My first few days in Madrid were overwhelming in a lot of ways: a new place, new language, new home, new school. The first day or so felt like an endless checklist. Still, I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. Madrid is a beautiful city. In a lot of ways it’s different than I expected, and yet it still maintains the European charm that I had hoped for.

The metro system is an absolute godsend, I would give just about anything to have something remotely similar in St. Louis. It got me to school, the metro office, home, and anywhere else I needed to go with ease. My host family is also really great, and their apartment is literally a 2 minute walk from Gran Via, the most famous shopping street in Madrid. We discovered an adorable art installation of pants and shoes used as flower pots on the wall on our street, and when we asked our host mom about it she told us that it is one of the most photographed things in the city. Apparently, the man who does it lives in the neighborhood and just decided to start doing it.

Saint Louis University Madrid has a really small campus. It is comprised of just three buildings, and all of my classes are on one floor in the same building. The cafeteria is really good – something Saint Louis University in Missouri cannot say. The day after I arrived in Madrid we had a short orientation, mostly to introduce us to the city. The next day, January 9th, was my first day of classes. I am taking four classes this semester, each of which I am very excited for. They are War in Literature, Controversy in Art, Studies in Culture: Spain, and Ethics.

I visited Retiro Park with a few friends on January 10th. Retiro is massive, and absolutely stunning. It is the kind of park you could spend hours or days roaming and still not feel like you had seen it all. My favorite part was definitely the Crystal Palace, or Palacio de Cristal. We also took a boat out onto the lake and had our first taste of churros con chocolate.

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These first few days were incredible, and I can’t wait for many more here in Madrid.

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Going forward, I plan to write more so about major events/trips than day-to-day happenings. Although every day living in Madrid is exciting, it’s definitely more enjoyable to write and read about the big stuff.