It didn’t fully hit me until I finally stepped into my apartment—I was actually studying abroad. After planning since my senior year of high school, I had made it. I was in the place I had dreamed of visiting my whole life.
The moment I got off the plane, I was in complete shock. The reality set in: I’d be living in a foreign country for four months with only the most basic Spanish skills. When we arrived at the apartment, it was 7:00 AM. We were handed our keys and a packet of important information. The first thing that stood out? No dryer in the apartment—and my room was somehow smaller than my freshman year dorm.
Jet-lagged and exhausted, I spent the entire day sleeping. But I had one mission for the next day: get my transportation card. I woke up early and walked nearly an hour from my apartment to Gran Vía, right in the heart of Madrid.
As I wandered through the streets, I was in awe. Having never left the Southern United States before, everything felt surreal. I had never seen cobblestone streets stretch for blocks, and I definitely had never seen so many kebab shops in my life. Madrid was already unlike anything I’d ever experienced
The next culture shock came when I took the metro for the first time. Before this, the most “public transportation” I’d used was the Howdy Bus from Park West to West Campus. Riding the metro every day was something I had to get used to—fast. Figuring out which line to take, where to transfer, and not missing your stop? Definitely a learning curve. But I knew it was all part of adjusting to life here.
One of the best experiences so far has been going to watch Real Madrid play. Seeing a Champions League match in person had been on my bucket list for years, and I finally got to cross it off. Watching a historic club and witnessing generational talents up close—that’s something I’ll never forget.
There’s still plenty of adjusting and traveling to do, and actual school of course.
