El Piso de Paco

Buenas dias! we just moved into a piso situated right outside of our universidad, owned by a guy named Paco. The search was long and taxing; we looked through hundreds of ads and visited 6 in person. We finally found a place super close to the university, right off the block of the main bar street, Avenida de Blasco Ibañez, living with three other international estudiantes. Paco welcomed us with a homecooked meal: Spanish steak with potatoes, goat cheese, and fruit marmalade. One of the girls is Paco's daughter, who speaks only Spanish and helps us along with the language.

We're right down the block from a square where Botellón takes place. Botellón is a Spanish traditional nightlife practice of buying alcohol from the supermarkets (before 10pm, per law) and drinking outside in plazas. Yesterday there were hundreds of people outside! Spain's relaxed lifestyle is starting to grow on me. Today I woke up at 10, ate a meal, walked around outside, ate another meal, hung out with mike & andrew, ate another meal, and now it's just about the right time for siesta before my 4th and last meal.

Also something rather inconvenient: the Spanish don't seem to work much. Especially at the international office at school, where we need to get our paperwork filed. In fact, they only seem to work two hours a day (4 hours on tuesdays and thursdays). Not to mention, just about everything is closed between the hours of 2 and 6, which is why we are relaxing in these lengthy four hours. No complaints though, the Spanish are incredibly laid back. I could get the hang of this.

Now it's time for siesta. Adios, hasta luego!