By: Dhanai Gjini
Hiii!! Or should I say hola!! I’m Dhanai and I am a senior graduating this May, 2023, with a Bachelors in Biology. Last semester, in the Fall of 2022, I finally got to study abroad in Madrid, Spain. I have been back in Boston now for almost 5 months, and as each day goes by, the more I miss Madrid and my life abroad. I traveled so much around Spain, Europe, and Africa that I decided to document and talk about all of it in these blogs. Obviously not every single detail or this might turn into a book! There is so much to say, I don’t even know where to start since I am so excited to share my travels!
This was my first time in Spain and studying abroad, but I had been waiting for this opportunity since 2020. I am now grateful covid put a pause to the study abroad process because I was able to complete all my major core requirements my sophomore and junior year. So, when I went abroad, I only had my elective classes left to complete. This was a bonus since I had more time to explore Spain and travel to other countries. My classes were on Mondays and Wednesdays and the best part… no friday classes for anyone! Suffolk Madrid purposely does this to allow more time for students to explore Madrid, learn about Spanish culture, and explore other countries! Luckily for me, I had no classes on Thursdays either so I had 4 day weekend trips! One thing I highly recommend while planning to study abroad is to plan it ahead of time, if you are able to. Doing this is important, especially for STEM majors to still be able to graduate on time. Not many STEM requirement courses are offered abroad, especially if you are thinking of going your junior or senior year. So, definitely take the time to see what courses are offered at Suffolk Madrid to then decide what courses you will take in Boston.
Throughout high school I took French classes so when I landed in Madrid I barely knew the basics. Thankfully when you study at Suffolk Madrid, a Spanish course is required. I love learning about new cultures and languages so I was excited to start learning Spanish, and it’s even better learning it while living in the country and being surrounded with the language! I am fluent in Greek and Albanian so learning another new language was exciting but also difficult at the same time. From September to December, my Spanish has improved but still needs practice. As long as you keep trying a little each day, you will improve. I enjoyed taking classes at Suffolk Madrid especially because it is a smaller campus so it feels like family. The residency dorm I stayed at, Residencia Galdós, is where most of the Suffolk Madrid students stayed that semester, but there are also options for a home stay that I recommend looking into! I loved living at Galdós since there was a gym, movie/game room, and it was easy to meet other Spanish students studying in Madrid. I even met someone that was from London studying abroad in Madrid and staying at Galdós! The first day I landed in Madrid, Laura and I explored as much as we could to beat the jet lag. Laura had already studied at Suffolk Madrid for one semester before covid so she was able to show me the main attractions. This was when I realized there is so much to see and do in Madrid, you will never get bored! Each area in Madrid has a different vibe as well so it’s interesting to see the differences while still being in the same city.
One thing I had to get used to was siesta time, where stores would be closed around 2-4pm and people would go home to eat, nap, or simply relax, and then go back and open their stores. I found it weird at first but then I saw how nice it was to implement some time in your day to day life to relax and recharge.
I must say meeting Spaniards and going on dates was another good way to practice Spanish, see how their normal life in Madrid is, explore Madrid, and go to some amazing restaurants, especially places that served tortilla de patata! My top 3 favorite restaurants in Madrid that I recommend are Chiquita, Lamucca del Carmen, and Ochenta Grados. But you might have a day…or two.. if and when you’re craving normal American food, don’t worry, go to Steakburger. There’s many locations around Madrid.
After a semester of living in Madrid, I believe it is the best European city to live in. The quality of life is amazing. Another thing that made me love Madrid even more is the amazing transportation system, Metro de Madrid. Now, I could go on and on about this but I will keep it brief. Best transportation in the WORLD (also the cheapest transportation to get around Madrid). Clean, reliable, on time trains that have stops everywhere in the city. You are able to easily go to the Madrid Barajas airport with the Metro as well. As I mentioned a little earlier, meeting Spaniards is another amazing way to a more authentic real version of how daily life in Madrid is. I met a great friend that works for Metro de Madrid and I had the opportunity to “drive” the train. *Photo inserted to the left* The trains in Madrid are automatic so it was super easy. All you had to do was push buttons for the most part! There is obviously more to it which requires a lot of learning and training from what I was told. Obviously it is not allowed to have non-workers control the train which is why I only drove the train to the next stop and my Spaniard friend was right next me watching to make sure everything was okay and safe. Truly one of a kind unique experience I will never forget about in my life.
For any of you reading this right now that are in the process of studying abroad next semester, at Suffolk Madrid especially, (or in the future) please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by email (dgjini@suffolk.edu) or instagram (@_dhanai) if you have any questions about my time abroad in Madrid and/or my travels.