At the moment I am living in an AirBnB flat with four other students from Ironhack. It takes me back to Year 9 at school a little bit. The high school that I attended sends their Year 9 class out to their campus in the country for the whole year, with students returning home for every term holiday.

We lived in ‘houses’ of between 10 and 12 girls and the whole year was a revelation for everyone who attended, I think. The principles of living with other people never really change, of course, but every new group of people will always have their own dynamics.

I know that I can be a difficult person to live with. My flaws begin with a stubborn personality and include mostly kitchen-based preferences like an aversion to strong smells and a tendency to clean dishes as soon as they have been used. I like to think of these flaws as ‘quirks’… On the other hand, I like to think that I am someone who is happy to make compromises so I hope I’m not too difficult.

The benefit to living with other students is of course that we can support each other through any tough problems. I also know that finding a little bit of personal space and quiet time to myself is essential for me to function as a human being. Happily, my flatmates are super kind and understanding. In the mornings, we often walk together to MOB (Makers of Barcelona) where our classes are held. I really treasure this time to chat and walk with the others before the day of classes begins.

The flat itself is both awesome and frustrating. The kitchen is poky and poorly-equipped and the bathrooms initially had some functional problems that have since been solved. The most annoying thing is that the internet plan practically provides no internet at all. It is frustrating everyone and I am sure that they think it’s my fault since I organised the rental. The plan is supposed to be upgraded to a new company who offer a fibre optic connection, but at this point I wonder if the AirBnB host is just trying to placate us until it’s too late.

The best thing, though, is the balcony over Carrer de la Marina. From two of the bedrooms (one is mine!), a small balcony hangs over the street and we can see down the street to the ocean in the distance. I think it’s about a 30 minute walk although I haven’t done it yet. In the other direction, we look straight up to the Sagrada Familia which is still under construction and covered in cranes, but still an amazing sight to see. Cathedrals seem to always be covered in construction material of some sort or another, anyway.