#ipewinter24

Hola a todxs!! It’s Niko again, back (very) late again, with another blog about my experience studying in Madrid. Most of the blogs I have written have been highly personalized. Whether about my experiences traveling, getting involved with different communities in Madrid, or literally an entire blog about cooking, I’ve injected a ton of personal reflection into all of these, which, while have allowed me to grow substantially during my time in Madrid, may not be the most directly applicable to prospective students at UMich who are considering studying at UC3M. So, let’s change that !!

This short blog is about everything I wish I would have known about UC3M before I got there. Grading, difficulty, campus, all that nice stuff. Let’s jump in.

Overview

Universidad Carlos Tercero de Madrid, AKA UCIIIM AKA UC3M is a public university in Madrid, with two undergraduate campuses south of the city, in Getafe and Leganes. UC3M is a pretty unique school in that 20% of its students are international (not from Spain). It is a big destination for Americans and Europeans doing a semester abroad (which, for Europeans, is not called study abroad — it’s called Erasmus). 

There are a ton of classes taught in English — especially engineering classes — and there were other Americans and Europeans in all of the classes that I took. This isn’t to say that your classes will be full of only Americans, like many study abroad campuses or study centers overseas. Imagine transforming into a Spaniard and taking classes at UMich. It’s like that (kind of — the ratio of international students to Spanish students is much less, but still the same vibe). Taking classes alongside Spanish students, meeting them, and making friends with them was one of my favorite parts of the semester.

One more fun tidbit about UC3M — It’s generally a more competitive school to get into for Spanish students. When I told locals I was studying there, I would usually get something along the lines of “ooh, that’s pretty good”. Good to know.

Class Registration

Class registration is one of the biggest points of contention for a prospective study abroad students at UC3M. It’s a somewhat stressful process, but it’s not all that different from Michigan. Here’s generally how it works:

First, the people at CEA will train you on how to register during orientation (which is worth going to, in general — I met some great friends there!). They do a pretty good job of explaining how it works and helping you get prepared, but the registration process is ultimately up to the individual.

Every CEA student gets the same time slot for registration. Unfortunately, this is one of the later slots. Many local students will have already registered before this point, so it’s possible one of the classes you planned to take fills up before you get your turn (just like Michigan).

Once the time hits, you have to add every class you need to your “backpack” as fast as possible (a stressful 2 minutes). Once you add it to your backpack, you’re safe, and just need to click confirm. If you didn’t get a class you need, you can continually check over the next few days for openings when students drop.

So, how was the process for me? It went well, luckily. I did not get the first schedule that I wanted (some time slots for classes were already taken, but I still avoided class on Fridays), but I did get all the classes that I wanted — I even switched into a different class a week into the semester after I realized one was too difficult. I know many people who got what they needed. I also know a good amount of people that didn’t get into one or more. It’s kind of luck of the draw, and you can’t know how many sections/slots exist for a class before you get there.

With all of this said, I do not recommend going to UC3M if there are 4 classes that you NEED to graduate on time. There’s a chance you won’t get it, and there’s no strings the people at CEA can pull to help you get in. However, I do recommend UC3M if you have flexibility!

Before enrolling, I planned to take 2 technical electives and 2 humanities courses for the international minor for engineers. Because all 4 of these classes were electives, I had a much easier time picking and choosing a schedule that fit best with my desired schedule. I had over 8 Michigan approved classes for each category. This made the whole process a lot less stressful.

For some general advice: If you’re reading this as a freshman or sophomore and want to study abroad, save your electives!!!! I cannot stress this enough. They’re much easier to get approved by Michigan and will leave you with a lot more flexibility, wherever you go. They’re also probably going to be easier than major-specific ones, and who doesn’t want easy classes abroad?

Here’s all of UC3M’s majors, with the list of classes they offer (look at 2nd term classes under “Program”). There’s a huge amount of engineering classes, which is awesome: Class List

Here’s the course equivalency database for UC3M: Course Equivalencies

As you can see, there’s a ton already approved, and it’s not too hard to get more (not just electives, major specific courses too!). Look at these far in advance and build a huge list of options, it will be worth it.

Grading Structure/Class Difficulty

The grading system at UC3M and Spain is much different from the USA.

First, you get graded from 1 to 10. Passing is a 5 or above for most classes, which is what you need to get the course to transfer to Michigan.

Course grades get split into weighted categories like they do at Michigan. However, the split is much different. For reference:

In my files & databases class, partial exams and projects were weighed 50% (called continuous assessment), and the final exam was worth 50%. In my materials science class, the 3 partial exams (midterms) were worth 10% each, labwork was worth 10%, and the final exam was worth 60%. In the philosophy class I took, essays and a project were worth 40%, and the final was 60%.

You can probably see a pattern: much more weight is put on the final exam. Unlike classes at Michigan, there is very little emphasis put on homework. Consequently, I didn’t really study much outside of class aside from a large grind session for the occasional deadline. This is a blessing and a curse. You can have a ton of free time. And it’s really easy to completely neglect your classes, bomb the final, and fail. Learning is very much self-guided, vs at Michigan, it’s somewhat more forced because you have to do weekly problem sets, homeworks, etc.

I passed all of my classes with healthy margins. I know many people who did the same. I also know a lot of people who failed one or more classes due to lack of attention and effort.

The classes I took at UC3M were not as hard as the ones I’ve taken at Michigan, especially because I only needed to pass. However, they are real classes with real Spanish students, who are required to take them for their major (and their grades matter). Let this inform you of their difficulty. 

If you want to go abroad, do basically nothing, and pass all your classes (which is possible in some study abroad programs), then do not go to UC3M. If you don’t mind going to class and putting in a basic level of work, UC3M is great. Even though grinding for many hours on a SQL project while I could have been exploring Madrid was a bit sad, I honestly appreciated the fact that my classes were real. It gave me a better idea of what it felt like actually living in Madrid with real responsibilities instead of just vacationing there, which is a distinct and unique experience.

Engineering Classes

Now for some more specifics on my experience in the engineering classes I took:

I took Materials Science (MATSCI 220 equivalent) and Files and Databases (EECS 400 LVL equivalent). Honestly, I didn’t find either of the classes to be taught particularly well. Classes were split into lectures and problem solving sessions, and they were all taught in English by Spanish professors, who spoke the language well (albeit with an accent). I found my lecturers in both classes to be quite difficult to follow and not very engaging, even though I went to every class and (attempted) to take notes. Some of my friends had similar experiences. 

