Hola! It’s been a little over a week in Madrid and needless to say,
everything is still amazing. The first few days in Madrid we were able
to explore the city and have absolutely no schedule. On Friday we all
remembered that this is a study abroad program and we actually have to
go to school (bummer). I am attending the University of Nebrija in
Madrid and will be completing two classes this summer. I wasn’t too
excited about summer classes but this school is awesome. The campus is
very small, smaller than Zara/El Corte Inglés, but it’s a great change
from the U of A.
Our first day at school was an orientation/schedule/syllabus day. We
had the chance to meet all of the administrative people behind Nebrija
and they’re all so nice and willing to help. I am enrolled in one
culture and one language class. I was enrolled in a level “B” class and
at first I thought it was too low and transferred to a higher level.
Then I realized the higher level was WAY too advanced for me and
switched back to the same lower level class I was in before. I’m just
glad everyone was very accommodating to my indecisive needs.
As a part of this program through Nebrija we get to go on weekend
excursions and daily activities. On Monday afternoon my group visited El
Palacio Real (The Royal Palace). No one currently lives there but it’s
still used for formal meetings and of course for tourists. This
Wednesday we had another activity called el paseo por el Madrid de los
Austrias. It basically involved us walking around Puerta del Sol and La
Plaza Mayor (which my group has been to 8,000 times already).
Towards the end of the tour we came across a convent where the nuns
who live there are not allowed to come outside/have contact with anyone
outside of the convent. We were also told that the nuns sell cookies and
allow people to come inside and place a Euro in a slot and they replace
the Euro with some cookies. My friends and I are very interested in
getting some cookies from these nuns (I feel like they’d taste SO
good?!?).
The last part of our trip that day was visiting the cathedral right
next to el Palacio Real. La Catedral de la Almuneda is so beautiful and
the first one I’ve visited in Madrid so far! I was seriously impressed
by the architecture and mainly because everything looks so gothic, but
when you look up it has these very colorful and almost modern-looking
ceilings.
Other than that, I’ve been spending my time shopping, taking siestas,
or eating tapas with my friends. Tomorrow we are going to Salamanca. I
don’t actually know a lot about Salamanca, but Araceli told me that she
grew up in an apartment facing into La Plaza Mayor de Salamanca (goals).
I finally got my computer working so hopefully I’ll post more often. If
not, just know it’s because I’m too busy having a great time. Adiós!
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Follow Anabel on her journey at https://boozabroad.wordpress.com/
To find out more about the U of A Spanish in Madrid summer program, visit http://studyabroad.uark.edu/madrid.
