My trip home took over 24 hours, and was torture due to a three hour delay from San Francisco back home.  Luckily for me, one of my friends from high school who studied abroad in Barcelona was on my flight home, and coincidentally we were assigned seats next to each other.  It was nice having someone who was going through what I was to sit and talk to during our long delay.  The flight from SF to Boise was on the smallest plane I had ever been on in my life, seating only 20 people.  I think I slept the entire 90 minute flight home, which was more than I can say for any of my longer flights.  Being reunited with my family and friends, who stayed up until 2 a.m. to come get me made the torturous travel time worth it in the end.  It was nice to get to go home and see my dog, and sleep in the luxury of my pillow top bed and fake goose down pillow.  After a few good days of down-time and rest, my mom hosted a small get together for some of our family and closest friends to welcome me home.  The party allowed me to make a big jug of my sangria, several tortilla de patatas, and pan con tomate, all of which were a big hit.

Being in Madrid definitely put things into perspective for me, i.e. to cherish each moment, even the bad or stressful ones because they will pass with time, and the passing of time meant that my time in Madrid was diminishing.  I consider my choice to study abroad  as one of the best decisions I have ever made because it opened my eyes to new cultures, pushed me to speak Spanish and improve my speaking and writing skills, and allowed me the biggest sense of independence I have ever felt in my life.  My last two trips to Dublin and London had me navigating the cities by foot with the help of a map, or just with my surprisingly good sense of direction; and never once did I get lost.  It was very empowering, and I was able to prove to myself that my dreams of traveling in the future can be done alone without fear.

I met so many great people while I was abroad, many of whom I plan to keep in touch with.  It was especially hard for me to say goodbye to my Spanish compañera who lived in the apartment with us.  We had grown pretty close during the semester, and she had helped me out numerous times from apartment drama to editing my papers for my literature classes.  We plan to Skype regularly so I can keep speaking Spanish, and she can practice her English with me.  When I get sad about my time in Madrid coming to a close I distract myself with all the positive things I have to look forward to in the coming month, such as returning to my closest friends and sorority sisters at Redlands, my awesome class and work schedule for next semester, and the thought of returning to Madrid in the future.

After living in Madrid for the past 3 months I have decided to come up with a list of top five things to do/see if you need ideas:

1.) El Rastro- this is a Sunday market held around the Metro area of La Latina where vendors set up booths to sell their crafts or random objects ranging from t-shirts, leather jackets and scarves to fans and other souvenirs.  Be prepared to bargain with the vendor because a lot of the time you can talk them down from their intended prices.  Be careful and keep a watchful eyes on your purses/belongings because this place can get crowed, thus making it an easy place for theft.

2.) Take a scenic walk/run around/through Parque del Oeste, stopping at Templo de Debod  and then continue down to the Madrid Rio for some of the best scenery I think Madrid has to offer.

3.) Parque del Retiro- we went here within the first few days we were in Madrid and had a great time walking around the big pond (for lack of a better word) and taking in the beautiful sights of the park. 

4.) Museo Reina Sofia- my art history class would meet up at this museum several times a month for class, totaling to over 10 hours spent there the entire semester…and we still didn’t get to see half of it!  For those of you who like art this is definitely a great place to go and see some of the most famous paintings from Spanish artists including Picasso, Miró, and Dalí.

5.) Sol- probably one of the more touristy places in all of Madrid it also has some pretty good shopping and there is always a lot to see… Not being one for crowds, especially during the holiday season, I tend to avoid it.  If all else fails wander.  Some of my best adventures in Madrid happened when I  set out with no destination and explored the city on my own.  By doing this I discovered how close everything really is here, and how the Metro makes everything seem so much farther.

-Before you leave it is good to have a general idea of how much money you have to work with during the months you are abroad.  You will either have a set amount for your semester, or like many people in my program have your family transfer money into your account when needed throughout your time abroad.  Once you know your budget you can calculate how much money you can spend per day/week on food items.

