My dad and I arrived in Zaragoza yesterday evening, very tired after a 21 hour car journey from his place in Hemel to our B&B Pension Roma. We were both extremely tired and so went straight to pretty much, in order to have an early start in the morning.
And we started off early this morning in search of the correct place on the main campus of the university where I would be able to register with the university. Unfortunately we began in completely the wrong building, and I think my less than brilliant Spanish skills only helped confuse the situation even more! But José the lovely guy in the office managed to work out who I was and where I needed to go and sent me off in the direction of the international office. When I got there however the very lovely and helpful lady said, she could give me all the basic information that I would need for studying in Zaragoza - like a map of the city and a map of the campus (both of which are worth their weight in gold!) - but that she wouldn't be able to help me register, that would need to be done at my faculty main office. She also told me that the person who would deal with me at the French department office, wouldn't be in until the 27th of August and to just stay "tranquilla" till then.
So the next place our quest took us was to the main information office on campus in search of information about how to find people still looking for one or more people to live with. Upon entering the office we were greeted by one of the most helpful and pleasant people that I have ever met in an information office in any country! She immediately gave us a small folder with seperate page entries listing where the rooms were, at what price, what this price included, how many people would be in the flat in total and how many people they were looking for. This is a fantastic system, especially helpful for new students that do not know the area or any people in it! So we picked 4 apartments, rang the owners and agreed on the times that we could come and see them.
We were scheduled to see two apartments today and one tomorrow, so we arrived at the first one to meet Alvarro, a very friendly person (like just about everyone I've met so far!) who took a great deal of time and trouble to show us around two of his flats. Both my Dad and I liked the look of them, but they were quite expensive, so we agreed to have a look at the others and see what they were like in comparison. So we went to the next one at 1700 and we were both immediately impressed! The landlord José Ignacio showed us around and the entire place was immaculate, with a brand new fitted kitchen. The room is about the size of most university halls bedrooms, and fitted with simple, but high quality furniture and has it's own little sink and mirror. We agreed straight away that this was the perfect place at a very reasonable price with all bills included! And so we asked the landlord when I could move in, and he said straight away which is perfect us!
So tomorrow at 1000 we will be moving me into the room which will be mine for the next year of my life!
I started the day tense and slightly apprehensive about finding a place to live before my dad has to leave (taking the car with him) and also about all things uni-registration related. But thankfully I finished the day with all my doubts assuaged and a lovely place to live for the year. I sincerely hope the rest of my Erasmus year here in Zaragoza will be as smooth and successful!
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