Kailei and Norbert in Spain!

Today marks the halfway point of the five weeks of my time in Spain.  These two and a half weeks have flown by, but at the same time I feel like I've been here a year.  Norbert and I are staying in a hostel with eight other people from UNCG on this trip, and there is one random guy from Denmark.  So far, we're all getting along great (which is a must for these living arrangements).  Within the first few days of being here, we have learned our way around our neighborhood (which is about a 10 minute walk from city center) and we have mastered the metro.  We take the metro at least twice a day to get to and from classes, which are from 2-5 most days.  This is usually siesta time for the city, so we don't miss much during the day.  While I don't usually go out much, night life is a big thing here!  It doesn't matter if it's Monday night or Saturday night, there are always people out drinking, and this city never sleeps.  It could be four in the morning, and you will still find people roaming about, enjoying the night with their friends.  In the morning when you wake up, you will see people just getting home.

Toledo

Since being here, I haven't really experienced much culture shock.  While there are a lot of things that are different here in Madrid, daily life goes on about the same as a big city back home. One of the bigger differences to me, is the way they drink here.  Drinking is art in Spain.  It's a normal thing to order a small beer or a shot with breakfast and then go on with your day.  One of the first places we ate for breakfast, the drink options were coffee or a beer with most menu options. Communicating hasn't troubled me too much.  I know enough Spanish to understand the basic concept of what someone is saying to me, and how to get where I need to be.  The way our classes are set up, also really helps!  I think I learned more Spanish in the first three hours than all of last year combined. 

 

Palacio Real

 

About once a week, we have a class "field trip" to a museum or historical site in the city.  So far, my favorite place has been Palacio Real, the Royal Palace.  This interested me the most, because while the royal family doesn't live there and it's mostly a museum, this is still where they hold state dinners and host other important political events.  We have also taken day trips to Segovia and Toledo.  Both cities are beautiful and have so much history in them, but my favorite was Segovia.  Overall, I liked the layout of the city more in Segovia.  Also, the castle there looked like Hogwarts, and I was so looking forward to seeing that!

Patronato del Alcazar de Segovia

Segovia

 

We have a lot coming up in our last two weeks that will make the end of this trip fly by.  This weekend we will be spending four days in the south of Spain, and then we have a free weekend in which a few of us are going to Morocco (because who doesn't want to take a weekend trip to Africa?!), exams, and then with a mix of emotions, we'll return home.  This short, but well lived trip, has been an amazing experience.  Between making new friends, learning a new language, and experiencing another culture, I don't know why anyone would ever stop traveling. ¡Se egoista. Viajar el mundo!

 

Kailei Trippi

UNCG in Spain

Madrid, Spain