Post-Travel Reflection -- Me Encanta Madrid <3
It’s been a week since I got back from Madrid and it’s the weirdest feeling ever. I walked into my house and it felt like I never left and the last five months were just a fever dream. The drive from the airport was such a culture shock, seeing plain roads and green road signs instead of the beautiful balconies and architecture of Madrid. I’m excited to be back, but I’m stressed that life will never be that fun and carefree again. I just started my summer internship and the switch to corporate life is rather… depressing. I can always go back to Madrid, but I’ll probably never live there again which is heartbreaking.
I wouldn’t say the adjustment back was very difficult, since I was looking forward to coming back and having my favorite things. However, I’ve had a few slip ups like dropping my water bottle cap since it’s no longer connected, saying “gracias” instead of “thank you”, and thinking I need to walk places when I live in suburbia with a car. Driving was also kind of scary, but the muscle memory kicked in.
Studying abroad was honestly such an amazing experience. I wouldn’t say it was life changing and I’m a whole different person, but I definitely gained new skills, experiences, and perspectives. Before, I was extremely shy, very anxious about basically everything, and feared doing things alone. While abroad I met tons of new people from all over the world, solo traveled to three cities, clubbed alone, ate alone, and loved every second of it. I was really scared of navigating new cities and airports, but now I can do it confidently with no prior planning. I learned a lot about languages, cultural differences and respect, and have a new love for learning about the world.
Rereading my pre-departure post, I’m happy to say I accomplished many of my goals!
Make new friends - I got super close with my roommates from UMich and other US universities and some people throughout Europe!
Solo travel - Went on three trips to Munich, Amsterdam, and Berlin!
Upgrade wardrobe - Did LOTS of shopping and got the most unique pieces
New foods - Tried what I could for being vegetarian (tapas in Spain, tagine in Morocco, crepes in Paris, strudel in Germany, stroopwafel in the Netherlands, etc.)
Improve Spanish skills - I’m nowhere near fluent but I’ve definitely improved! I picked up certain sentence structures (more formal language), dialect differences (perdona, porfa, vale, etc.), and even some slang
Lots of travel - Went to 11 countries (Spain, Portugal, Germany, UK, Morocco, France, Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Czechia, Netherlands) and TONS of cities
While I wasn’t really focused on career development abroad, I’m now certain I want to work for a company with global opportunities that allow me to travel and/or work with international partners. Going abroad has definitely equipped me to communicate and conform to different cultures, which will be a very useful skill in my future career.
If anyone reading this post is on the fence about going abroad, DO IT. It’s genuinely the best experience and I don’t regret it one bit. The idea of moving to a new country and not knowing anyone can be scary, but it’ll all work out.
I also can’t believe this is my last blog post. I’m not big on writing, but this position forced me to track my journeys which I really appreciate now. If anyone has been reading or following along, thank you so much and I really hope it was helpful.
Lastly, if anyone has further questions about Madrid, going abroad, course planning, travel, or you just want to chat, I’m more than happy to help! Reach out at [email protected]
¡Muchas gracias y estudiar en un nuevo país!
Industrial and Operations Engineering
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid