Life in My Residencia

My time in Madrid has been amazing so far, and much of that is due to the housing that I live in. It is called a “residencia” that really feels like an apartment. I have my own bedroom and bathroom, which is very convenient, and I share a kitchen and living room with eight other people (two of them being Emily and Alaina:). 

The other girls are amazing! They come from all over the world, mainly Spanish-speaking countries. There are girls from Argentina, Chile, and Italy, as well as girls from Spain. I haven’t personally met every single girl here, but I am guessing that over four months here will give me plenty of time to get to know them! I usually see them and talk with them when making meals or hanging out in the living room. The one downside to so many roommates in such a small space is that the noise carries. I have had difficulty falling asleep because of the talking and laughing I hear right outside my door, which begins around 10 pm and continues into the early hours of the morning. I think this is just an adjustment I will need to get used to. However, I still enjoy talking to them and getting to know them. They can speak some English, so if there is any confusion while speaking Spanish, we can clear it up quickly with a few English words. However, the majority of the time, speaking with our roommates is all done in Spanish, which is a great challenge for me. Some accents are a little more difficult to understand than others, forcing me to try to understand and listen. All of them are so kind and have invited us several times to do various activities with them. I look forward to becoming closer with them.

Another bonus about our housing is the location. I am located in Princessa, the same neighborhood that my university is in. It just takes me a short fifteen minutes to walk to and from classes every day. The walk down the streets of Madrid is beautiful and easy. I truly have enjoyed it. My residencia is also located very close to a Metro station, where I can hop on and off the metro to various locations all over Madrid and get there fairly quickly. The convenience of my dorm has been a blessing so far, and I can’t wait to take advantage of this blessing for the duration of my time here.

The biggest challenge (though exciting) is living very independently. The dorms are very much like apartments, so every meal is on me. For the past two and a half years, I have been living in the luxury of the MLC cafeteria, so it has been quite an adjustment. At first, trying to think of what meals to make, what groceries to buy, and what time to eat them was chaotic. I like to think that my cooking and meal-planning skills have already significantly improved. 

I’ll end this entry with a short and sweet description of my personal dorm room (rm 4:). It is definitely the smallest room in the dorm, but it feels very cozy to me and easy to keep clean. I have my own desk placed in front of the window where I do my homework looking outside into the street. I have a giant TV on the wall (that I can’t figure out how to use) and Vogue posters on the other wall that were already there. Everything in this dorm is very feminine, so pink and green are everywhere throughout my room and the rest of the building. I was able to put up some of my own pictures of my friends, boyfriend, and family to make it feel a little more like home. Overall, I love my housing experience!