Well, it’s been a full nine months living expat life in Madrid and yes, I’m still loving it. That actually says a lot, considering I usually get antsy six months into a new place. That’s the thing about this city though; there is so much to do and see. As much as I’ve carved out a bit of a routine, I’m still discovering new plazas, markets, and parks to explore. Now that the school year has ended, it feels like Madrid Chapter 1 is closed. Naturally I’ve got lots of thoughts and things I want to share!
Moving here was really exciting. As much as I loved living in Nashville, and still love that city so much, I needed a new challenge. So after closing that chapter and moving to my parents’ house for summer 2018, I was beyond ready to jump into life here! At first I saw Madrid as a jumping off point. I was moving to a city in a country where I spoke the language, so I wouldn’t have to deal with that as a barrier to my new life. It’s also a European capital with easy access to the rest of Europe. I just wanted to see the whole continent!
And I got started really quickly. Not even a week after arriving in Spain I traveled to La Coruña and on my first weekend after starting my job I was headed on a bus to France! From there I went to Segovia, Frankfurt, back to La Coruña and then did a two week trip to Prague, Vienna and Bratislava. This was all in a three month period and it was amazing. And expensive. It felt like since I was here I had some kind of duty to check off as many countries as I could, as quickly as I could. It was an amazing time but I definitely bit off more than I could chew, especially financially.
So second semester was a 180 for me. I sat down and had a hard look at my finances and the travel plans I’d already committed to for 2019: wedding in Minnesota, summer in the states and a trip to Colombia with my family. That’s two round trip flights to the US y’all, not exactly cheap. It became pretty clear that I couldn’t continue traveling like I had. Which. Was. Hard. I felt like I had failed, like I wasn’t really milking my time here.
Eventually, I realized that was ridiculous. I barely knew Madrid! Sure, I’d been out and about a few times, but I had experienced Madrid through the eyes of a tourist. Like someone who was just stopping by on their way to somewhere better. So January is when my actual love affair with this city started.
I actively decided to get to know Madrid. Realistically that was a bit difficult, considering my new financially conservative approach, so I mostly just started walking. I started discovering my neighborhood, Barrio Salamanca. Weeknights were spent staying in, spending time with my Spanish roommates, which is another type of cultural integration in itself. Weekends I went to the park, did some random touristy stuff and spent time with new friends. I did take a quick trip to Malaga in March because I was getting restless leg syndrome and just had to get out, but otherwise I’ve spent spring 2019 slowly exploring Madrid.
Thankfully I found a friend in Karime, an expat from Mexico who’s been in Spain for 12 years now! We hit it off from the get go and she’s totally taken me under her wing. We’ve done dinners, drinks, an overnight trip and a couple day hikes as well. She’s introduced me to her friends here and slowly I’ve been able to integrate myself into Madrid.
So yeah. Kristina takes Madrid Chapter 1 is closed and I’m feeling really good about it. There have been headaches, homesick moments and hilarity. As much as I’m incredibly excited to be back in the States for the summer I’m also really glad to be heading back to Madrid for round two! I plan to do way more train traveling, and thankfully it’s super convenient to travel by train in Europe! Like I said, I can’t wait for year two!
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