After much angst and heartache, I managed to secure a very nice room in an apartment with two Argentinean guys and the German girlfriend of one of them. The process of finding a room in somebody else’s apartment is much like getting a job; there are interviews and résumé tweakings.  There are exaggerations and the nervous waiting period before you find out if your application will be accepted. In my case there was also a number of disappointments when deals were cancelled at the last minute and things didn’t go according to plan. It all took weeks longer than I thought it should have, but it all worked out very well. I really like my new roommates and the room is far more lovely than many I viewed. I only wish it were a little closer to my school, but that will be solved very shortly when I acquire a bicycle.

My apartment building is marked by the the red arrow  with some of Barcelona behind it. The population of Barcelona (1.6 million) is about the same as Manhattan’s but spread out over 1.5 times the land (39 square miles). However, the suburbs of Barcelona spread out to the size of all of New York City (310  sq miles) and contain 5 million people to NYC”s 8 million.

This is the living room with a small balcony off the end. The closed door leads to my bedroom and behind me is a small hallway that leads to the kitchen and the apartment door.

This is the kitchen. It is pretty small but functional except that the sink in the corner underneath cabinets is not ideal for somebody my height.

My room with my lovely huge window. Luckily for me pretty much every room in Barcelona comes prefurnished.

The view from my window. Last weekend there was a concert and skateboard competition in the square below.

If you stick your head out the window and zoom out all the way with your fancy new camera you sort of see the ocean from my window.