After a catastrophic first day I managed to stay in a youth hostel, found at Hostelworld. This hostel is Granada Inn Backpackers, only two minutes away from the center of the city walking and the staff is very welcoming. I didn’t have this “hotel” feeling, this gap between employees and clients. They speak almost every language there! The staff is young, smiles a lot and is ready to help you. They are really nice, answer all your question, give you a map of the city and offer you different activities.

Thanks to this hostel I met the staff of walkingranada (I’ll tell you more about it later.) I guess I didn’t stay enough (only one night) to purely enjoy the charm of this hostel, but it was pleasing. A night in Granada Inn Backpackers will cost you approximately 15 euros breakfast included (a little bit more with extras like “only girls dorm” etc.) I let you enjoy the pictures for the rest of the article.

After a very nice visit of a flat and the need of sleeping in my very own bed, I left the hostel and moved in what will be my home sweet home for the next five months.

L’Auberge Espagnole is also, according to the movie, a flatshare! Flatshare is an integral part of the Erasmus experience. It’s a bit like Russian Roulette, you don’t know what will happen. Am I going to get into a crazy group in a fancy flat like in New Girl? . Will my roommate be like Winston, a cat lover? Or will I share my bathroom closet with someone like Schmidt, a neat freak? I always saw myself like a Jess wannabe, a little weird girl that sings a lot and wears colourful clothes.

I never shared a flat before. I won’t the “flat sharing” with my family, It’s not the same thing at all. Since my first year in my applied foreign language degree I became a creature of habits with my little studio, my little decoration. My little home sweet home. But at the dawn of moving in a new house I am thinking that sharing a flat will be hard: I won’t be able to wear my grandma pyjamas anymore and do hair oil bath every weekend. I will have to behave.

Sharing a flat during Erasmus brings some a priori. First, we think about a multilingual flatshare, so, again, like in l’Auberge Espagnole. The thing is, I am not really a “social person”, I am more introvert-extrovert, but I guess going out in tapas bars should be fine for me. I only hope my Erasmus experience will be different from the movie: otherwise my name is Xavier, I am played by Romain Duris and I am currently writing this naked in my computer from the 90’s. What a dream.

But before moving in and finding your Ross and Rachel of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, you have to look for an accommodation, right?

Wherever you are going, there must be an Erasmus centre such as ESN (Erasmus Student Network). It is the case for Granada. You will find a facebook page and a group called ESN Granada Alojamiento. You can post your advertisement or look for a flat that will please you. The average price is 300 euros per month (utilities included) for a room in the centre which is more than acceptable.

As for me, I found a nice little room near Puerta Real, only a few minutes away from my faculty. It’s perfect! We are an international flatshare: There is a French girl (it’s me!), an English boy, an Australian girl and an Austrian girl. We essentially speak English but we will try to practice our Spanish!

I have nothing more to say about it right now, we will soon see each other for my setbacks and nice aspects about flatsharing. I hope you will be able to find your Sheldon Cooper (or not, it’s for your own good.)