Hey everyone! In my last post, I talked about all the amazing things I got the chance to see and do in my summer abroad. Since coming home, I’ve missed every bit of my time in Spain from exploration to classes. Not a day in Madrid was wasted, and every day went something like this:
As soon as I woke up and got ready, I would walk to the metro station near my apartment and ride over two stations to the metro station near Accent, which is the study abroad center where we took classes. It probably sounds strange, but riding the metro was one of my favorite parts of my day, whether I was going to school or anywhere else. It was cool to be surrounded by kids going to school, businesspeople going to work, and the occasional metro performer (twice, I saw Enrique Iglesias cover artists – highlights of my metroing experience).
On the way from the metro station to Accent was my favorite place to pick up a croissant and café con leche for just one euro, Nostrum; no morning of classes would start without that essential. At Accent, I had a morning class and an afternoon class – first Engineering Economics, then History. Between the two classes was a 4-hour break where those of us with the same schedule got the perfect opportunity to do a little exploring. My favorite thing to do was to work on assignments for a couple of hours at Dos Porteñas, a cafe just a few blocks down from Accent.
After getting some work done, I usually would have worked up an appetite, and on occasion, I would go check out a restaurant that I had heard or read about for menú del día. Lots of restaurants have this option, which is basically a multi-course heal with a drink and dessert for under or around 15 euro. Madrid’s food scene is so diverse that I was able to get any kind of food I was in the mood for, whether that food was Thai, Indian, vegan, or, of course, Spanish. After the meal, I would walk it off (…and maybe stop for llaollao’s frozen yogurt on the way) back to class.
After class finished, it was around 5, which gave me plenty of time to finish whatever work I had left at a cafe. I loved to explore new places to work in the Malasaña district, and spend some time walking around. After that, my favorite place to relax with friends at was Retiro, a park very reminiscent of Central Park. We would picnic there, walk around, go boating in the lake, and so much more.
Day-to-day life for me in Madrid was filled with endless adventure and variety, within each activity that I did. I don’t know if I could describe fully in words how much I’ve learned while being abroad, and how much I’ve learned from Madrid, but what I will say is that without a doubt, this summer has been unforgettable. The places you go, and the people you’ll get to meet, won’t be replaced.
[author title=”Author” author_id=””] href="#" data-color-override="false" data-hover-color-override="false" data-hover-text-color-override="#fff">Button Text