-For those in charge of making their own meals, whether in student apartments or homestays with kitchen privileges it is easiest to stay on budget if you make a meal plan for the week and stick to it.  A big difference here than in America is that Madrileños tend to go to the store more often (every day) to get the items they need for the day.  This is a good idea because then food won’t go bad and you won’t have to carry as much.  As soon as you get to your destination it would be smart to buy a few reusable grocery sacks because stores typically charge you to use plastic bags.  Another good idea for those in apartments is to make meals with your roommates and have everyone pitch in a few euros, or take turns hosting dinners with other apartments.  We did this a few times and each time we had a blast and got a good meal for a low price.

-Although the travel throughout Europe is very cheap, you can make the most out of your travels if you make a travel budget as well- devoting a certain amount a money to the airline fees and transportation costs, as well as hostel/hotel prices and meals.  It is good to have in mind where you want to go before you arrive to your abroad location so that you can buy your tickets sooner and save yourself a lot of money.  The key is to book anything earlier to save a significant amount of money.  Also, if you have friends/family in a certain place you want to visit make plans to stay with them if possible.  I was able to save a lot of money by couch surfing for a few of my trips.  This also provides you with more money to spend for sight-seeing and buying souvenirs.

-Being abroad has definitely tested my self-control when it comes to shopping.  The shopping here and in Europe in general is incredible and I face temptation every day to buy different things.  While it is good to treat yourself to something cool/frivolous every now and then, I advise you to wait on your purchase for a few days and if you still want it/can afford it then go buy it.  There have been a few items I have bought on a whim (expensive straightening iron in particular) that I have later come to regret and probably wouldn’t have bought had I thought it through some more.

-When it comes to taking money out from the ATM most banks will charge you a fee to do so.  My bank charged $5 per transaction. To avoid having this happen to you as often be sure to take out the maximum of cash out your bank allows during each trip to the ATM.  Once you have a big wad of cash it would be wise to store most of it somewhere in your room and only carry what you need for the day on you.

Words cannot express how lucky I feel to have gotten this opportunity to study abroad here in Madrid this past semester. Looking back on everything I have done makes it feel like I’ve been here forever, though the past 3 months here have flown by….and before I know it I will be on a long flight(s) back home to Idaho.  Final exams have definitely made this last week here pass by much faster than usual.  Last Friday we were given our grammar final, where I found myself a bit sad as I waved goodbye to my grammar teacher Ana Martin, who was by far one of my favorite teachers I had in the program.  I learned a lot from this class, and my ability to write grammatically has improved greatly.  It’s been nice to see my improvement in my notebook full of graded compositions, where gradually Ana’s corrections became fewer and fewer until they disappeared in the most recent work.  I’m going to miss this class the most!  

Monday started off with finals in two of my most challenging classes, thus my weekend was spent studying and re-studying my 30+ pages of typed notes and handouts of contemporary Spanish history and memorizing the names and dates of around 60 Spanish paintings that I figured could be on the exam.  Fortunately, the tests were not nearly as bad as I expected, and I left each one feeling confident that I did well.  On Tuesday I didn’t have any finals so it was a nice day to relax and study a little for my test that I took today for contemporary Spanish theater, which went equally as well.

My favorite class, other than grammar, was my Spanish mythology class.  This class was one of the few I would get excited to attend each day due to the teacher’s spunky personality and his ability to make the classroom roar with laughter.  On the night before my trip to London, we attended a musical version of Persephone for the class.  At first I was a bit skeptical to attend because I figured I wouldn’t be able to understand, I still had three papers to attempt to tackle before my trip, and I hadn’t packed yet.  I was determined to leave in the middle of it to get back and get things done.  However, the musical hooked me in from the beginning and I ended up really enjoying the play and much to my surprise I understood the entire dialogue.  Not to mention it was very funny and the scenery and costumes were awesome.  My time as a student of IES Madrid will end tomorrow at approximately 1:20 when I finish the final exam for this class.

As I sit in my room packing my suitcase and reflecting on this past semester it is still hard to believe that this semester has even happened, let alone that it is ending.  Before I got to Madrid I didn’t know what to expect and came here with the attitude to try new things and take advantage of every opportunity that came my way. Looking back, I don’t think I would change anything had I been given the choice.  I was told that I may take some time to adjust with my new surrounding and the difference of culture, but I didn’t have a problem.  The hardest part for me was managing my classes while fulfilling my travel goals. Most of students in my program did not have to worry about their grades transferring back to their schools, but in my case my grades earned abroad will follow me back to Redlands and factor into my G.P.A.  As of now, I feel pretty good about everything I have accomplished and the work I have put forth and I am optimistic about how I have done academically this semester… although I keep having to remind myself not to be too harsh a critic because none of my classes were in my native tongue!  It’s been great getting to see how well my Spanish has improved since I first arrived, and I have become more confident with my conversational skills.  Being abroad has definitely taught me valuable lessons I would not have learned in my Spanish courses back home, and has pushed me to pursue the Spanish major back at Redlands. 

