Outside of Your Comfort Zone in Spain's Most Beautiful City

When I embarked on my journey to Madrid, I never imagined the richness and variety of the experience I would have. There are so many uniquely fascinating people in Madrid, and most of them are willing to engage in conversations that will blow your mind. The most intriguing thing that I found was that these conversations would always come when I least expected it.

A brief illustration: I was exploring the barrio around my homestay near the Metro stop Legazpi (south of Sol about 5 stops) and I stopped at a corner bar to watch a Real Madrid game. This was a bar that served free tapas with a drink, so I took full advantage of that, while subtly eavesdropping on the conversation next to me between a Madrileño family. Eventually, they approached me and asked about my story, and the conversation eventually ended up with the discussion of European fútbol and bullfighting. These older Madrileños preferred watching bullfighting and didn't really enjoy soccer, whereas the younger generation is vehemently against bullfighting and raves over soccer. I never would have guessed this generational disparity to exist, but nevertheless, I walked away from that conversation with some more insights into life in Madrid.

This is a short illustration of countless experiences that happened in Madrid with the locals. There is so much to do in Madrid, so many barrios to get lost in, and countless bars/shops/restaurants to stop at and spark up conversations. And don't worry if you are intimidated to start conversations with random people - they will often approach you because they are always curious to learn more about Americans.