It was nearly 11 o’clock by the
time I got up this morning, having woken up and fallen back into a doze several
times. I’d heard voices and emerged from my room half expecting to find my new
flatmate moving in – but it had been wishful thinking, and I was still alone.
Resigning myself to another
lonely day, I put some water on the stove to warm up for a cup of coffee. I’m
beginning to come to terms with the fire hazard I’m confronted with every time
I want to turn on a hob (by turning on the gas and putting a lighted match to
the ring). Considering I’ve never been altogether comfortable with using
matches, I’m quite proud of myself. I have to say it presented itself as yet
another obstacle when I came to cook last night, but there were only a few
panicked failures before I managed it. First achievement of the trip, I’d say.
It was midday by the time I’d
showered and got out the house. I decided to fetch myself a fresh baguette from
the bakery down the road and blend in like a local (well, you can’t blame me
for trying). It was much warmer today,
although the strong wind took it way below the 17 degrees claimed by the
electric signs outside the pharmacies. After dropping my baguette at the flat,
I followed my Google maps directions to the university – not getting lost even
once! In fact, I got asked for directions yet again. This time, as luck would
have it, he wanted to know the way to the river, the only place in town I could
direct him to.
When I arrived, the impressive,
beautiful building of the Facultad de
Letras was unmistakable, but I decided to make absolutely certain I was in
the right place and popped into the information office. It’s really frustrating to be starting again at that point of
barely being able to express what I mean, let alone get a bit of my personality
in there. Nonetheless, I made myself understood with a simple: “Hello. I’m a
foreign student and I’ve got an orientation tomorrow. Do you know where it will
be?” Not exactly Shakespeare but I found out what I needed to know.
On the way back I decided to pass
Bershka and Zara (I admit it: I am a danger to both myself and those who supply
my bank account) but thankfully managed to exercise self-restraint, reminding
myself that it was a choice between pretty things and food: I chose survival.
On my way back a short, warm shower erupted from a sky that, moments before,
had been cloudless and vivid blue. If I don’t start remembering soon to take my
sunglasses wherever I go, I’m going to get premature frown lines.
When I got back to the flat, I
made myself some lunch before starting on some tasks that might make me seem
slightly OCD: airing out the kitchen, washing the plates, cups and bowls, and
sterilising all the cutlery with boiling water. In fairness, the kitchen did
smell musty and yesterday I had found cobwebs in my rice after pouring it into
one of the cups. Anyway, I felt better afterwards.
I spent the rest of the afternoon
reading and trying to revise some more vocabulary so I wouldn’t seem like the
class idiot at the orientation the next day. About the only excitement I had
all day was finding a potential cockroach in the bathroom (which was so small
it was probably just a kind of beetle), which I, having heard about their
egg-laying tricks, swept up and flushed down the loo. When dinner time came
around I made another lonely dinner for one which I watched in front of a
slightly bizarre film about a man in denial about his sexuality. Needless to
say, I’m looking forward to the Erasmus orientation tomorrow. Once I know my
timetable I’ll have something to fill my time and get me out of the house, not
to mention people to talk to before I start going mental from isolation.
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