My Piso!

So yesterday I made a few calls and planned a few visits to pisos, and found my piso!

It is on the 5th story of an apartment building on one of the biggest streets in the city, called Camino de Ronda. The piso has five rooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and salón (living room) and a tiny little balcony. The three biggest nicest rooms are already taken by three spanish girl students who will move in mid-September. Apparently two of them are psychology majors, which I am excited about as that's my minor. And then the fourth room is mine, and then the owner will find one more girl for the fifth room. It's not perfect, but I'm excited about it. I really wanted a gorgeous view and a terrace, and it turns out my room only has an interior window (meaning I look out my window and see a white wall about 8 feet away). So I am bummed about that. And the other thing is the salon, or the common area, is tiny; the small kitchen table barely fits. And it's a little far away from the old, center of town where I wanted to live, near all the gorgeous old churches and buildings. 

So a few things like that aren't perfect. BUT, what I am most excited and happy about is the fact that there will be 4 other girls my age who are all students, and they are all moving in to this apartment for the first time this year, so I feel like we will all be in the same boat and so I'm hoping that means we will get to be friends and be in the same place. I haven't met them yet, but I am looking forward to it when I move in on the 18th. 

The owner Paco was really cool and friendly and we chatted for a while, and when I decided I wanted it I found an ATM on the street and withdrew enough money for the first month's rent and the deposit, equal to another month's rent. Then he gave me the keys! So I now officially have the keys to my new place!

It's been an interesting task, finding pisos. It's scary because you find something you like and you don't know if you'll find something better, so you have to make a decision one way or the other and go for it. Paco told me there were a couple other girls very interested in the room who he was expecting calls from, and so I felt a little pressured to choose yes or no right then. 

The way it turned out is that I didn't get the location and views I wanted, but I got the social situation I wanted. I wanted to live with spanish students my age, so my spanish will get awesome and I will hopefully learn the Andalucían accent. In Cristina's piso, I loved the view, but I didn't love the people. And I have decided the people are them most important thing. If I feel trapped without a view from my room, I can go take a walk outside. But it is imperative that I am comfortable and happy with those living in my apartment. At this point I haven't met them so I don't know, but I am optimistic and hopefully we will get along and live well together. 

I'm a little scared because my piso doesn't have central heating, and we have been hearing from everyone that the winters here are freezing. Unfortunately, many of the pisos don't have central heating because they are old. I am planning on just buying a good quality space heater for my room. Luckily my room is pretty small so hopefully the electricity bill won't be too great. And I will go to Ikea sometime and buy a really heavy warn down blanket for my bed! It will be fine. And it will be fun, definitely the coldest winter I've lived in yet. 

My room is small and has no view but I like everything else about it. It has nice furniture, and has a good amount of storage space, with some cute shelves on the walls and a nice wood desk and armoire for my clothes. It should be perfect! And we don't have internet yet, but there is the capability for it so hopefully when we have all moved in we can collaborate and get internet and share the cost. 

I found my place and paid for it and got the key at about 3pm yesterday, and I had previously made another date to see a piso at 8pm. So I no longer needed to see it, but I took Adrienne. We saw the piso, loved it, and she got it! I love her place. It is on a small cute street and is right across from the gorgeous old San Juan de Dios Church, so out of all of the windows there's a great view of it. And they are on the top level, so she has a nice cute sunny terrace. And they have a nice big salon... SO, I think if I had seen this piso first I would have gotten it. But, the ways things go it happened the way it did, and I found the other place first. I am a little bummed, but I know in the end we will all love our places and all have a wonderful year. And I can come visit her anytime and enjoy the view :). 

I have learned through this experience that it is easy to second guess your decisions, especially when they are this big and important. It is easy to be jealous of what others have found. I know that whatever decision I make there will always be advantages and disadvantages, and you have to take it all together. But I am confident that I will be happy, and being me I will as always make the best of what I have and love all of it. 

I am super stoked to meet my other four piso-mates! I will move in around the 18th or so, and will probably meet them then. Yay!