My guess is that if the classes were taught in Spanish, the lecturers’ first languages, things would have been explained a bit better. Regardless, going to class helped me stay on schedule, learn the basic concepts that we were covering, and maintain structure in my day to day.

Problem solving sessions consisted of the lecturers solving individual problems (usually exam-type problems) on the chalkboard. These were generally much more useful. In my materials science class, we also had a lab, where we did fun little experiments and wrote reports about them.

Even though lectures weren’t good, I still learned a ton in both classes. My files and databases class had 3 projects, 2 of which were quite intensive. I had to teach myself how to use and understand SQL in order to complete them. In this class, basically the only work I did at home was these projects, which took up the majority of my time in the week leading up to the deadline. Because I attended class and did well on the projects/partial exams, I didn’t study too intensively for the final and passed with a lot of margin. One thing to note — this class required certain scores in certain exams/projects (at least 20% on every project, at least 40% on one of the midterms). Without these, you forfeit continuous assessment (5 points), and you have to get a very high exam on the final to pass. Requirements like these exist in many classes.

In my materials science class, there were no projects (only lab reports, which took maybe 30 minutes to complete after the lab). Otherwise, I studied maybe 1 day in advance for the 3 partial exams during the semester, which, consequently, I didn’t do too well on. The real work for me in this class was back loaded. In the 5 days leading up to the final exam, I studied every day for basically the whole day, essentially re-learning the entire class from front to back. Because of the effort I put in, I passed with good margin, and learned a decent amount of materials science along the way.

In general, computer science classes at UC3M will have more projects and thus more work required during the semester, but if you do well on the projects, you don’t have to study as much for the final. Other classes may involve more of a grind for the final at the end. Pick your poison (and check out the syllabuses, they list the weighting). I would recommend taking classes for first or second year UC3M students, as they’ll be a bit easier.

Humanities Classes

I took one humanities class in English, called social groups and their cultural imaginaries. I loved the content, and the professor was awesome and an easy grader (Natalie <3). Highly recommend. This class was much easier than my engineering classes, which is generally true across the board for humanities.

One thing I wish I knew about humanities classes was the ability to take them in Spanish. I planned on taking one humanities class in Spanish (like, a class for local Spanish students), but the CEA employees dissuaded me from taking them because they would be very difficult for a non-native speaker.

Would this have been much more difficult? Certainly. I probably would have had to give presentations in Spanish in front of an entire class, and write exams in the language as well. Very scary. However, I ended up meeting plenty of American students in different programs who took humanities classes in Spanish who weren’t heritage speakers, and did just fine.

My point is, if you have a very good level of Spanish but aren’t a native or a heritage speaker, don’t be dissuaded from taking a class in Spanish if it’s something you really want. If you’re willing to put yourself in some uncomfortable situations, you will certainly improve your Spanish a ton, and grow personally as well !

International School Classes

If you’re not as confident in Spanish but still want to take classes in the language, the international school is the way to go. They offer Spanish language courses and humanities courses in Spanish geared for non-native speakers. If you think you might want to take a class in the international school but aren’t positive, take the placement exam! It’s a small test, and it opens the door to a ton of classes that you can’t enroll in without a placement. As an added benefit, you’re guaranteed to get into the Spanish language course you were placed into if you take the exam.

There are Spanish classes for all levels, from absolute beginner to very advanced. My Spanish language class was great. Very chill, very conversational, and the project was open ended and enjoyable. If you take a class with Raquel, tell her Niko says Holaaaa! <3

Campus Life

Going to UC3M was a great experience, but the campus community there does not compare in the slightest to the community that exists at UMich. I think this is a general difference between European and American universities. In the USA, much more emphasis is put on clubs, sports, and campus life in general, which creates a very strong culture. At Michigan, we have UMich students, and everyone lives within walking distance of campus. At UC3M, you have students that go to UC3M. Many live nearby, but many commute in, which takes away a lot of that community. 

Consequently, I didn’t really get involved with any clubs during my time there, even though I did look into them. There weren’t all that many, and they weren’t very accessible. One club I would definitely look into getting into that is very accessible: Erasmus Student Network (ESN). It’s an organization for international students at UC3M, and they organize fun events that are open and (usually) free to go to. It’s a great way to meet new people from around the world.

Orientation for international students (hosted by UC3M) happened at the beginning of the semester before classes started. I would recommend going and signing up for the buddy system they have beforehand (look out for an email). Even though my buddy ended up not existing, it was another great way to meet people. In general, people are very open to forming new connections at the beginning of the semester and become less so as time goes on. Putting in effort at the start will pay off !

Campus itself is pretty nice. There’s two campuses, Getafe (humanities) and Leganes (engineering). Both are small, and not nearly as fancy as UMich’s newer buildings. Many of them are comparable to the old ones around the diag. Getafe campus has a pretty good vibe, especially in the spring — people are out on the grass chilling between classes. There’s also a great library. Leganes feels a bit more studious, but it’s cool too. There’s a simple gym that you can join for pretty cheap, and dining halls serve hearty lunches for ~5 euros. There’s also no shortage of cheap coffee (I’m addicted now).

The Commute

One apprehension I had about UC3M was the distance that the campuses are from Madrid. It took me about 35 minutes by train to get to Getafe, and 45 minutes to get to Leganes. Once I learned the route, the commute was easy thanks to Madrid’s wonderful public transit. The trains to get there were reliable (and free) and usually not crowded. What started as a huge concern ended up being a very minor inconvenience, if I would even call it that.

Two tips: You’re only going to want to go to and leave campus once per day, so bunching up your classes will maximize the time you can spend in the city. If you’re taking a Getafe and a Leganes class on the same day (which I did), make sure you leave at least 30 minutes for the bus ride it takes to transfer between the campuses. 

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So, another long blogpost, but hopefully a very useful one. If anyone reading this has any other questions about my time at UC3M (specifics on the classes I took, how I met people, recommendations on campus, etc.) please email me at the address listed below! I would be happy to help. Hope everyone has a great rest of their week.

Adios,

Niko Economos

Aerospace Engineering

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Madrid, Spain

This week was supposedly a stressful midterm week but thanks to the work I put in last weekend, I had an oddly relaxing week. 

