A Home, Finally

I live in Estepona, a town in Málaga province, in the autonomous region Andalucía, in the south of Spain. I even have a real, physical address! (Email me if you're interested in specifics.) I live in a room of a shared apartment, which I found through something similar to craigslist. My roommate is Juán. He's 29 years old, is a native of Estepona, and the price is right. I've only lived there for a day, and I already find him annoying. I realize this doesn't bode well for the future, but I think he's just trying to be the protective older brother for this little foreign girl. But, when I say I don't need help with my massive suitcase, it means I don't need help with my massive suitcase (and I don't care that it weighs 55lbs). He means well, really. I found this on the refrigerator this morning:


Thanks for the hand-drawn rose, Juán, but I really didn't mind when you didn't respond to my text. (PS. I can't figure out why part of this photo keeps getting chopped off when I post this.)

Clearly, I'll have to work out some issues with female independence, which may be somewhat different here in Spain. And, he'll learn to back off a bit and not tell me when I need to close my curtains. I'm sure it will be fine. Or, I'll move out.

Anyway, housing and roommates aside, Estepona is great. I really like it. It's small enough to walk everywhere, but big enough that I'm still regularly confused when exploring the streets. It's reeeaaallly hot today. Like 85 degrees. Also, it's humid, so I'm often dripping with sweat, literally. But it's pretty and sunny, and the houses are all white with red tile roofs. It is very Mediterranean. I can't believe I'm wearing a sundress on the 2nd of October.


1) The view from my American friends' terrace
2) I walk through this street on the way to my favorite café (one of the only ones with wifi, yes, I am still a Seattlite).

Estepona would be a very nice place to retire. In fact, quite a few northern Europeans have retired here. But, for my part, I hope there are jóvenes (young people), too. We haven't found them yet, but Friday nights are a good time to look.