While my semester abroad has had its share of ups and downs I know for a fact that I will look back fondly on the memories I have made and will appreciate my adventures even more once I get home.  I plan on returning to Madrid in the future to show my family around the city that captured my heart in the three short months I was here.

This past weekend I took my first solo trip out of Madrid and ventured to Ireland.  When I had bought my tickets a month prior I had planned to go and spend my weekend exploring around the city and being a tourist.  However, I discovered that a girl from my school was studying abroad there and made plans to meet up with her.  My flight was delayed two hours, which was a bit of a drag considering we were grounded on the tarmac in Madrid for quite a while…and two hours is a big chunk of time I could have used to see more of Dublin.  Upon landing I was greeted with the very green hills the Ireland is known for…and that was all it took to fall in love with the city.  I knew as soon as my foot hit the ground off the plane that this would be the adventure of a lifetime- and it definitely was.  I managed to find my way to the hostel easily after taking the Dublin airport shuttle to a main street, and then using a map I was able to navigate my way up the streets to my hostel.  I stayed at the Generator Hostel, a very nice, new and affordable place.  The beds and bedding were like sleeping on clouds…which is not normal for most of the other places I have stayed at.  Due to the fact my phone could not call/send texts to my friend who I was meeting, our main form of communication was through Facebook.  So as soon as I got to my room I was able to message her and make plans for the night.  I gave her the name and street address of my hostel and was waiting to hear back from her to determine when/where we would meet up.  After waiting a while I decided to go explore for a little bit and come back to see if she responded.  I left the hostel and was walking down the street when I ran into her- it was kind of weird/cool that we ran into each other so unexpected…but that was just the beginning of the best night of my abroad experience.  We hadn’t really met in person before; however due to the closeness of the Greek community at our school we were familiar with each other.  We started off the night by going to a restaurant for dinner and a drink.  From there we went to another pub, which we left right away because we couldn’t determine what were in the drinks.  After that was when the fun really began…We ended up at the fancier cocktail bar were we took a seat and were faced with a huge drink menu all of which sounded delicious.  Finally the bartender came over to us and asked what we wanted…Eventually he said he would just surprise us given a list of preferences we gave him.  We ended up with very delicious drinks.  The two men who sat down next to us began trying to chat us up—asking if we would take a picture with them.  They were clearly not from Ireland, and English was definitely not their first language.  We agreed and took a few pictures with them (all of which were hysterical).  They asked for our names—to which we gave them our middle names.  We began to get a little creeped out when they kept ogling at us and then asked if we wanted to leave with them.  The guy said he would give us a few minutes to talk it over and decide.  We both looked at each other, clearly thinking the same thing—NO WAY.  It was about that time when we noticed two cute guys standing together at the bar.  We both smiled over at them, and eventually my friend said she was going to go see if she could get them to come join us…Well they ended up coming over to our table.  It turns out she told them that we were a bit uncomfortable by the guys sitting next to us and asked if they would come sit with us for a while to ward the other two off.  It worked, and we began talking with the two cute guys who ended up being from the Bahamas and Bosnia.  The Bosnian guy was pretty hammered, but very sweet.  The Bahamian and I hit it off and were talking about someone I know back home who is an Olympic champion from the Bahamas, and from the same area he was from.  Our conversations went on for around a half an hour until the two guys said they had to go.  The weird guys were still sitting next to us and saw their opportunity to try to pick us up again.  The creepier one of the two singled me out and had his friend take a picture of me with him on his phone.  After that we high tailed it out of there to our next pub.  The next place we went to will forever be inked in my memory.  It was a place called Fitzgerald’s and as soon as we walked in we were greeted by the sound of some Irish singers (who were really good).  The immediately singled us out in front of the entire pub (which was pretty full) asking where we were from and for our names.   At first we were confused and looked around to see if they were talking to other people…But no—they were looking directly at us.  We told them we were from California, and then gave them our names.  From there they began making fun of my name, which I guess is some sort of hygienic cleanser here…Then is started to get much worse…I had been texting my mother back home, and the lead singer commented on that with more witty insults.  He then dedicated a song to us.  After that he dedicated one to me—a very romantic one that I had heard before.  I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling and was probably beet red.  While he was still serenading me, his partner/guitarist (who was short and near 40) came over and started pelvic thrusting leg.  I was a bit freaked out…and laughing…and the rest of the pub was too.  My friend had taken my camera and took multiple shots of me being grinded on by the short Irish man.  I was a bit embarrassed—however I was glad that I provided a little bit of entertainment for all the drunk people in the pub.  After that we started grabbing our stuff to get ready to leave, and were immediately pointed out again by the lead singer who fired us with insults.  We left anyways—though after we persuaded them to take a picture with us.  After that we went to a few more places, got harassed by more creepy/drunk guys (which we ignored) and then called it a night around 12:30 (the time at which people are just beginning to go out in Madrid) because we were both tired…On the way back to my street we ran into a group of young (very drunk) Irish boys who we stopped to take pictures with.

