My Past Two Weeks in Madrid
I have now been in Madrid for almost two weeks and I've had some really great experiences so far. It has been so fun and surprisingly, quite educational considering I've been here for less than two weeks. Sometimes I find myself comparing New York City to Madrid and it's very interesting to see in what ways they're similar and how they differ. These past (almost) two weeks have been a dream come true because I had hoped to come to Madrid for years now and thanks to the Kate Anne McNeil Study Abroad Scholarship I'm finally getting that opportunity.
The plane-ride alone was so exhilarating because it was such a surreal experience for me. Being that it has been a dream of mine to come to Spain, I was shocked that it was actually happening. The only real negative part of the plane ride was after landing because one of my friends lost her phone, I felt so bad for her but luckily phones are replaceable items and she was able to buy herself a new one here in Spain. We met Rocio and Antonio at the airport who were both very welcoming, helpful, and very informative.
At Funway Academic Resort, our residence, we were given a tour and the staff was very kind and helpful. I was shocked afterwards because the dormitories here are so clean and modern in comparison to Manhattan College (no offense MC, I love you). Let me explain further why I was so shocked, here at Funway not only do we have a pool but we also have a sauna (which sadly I have not used either yet). Our dorms are single rooms with it's own bathroom and shower so there's no need for disgusting communal bathrooms. The dorms itself is pretty spacious and has a good amount of storage space which makes it easy to keep the room nice and organized. Another positive factor is the bed which comes down from the ceiling at the press of a button.
Before classes started, Rocio and Antonio gave us a quick tour of the UCM campus (Universidad Complutense de Madrid). For the tour, we were inside the car the whole time because the campus itself is huge! Then on Monday, January 10th we were given a tour of the building in which all of our classes this semester would be held. During this tour we also met the other students who would be taking the same classes as us. The first few days of classes were very chill and it was more of an introduction of the course itself which was nice so that we could get accustomed to Madrid and do some tourism (which we did do).
One of the places we (my two other MC friends) tend to go to a lot is Sol which is a small town in Madrid that has a little bit of everything. There are lots of common stores, boutiques, restaurants, etc. It's a great little place to meet up with friends, do some shopping and go for lunch which is exactly what we did. Traveling with friends is the best and it's so fun being able to make new friends too!
After the short introductory period in classes, we started doing some actual work and the lectures itself were pretty interesting. All of the classes I am taking this semester are somehow related to Spain which is great because I really get the chance to learn about Spain's history and immerse myself into the culture. I've already had one test for a class and although I don't know my grade for it yet I think I did really well on it.
The important thing to keep in mind when studying abroad is having a good balance between your social life and your work life which I think I've done a pretty good job of so far!
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