Hostel Week... or Hostile week?

You know why it´s fun to travel in hostels? For the same reason it´s NOT FUN to LIVE in hostels!
(This week was so busy, I don´t know where to begin...)

Let´s start with my hostel! It really is a fantastic find, it´s the cheapest we saw (16€ per night), full of young people, down-to-earth and friendly receptionists, constant music, a kitchen, free internet/coffee/tea/etc., and in the dead center of the most fun area of Madrid, Tribunal/Malsaña! However, for someone who is jet-lagged, trying to adjust to the food and water, constantly apartment hunting, and trying to settle down in Madrid, it was quite a struggle. The 12-person female dorm I stayed in was right above a bar so the windows did nothing to keep the noise out. Furthermore, I slept by the window the first 4-5 days, meaning even more street noise and smells... *shudder* If I ever need to travel in Madrid again, I will for sure check this place out again, but not for a week-long stay. (Shout out to the awesome people I got to meet/talk to/awkwardly wake up staring at!) Echaré mis amigos de aquí cuando me voy!
Oh yea, it ended up being 8 days instead of 5 because of the hectic mess that is apartment hunting in Madrid! As prepared as I was, or thought I was, I really had no idea how tiring or stressful it would be. We took care of some basics the first day we arrived, like getting cell phones, exchanging money, and grocery shopping. On Friday, we really liked the first place we saw and the owner seemed to be a very friendly and honest man. He said he wanted us to move in, he gave us a lower price, and he said would keep it for us until Monday. So, we thought we had a solid back-up and went on our merry way, looking for places with a better location since one roommate has a very long commute to her school. However, less than a day later we received an email saying that he was going to give it to a different group of girls who said yes right away and were willing to pay higher. We felt swindled and bewildered, and we didn´t quite know what to do. We panicked in our different ways, and spent a sleepless night researching apartments with a fire under us this time, but couldn´t do anything about it since it was Saturday night and no one does anything Sunday in Madrid.
So, we followed that example and spent Sunday in Retiro Park, calming down our feverish brains and exhausted bodies. We napped near Palacio de Cristal, chased the peacocks, and got a bite to eat at Cien Monteditos (favorite!). Our church was closed for some odd reason this week, so we had our own Psalm reading on the lawn near the lake and let the words of encouragement soak in.
My particular favorite: Psalm 139.

Monday was a day-long orientation which gave me a better idea about my role as an "auxiliar de conversación". I discovered I´m assisting in 4 different classes, and 4 different grades! 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. And 3 subjects: English, Arts, and History/Social Science. I´ll get to teach them more than just language class, so they get used to hearing/using English in other subjects as well. :) I absorbed many of the tips the program leaders, former auxiliares, and teachers gave and I feel better about what I am doing here. We are here to improve oral ability so the children can not only pass their bilingual examinations and have better opportunities, in careers or whatever, but also to show them my culture. They found that having a native speaker around and interacting with the children forces them to use what they thought of as just a "subject" as an actual skill. I hope to see little global-minds at the end of this year!

On the topic of languages, I think my Spanish is already improving! A little. My comprehension has shot up upon arrival, since I´m around Spanish most of the time and my roommates and I try to speak as often as possible with it. I´m the most basic level of the three of us, so I am learning a lot by just listening to the way they structure sentences and use the tenses. I´m self-correcting a lot more, albeit after the fact. lol. And getting used to colloquial phrases that I didn´t think directly translated but now realize they make sense. When I´m in my school, I´m never to let the kids know that I speak or understand any Spanish. I think that will be a little difficult, especially with the older kids, because I have to play dumb when the teacher addresses them. I hope I don´t give myself away!

BUT... back to the apartment hunting saga! Maybe you forgot, but where we left off, I was still homeless. Sin hogar.
On Monday evening we walked everywhere we could think of looking for fliers or poster advertisements for 3 room apartments, anything in our price range really. We found about 10 after a few hours, and added them to our list of possibilities from the online sites. The next day we whittled that down to 3 appointments. Our first one was a dud, it was too expensive and big and we lacked enough people to make it affordable. The second one wasn´t furnished, but the agent took us to see 2 others that we seriously considered. One was still "in town" but in a poor area and we didn´t like the vibe. But we had to keep it in mind, otherwise we´d have nothing. The last one he showed us was very good, had an UNBELIEVABLE price, and seemed fine enough. The major drawback was it´s location, far out of the city center and in a very young family/older family neighborhood. We signed a deposit because we were running out of time and it was a bargain. HOWEVER, we had one more appointment that I just had to check out. It is one street east of the apartment I lived in last year in a clean and adorable part of town, close enough to everything fun as well as the transportation systems we need for our various schools. And it was a good price, less than the one we lost earlier in the week. After seeing it, my roommate and I were hooked. We loved the area, the actual flat, the amenities, and the guy was more professional and serious. So, we jumped on it! We lost our small deposit at the other place and apologized for the inconvenience, but this is apparently how the system works here. And we are lucky it does, because we might have ended up with the very first place and never known this beauty existed!!
We met with the proprietor today, signed the reserve, paid the agency, and we have an appointment to sign our contract tomorrow morning and move in right after we´re handed the keys! :D I can´t believe I´m living 3 blocks from my place last year... The immediate area is full of memories for me, but just waiting for more!! Kelsey and I hugged/skipped/ran/did a happy dance all the way to Temple Debod two streets over, giddy and in a little bit of shock. That park is a magical place at night that I look forward to spending more time in as OUR park! Tomorrow we´ll be HOME!

Oooof...you didn´t think that would EVER end, did you?
Sorry it´s so long, I just have had so little time to process and summarize and get all of this out. And I may not for a little bit, considering the next step is to get the Internet set up at our new place. Bye-bye hostel perks... :/
After this weekend, I will no longer be a vagabond/traveller/tourist, but a resident of Madrid (almost) and an elementary school teacher (almost!). I can´t wait, but I also would appreciate if all of this would slow down so I enjoy every bit of it!

Shout out to my roommates, Laura and Kelsey, you are wonderful people and I look forward to spending this year with you! Thanks for being so in this together! I think we´re going to rock this year. :)
Also if I contacted you this week about various freak-out issues, I really appreciate your prayers, advice, and support! Hallelujah, almost made it through!
I guess roller coasters are a normal thing in life. Gotta remember that... Good thing I´m coasting upward and have a stronger stomach now for the next lurch!

-Danielle