ndfobr0th-4h-9dcjkndjgrhg-9ugihfhkbdfbfd !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like that, but with a few screams, some hair pulling, and tears.

Frustrating doesn’t even begin to describe this entire process.  It’s not even that I am having absolutely no luck finding a place to live, but more the fact that we are given the impression that it’s “easy”, “totally doable” and “not to worry”.  NOT TO WORRY?!  I will be kicked out of this hotel room in T-MINUS 5 days!!!!  I have been here for 5 and literally have 0 leads on any possible housing accommodations.  I have been trying to tackle this beast in a few different ways, by using:

• Idealista- a housing/ room search site that let’s you look by neighborhood and contact people directly or get their phone numbers to call or Whatsapp them.
• EasyPiso-  This lived and died pretty quickly.  I can’t stand the number of e-mails they send out so…unsubscribe.
• Walking around and sniffing out “Alquilar” signs like a dog- I did this yesterday and it was (mostly) unsuccessful
• Craigslist- I found a couple nice-looking places on Craigslist but I am still waiting to hear back from these owners that say “Whatsapp me to come see the place” and then don’t f***ing answer and I KNOW YOU READ THE MESSAGE!!!
• Praying.  Pray for me.

Yesterday (Thursday), I spent a lot of the day riding the metro from barrio to barrio, looking at different neighborhoods to see what I liked and what I didn’t like.  I started the day with breakfast that I scrounged, literally.  Yogurt stolen from a buffet breakfast topped with dried fruit and granola they gave us on the plane.  With my map.

Ugh and no I didn’t have a spoon so I used some cardboard.  NOW DO YOU BELIEVE ME?!  Literally, this is the struggle.  I visited 5 places and loved 3 and hated 2.  So that narrowed down my search a bit.  Now it’s on to ACTUALLY finding something.

I visited…

1. LavapiesLoved it.  Close to the city center; beautiful buildings and balconies; coffee shops, bars and restaurants; lively; there was an Indian neighborhood; has a theater, supermarkets and a gym; I would have to take the metro down 4 stops and then over to the bus station and then take a 30 minute bus ride to school.  Totally doable but totally not finding any apartments here.

Aw, buddy.  I am trying to get in, too.

2. PiramidesNope.  Didn’t like this neighborhood at all.  There was nothing to do, see, or walk.  I stopped and had a coffee and croissant and fed off of their wifi for almost 2 hours while I talked to mi mama.

To get to Piramides, I had to take a crazy long hallway when I switched subways.  Look at this thing!

3. LegazpieAnother NO!  When I walked out of the subway, I wanted to see life and fun, but nope.  There was really nothing there.  Baaackkkk onto the subway!

4. Tirso de Molina I really, really liked Tirso de Molina!!  It’s one stop away from the city center, super lively and fun, it would be a couple subways and a bus to school, but again, doable.  From there, I walked to Anton Martin.

5. Anton Martin

Anton Martin sort of blended with Tirso de Molina, so I loved it.  I would be happy living in either of those places!

Once I had completely reached my breaking point, I came back to the room, showered,got dressed, and headed out to the “farewell dinner” that CIEE had planned on a “secret rooftop terrace”.These are my only two friends 😉 Monica (my roommate!) and Annie, we adopted her.

The restaurant had a name and an address, but no sign out on the street so I suppose it was a secret? It was really pretty and the bar was open until midnight and the food was good, so these are all positive things!  Then we had the option to go out after midnight…and go out we did.  They said some people would be going to Kapital, a 7 story dance club with different types of music on each floor.  Yes, it was about as awful as it sounds.  The line had to have had thousands of people in it and we waited a good 20 minutes before getting in (and paying 17E to do so).  They promised 2 drinks with that 17E, but alas, it was only one drink.  At least it was a strong drink?  The dancing was fun, and at least now I can say I have gotten Kapital out of my system.  I heard that it’s usually 20E to get in with no free drinks so I guess we got a bargain!  Ha.  If you’re looking for a crazy “Spring Break” kind of club with more Americans than you ever hang out with at home, then you will probably love Kapital.  For me…well, never again.

We didn’t wake up today until almost 2 pm and now I am, yet again, at my breaking point with finding an apartment.  I’m off to go for a run, shower, get dressed and head to dinner.  Wish me luck and have a great weekend 🙂