Thursday, February 3, 2011
Tonight I decided I'm going to try to find an apartment in the city.
It turns out Carmen and Rafa thought I was only staying with them for three weeks, until the end of my immersive Spanish course. Carmen offered to let me stay on for the same price I'm paying now, but she needed to know if I was going to stay up until June or if I might leave before then to live in an apartment. They were offered the opportunity to host an American girl until June, which would be a better deal for them than allowing me to stay until I find somewhere else to live.
For many families in Cádiz, hosting foreign students is a source of income. The student pays a certain amount of money per day, and everything is taken care of: meals, laundry, cleaning, etc.
It's not a bad deal at all, considering that staying with a host family is also likely to improve one's Spanish. On top of that, I have it a lot better than some of my friends. I have my own room, my own bathroom, my own work area... I'm staying with an incredibly friendly family and Carmen is an amazing cook.
But apartments are rather cheap in Cádiz during the Spring and the idea of being more independent appeals to me. I may not eat as well on my own as I do here with Carmen, but not having to adhere to a strict meal schedule will be nice and I don't mind doing my own laundry. Living in an apartment will make traveling easier and it will mean I can have guests if a friend wants to visit me here in Cádiz.
In an already awkward conversation concerning money, made more awkward by the language barrier, I may have unintentionally insulted Carmen by saying that her prices were a bit too high for me. I think this is sort of a cultural thing; I was trying to express that I was a poor college student and that I would be spending considerably less money daily if I lived in an apartment, but I may have accidentally insinuated that her cooking and other services weren't worth the money I was paying. This is, of course, not what I was trying to say, and I felt badly afterward.
In retrospect, I shouldn't have made the conversation about money. The economy in Spain is even worse than the economy in the United States right now and a lot of people here are en paro, which means "out of work." Some friends have said that one or both of their host parents recently lost their jobs. I feel a bit like an insensitive American, trying to bargain for a lower price the way I did.
When I changed the subject to matters of independence, Carmen was much more willing to see things my way. She assured me that it was normal for someone my age to want to be more self-sufficient and that there would be no problem if I wanted to find an apartment. She just needed to know one way or the other, so she could finalize things with the American girl.
Although I'll miss everyone in my host family, I think I made the right decision in telling her that I would be leaving. Carmen and Rafa have both been very understanding of my decision and have offered to help me on my search. I'll let you guys know when I find something.
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