Adventuras con el teléfono.

So, us americans being addicted to our cell phones, of course I had to have one immediately when I got to Spain so we could coordinate things with our host family and each other. We embarked on our journey the first day we were here. Despite the jet lag, and the fact that the elections were going on (most of the stores were closed) we trekked all over town looking for the name of a store where Nacho said we could buy phones. It's a huge chain called Movistar. They look like this-->

We managed to stumble across one or two on our own but they were each already closed! Determined, we kept walking towards the city center to try and find one that was open. (Because of the elections, many stores had really strange hours, so it was definitely a hit or miss game). Asking a group of local girls "Donde está una lugar que vender los teléfonos celulares?" They were able to use some half-english, half spanish, and lots of hand gestures to motion us in the right direction.

A few blocks down, we saw a white display with cell phones gleaming in the window--it was like finding the pot of gold. We were all so excited and proud of ourselves for finding a phone store on the first day. However, as soon as we walked inside, each phone was over 40 Euros wayyyy too expensive.

We had been told by our program co-ordinator that you could buy a phone with prepaid minutes, no contract for around 20 or 30 Euros so  we left that store in disappointment that it didn't have what we were looking for. Having our heads down, we almost failed to notice the Movistar that was right across the street! After walking almost completely by it, Kyle (one of my roommates) suddenly stopped in her tracks and said, "Look! More phones!" Excited, we walked in and perused the prices where we saw a few phones that looked in the right price range.

Timid, we asked the two women working if they spoke any English. "No, nada. Lo siento" they replied. Wonderful. First day in Spain, guess I need to just dive in! Consulting my itouch dictionary I tried my best to explain we were students here for a month and we needed a phone with a prepaid plan. She seemed to understand that we were students and here "por solo un mes" but the prepaid part was really confusing. She kept pointing at the sheet and saying "Ocho centavos por minuto." Kyle and Lindsay were both looking back and forth from me to Ana (the woman with enough patience to put up with us American tourists making a super cheap purchase) as we struggled to understand each other.

Reading the plan over and over, I still didn't understand how it worked. Ana tried her hardest to speak as slowly as possible and use the simplest spanish words and eventually I learned enough to know it wasn't a contract, it was a one time purchase and we just went with my gut instinct and purchased 3 phones.

We paid in cash, and then had our new devices in hand! ....with no clue how to use them. The menus were all in spanish (duh), and we had no idea where our phone number was or how the plan even worked. Spanish phone numbers have 9 digits, and any international phone has to dial a 0034 number first to then get the spanish number. We ran home to our host family brother to ask him if we made a good purchase. He looked over it and said "it's less than I pay for phone, looks good."

With a bit more confidence, we went to bed exhausted. Luckily we had internet up and running the next day so I took out the manual to try and decipher how it all worked.

Laying out all of the instructions, and with the help of google translator, I was able to learn a few things. Apparently, the phone we bought was only 7 Euros, because 12 Euros came on the sim card that is in the phone (for our total purchase of 19 Euros). The sim card has 12 Euros that can be used for texting or calling. The first 350 text messages are free, and then are ,15 cents each after that. It is ,08 per minute of calling time. This phone is only for use within Spain though, unless you have a prepaid international calling card or are prepared to call me and pay for it yourself haha. (Muy caro--expensive!)

If you want to add more Euros (there is a minimum of 8) you can go online and purchase more with your credit card and your pin number that is given with the phone. It was a small victory for us (las tres chicas americanas) and we went out for ice cream to celebrate at a local Heladora (Ice Cream shop).

Yummy! The flavor was called "azul cielo" (blue sky) and was so delicious! It's similar in flavor to american ice cream, but is less creamy and a different kind of sweetness. It was some sort of vanilla mixture. But tan bonita, si?

And below here is the picture of success! Mi movil!

First day of school was today, and I have lots to say about that. Our teachers are fantastico! Hasta mañana a todos!