I booked a bunch of flights (hopefully the last) this week too ⸜( ˙ ˘ ˙)⸝♡

My wallet is suffering but I’m brainwashing myself that this is a lifetime opportunity I need to catch. 

3/11 Mon: Ivar Los Park + Italy!

I had the mission of finding the tablecloth my mom bought in Stockholm Stadsmission during her stay. She was sad that she didn’t buy more of the same design since it fit the table size too perfectly. As a good daughter, I decided to do a scavenger hunt for it before it ran out of stock. 

Unfortunately, the ones with the same design were gone when I arrived. Although I failed my mom’s request, my own hunt was successful! I found a skirt and dress that fit perfectly. I couldn’t resist buying them since they were less than $10 each too. 

My Midterm paper for Crime Fiction class was due on Tuesday but I was close to being done due to last weekend’s grind. With light steps, I continued to spend time outside, enjoying the sun. Since I was already in Mariatorget and didn’t want to go home yet, I took a long walk around the Ivar Los Park. 

The park was smaller than I thought. I sat down on a bench for a little while until I got up to walk alongside Monteliusvägen. The clear sky amplified the beauty of the view, lightening up my mood as well. 

I tried to capture every moment in my head so that I could look back to these moments when I was exhausted. 

During my 40-minute walk, I discovered a kindergarten, church, ballet school, and Mojang studios (shoutout to Minecraft fans). I shared my happiness with my grandparents in Korea by calling them and chit-chatting for a while. 

A few snaps from my point of view 

I walked back home since the park wasn’t too far from my apartment. I noticed that our apartment also had a small garden and walking paths, so I strolled around in the little garden until I was satisfied with the amount of Vitamin D intake. 

For the longest time, something inside me had been bugging me to travel to Amsterdam and see the tulip festival. I tried scheduling times with my friends, but I couldn’t find anyone available during the weekend I was planning to go. 

It was then that I got in touch with my friend from home, who is also studying abroad in Europe. We started talking about our travel plans and scheduling availability. Going to Amsterdam failed again because of our tight schedule, but we managed to find a weekend to visit Italy!!! It didn’t take us long to book our flights and come up with Airbnb lists ( ˃ᴗ˂ ) 

3/12 Tue

In Swedish class, we were assigned random groups to do a team assignment.

There are too many ways to pronounce words

I don’t know how but dumplings kept coming up in our conversations (we were hungry), and I just had to go grab dumplings after class. 

These pork dumplings were a bit greasy but they tasted a bit like dim sum and I loved that 

I walked around the vicinity after getting re-energized. More and more flower vendors have been popping up here and there, and I walked by slowly to enjoy the sight and the scent of flowers. 

Tulips usually aren’t my favorites but the ones here are absolutely gorgeous ✿(′ᵕ′*)

For dinner, I followed a kimchi fried rice recipe with cabbage instead. It was delicious as usual :) 

I’m running out of menus though ;-; 

3/13 Wed: Productive Day 

Wednesdays without any field studies are arguably the best! 

I slept in and made a sandwich salad combo for brunch. 

Pesto is always right

I stayed home and worked on the second midterm essay of this week for Glued to the Screen TV Film course. I was more of a test girl than an essay girl but oddly, I enjoyed writing the three essays that are 2.5 pages each. I really think blogging is helping to lower the mental hurdles I have for writing essays. 

After finishing the essays early, I switched the subject and worked on two different group projects. It was a very productive day! 

3/14 Thu: Malta! 

I stayed in the DIS building after the morning class until my late afternoon core class began. I was going to go to one of these recommended study cafes but got too lazy to go out. 

A map of good places to study! 

I couldn’t get rid of the thought of going to Amsterdam, so I logged into Ryanair again. 

The Ryanair website had an option to select “Anywhere” for the destination. Out of boredom and curiosity, I set the dates to one of my available weekends and scrolled through the possible destinations. 

I found relatively cheap flight options to Hungary, Germany, Latvia, Estonia, Austria, the United Kingdom, Greece, and Malta. Out of those options, Greece and Malta caught my eye. I would’ve loved to go to Santorini but that wasn’t an option. When I searched Malta on Google, I was captivated by the scenery. I LOVE the beach and it happened to be Malta’s specialty. I could feel my lingering desire for Amsterdam finally dissipating as I looked at the pictures of Malta. 

I contemplated for a while, calculating the expenses, and clicked the button to buy the flight ticket. A solo trip to Malta in April is officially confirmed! I’m becoming more and more spontaneous but I don’t hate the change. I’m working on trying out things that I wouldn’t have done before, and this is a step towards my goal. 

For dinner, I made a quick and healthy meal out of oatmeal. I’ve been into oatmeal recipes lately; they are easy and fulfilling! Since oatmeal was healthy, I ate chips to balance out. 

For the rest of the night, I read the second half of The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir for the Crime Fiction class tomorrow. 

3/15 Fri

I woke up early around 7 am to finish the book. 

After classes, my friend and I grabbed lunch at a Thai restaurant.

The pad thai was good but I couldn’t stop comparing it to No Thai

If you’re reading this in Ann Arbor, please get pad thai or drunken noodles or potato curry at No Thai for me. 

Anyway, our lunch date didn’t end there. Yes, we were full after lunch. Yes, we got boba. I have been refraining from getting boba too much because I knew my addiction would kick in again soon enough. But it was Friday and I was productive this week, so I got it as a treat for myself. 

I tried working on homework that evening, but I couldn’t get myself to focus enough to finish it. So Friday night ended up as a self-care night in my bed as well ( * ˘╰╯˘ *)

3/16 Sat: Study Date

On Saturday, I got to sleep in until 11:30 am. I was still in my bed rolling around when my friend asked me if I wanted to come with her to go do work in a cafe. It didn’t take too long to realize that I wouldn’t do any work if I stayed home, so I composed myself and got ready to go out. 

We headed to Gamla Stan but it was packed with even more people than usual. I blame the good weather. 

After failing to find a spot in three different cafes, we moved over to T-Centralen and found a good study place. 

The cafe is called the Kaferang City - I got Snapple but it was $5.50 ;-;

The music and distant conversations helped me focus and finish my assignments (+ blogging) for the week! 

On the way back home, I stopped at ICA to get groceries. I bought a pack of raw chicken breast for the first time, and it took me TWO hours to cook it + make dinner. My legs hurt by the end but once I tasted my dinner I knew it was worth it!

I was so afraid that chicken would be raw so I cut some into thirds, not even halves

When I went back home I was irresistibly drawn to stay horizontal in my bed. I made a good choice to start a new novel but a bad choice to read until 5 am.  

3/17 Sun 

Free time! 

My roommate hasn’t come back from her weekend trip so I had all the space to myself. Moreover, I didn’t have much to do because I did most of it yesterday at the cafe. 

Sooo I basically spent the whole day finishing reading the novel except doing a brief project meeting and submitting finalized homework assignments. 

This week was an opportunity for me to rest peacefully, both mentally and physically. I love traveling but felt that taking a rest was a necessary step for me. 

It has been two months already since I came to Stockholm. Thank you for reading my weekly essays and I promise you that I’ll come back with more stories to tell next week! 

Vi ses, 

Jiwoo Kim 

Chemical Engineering

Hej igen! 

I had a bipolar week: the beginning of the week was full of presentations but the end of the week was full of laughter :) 

Let’s begin! 

2/28 Wed

It has been a while since I had two study trips in a day. I learned about the New Slussen Project, which is the reason for all the construction around Slussen. The planning behind the project was astoundingly complex and comprehensive, considering all social, environmental, and economic factors. 

Model of the new Slussen project design

The next study trip was a real guided tour based on the Swedish crime fiction novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. We walked around Monteliusvägen to Michael Blomkist’s apartment, the cafe where the movie was filmed, and viewpoints that showed the city at a glance. 

A picture of a gallery I peeked into before the field trip

The view was gorgeous. It's not too far from my apartment too!

When the tours were over, I stopped at the Coffee House and yapped with my friend for a bit before going home.

2/29 Thu 

Today was the big D-day: a 10-minute presentation on the case study done in my core course. I booked a room in DIS to practice until class. I ate my packed lunch and finished up my last touches. 

My messy hair ;-; The sun was out and I needed a break

Turns out the presentation was informal but I guess that was for the better. 

At home, I couldn’t rest as I had to prepare for my other presentation for Swedish and read half of a book for Crime Fiction class tomorrow. I made the mistake of reading in my bed and fell asleep eventually. 

3/1 Fri 

My team successfully finished the presentation and ate the pepparkakor that our teacher prepared for us. It is a thinner version of ginger cookies with a taste of Sweden. 

As a little treat after school, I ordered TooGoodToGo at an island I’ve never been to. It was such a smoggy and windy day (especially because the bridge I had to pass was near a huge lake) but I managed to arrive at the bakery in one piece. 

The bakery had so many cute chocolate pieces < 3

I caught up on my sleep for the rest of the day. 4 hours of nap before sleeping for real at night ;) 

3/2 Sat 

Finally, travel week 1 break began! My family came to visit Stockholm while I was here. We had no specific plans in mind, so we spontaneously decided on places to go. We left Airbnb at 5:30 pm when the sun was all set (...) but we still had a good time walking around T-Centralen and Gamla Stan. 

It was nice seeing my family again < 3

3/3 Sun 

We had a slow morning but made it out of our house by 1 pm. 

Our first stop was Gamla Stan since we could not see anything in the dark yesterday. I took them to the main photo spots first. 

Happy happy happy '◡ '

If you remember this place from my prior posts, you're a real one < 3

My dad then led the way to Stockholm’s narrowest street, Mårten Trotzigs gränd. It is only 90 cm (~35 in) wide. 

I took some great snapshots for my brother 

From far away, we saw a commuter ferry departing and abruptly decided to take it. We ran and ran and ran to make it in the departure time. We found out where we were headed once the ferry steered toward the temporarily closed amusement park on Djurgården Island. I felt like I hadn’t been on impromptu journeys for ages, so this kind of random traveling brought me so much joy! The island was bigger than we thought, and it was then that my dad discovered something from the map. The island we were on was the island with the Vasa museum! On the subway to Gamla Stan earlier on, we had made a plan to go to visit the Vasa museum later today. Without a clue, the ferry took us to the right place at the right time. We were so amazed and couldn’t stop talking about it for a good hour (and now I’m writing it on my blog post). 

Since we were there already, we went to the Vasa museum. It is a popular museum with a restored ship that sank back in the 1600s and recovered after 333 years, in the 1900s. I was impressed by the grand size of the ship and the salvage operation.

I still can't believe this magnificent yet delicate ship sunk 10 minutes after its departure

We took a thorough scan of the six floors and finally left when we were satisfied. A beautiful sunset was awaiting us outside. 

Swan couple < 3

This time, we took a tram to go back to Gamla Stan for fika. Fika and Wine was our first destination. We ordered Swedish meatballs and shrimp salad as our main dishes, as well as delicious desserts with coffee. 

Can’t describe the deliciousness in words < 3

For the rest of the evening, we enjoyed Gamla Stan with street lights on, going into souvenir shops one after another like real tourists. 

I loved the owls in this store but my wallet said no to all of them :(

The past few days have been relaxing, and I can’t wait to spend more time with my family :)  They are wonderful photographers (as you can see from the pictures in this post) so I'll have tons of more photos to share in the following days. Good pictures always brighten my day <3

I will let you know all about the rest of my break next week! 

Tack, 

Jiwoo Kim 

Chemical Engineering

Hola a todxs! It’s Niko back with week 3 of studying abroad in Madrid. Time is STILL passing by really fast and slow at the same time, so I'll talk about it again — I’ve been here less than a month and it’s felt like half a year, but the days go by quickly. I don’t think that will stop anytime soon, but I’m here for it. More perceived time = more life lived, and I hope that my weeks don't start blending together anytime soon.

As promised in week 2, I wanted to spend this blog talking about my trip to Granada last weekend. Granada is a small Spanish town in the southern region of Spain called Andalucía. It’s got a population of around 230,000 people — nearly the exact same as my hometown of Arlington, VA, which is a suburb outside of Washington, DC. However, in place of tree lined residential neighborhoods and modern office buildings, Granada is filled with narrow cobblestone streets bordered by low, densely packed buildings and intensely intricate churches/palaces built hundreds of years ago.

