More Week 1

Have I mentioned lately that my life is random? 

A few days ago I started looking for an apartment.  I knew wanted to live in the historic center of Málaga.  The buildings are beautiful and it's where all the fun happens.  Long story short, I find myself living with three self-proclaimed hippies, Dany, Alejandro and Estefany, two cats, Rumba and Alcatraz, (Alcatraz is so named for his relentless attempts to escape from the apartment), and one tortoise. 

The apartment is old, but my room is large and airy, with high ceilings and doors that open up to the charred remains of the building next door.  All of the apartments in my building have windows that open up into a small center plaza.  Everyone knows each other, so they're always yelling through the open windows and sharing meals in the various apartments.  My roommates are all Spanish, but the building also boasts a large Italian population and a smattering of northern europeans. 

 Everyone has been incredibly welcoming.  My roommates are forever inviting me to eat, asking if I need extra blankets for my bed, offering to help me fix up my room (we're going to paint it soon) and planning things to do together.  This Sunday we're going hiking in a park a few miles outside of Málaga. 

I have been hanging out a lot with another auxiliar de conversación, an American named Erin.  Yesterday we sat out on the beach and had dinner with a couple of Dutch guys we met there.  (Don't worry, Mom, we were careful.) 

Today was my first day of school.  (In hindsight, dinner until 1 am the night before was not a great idea.)  The high school has been having scheduling problems, so about 3/4 of the student body was "on strike."  This meant that instead of going to class they stood outside the school yelling for a few hours until they got bored and went home to play Nintendo.  Color me entertained.

At any rate, the professors I will be working with seem wonderful and I'm eager to start. After school Rodrigo and I stopped by a castle in a nearby town to look around.  (Every good Spanish town has a castle, after all...)

All right, this post is getting long so I'll sum up a few other things in a checklist:

Learned how to make crepes from a Frech woman?  Check.
Saw a middle-aged Irishman perform Sweet Home Alabama?  Check.
Climbed around a Muslim fort built in the 8th century?  Check.  (Acutally, I live a block away from it.) 
Had amazing Spanish food and wine at any chance I get?  Check.

That's all for now, folks.  Keep in touch!