After an amazing trip to Morocco it was time to finally settle down in Leon. The traveling madness was subsiding and I could finally take my place amongst the people of Leon.
I had originally lived in the dorms during my first couple weeks of classes but a couple months ago it was time for me to move out. When I arrived to Spain I didn’t know where I was going to live after the dorms, but I figured two weeks would be enough time to find a place to live.
After the first week I really started searching for somewhere to live, but it was a challenge to find a landlord who was okay with me staying only a couple months. Most people in my program moved in with host families, however, that was over triple the price of living on my own. I found a few potential rooms for rent, but none were ideal. I wanted to live with someone who spoke Spanish, and I wanted to be in a decent location. At the beginning it wasn’t looking too good. Then one day I received an email from someone asking if I would be interested in this apartment. I saw the place and accepted it right then and there.
I remember asking the landlord how she found my e-mail and she told me, but I couldn’t understand a lick of it. So I don’t know how she found me but I decided it really didn’t matter. I proceeded to sign the paperwork to my new home.
I moved in and now I live in this lovely flat with an amazing roommate, Espe. She is older, out of school and works as a hair stylist. She and her boyfriend, Pablo, are incredible and I am so lucky to have them. Pablo speaks a little English so it is nice to have him around if Espe and I can’t fully understand one another. They have accepted me into a portion of their Leon bubble and I am very thankful for them. I have had dinner with Espe and her parents, they have taken me out to a comedy bar, and oddly enough Pablo is the brother of my landlord who lives in the building. It has been wonderful so far.
My days in Leon consist of a pretty chill schedule. My student itinerary involves Monday through Friday classes starting with grammar from 9:30-11:30, coffee and tortilla from 11:30 – 12, culture from 12 – 1, and writing from 1 – 2. Pretty fun stuff I must say. There are 12 people in my class, 3 from USA and 9 from Japan. We all stay in the same room but for each session we have a different teacher. My teachers are Christina, Marta and Roberto aka the best line up in the program.
We do all sorts of activities and talk about different things. Sometimes I wonder if I am in college or in kindergarten as Roberto loves to draw things out, and once Marta assigned us to color while listening to Disney songs in Spanish.
Classes stay eventful, yet, sometimes I wish I were taking classes at the university since I miss seeing all of my friends that I made the first two weeks of school. I am in the language center across town and it isn’t exactly the ideal spot to be in to try and stay in the foreign exchange loop. It’s still doable but just more challenging.
While school is great, outside of the classroom presents a little more of a struggle at times. My first true challenge was the task of trying to get Internet installed at my apartment. While traveling, the person with the router moved out, and so I was on a mission to get reconnected to the outer world. It took about a month to do so.
My time without the Internet got me out and about. I became very acquainted with the public library, I have a card to prove it. I spent many hours sitting on the stoop of the school using their Wi-Fi. I was going through mobile data like a made woman and sitting on the stoop saved me a buck or two. I also passed time by doodling tattoos in my notebook and by signing up for a cooking class. I checked the weather in the morning by walking out on my balcony and pacing back and forth a few times before deciding what to wear. Also, instead of having a translator app, I had to use charade tactics to communicate with my roommate. As much fun as all of that was, it is nice to have the Internet back at my disposal.
Loving life at the library
Although the wait for Internet wasn’t too bad, the process of trying to sign up for it was awful. First, I tried a place my friend recommended, “Ono.” He went with me the first time and we got all the paperwork sorted through and things seemed good to go for installation the next day. I was off to lunch when I get a call from Ono telling me I have to pay a 70 euro installation fee. I go back to them, they say it’s because I am not a Spanish citizen. I tell them, “Okay, my roommate is.” They say, “Get her ID number and first and last name.” I got it. I brought it there. They said she had to be there in person. I said why, and they said if she can’t make it, any Spanish person would do. I said, “okay I will ask my friend.” …If you have been counting, this has already been 4 of the 7 times I walked to that store. Each time I went it was like I was presented with one more clue to get me through this wild goose chase. It was incredibly frustrating. I would always see the same girl and she was just as frustrated with me as I was with her. Let’s just say customer service/satisfaction were not huge factors here.
After my roommate noticing the distress this company’s complications were causing me, she told me she would take care of the Internet deal. She set up something with a different company right away. Thank the lord for her, but after she spoke with them, it was all about the waiting game. It ended up being 21 more days until the Internet was installed. Although I saved 70 euros by not signing up with that other company, I ended up spending around 70 euros on phone data charges instead.
The real transition into getting settled in here started off a little rough, but overall it has worked out remarkably well.
A Semester Abroad-ening my horizons 