That palace — La Alhambra — is the largest tourist attraction in Granada, and was one of the main reasons I wanted to visit it (also, a big shout out to Emma for hosting me, a friend of mine from high school doing her semester in Granada!!). It’s a massive Moorish palace on a hill that overlooks the entire city. The Moors, who were North African Muslims, conquered much of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century. La Alhambra was slowly built between the years 1238 and 1358, during the reigns of Ibn al-Aḥmar and his successors. 

With that said, my trip to Granada last weekend was not my first time seeing La Alhambra. As I mentioned briefly in week 0's blog, I took a trip to Spain with my 8th grade Spanish class for a week. That was 7 years ago. We hit most of the main touristic Spanish cities within that time, Granada included.

So, walking through the palace last weekend triggered a slow trickle of distant memories, fuzzy enough that I couldn’t remember details, but potent enough that I could remember how I felt. Some things had changed about the palace, many things stayed the same. I still felt the same sense of awe I did 7 years ago witnessing the incredible detail hand-carved into every surface, or seeing the palace perfectly reflected in a courtyard’s pool. The difference was that this time, I was exploring alone.

I think that during this trip, I really gained an appreciation — and curiosity — of solo travel. Although I was with my friend Emma much of the time, I felt a great deal of peace in exploring La Alhambra at my own pace. Without anyone else to turn to, I was forced to be present and attuned to my surroundings, and that enabled me to appreciate them that much more.

I think that part of that appreciation, however, was derived from the sense of independence and freedom I had existing alone in Granada. Going into college, being alone terrified me. I would step into the dining hall for lunch and wander through the common spaces, looking for a familiar face I could share a meal with. Now, I try my best to cherish the moments in which I can connect more to myself, whether that be during a meal, practicing a hobby, or exploring an ancient Moorish palace. That’s only something I've been able to move towards through consistent practice -- AKA, spending deliberate time alone. I hope to continue deepening that connection throughout this semester solo-exploring Spain and Europe, which I know is something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.

Aside from La Alhambra, Emma and I explored the city and its various landmarks (El Albaicin, a predominantly Muslim neighborhood, the Granada Cathedral, the Monastery of San Jeronimo, the Mirador de San Miguel Alto [and an epic sunset], and even a jazz-esque show with Spanish flair from a band at a local music club). More pictures below.

On the way back home, we stopped at a rest stop for the bus, and I couldn’t help but notice how familiar it seemed. It conjured up a nostalgic feeling that could have only come from my first trip in Spain — I realized we had stopped at the same station.

For old time’s sake, I bought a Kinder Egg Sorpresa. These things were a huge deal to me in 8th grade, as they are banned in the USA for being a ‘choking hazard’.  Inside the chocolate exterior was a little plastic goat toy that will now serve as the centerpiece of our dining room table.

It’s funny to think how much of a different person I am from the 13 year old on vacation with his school friends and Spanish teachers. But it’s also comforting to know that all of these memories I carry with me explain the person I am today.

This week, I got a little more into school groove, took a rollerblading route, visited the Reina Sofia museum and went to see some amazing techno DJs over the weekend. Per usual, check out the photo captions for more info on the content this week :).

Hasta luego,

Niko Economos

Aerospace Engineering

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Madrid, Spain

Hola a todxs, soy Niko otra vez!! I’ve been in Madrid now for a little longer than a week, but it has felt like I’ve been here for a month. I watched a VSauce video about this phenomenon a while ago; Basically, when your days are filled with many novel, interesting events, your brain remembers the time spent as feeling longer than reality because there are more memories filling the space. That’s definitely true. I’m writing this in a cute cafe in the neighborhood Lavapies, while some old guy named Jesus who speaks in an accent that I can barely understand starts conversation with me, just one example.

As I mentioned last week, one of my hobbies is rollerblading. I started doing it when I was around 12 years old. I loved doing aggressive/trick rollerblading in skate parks, and I even went to a sleepaway camp to skate one summer. It was super epic.

Then, highschool started, and I lost a whole lot of time; I stopped rollerblading — until I rediscovered it in college again. At Michigan, I found people that loved rollerblading as much if not more than me, and the activity turned from something nerdy that I used to do when I was little into something cool in which I could find a community at Michigan (shoutout skate club!).

So, when I was preparing to leave for Madrid, I struggled with the decision to bring my skates or not. They probably weigh 10 pounds or something absurd, not very conducive to luggage with weight limits. But a friend of mine who had studied in Europe in the past told me I’d be crazy not to bring them; they were right.

Fast forward a week after I arrive, and I’m rollerblading through the streets of Madrid, drum & bass music blasting from a massive speaker strapped to someone’s bike, a mob of bikers, longboarders, and rollerbladers alike engulfing me on all sides. No police, no group leader, no motors, just a critical mass of people partying and celebrating sustainable travel.

However, finding this “party on wheels” (as my new friend Jander described it) wouldn’t have been possible if not for a good amount of courage and trust. How did I find it? It was a multi step process:

Step 1: Look up on Google “rollerblading in madrid”. Find the instagram page “@madrid.fns”, or Friday night skate, which does a big skate through the city one Friday every month.

Step 2: Go to the first FNS event. It got rained out, so it was rescheduled to an indoor skate rink. I went there alone, feeling timid but determined to get involved in the community. When I arrived, I strapped on my skates and started going around the circle somewhat awkwardly practicing my footwork, wanting to start a conversation but not confident enough to interac with anyone.

Step 3: Have a nice middle aged rollerblading spanish guy approach you because you definitely looked super awkward. We started talking, my nerves imposing somewhat of a block on my spanish speaking abilities. However, we talked about how we started skating, about the event, and about the blading community in Madrid. He added me to a Telegram group chat that people use to organize rollerblading routes in the city throughout the week. After this, I loosened up a little and started meeting the other bladers there. Notably, I met helicopter pilot from germany named Zoe who taught me how to powerslide.

Step 4: Go to one of the skating events you saw in the telegram group. I hopped on the Subway, rollerblades in hand, prepared to do a route called “Héroes” run by a certain Jesus (not the old man). I managed to find the meeting spot, introduced myself to a few people, and then we were off. The route started off tame and ended up with some pretty insane hill bombs, skating on Gran Via (the Broadway street of Madrid), and weaving through pedestrians in the tiny walking streets in the city center. It was pretty epic.