The next day we got up early and met up for breakfast.  We went on a hop-on-hop off tour and visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Guinness Factory.  Both of which I recommend everyone to visit if they are ever in Dublin.  After that we headed back to my friend’s house where we had a low key night talking about everything and laughing hysterically about the night before.  Dublin was by far my favorite/funniest trip I have made during my abroad experience!

As an avid runner in the States, I have been spotting out perfect sites for me to run in…except not really…as I have been sticking to the same location on my runs since I got here.  Although Parque de Oeste has its fair share of creepers (I have seen couples going at it, naked men relieving their bladders, and drunken homeless people passed out) it has never deterred me from returning.  The terrain of the park is pretty tough, with tons of hills.  My normal run (which ranges 5-10 miles depending on how I feel that day) has me running on the outer edge of the park treading on the sidewalk until I run past Templo de Dobod, the gates of Palacio Real, and finishing up along the edge of the Madrid Rio, where I wrap up my run going up Avenida de Seneca (the street which IES is off of) and then about a mile or so home.  If there is one thing I will miss about Madrid (other than the friends I have made), it will be my nice views that entertain me while I exercise…definitely beats the any trail I have ever run on before.

I am still in shock that I have less than a month left here.  I know it is going to fly by really fast, especially with finals approaching.  I am beginning to stress about the amount of work I have ahead of me before I can go home:  a 6 page art history essay (which wouldn’t be as bad if it weren’t in Spanish), a group project regarding the elections for history, a field work study presentation for grammar, and a 10 page paper that is in the syllabus of my theater class…which we are hoping will never be assigned.  While I am excited to be reunited with my family and friends, I have to remind myself to take it easy and enjoy each moment I have left here.

I have been enjoying going out and exploring on my own, trying to see as much of Madrid as I can before I leave.  One weekend I plan to wear comfortable shoes, take the metro to the farthest possible place and then try to navigate myself home without getting lost and get to see parts of Madrid I haven’t gotten to see.  When I first got here I planned to travel through more of Europe, but quickly realized that I should appreciate weekends staying in the country.  My last trip out of the Spain will be this upcoming Friday, when I leave for Dublin.  I am very excited to go- especially because it is the first trip I am making where I will be completely on my own.  Following my trip to Ireland, I will most likely go to Granada, as I have been told my multiple people that I need to go there before I leave. It will have to be a short trip, because finals are looming right around the corner.

