For my first nine months in Spain, I lived in a dorm right in the heart of Madrid. It was Hostal Chocolate along Guzman El Bueno in the Moncloa area of the city. A friend, Eugene G. Sycip, from Ateneo de Manila and also a recipient of the Spanish Government Scholarship two years before I received mine, lived here when he first arrived. In fact, he was still living here when I too arrived in Madrid. Given its proximity to the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the Instituto de Cooperación Iberoamericana, it was the perfect place for me. It was actually a dorm for women from all over Spain studying in the Spanish capital. Sensing that I was a good and quiet kid, the owners, Don Sergio, Doña Susana, and their son, Juanchie, allowed me to stay. It was expensive staying there. My room rent ate up most of my monthly scholarship allowance. In hindsight, it was worth every penny. I got to practice a lot of Spanish with the girls who lived there. The girls we lived with there were all so very nice and friendly. It was actually different from the impression I got of Spanish women while living in Manila. I thought they were all snooty and hard to get along with.

Taken in the room I shared with Marvi Zambrano. He took the top bunk while I slept at the bottom bunk. Here I am with Rosa Garcia Llorente of Alicante, Spain. This girl was my best buddy while I lived in the hostal. We have lost touch over the years. I do miss her.

This is me getting ready to go to bed.