The final challenge of my independent travels required that I get myself and all my belongings from Copenhagen to Madrid, to meet my program . I started my morning at 3:30am, as I snuck out of my hostel room as quietly as possible. I lugged my massive bag through the empty streets of Copenhagen, headed to the train station. The train was scheduled to leave at 4:12, so I ended up sprinting to the station to make sure I made it. I arrived at the station incredibly sweaty, to discover that the station didn’t open until 4:30. I started to panic, but found a couple that was taking the same flight and we both learned that there was another train that left at 4:40.
Madrid, Spain
I made it to my flight on time and slept the entire way to Madrid. As soon as I retrieved my luggage, I had to sprint to another terminal to find my group and make sure I made it to the bus on time. I was the last student to arrive and I was greeted by several DU faces that I knew, but also many new faces. The group boarded the bus and headed into the heart of Madrid. After they gave us our room keys, the day was ours, so I went for a run through the largest park in Madrid, Parque del Retiro.
Around three, I returned back to the hotel to enjoy the Spaniard’s most important part of the day, siesta. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard the key card machine activate and my best friend from DU, Andria, walked through the door. All the neighbors must have heard our hooting and hollering as we greeted one another. It was completely random that we would be placed in the same room, but it was the best surprise to finally see her after a summer apart.
During my run, I found this lake called El Estanque Grande that was filled with a bunch of small boats. Acting like my dad, I checked it out and convinced Andria and our new friend, Sarah, to go. We managed to speak enough Spanish to rent el barco and paddled around enjoying the sunshine while occasionally bumping into other boats.
Trying to acclimate to the Spaniard’s lifestyle, a group of 9 people from our program went to eat tapa’s at 9 o’clock in the evening. It was great to branch out of my DU bubble and get to know some of the people from all over the U.S.
The following day we had a guided tour around the city and went to the Museo del Prado, a famous art museum. Madrid was absolutely gorgeous and everywhere you turned there was something new and fascinating to learn about.
The center of Spain.
Toledo, was the next stop on our tour of Spain, so we spent the morning driving and then met our extremely good looking spanish tour guide named Lucas, who walked us around the entire city. It was an absolutely gorgeous city and was filled with many beautiful medieval buildings.
Panoramic view of Toledo.
We wandered through ancient cathedrals and ended our tour at the Grand Palace, that had incredible architecture from the outside and amazing artwork covering every corner on the inside.
The Grand Palace in the background.
Beautiful artwork within the palace.
It was our last day to rest before heading to Sevilla, so our program brought us back to the hotel to relax before leaving early the next day to drive to Sevilla.
I can finally say that I have adjusted to the time zone and feel like I am slowly beginning to fit in here. My español is terrible, but I keep trying to speak and listen carefully when others talk. I’m learning, slowly. I’ve loved exploring all of the Spanish culture and getting to know people in my program, but I’m ready to get settled in. I meet my family tonight and am eager but also terribly nervous. School starts Wednesday and we have orientation on Monday and Tuesday. I still can’t believe this is all happening, but once I arrive I’m sure the reality will sink in that I’m actually going to be living in Spain for 4 months!
More updates to come about the “study” part of my study abroad along with other tidbits.
living unbound. 