If I were you...

The soccer team I play with at our beach tournament near BarcelonaThe post for advice on what to do in Madrid comes at a perfect time. My brother and his girlfriend arrive tomorrow from New York to visit for a whole week. We have been discussing what they need to see and where to go, and I surprised myself by how much I knew and by where I thought they should go. Who knew that after living here for four months I would actually know the city I live in? That said, here goes:

For touring, there is a convenient loop that involves walking past Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real, Plaza de Espana, and Parque del Oeste. From Parque del Oeste you can take the Teleferico into Casa de Campo and walk out of that park to Campo de Moro where there are peacocks wandering around freely. After that walk up the hill to the Sabatini Gardens behind the Palacio Real, and your route is complete. The Prado and Reina Sofia museums are certainly worth a look, especially if you are interested in art, but even if you aren’t they have an impressive collection. Also I would suggest walking up Paseo de la Castellana to see all of the sights along that.

As far as cultural experiences, you should go to a soccer match because everyone here is into it. One thing I regret not doing was going to an Atletico game because those are supposed to be more fun. Real Madrid games are much less about being crazy and more about being snobby (personal opinion, it was still fun). I have friends who swear by the flamenco dancing shows, although I also have not seen that. I am going to a bullfight on Sunday, which seems stereotypically Spanish but is worth seeing for the experience.

Beyond the touristy, cultural experiences, my best advice is to get involved. If you love sports, find a way to play with a local team. Playing with the women’s soccer team has been one of my favorite parts about being here. It has forced me to speak Spanish and now I found friends who are girls who I have something in common with and I am learning a lot from them. If you like teaching, find a place to tutor. My roommate now knows the most random vocabulary words from her tutoring job with two kids. If you want to learn Spanish for real, live with Spaniards. I don’t think I would recommend a senora situation, though I can’t speak from my own experience, but if you can find an apartment to live in with other students or young Spanish people your experience and knowledge of the language and culture will improve ten-fold. For going out, Malasana and Tribunal are great areas. La Latina is probably the place I have been most often, particularly Cava Baja. The first bar I went to was Lamiak on Cava Baja and we went there on our first night here. It was Sunday and the place was jammed. Welcome to Spain. I would say live in the southern part of the city, but I may be biased because that is where I live now and I love it. Tirso de Molina is in the center of everything; the only place it is far from is school and even then it’s no big deal because the bus goes straight there and you get to see all of the sights. My biggest advice is to have your goals set and don’t be afraid to go after it.

If you want to learn Spanish, push yourself outside of your comfort zone and force yourself to speak it. You can get by not knowing, but the experience is much better if you learn the culture and really live in the city you’re studying in. Otherwise you’re just floating. I would also recommend staying longer. For me, I am just now getting the hang of everything from speaking to having Spanish friends, just in time for the semester to be over. Knowing that it was such a short time made me want to be back in New York that much more, so much so that I was drifting for a while, not really trying to be involved, and now it’s almost too late.