I shouldn't be too worried about it....okay... So what I have learned here this past week more than anything is that you must be willing to improvise, go with the flow and at times suck it up. It is the process of adapting to a foreign culture and realizing that things are simply done differently than in America. My Purrell is definitely a preventive measure I am taking to avoid all sorts of disease as well as my daily Vitamin C, multivitamin and glass of water mixed with Emergen-C. I have also been I have also been getting plenty of rest. This picture is an advertisement I saw on a bus stop.

Is he gay?... or European....

This has been a serious debate since spring 2008 when I lived in Madrid for a semester. I often found myself asking this question when I was out and observing the dress/habits/mannerisms of men on the street or in clubs. I have nothing against gay men, they actually make very good friends, but due to stereotypes ingrained in my brain it is honestly very hard for me (and I know this applies to my friends as well) to think that a guy wearing nice shoes, skinny jeans, a messenger bag and slicked back hair is NOT attracted to other men... eeek! Ever since Franco died in 1975, and with him a 30yr dictatorship, Spain has completely redefined the role of men and women in society. Spain became a part of the EU in 1986 and in 2005 gay marriage became legal. This was unthinkable under Franco. I know a lot about this topic because I wrote my senior thesis on the evolving role of women in Spanish society from The Second Republic until modern day. Now there is a really hip fun area in Madrid called Chueca, coincidentally the "gay neighborhood," that we used to hang out in all the time because of the good restaurants, bars and shops.

Anyway, I brought this up because it is a question that I toss around in my head every time I pass by a guy on the street who fits this description, basically because I am just so curious! Are European girls attracted to guys who exude a feminine, metrosexual aura? Apparently so, and apparently we will never see eye to eye. Here is a picture from a club we went to in Sevilla. It is hard for me to believe that this guy swimming around in a fish tank at a club, wearing blue tights and a rainbow speedo has a girlfriend...but I guess I need be more open minded to opinions and tastes that are different from mine!

"Se Alquila"

The past two days have been devoted to apartment hunting. Before I came here I knew no matter who I met during orientation I wanted to live with Spaniards (or Europeans). Even though I came here with Clay and Emily and also met several very good friends during orientation, once we got to Málaga I stuck to my initial goal. I was determined to find a free room in an apartment where I will be able to speak Spanish on a daily basis and hopefully make some European friends. So while it was definitely not the easy way to do things, I am hoping that my two days stressed out running all over the city will pay off. The picture below is from a bulletin board at the University that we went to to find phone numbers to call.

There are several websites that are helpful for finding an apartment in Spain such as Loquo, Idealista and Easypiso. However, the easier way to find an apartment is to look for signs that say "se alquila." This means that someone is advertising a "piso" or "habitación" (a room, which is what I was looking for) that is for rent. I called dozens of phone numbers that I found on signs near the main plaza on c/ larios and several near the University. Unfortunately none of these worked out. Many of the numbers I called were actually to rent offices or apartments with multiple bedrooms, whereas I just wanted to move in to a free room where other people were already living.

Luckily I did receive several messages on Easypiso and one of them was from an agency called EPS Malaga. My friend Emily had already put a deposit down for an apartment through this company to move in with four europeans so I was very interested. A young woman working for the company took me to the apartment on c/ Atarazanas which is a great location. It is five minutes from the bus that I need to take to get to work and very close to a huge outdoor supermarket/grocery store as well as c/ larios. There are four european boys living in the apartment. At first this made me a little bit nervous because if they were anything like my guy friends who had houses together in college it was going to be pretty unlivable for a girl. However, the apartment was actually spotless. I could not believe it. I would have my own room and there are two bathrooms, a decent kitchen and living room. There is even a "cleaning schedule" in the kitchen that says who cleans what room what day. I only met one of the guys, a student from France, but there are two Italians and a guy from England.

After my unsuccessful day searching today I went back to EPS and told them I wanted the apartment!!! I am going to move in October 1 (after my first day of teaching). I am very excited and hope that it will be a great experience. I had to sign a lease until at least January, but if I am really unhappy I can always leave (but will lose my security deposit).

Purell: Don't go to Spain without it

Napkins, as well as paper towels are very hard to come by in Spain. In restaurants they use something that is very similar if not actual wax paper. The napkin does not cover the surface area of your lap, (unless you look like you don't eat and would therefore not even need to put a napkin on your lap) and it is extremely hard to absorb a spill or moisture on your face. As expected, paper towels are rarely found in restrooms. It is very common to see people walk out of the bathroom waving their hands awkwardly in the air to dry them, (because waiting for the hot air dryer to come on is way too time consuming and inefficient). To avoid this I purchased several bottles of Purell before leaving the US. Do NOT get on a plane without it. This still leaves the issue of what to use when you need to clean up a spill, wipe your mouth or the bathroom runs out of toilet paper. I always carry around a small pack of tissues with me. Definitely happy I brought the big Duane Reade pack so I have reinforcements.

Jamón

The first time I was walking around Madrid I saw a store called "Museo del Jamón" and my friend who I was walking with asked me what it was and without hesitation I said, "Oh it's a museum of ham." Ha. Yeah right. If you have never been to Spain you probably do not know about the obsession/fascination that the Spanish have for jamón. Jamón is ham and is served everywhere with everything. A popular example is, "jamón con queso." "Jamón" also hangs from restaurant ceilings like in this picture: