Home Sweet Apartment

Days 2 and 3 in Ubrique were a success! In a matter of 24 hours I met some potential roomies, explored the city by foot, found a spacious, beautiful apartment with a fablous view, got a tour of the surrounding neighborhood from a friendly elder lady, negotiated a lease completely in Spanish and now have the keys in my hand to my future home. While I'd like to take pride in my improving Spanish skills and survival instincts, I'll admit I couldn't have done it myself! The buena gente (good people) here in Ubrique have been helping me every step of the way.

I had stumbled across some other language assistants staying in the hotel between Friday night and Saturday morning. We decided to piso hunt together since it would cut the cost... and no one wanted to get left behind to be homeless. Mi amigo Pepe heard back from one of the renters that had a 3 bedroom apartment just 2 streets over. He arranged for a meeting at the hotel and sent us on our way with Maribel- an overly friendly, optimistic, whimsical older woman with a permanent wide-eyed smile on her face. Seriously, permanent. She was a great saleswoman, pointing out the major benefits of the place to the smallest detaisl, though she didn't have to try so hard - the place was AMAZING. We didn't even have to think long about it; for the price she was offering, we agreed to sign that very day. After returning to the hotel to grab passports and money (which took longer than the anticipated 5 minutes because Maribel stopped along the way to show us the nearby pharmacy, restaurants, park, etc) we returned and went across the street to her son Jesus' house. Jesus, the partial owner, drew up a contract for October - June at 400 Euro per month. That's only 100 per person. That is insanely cheap. You can't just find a flat that cheap on a whim (with an awesome view might I add) anywhere in the states I'm pretty sure. He also agreed to let us move in as soon as we want and only pay 50 Euro each for the month of September. Bangin' deal since that's the same price we are paying PER NIGHT for our 2 star hotel! Discussing the lease in Spanish was somewhat of a task, but we made it through. Some people may have their doubts, that perhaps we were being railroaded since we are the new Americans in town. I am positive this is not the case. Jesus and Maribel were both extremely helpful and I truly believe they had the best intentions of helping us settle down and feel comfortable in their hometown.

Nearly 5 hours later, we finally made it back to our hotel. (Maribel felt the need to take us on a walking tour of the entire neighborhood and point out all of the essentials, including following me into the grocery store as if I had never seen one before. Did I mention she showed me how to work a microwave and TV as well? I must seem REALLY foreign.) I wanted more than anything to pass out, or at least take a siesta, but the night had other plans for me. First, I met with the bilingual coordinator from my school, Trini. She was on her way home from seeing a movie with her absolutely adorable daughter Paula when she stopped into the Ocurris hotel just to check in on me and make sure I was doing alright. It was very sweet, but she could see that my day had taken a 180 and I was settling in just fine! Afterwards, 2/3 of my new roomies and I went to dinner at El Laurel, which was delicious. I had some croquetas de jamon and red peppers stuffed with bacalao (codfish?) and smothered in some sort of tomato sauce, mmm. We then had a few cervezas (beers!) at a local bar and took turns buying a round (at 1 Euro a piece, it was more than affordable.) The liquid courage caused us to try our hand at conversing with each other completely in Spanish. I think we did alright, but I'm sure the locals thought we sounded foreign and crazy. Later, upon coming back to the hotel for the night, the cafe was empty except for Pepe of course and the camarero (waiter) Pedro. We had a drink with the two of them and practiced our Spanish for real. They are always so kind and generous to us foreigners, and most importantly they are patient with us. When we don't know how to say a word, we use circomlocution to explain our intentions, but even then sometimes there are malentendidos (misunderstandings). Pepe and Pedro are not only fun to talk to and patient with our not-so-perfect Spanish, but they teach us local words, phrases and pronunciation. Oh, and occasionaly give us free beverages and chocolate.

After that productive evening, I allowed myself to sleep in til my hearts desire- after all, Sunday is the day of rest! I slept in very late, took a nice walk throughout the town, and then came back to the hotel for a siesta. By the time I woke up, it was time for dinner! The new roommates and I went to the apartment to test out our new kitchen. After a nice meal of pasta, jamon serrano (cured ham, a Spanish specialty!), and pan (bread) we enjoyed some vino tinto (red wine) and tinto de verano (red wine with a hint of lemon! Specialty in Andalusia) up on the rooftop terrace. The night time view of the illuminated mountain facade was quite spectacular, the stars were bright on a clear night and we heard some coyotes off in the distance. It was a great way to spend our first evening in our new home.

view on my walk today

In addition to relaxing a bit, we did spend a little time walking through the rooms and deciding if there's anything we need to buy when we go into town - sheets, blankets, hand towels, etc -  though almost everything we need is already in the fully furnished apartment. I mentioned it was 3 bedrooms and as I'm sure you caught on there are 4 of us language assistants. There is in fact a 4th spare bedroom though it's very tiny. One of the girls has agreed to take the spare and we are going to cut the price of her rent a bit to make it a fair deal. In addition to the 4 bedrooms our new home has a spacious living/dining room with a balcony, a fully equiped, preciously decorated kitchen, 1 and a half bathrooms, our own laundry room with a washing machine and clotheslines, and... drumroll please... our own rooftop terrace with a beautiful view of the mountains. The decor could use a little updating (IKEA anyone?) but the space has so much potential to be a comfortable, spacious place to live for the next 9 months.

C/ Fernan Caballero, numero 10

I couldn't be more grateful to have found a perfect little piso in Ubrique. A big gracias to those who helped me get this far, it has made the transition to Spanish life a lot easier to be surrounded by buena gente!

Saludos <3