I was sitting on the bed with that feeling like I couldn’t do it. I wanted to book the next plane home. Then, someone walked in, I wiped away the tears, and took a nap. Since then, I haven’t had any more doubts.

I’ve been in Madrid for five or six days now. After living in Catalonia for two years, I was scared in how it would be different to live in the capital. So far, so good. I’ve been lost and found my way, I’ve wandered around, I’ve learned new things. This is Madrid.

Getting Lost

The very first thing I did when I arrived last week was just walk down the street. I decided to walk and see where the journey would take me on the way. I ended up stumbling upon Plaza Mayor. It looked familiar from when I had been here for Christmas 2014. The goal was to find food and then I did that. I was taking baby steps to get to my destination.

I made a turn and ended up at the Puerta del Sol. From there I was able to buy a SIM card and get some lunch. For once I wasn’t stepping into a store to go on a shopping spree. I just wanted to learn the area. I made my way to Retiro Park and just sat there, absorbing the atmosphere and my choices. When I checked into my hostel, that’s when the doubt started to creep in.

I also stepped foot into a metro system that I didn’t know and I feel that I’ve already mastered it. I got my abono, which allows me to travel anywhere within the Community of Madrid for just €20 a month! I’m already hopping off and hopping on to different lines.

One thing that has helped me is that I’ve been trying to use Maps less. I’ll pull the destination up, but I won’t get verbal direction. I just follow the arrows and make sure I’m on track. If I make a wrong turn, I’ll find the right direction soon.

Settling In

This isn’t an ordinary trip abroad. I’m going to be living here until at least the end of June, so I had to find a place to live and really start learning about the city. Every few minutes, I was refreshing the housing websites until I found a place I liked. Then I would take a break and walk around the city or go out to eat.

I visited three apartments. I wanted to live near the main train station, but I ended up choosing a place in Chamberí in the northern part of the city. I’ll have a longer commute, but I think it’s worth it. My room is nice and spacious and the neighborhood is really cute.

I’ve been organizing my room (as best as I can) and finding the stores and supermarkets closest to me. It’s helped me learn more about the city. I’m also not too far from the Santiago Bernabéu, so I want to go to so many games!

A Unique Experience

By matter of chance, I happened to find out that the Spanish national football (soccer) team was going to have a practice before their World Cup Qualifier. I asked some people in my program’s group if they would be interested in going. Surprisingly, there was a lot of interest. The tickets were free, you just had to go to the stadium or fan zone to pick up the tickets.

So we all met up and walked to the stadium. We entered the stadium and were ushered into seats behind the goal. I watched, amazed, as some of my favorite players were kicking a ball around in one of my favorite stadiums. I nearly had to pinch myself. OMG THERE’S ASENSIO. That is basically what I was thinking the whole time.

We watched for about an hour as the boys practiced and goofed around. Many of the players are on Real Madrid, so it was so cool to be able to watch them in their element. At one moment, Álvaro Morata kicked a ball and it hit a little boy in the head! At the end of the practice, Morata came over and gave the boy his shirt. I was thinking, “Hey! Asensio! Come over here and kick me in the face!” No luck there.

Spain also won 3-0 against Italy on Saturday night. Vamos España!

More to Come

This is just the beginning. I can’t wait to keep exploring. I went for a run around Retiro Park one morning and I look forward to exploring more of the city through running. There are so many beautiful buildings and statues and water fountains all over the city. I love it.

So here’s to more churros, more shopping, and more Madrid!