Hello!!
My name is Nicholas Penders, and this is my semester recap from being abroad. Hopefully, you have seen my first blog post where I talked about the first half of my semester in Madrid with the GW Study Madrid program. I left the last blog post off just at the beginning of October, and since then I have gotten to do a lot more traveling and experiencing Spanish culture here in Madrid.
By late October I was officially feeling settled in and was more or less adjusted to Spanish culture and language. I am continuing to learn more about myself throughout the semester and have found a bunch of places in Madrid that I enjoy and will bring great memories back to the US with me. I discovered the attraction of the art museums in the city, specifically the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen. I have always enjoyed walking around art museums, and to have so many in Madrid with world-renowned artists and paintings is something that you cannot miss. The GW study program also organized another group trip to Extremadura, a region of Spain that is much less popular and right next to Portugal. We took a bus to Caceres, and Merida, two small Spanish cities that are hard to get to and not popular tourist destinations but are filled with history and extremely interesting culture. In these trips, we were able to explore this more hidden and lesser visited part of Spain and learn about yet another region and their culture. They also organized a day trip to Toledo, which is one of my favorite Spanish cities. This was my second time going to Toledo, and I was amazed by the cathedral and the artwork. I am a big fan of El Greco, who lived in Toledo and did a lot of his important works in the cathedral. His house has been converted into a museum open for tourists and his artwork is displayed in a lot of museums throughout the city. I also had the chance to take a couple of small trips by myself as well. One weekend I took the high-speed train to Segovia, a small city an hour outside of Madrid with an impressive castle and cathedral, which are known for their cochinillo (baked baby pig). The high-speed train is a blessing, and I recommend taking advantage of it every chance you can. I was able to go to Valencia to visit a friend in one day, just an hour and a half to get there, and explored a city I thought I wouldn’t have time to see.
Classes are over now, but they were all extremely influential and interesting in my time here in Madrid. I took a Spanish literature class that contributed to a conversation almost every day I was here, and felt like I learned a lot more about Spanish culture through the literature we read in class. My flamenco class also had our final performance in front of the other students in the program and a couple of host families which turned out to be a very fun and rewarding experience. Commuting to class has become a normal part of my routine, and I enjoy spending time on campus as well as spending time in the city. I have been lucky enough to have a lot of visitors in Madrid this second half of the semester, and by being a tour guide, I have gotten to see a lot of attractions I never would have thought about. This past weekend I went to the Royal Palace in the city center and took a tour inside, I was so lucky because on the same day, the Spanish military was doing a massive changing of the guard ceremony at the palace. I got to leisurely walk through the palace by myself, and then directly after having a front-row seat to the ceremony.
The amount of experience, enjoyment, and appreciation for studying abroad is too much to express in two blog posts, but just to give a snippet of my semester abroad. With two days left before I go home, I cannot believe how fast this semester has flown by, and I am so grateful for all of the support and encouragement that this program has given the students. I have fallen in love with Madrid, and I know that I will be back in Spain hopefully to live or work in the future. Please, if you have the opportunity to study abroad, take it. It can sometimes be uncomfortable going into unknown situations that seem daunting, but I promise you that it is worth it. I cannot stress the importance of being a global citizen, especially after going to school and living in the US which can sometimes be very internationally blind and negligent. Experiences like this help add another level to your global understanding and help you appreciate the world that we live in.
Nicholas Penders
GW Madrid (GW Study Program)
Fall 2023
Milken Institute School of Public Health
Public Health Major