The most culturally-immersive experience of my life!

I had the most amazing, culturally-enriching experience in Madrid this past Fall semester! Going into studying abroad, I was torn between Barcelona and Madrid, and am so incredibly grateful to say that I made the best choice by choosing to study abroad in Madrid with IES. I specifically chose a full-immersion, language intensive program so that I could strengthen and improve my Spanish speaking skills, and fully immerse myself into the Spanish culture and way of life. I absolutely LOVED living inside of a Colegio Mayor (Spanish dorm), as it served as a cultural hub, overflowing with so many different cultures, allowing me to meet new friends from literally all over the world ( that I still talk to). I was able to do "intercambios" with these new friends, where they helped me improve my Spanish, and I, their English, so it was a really great living-learning environment that I recommend everyone to choose! IES was amazing with their pre-departure information, and for helping me with every single step along the way before I left to Spain. Once I got to Madrid, the orientation was informative and the staff was so incredibly kind and caring, and truly want you to get the most out of your experience abroad. The study center put on different cultural events during the week and on the weekends, and IES did a really nice job with pre-planned trips to different cities in Spain (San Sebastían being my favorite). The study center was in a super safe location, right next to a beautiful park, and was actually located right next to one of the metro stops, allowing me to access the metro very easily and accessibly. As far as classes go, they were more academically challenging than the classes I was used to in my home institution, in that I have never taken a course taught in Spanish that was not about Spanish grammar or Spanish studies. I definitely wrote a lot for some of my classes, but the homework load wasn't too intensive that I didn't have a social life or couldn't travel. During my experience abroad, I only stayed in Spain; I visited 11 different Spanish cities, and truly had the opportunity to immerse myself into the Spanish culture. I was able to see the world through a more globalized and empathic lens, and be more understanding towards others who are different than me. Madrid gave me the chance to step out of my comfort zone, make amazing friends, explore beautiful sites, learn what my passions are, and helped me grow in more ways than I thought were possible. I hope you enjoy the vitality and heart of Madrid as much as I did. (: