Let's talk cost of living...

This may be the only time in my life that I live in a city center. Unless I miraculously get myself a high paying job (With a Liberal Arts Degree? Who am I kidding?), there is no way I would ever be able to pay rent in Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, DC, any major city in the US without scrounging my pennies.

This doesn't bother me. I mean, right now I'm working a full time co-op for going out money, basically, and I love my job. As long as I'm a single girl not wondering where my next meal is coming from (and with enough money to buy myself a cute pair of shoes and a new purse every now and then), money has no meaning to me.

I am both frugal and spendy. By that I mean, I'm always looking for deals. Coupons, sales, comparing prices. I can't think of a single instance in which I would ever choose to buy name-brand if there was a store-brand alternative (I'm looking at you, Spanish store-brand "ketchup"). But I also like to go out with friends, and I have a scarf/purse buying problem (hello, Shopper's Anonymous? I need you), and especially while I'm in Europe I will spend whatever it takes to travel.

So to live, practically, in the middle of a major Spanish city, in a studio apartment for $450 a month? That's insane.

Now that I've been here for 2 and a half months, let's break down the cost of living that I've experienced:*

Rent: $450/month (including utilities)
Groceries: $20-25/week
Going Out: $30-50/week (hey, I'm a college kid.)
Internet: $20/month
Spanish Mobile phone: $30/month

*keeping in mind that as a 20 year old, I'm going for cheapest possible, not quality

Now, there may be incidentals from time to time (hello, one-time service charge for Wifi. Here's looking at you, fee to open a spanish bank account) but for the most part, this total comes to just about $800 a month, or $9600 a year.

Unfortunately, Spanish minimum wage is much lower than in the US and other countries, so the average minimum wage salary wouldn't support my "lifestyle" here, falling short at about 750 euro a month. Plus, jobs in Sevilla are scarce (read: impossible to find).

But let me put it this way:

Cost of Living in Sevilla: $800/month
Living in Sevilla: Priceless

Yes; we're the crazy Americans.

Last Saturday I thoroughly enjoyed going grocery shopping now that I have my toaster oven, and spent most of the day cooking and doing laundry:

I honestly thought hanging my laundry to dry would be the weirdest experience, but I'm going to really miss it when I go home. When it's warm out, your clothes dry within the hour, and all you have to do is pin them out there and forget about them. And yes, I have forgotten about them before. 

Saturday night my friend Hayley and I went out to try out some tapas bars in the area. We started at 8:30 (rookie mistake) by having a beer at the setas kiosk. Spanish dinner time isn't until about 10-10:30, so we were surrounded by people having an aperitif, or before dinner drinks with friends.

Then we wandered into the city to get some food (again, still early by Spanish standards). Our goal was to have one or two little tapas to share at each bar and then move on to try another. However, we quickly discovered that it's highly unusual for two people to sit down and only order one little plate. ("One? You only want one?" they continually asked us in Spanish). Usually, when ordering tapas you order several to share, but that wasn't the point of our tour of the city.

So we had patatas bravas and eggplant with tomato in one bar, then moved on to Bar Alfalfa. We lucked out and scored a table right away - could have been something to do with the fact that it was only 9:30. There we ordered a tostada with really strong cheese and walnuts, and paella which was one of the specials of the night. I don't think I will ever get used to the cheese here. Bring back my neon orange cheddar!!!

We headed into the more touristy area next, but stuck to the back streets and found a near empty little bar to have our last drink of the night.

To bribe ourselves into walking home rather than jumping in a cab, we bought some gelato and were in bed by 12:30. Because we're cool kids.

Sunday morning I slept in super late, threw on some clothes, and went back to Hayley's to sit on her rooftop and soak in the sun like the pale kids we are. 

I was extraordinarily bad at taking photos last weekend.

The beginning of the work week was crazy. It seemed like we suddenly had so much to do in so little time, but then by the time Thursday rolled around, I was feeling like this, fighting my way through the flea market outside my apartment:

I made it out of the flea market and then somehow found myself in the middle of a student protest at Plaza de la Encarnacion. Just all casual like. Go figure. 

And forty-five minutes after I left my apartment, I finally made it to work.

Friday morning I managed to open a Spanish bank account. Woohoo! I kid you not, when I told the bank employee my US address, he said (in Spanish) "The only thing I know about Pennsylvania is that's where all the horror movies take place."

I hope that's not what every Spanish person thinks when I say I'm from Pennsylvania.

Friday afternoon I worked for five hours and then went to Costco with two of my coworkers. (Again, not kidding, we went to the only Costco in europe and it was beautiful). I refrained from buying everything (the salads. the cakes. the cookies. the snacks.) and went home with my bounty.

Saturday, surprise surprise, was Andalucia day. I'm sure this has super important regional implications, but to me all it meant was that everything was closed. Everything. Even Corte Ingles. #struggle

I did not know this in advance, so I had no groceries. What's a girl to do? Go exploring.

I bought myself a whole chicken fresh off the rotisserie at a little hole in the wall shop to sustain me for the weekend (and plenty into the week) and then nearby found this adorable little pet shop with birds, fish, rabbits, and guinea pigs:

Here you see a baby guinea pig just casually munching on a baguette. No big deal. After all, bread is the staple of every living thing's diet, no?

I went back out around 6 to spend some time in the sun and finally made it to the stop of las setas - the "Metropol Parasol" in Plaza de la Encarnacion. 

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I live just about five to seven minutes down the street from the plaza, so I've gotten a little complacent about having this giant wooden structure in my neighborhood (fun fact: largest wooden structure in Spain and possibly Europe as a whole). Taking a trip to the top was enough to humble me.

A cute older Spanish couple had me take their picture - the woman spent a good two minutes trying to "show" me how to use her phone camera. Thanks, but I think I know what I'm doing. You just smile and pose. Ah, the perks of being a solo traveller. I have taken many a tourist's photo.

My favorite day of this week, though, was Sunday.

Hayley and I tried our hardest to find the Sevilla Animal Market by the river, but it eluded us. I don't know if it doesn't exist anymore, or just wasn't there this weekend, but we were super disappointed. No kittens for us.

Our spirits were lifted, however, by two women in costume passing out vouchers for free wine. Animals? What animals? 

We sat in the sun for a good two hours at one kiosk, eating toast with olive oil and tomato paste and churros.

It was so good, and so filling for just 2 euros. Where in the states could you get a breakfast that cheap??

Then, we started visiting the bars that were giving out free glasses of wine (there were 13 total; we only went to 3, don't worry).

While we were wandering, there was a group of men practicing their procession route for the upcoming festivities of Feria/Semana Santa. They were all squished into this little metal cage, moving about an inch every time they shuffled forward. That's dedication.

We managed to catch them practicing with this golden one on Calle Feria (my street!) as they went into a church. Not that it would have been hard, considering I'm pretty sure at the pace they were moving it probably took them another half an hour to make it to the door.

Our final stop was for a little pizza to share at La Surena. There, we met a super friendly dog (yes, we were those crazy Americans going "Here, doggy! Hola, perro! Come here!" to random strangers' animals). No shame. This old guy hung out with us for a while:

And we loved him.

There aren't leash laws in Sevilla like there are in the states. The dogs are really well behaved (rarely bark, mind their own business and don't usually interact with strangers) so a lot of the time people will just let them wander around while they eat at a bar or kiosk or walk to a shop.

It's basically impossible to distinguish between a homeless dog and a dog whose owner is just around the next block, waiting for it to catch up. I still find this so strange, because that would never (or at least very rarely) happen in the US. 

Not that I mind; all the better for doling out pats to passing puppies.