Parks and Culture

I really enjoyed my time in Madrid! I personally enjoy spending time outside. Because of this, I spent a lot of time in the parks around the city. This was by far my favorite part of the experience, walking around the city to explore the parks and relax! Sometimes I would spend 3 or 4 days a week at various parks doing homework, walking and just enjoying the environment! Madrid also has so many museums, plazas and culture to take part in and enjoy!

I lived in a home stay for my semester abroad. I was with a single mother and her two daughters during this time. I was very satisfied with the interaction between the family members and also the meals that were prepared for me with dessert and everything.

The one area that maybe could have used a little improvement was the administration system at the school. The IES program partnered with a local university and used some of the extra space at this university for classes. But since the school and IES weren't one in the same entity, there sometimes was miscommunication between the two that led to certain issues. Things such as a lack of access to rooms that students were expected to have access to and lack of support for the IES program teachers because they weren't technically professors of the school. I felt the instructors often did the best they could with what they had but were limited by this situation.

Overall, given the opportunity, I would love to do this over again if I could and would recommend it for those looking to improve their Spanish and experience the culture first hand as well.