Step 5: Meet three dudes: Jander, Dester, and Kevin, who are experienced rollerbladers. Talk with them, beatbox for Jander while he freestyles in spanish, skate a bit more through the streets while trying to keep up (their skates are way better than mine for speed, I was SWEATING trying to keep their pace). Before we parted ways, Jander told me about the Bicicritica (spanish version of Critical Mass) — the aforementioned “party on wheels” that happens once on the last Thursday of every month. 

Step 6: Meet up with Jander, Dester, Kevin, and some of their other friends for the Bicicritica and have a blast, meeting tons of other spanish bladers (and a British biker) in the process. The Bicicriti is kind of anti-establishment/communist in nature. There are no group leaders, and there's not a police escort or anything. It's kind of just a big mass of bikers and rollerbladers that take the streets and have a good time, all while promoting sustainable travel. Rollerblading in a huge group, listening to electronic music, seeing the city of Madrid, all while drinking a beer — what more could I ask for?

To be honest, I’m pretty proud of myself for how much I’ve gotten integrated into the community so quickly into my trip. Thinking back, this whole week patinando (skating) offered a huge opportunity to overcome that little voice in my head that says I shouldn’t. At multiple points throughout the multi-step process above, I felt quite uncomfortable. Whether that be due to social anxiety or insecurity (in my spanish language or rollerblading skills), I had to continually convince myself that these feelings were okay, and that if only I endured them a little bit longer, things would get better. And they did, and what was on the other side was 100x worth the discomfort I felt getting there.

Also, people are nice. It’s easy to forget that other people have as much empathy as I do, if not more. When given the chance, everyone I met was warm, and I felt very welcome in the community even as an outsider (and an American, which comes with its own stereotypes. I think I dodged these stereotypes by entering interactions with a large dose of cultural humility). The guys that I befriended welcomed me with open arms, and I’m excited to continue to get to know them. One remaining point of contention: It’s easy to make friends with people when the time spent with them surrounds a common activity. But I’m craving deeper relationships, which may not be as easy to form in this context. We’ll see where we go with that.

I’m very excited to keep blading in Madrid throughout the semester. Urban skating in a truly urban environment is an absolute blast. I’m gonna continue pushing through that discomfort throughout the rest of the semester in everything I do, hopefully bringing about new people and opportunities to experience. 

This week, I also registered for classes, got tapas with new American friends, walked around Madrid a TON, went to the Prado museum, got famous churros from la Chocolatería de San Ginés, and partied a bit. Check out the photos and descriptions below for a little bit more on those.

Hasta la próxima semana.

Niko Economos

Aerospace Engineering

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Madrid, Spain

Hola a todxs :). Niko back here again with week 7’s blog of my study abroad experience in Madrid! Like I mentioned in last week’s blog, this last weekend I traveled to Italy, and this past weekend I was in Sevilla, Spain. My trip to Italy was particularly transformative and jam packed with personal reflection. Read on for the reflection, stay for the photos (and Italian food p*rn). This blogpost probably took the longest for me to write, and was honestly pretty difficult for me to put in words. I hope I captured my thoughts well, and I always welcome feedback and discussion to any and all readers (at any point in time!).

Argentina (but aren’t we talking about Italy?)

As I’ve mentioned before, the summer after freshman year, I studied for 6 weeks in Buenos Aires, Argentina. One particular weekend, I took a trip to Iguazu Falls — the largest waterfall in the Americas by volume, and one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.

Long story short, I got onto a tour bus with a bunch of strangers from around the world, drove 15 hours across Argentina to get to the falls, randomly selected hostel room groups based on who was sitting nearby on the bus, and ended up in a group with 4 girls from Mexico, my travel buddy from the USA, and 1 girl from Italy.

We spent a wonderful weekend together seeing the waterfalls (barring a short-lived but intense spout of food poisoning after eating something funky at a Brazilian buffet), and formed the foundation of what could turn into lasting friendships. But, come Monday, we parted ways, not sure whether we would ever see each other again. 

This trip was the first time I went into a travel situation without a true support system, and an important exercise in “trusting in the process” — and It helped me realize that I was capable of forming meaningful connections across language barriers, cultures, and in un-traditional social situations.

If it wasn’t obvious already, you might be able to see where this little backstory fits into my recent trip to Northern Italy. Before I departed for Spain in January, I sent a text to Gaia — the Italian friend I met in Iguazu — that I would be in Europe for the semester, and would love to see her at some point if the logistics work out.

Now we actually talk about Italy

Flash forward a few months, and well, the logistics worked out. Although our original plan was to go skiing in a small village in the Alps, we ended up being unable to due to weather issues. Instead, Gaia, her friend Camilla, and I took a tour of Northern Italy, visiting Turine, Asti, Moncalvo, and Milan. 

In a way, this trip was an even bigger exercise in trust — although this time, it was my gut I was trusting, not the process. I hadn’t seen Gaia in nearly 2 years, and the only other time we had met lasted just 3 short days. I was about to spend another 3 days with her — but this time, nearly every waking moment would be spent together.

For some reason, the thoughts of “what if we didn’t get along?”, “what if it was awkward?”, “what if we got on each other’s nerves?” — normal things to think in this situation — never crossed my mind. I trusted my gut: that Gaia was someone that I got on with in the past, and I had a feeling that the people we grew into over the past two years would mesh just as well.

So, I didn’t worry. And I was right not to. After a short period of hesitancy, we clicked. We spent the weekend learning about each other — both from a personal and cultural point of view.

And by the end of this trip, I felt culturally enriched. There’s a level of cultural intimacy (is that a term? Well now it is, I just coined it) that can only be experienced by being someone who has lived and breathed that culture for their whole life — something that I feel like I’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing in my own heritage, first or second-hand.

A short aside on heritage in the USA

Ethnically, I am half Italian, half Greek. My great grandparents immigrated to the USA from the south of Italy through Ellis island, raising my grandmother, who gave birth to my mom. 4 generations later, I feel more comfortable calling myself Italian-American than Italian. 

My mom’s side of the family was raised in northern New Jersey. I was raised Roman catholic, and I have 11 first cousins. Family gatherings are loud and boisterous, and people talk with their hands. My grandmother makes delicious Italian cookies called Pizzelles, and we call dish towels Mopinas (which isn’t even in the italian dictionary — it must have evolved on its own. Call it Englitalian [Italinglish? Coined.] ).

And that’s about all I’ve got to hold onto of Italian culture. Although I have more contact with Greece through the Orthodox Christian community and my direct-immigrant grandparents, I’ve never felt particularly connected to either culture. I don’t speak either language, and up until this past summer (when I visited Greece), I’d never been to either country. 

People from the United States of America — especially, I think, those in the Northeast — place emphasis on their ethnic heritage that those from other countries around the world do not. Ask an American, and they’ll probably know where their blood comes from — if the records of their ancestor’s immigration do exist. Ask an Italian, or a Spaniard, and they probably will not. Odds are, in fact, that their blood will be just that: Italian, or Spanish. 

The USA is a country built on immigrants, and it continues to be so to this day — and to me, it somehow feels wrong to not know anything about your cultural background.

This is a weirdly complex topic — one that I’ve thought about a lot —but bear with me here (and keep in mind, this is all from my personal point of view, and I welcome all new perspectives! Feel free to send me a message to discuss🙂). I think that, in the more liberal sphere of American adolescents, it’s almost “bad” to not know anything about your heritage — especially among white people, which is a label that I identify with. The USA has done a lot of messed up stuff in the world, and I think this is true to an extent that young Americans feel a desire to distance themselves from their nationality. 

Instead, we grasp on to what we have that sets us apart from it — where our parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents come from. It gives us something to point to in conversations, something that lets us say “see, look, I’m not just a white-washed American, I’m cultured”, something to help us feel like we have more depth — especially in a country where everything feels like it comes from something else.

This is why I mentioned above that this is more common in the Northeast — although I can only truly speak on what I’ve experienced in Northern Virginia and in the University of Michigan. When I think of the term “melting pot”, I think of places like New York City. Southern states, and perhaps those in the West, have developed a culture that feels more unique, more distinctly American, and this is why (from my outside perspective) it seems like something more people feel proud of and claim as their own.

As I mentioned, this perspective comes from personal experience. And this is all something I’ve felt as a white American, at least 2 generations removed from my “mother countries”. After spending a weekend in Italy, I finally got a piece of that contact that I had always craved.

Italo-

Italian culture is just that — uniquely italian. Food, history, architecture, art — not only is it unique, but it is rich. From the first day that I spent with Gaia and Camilla, it was apparent that they felt a deep connection, pride, and understanding of their culture — and this is something that they graciously and enthusiastically shared with me.

I now have a greater — albeit limited — understanding of what it means to be Italian, in Italy. I learned about Italian espresso, when to have it (spoiler alert — any time of day is game), how to prepare it, and how it tastes. Some of my favorite moments of the trip were peacefully spent over the breakfast table in Gaia’s home, enjoying a light carb heavy breakfast and freshly brewed coffee.

We ate simple, delicious food at every restaurant we went to. The food was less extravagant than I expected it to be. Most of the meals were simple, with a focus on the ingredients and their preparation. Pastas, pizza, Milanese, Ragu, more pasta. Tiramisu, and gelato, too.

We had a night out — first to aperitivo, then to dinner, then to a bar that was built in an old desecrated church, then to a cheesy karaoke bar where the whole place was singing old Italian songs at the top of their lungs — with a group of 12 in Gaia’s hometown, which was made up of friends stemming from her high school days. The biggest difference between the Italian dinner party and an American one — we took our time. There was a feeling of ease at the table. Nothing was rushed. We enjoyed each dish, each glass of wine, and over everything, enjoyed each other’s company. The focus was on the people and the conversation, not on what was to be ordered and how fast it came out. I hope to bring this rhythm back to Ann Arbor with me (but that may be more difficult than I think. See footnote 1 below*).

We explored multiple Italian cities, and walked a TON. I learned an interesting perspective of Milan (which was a beautiful city) from Camilla’s boyfriend — Milan is Italy to Europe, and Milan is Europe to Italy. (See footnote 2**). The architecture was beautiful, and after a rainstorm, Milan looked magical. The ground was sparkling, reflecting the dramatically lit buildings of the city center in the puddles that gathered on the ground. I saw the Italian countryside, picturesque rolling hills backdropped by an epic sunlit cumulo-nimbus cloud.

I even learned a base of the Italian language (I probably said “Come si dice” 100 times) that will serve me well if and when I want to learn it in the future — or if I ever get my Italian citizenship and decide to move there. Guess only time will tell.

-americano

3 days is not a long period of time, but I can confidently say now that I understand a little better what it means to be Italian. I feel more connected to my cultural heritage — and in turn, I feel more connected than ever to my native culture in the USA.

It’s true that the USA has done a bunch of messed up stuff in the world. Imperialism, war crimes, political and economical extortion — the list goes on. But the longer I spend in Europe — the more I come into contact with different cultures, and understand foreign perspectives on the USA — the less these things feel like they’re inside a black box. Instead of avoiding these hard truths, I can face them head on — allowing me to acknowledge the bad and the good that comes with US culture.

A big critique I’ve heard abroad is that the United States has no culture of its own — but I don’t think that’s true. The USA is a place where global cultures collide, providing its citizens the opportunity to experience bits and pieces of the world and giving rise to unique elements born from this fusion.

Over the past 2 months, I’ve slowly shifted away from the feeling of shame that comes with being an American in Europe — and that’s thanks to a willingness to learn, adapt to, and accept cultures that I experience while I’m abroad (re: cultural humility, blogpost coming soon). Now, I’ll proudly say that I’m 50% Greek, 50% Italian, and 100% American. With my continuously evolving understanding of my individual parts (and all of the other cultures I come into contact with, especially Spain), I feel like I can better understand and contribute to that fusion, both in the melting pot of the United States, and as an international citizen in Europe — enriching the lives of myself and those I come into contact with.

Such is becoming “cultured” — a concept that has a bit of a pretentious connotation (IMO), but is worth striving for. I’ll be returning to Italy for spring break (Rome, Florence), so hopefully I’ll continue to develop this connection then. I also bookmarked in Google maps here all the places I visited in Italy this trip (and will do so in the next one) if you're considering taking a trip and want recommendations!

I planned on writing about Sevilla this week too, but I think this post has gone on long enough. I thoroughly enjoyed the different vibe it has from Spain, even through the rainy weather we experienced. 

As always, check out the image descriptions for more details on each one. I hope everyone has a great rest of their week, and see you back here next soon!

