Apartment Life in Spain

After a two-month Christmas break and twenty-four hours of traveling, I have finally made it to Almería, Spain. I arrived to the oceanside airport on Thursday, February 14^th and immediately took a taxi to the address for my pre-assigned apartment. My taxi driver dropped me off right in front of the building, however I had no way of getting in. I waited outside with two, huge suitcases until a tenant opened the door. I then asked if he knew my landlord and he directed me to the wrong floor where I asked another lady the same question and she provided me with the correct floor and apartment. I was greeted by my landlady and her mom (the landlady, Patricia, is very young and works at the school) and offered to shake their hands but was rejected for two kisses on the cheek. That will take a lot of getting used to.

The apartment is very nice and just as the pictures portrayed. There are five roommates (three girls and two guys) and four bedrooms, so I offered to share a bedroom for less rent and nice company. The bedroom only contains one wardrobe for the two of us to share so our suitcases have become makeshift dressers. The apartment contains only one bathroom for the five of us, but we will find a way to make it work. The kitchen has a refrigerator, microwave, and stove along with some dishes, silverware and a few pots and pans. There is luckily a washer as well, but we dry our clothes on lines outside of the window. I have already dropped a Christmas sock down the three floors.

The area we are in is close to a lot of shops, but then again Almería is full of shops on every street. The city is not what I expected at all and will continuously find something new about it every day. It is not a picturesque city full of beautiful architecture on every street corner, but rather a city of apartment buildings with ground-level shops and hidden architectural gems here and there. My roommates and I have tried to come up with a word to describe the city, but we are still at a loss. I am glad it will be my home for the next five months because it is on the beach, has great nightlife, great weather and great people.

My bed is on the left.

The dining room, living room and balcony. The open door is my room.

The shower is behind the door and the window opens up to the hallway with the washing machine.

Our kitchen! The refrigerator is to the left.