Next up: Ireland

We slept in until 10:30, and then headed to the Duomo, the only touristy place worth visiting in Milan.  For lunch we went to this Italian version of a fast food place called Luini’s, which sells panzerotti.  I will try to describe it to you: it is kind of like an empanada, except the outside is fried bread (almost like a donut without the glaze and sugar) and the inside is stuffed with mozzarella and tomatoes.  The panzerotti was by far the best thing I have ever eaten in my life.  We enjoyed it so much that we went twice that day, and again the next day.  I ended up staying with my friend in Milan for 4 days and then headed back to Madrid.  During that time the most memorable part (other than getting to see my good friend/sorority sister) was the food…Pasta, pizza, gelato. The food there easily put the food to Spain to shame… (Although I am relieved I did not choose to study there because I would have easily gained 20 pounds). I would have normally felt so guilty for consuming all those carbs- but easily justified it by all the walking we did.  I highly recommend all those traveling through Europe to go to Italy; not only is it beautiful with many sights to see, but the food alone is the worth the trip!

My recipe is as follows:
-2 potatoes, peeled at cut evenly
-onion if desired
4-5 eggs beaten
-cheese if desired (though not typically added to the tapa tastes GREAT)
-pinch of salt and pepper
-olive oil

Cook the potatoes in olive oil (better to use more and then drain)- cut small enough to soften fast, though thick enough not to fry like potato chips or brown.   Once you get potatoes to desired/softened consistency drain oil.

Add the softened potatos into the beaten eggs, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let sit for 15 minutes.

Coat the frying pan with a little bit of olive oil and set on medium heat. Once pan is heated pour in egg mixture.  Let sit for several minutes until you think the mixture is solid enough to flip over.  To flip, remove pan from heat.  Place a big plate over the top of the pan and flip.  To cook the other side slide the tortilla off the plate.  Continue cooking.  You will need to flip several times in order to ensure the eggs are fully cooked.  Be careful not to burn it.  Sometimes it is easiest to microwave it for a minute or two to make sure it is not raw in the center.

*Note the hardest part is flipping the tortilla. Don’t be sad if it doesnt come out perfect the first few times- practice definitely makes perfect!

I have included a picture of my latest attempt.

Luckily, I was starting to feel better for our flight to Mallorca.  The flight was a little over an hour from Madrid.  Once we landed, we took a taxi to our hotel, which was conveniently located right on the beach.  We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach, taking turns sunbathing and frolicking in the crystal clear water.  It definitely was a tropical paradise.  My only complaint was that the sheets in the room were not cleaned well/at all because I ended up with 10 bed bug bites….The next day we went back to the beach for a majority of the day, then finished up our night with a quick exploration of the streets, dinner, and returning to this Nutella crepe stand (probably not the best idea for a queasy stomach….but DELICIOUS) for dessert.  We went to bed pretty early because our flight to Barcelona was at the crack of dawn the next day.  During our trip, we had each bought some souvenirs, and beach towels, so packing took us a while.  I have discovered that packing is an art form…one that I should learn to master for all of my trips.

We arrived in Barcelona around 10 in the morning, took the AirBus to Placa Catalunya, and then walked five minutes to find our hostel.  The guy who ran our hostel was very friendly and quite cute I might add.  We dropped off our stuff and took the Metro to Parc Guell.  Parc Guell was AMAZING!  Everyone who visits Barcelona must go see it!  After taking tons of pictures, we continued our walk to Sagrada Familia.  I was sad we didn’t get to go inside; however, I was able to take some good pictures.  We found our way back to the hostel (after walking 10 miles) where we rested for an hour before meeting up with some sorority sisters of mine who are studying in Barcelona.  That night we shared a bottle of wine and then took the Metro to a bunch of clubs on the beach.  The first club we went to only allowed a few of us in due to dress code.  My traveling buddy was wearing flip flops and a t-shirt so he wasn’t allowed in.  Due to the selectivity of the club we all left to go to another.  The next club let all of us in, and we stayed until two.  The following day we trekked to the 1992 Olympic Stadium, where I got to see the field where my coach/personal trainer/father figure competed on.  It was a very long walk from our hostel, and had tons of hills.  We were feeling lazy so we tried to take the Teleferico (tourist sky lift) down, which only took us up higher, and added a mile more onto our walk…We passed a bakery on our way back and easily gave into the temptation for a sugary treat, justifying that we had already burned off everything we had eaten that day (obvs).  Later on, after seeing the foutain show, we met up with my sisters and went to a few bars to meet up with some other friends.  We finally called it a night around 3 a.m., and went back to the hostel to sleep for two hours before leaving for the airport.

Next trip: ITALY. Bring it.

UP NEXT: Mallorca and Barcelona