Hasta luego,

Niko Economos

Aerospace Engineering

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Madrid, Spain

* In Italy, and the rest of Europe, servers get paid fair wages. In the USA, it’s not required, because it’s expected that servers will make up the difference in tips. I worked as a server for 2 summers, and made $3.50 an hour. The amount of money I made in a night was directly correlated to the number of tables I turned over. As a result, I did my best to get orders in fast, food out faster, and clear the table as quickly as I could so that I could make more money. Until this fact changes, I think it’s hard to have the same no-rush Italian experience over dinner unless you’re really conscious of it. Personally, if I’m not feeling pressure from a server to leave quickly, I’m likely feeling a sense of guilt for staying too long and reducing their nightly wage, no matter how well I tip. Maybe home cooked meals are the answer, which I’ll hopefully be well practiced with next semester :)

**To Europeans, they look at Milan and see what they think of Italy. The world capital of fashion, beautiful architecture, prosperous and well known city. Italians look at Milan and see what they think of as Europe —highly international, intercultural, and as a result more gentrified and expensive. I found this to be really interesting. Is there a US city that fits this bill?

This past week has been filled with excitement as I had the pleasure of hosting my parents in Edinburgh. Welcoming them to my familiar surroundings was a joyous occasion, allowing me to share the charm and beauty of this historic city that I now call home.

We kicked off their visit by embarking on a leisurely stroll around the town, revisiting the iconic landmarks that have become so familiar to me. From the majestic Edinburgh Castle perched atop Castle Rock to the vibrant and picturesque Victoria Street, every corner we turned held a story to tell. Of course, no tour of Edinburgh would be complete without a visit to the grand Palace of Holyrood, where we marveled at its regal splendor.

One thing my parents quickly learned about Edinburgh – and Scotland as a whole – is the unpredictable weather. Despite my dad's optimism about clear and sunny days, we found ourselves caught in a few unexpected rain showers. Yet, far from dampening our spirits, these rainstorms added to the allure of our adventure, reminding us that resilience and adaptability are key traits when exploring this beautiful country.

Venturing beyond Edinburgh, we embarked on a day trip to Stirling Castle, a place rich in history and significance. It was my second time exploring outside the bounds of Edinburgh, and I couldn't have asked for a more memorable experience. Walking in the footsteps of Mary Queen of Scots, whose birth and upbringing were intertwined with this fortress, filled me with a sense of awe and wonder. Despite the relentless rain and winds, we were transported back in time, immersed in the ambiance of centuries past. The history of Stirling Castle is as captivating as it is complex, and we spent hours delving into its storied past. From royal intrigue to tales of conquest and rebellion, every stone seemed to whisper secrets of bygone eras.

As the week drew to a close, I found myself grateful for the opportunity to share my love for Edinburgh and Scotland with my parents. Despite the occasional downpour, our adventures were filled with laughter, discovery, and cherished moments that will be fondly remembered for years to come.

And of course, here are the photos:

The thing no one tells you about moving to a different country is that grocery shopping is exhausting. There are no brands you recognize, everything’s in different packaging, and even if you know the language, your food vocab probably isn’t extensive enough to know the difference between different types of milks or oils. Now in my fourth week of grocery shopping here. I thought I had the hang of things, but it still takes me like an hour to get two weeks worth of groceries. I have to walk around and figure out where what I need is, then sift through the twenty different options of the same thing by turning each item over and pretending that I understand the ingredients list enough to help me make a decision. I guess one perk of not knowing anything about the grocery store is that you get to discover new foods. Back home, my family’s always gotten the same bread, milk, eggs my whole life. So I have no idea if there’s a better brand out there. But here, I get to pick and explore. Last week, when buying cheese for sandwiches, I picked a random one and oh my gosh it’s the best cheese I ever had. Maybe when I get home, I’ll start being more adventurous with my grocery shopping. But yeah, mini rant over, and to summarize, if you’re going abroad and reading this, get mentally prepared to go grocery shopping.

In other news, this week, I went to see the sunset at Templo de Debod and also went to see Museo Sorolla. Both are musts in Madrid. Templo de Debod is an Egyptian temple that was moved to Madrid in order to be preserved. It’s a super cool piece of Egyptian history with a small museum inside, and it’s on top of a hill, so it makes for one of the most popular sunset spots. I really enjoyed watching the sunset here this week and will definitely be back! 

Even if you’re someone who doesn’t quite enjoy the big art museums (like the Prado), I can almost guarantee that Museo Sorolla will still be enjoyable. Joaquin Sorolla is a famous Spanish Impressionism-esque painter. His house in Madrid is turned into a museum, so you get to walk through his house while looking at his original paintings, furniture, gardens, etc. It really feels like more of a tour through someone’s life than an art museum. And it’s a small museum, so you can finish in about an hour, or two with the audio guide (which I loved so much and definitely recommend). I loved the gardens out front and how beautifully everything was preserved in the house. It really is a lesser known gem in Madrid. 

Another rather unconventional must in my opinion is Flying Tiger. Flying Tiger is a Danish chain of stores that sell things I can only describe as “things you didn’t know you needed until you see them”. I think it’s pretty aptly named because you’ve probably never thought of a flying tiger before, but now that I’ve said it- how cool would a flying tiger be? That’s exactly what everything in the store is like. Little knickknacks that you don’t really need, but are so interesting you’ll just need to have it. One of my favorite things were these little balloon clips that let you reuse the balloon instead of tying it. Like how cool is that??? It’s a dangerous shop to go into for sure, and you’ll probably end up buying something. But embrace it and go visit Flying Tiger for yourself. 

This weekend, I took a quick trip to Barcelona. Having already been there with my family back in 2019, I took the time to walk around, explore the more artsy districts, re-visit the Sagrada Familia since it’s just that beautiful, and went to the flea market. We also went to the Bunkers of Carmel which had gorgeous 360° views of the city. I remember liking Barcelona better than Madrid when I first visited with my family, but now that I’ve been living in Madrid for almost a month, going to Barcelona has made me realize how much I appreciate Madrid. Both are beautiful cities, but there’s just something about the liveliness and deep history and culture in Madrid that’s unmatched. 

So…you probably noticed there’s no drawing of the week today. Basically, I got my first Fluid Dynamics homework assigned and the time I would’ve spent drawing was spent on that. But I’m going to go ahead and say maybe there’ll be two drawings next week. 

You’ll have to wait and see :)

Isha Venkatesh

Mechanical Engineering