DAY 1: After a tear-filled goodbye at Ft. Lauderdale airport and a two hour delay, we arrive Newark to find that they have just closed the door to our Madrid bound plane. I wish I had known this before running through the airport with massive bags in tote. We wait for a later flight, and more than seven, uncomfortable hours later, we arrive Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain. Dad has arranged for an AeroCity shuttle (the most economical transportation - go Dad!), and April worked out the kinks of our late arrival from stateside (thanks April!). We arrive to the residencia where we will stay until I find a piso (flat). Shortly after lunch I ecstatically encounter Kristina, my fellow Fulbrighter from Ft. Lauderdale. Mom, Dad, and I join Kristina and her parents, Victor and Nury, to seek mobile phones: the first step in the piso hunt. We visit Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, and then Movistar again at a different location. We discuss prepagado (prepaid) plans ad nauseum, and my head spins with Spanish. Finally, I say "BASTANTE," and choose the tiempo libre plan by Movistar. I am happy with my choice, and now carry a trendy, little LG phone! I'm starting to feel Spanish... We scavenge the city for "se alquila" (for rent) signs and collect numerous phone numbers in the areas close to the Atocha-RENFE station (from here, I will commute to work). A solid night's sleep follows dinner at the residencia cafeteria.
DAY 2: We have a scanty breakfast at the residencia and set out immediately to begin the search for a piso. The day is marked by miscommunication, frustration, and disappointment. First, we wait for a man to arrive to show a piso. When 15 minutes pass the appointment time, we wonder if all our appointments will be met with "cultural punctuality." Eventually, I call to find out that the piso is not available till the 15th of September. I can't explain where our miscommunication occurred. I feel completely baffled. C'est la vie: we continue. During the day, I leave multiple messages and receive multiple texts such as "piso esta alquilado" (piso is rented). Signs that read "se alquila" yesterday say "alquilado" today. With students returning to university, pisos are a hot commodity and going quickly. Adding to my frustration and self-doubt, more than one Spaniard hangs up the phone on me. The phrases "repite por favor" or "mas despacio" (slower) act as the catalysts for this abrupt goodbye, indicating that they do not welcome a foreigner. Nevertheless we endeavor and collect phone numbers from bulletin boards in internet cafes and scour the newspaper. On DAY 2, we see two habitaciones (rooms) and one piso.
EL PRIMER HABITACION: Angeles greets us from Calle Lavapies (though charming, a highly immigrant neighborhood prowled by many men and seemingly sketchy characters). This habitacion entails living with Angeles, her dog, and 30yr-old male roommate; sharing one bathroom and a common eating area but no living room. PASS.
LA SEGUNDA HABITACION: I speak to Rosa on the phone. She has more than one room available and will show me them right away! Entering the apartment, Rosa hits the lightswitch to no avail (1st reason to leave). She opens the circuit box and still can't turn on the lights (2nd reason to leave). She tries four keys for the first habitacion and cannot open the door. "Estoy confudida con las llaves," she explains to me (I am confused with the keys). Oh yeah, that's the 3rd reason to leave. She tells me it looks just like the next room, but I couldn't say because I can't see anything in the darkness, and there is not even a window in this room (4th reason to leave). We round the corner to see two small children and one woman in the kitchen, which reeks of unappetizing cuisine (5th and 6th reasons to leave). We pass a fairly large salon - though obscured by darkness - to enter the third room. Though it has a nice balcony giving natural light, JUNK clutters the room: a bunk bed with three matress, boxes, dumbells. At this point, Dad speaks in pig latin: UGLY-AY, AM-SCRAY!! Given plenty of reasons, we finally leave not soon enough.
THE 2-Bedroom PISO: Great place in Pacifico! Immaculate and large rooms. Open terraces inside building. I'm ready to tell Kristina and Graeham (potential roommates), but later we receive advice from a fellow Fulbrighter to live where you will go out since the metro closes around 1am, and frequent taxis become expensive. Scratch that idea.
To stress how discouraged we felt, you must realize we saw a meager 3 pisos in 9 hours of searching. We try to remain positive, and I look at today's efforts as practice. After all, my speaking confidence has improved un poquito (very little).
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