Best four months of my life

IES Abroad helped make my study abroad experience the time of my life! From the moment we arrived in the airport the program directors were there to help us transition. The first week of the program was an intensive orientation, where we met everyone else in the program, toured the city and museums, and had initial Spanish classes.
After I adjusted to living in the city and classes started, time flew by! I lived with a Senora and another girl from my program. Our conversations over meals dramatically improved my Spanish and it was nice to have a local to ask advice about travel, restaurants, etc. I highly recommend taking the art history class in the Prado Museum, it was my favorite course by far and I will always remember what I learned about Spanish artists. Overall the classes were much easier than I was used to, but I didn’t want to spend all my time studying so it was a welcome change.
There are no IES classes on Fridays so three day weekends allow plenty of time to travel. I suggest finding a balance between traveling and staying in Madrid, because there is so much to explore and discover in Madrid. All the museums, shopping, parks, and restaurants fill the city with life and energy and culture that I miss every single day. Study abroad is an incredible experience, I cannot recommend it enough!