Amanda Krawczyk: AU Liberal Arts – Summer Program in Madrid, Spain Summer 2019
One of the most bittersweet moments is the final full day of your study abroad program. My friends and I wanted to make the most of our time left on the program, so we packed our last day with every activity imaginable. Our first stop: brunch off Gran Vía.
My friends and I walked downstairs and were instantly transported to a stunning garden themed restaurant. We got some great food and laughed with each other as I knocked over a vase full of water (sorry to everyone I spilled water on during this program). After we ate, we wandered around the shop on the restaurant’s main floor and to the tourist shops next door for some last-minute souvenirs. My friend even got a metro key chain because the metro became such a big part of our day to day in Spain. After shopping, it was time to go to Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Bernabéu is the soccer stadium where Real Madrid plays, so we decided it would be a cool experience to take a tour of it. We got to see the locker rooms, jerseys, trophies, and we even got to go on the field. I was really excited to show my family the pictures too because they’re big soccer fans who didn’t get the chance to see it when they were in Madrid. After the tour, it was time to go take a siesta and get ready for dinner. In Spain, we ended up finding a Mexican restaurant we loved to go to, so we wanted to go one last time before our program ended.
My friend and I took the metro to the restaurant and saw a pretty sunset by El Palacio Real, and the bittersweet feeling hit me that the program was basically over. It was also a good reminder to soak up the time I had left and to enjoy every moment. Dinner was fun and tasted great as always, and my friends and I had the best time hanging out with each other. After dinner, we went and saw the play La Llamada. Even though we didn’t understand every aspect of the play, we thought it was hilarious and a great way to spend our last night. After the play, it was time to hug everyone goodbye before heading back to our apartment. At that point, it was around 12 or 1 am, so my friend and I decided to take Lime scooters back to our apartment. Since it was pretty late, it was so much fun scootering through a basically empty Madrid. When my friend and I got back to our apartment, we immediately went to bed to get ready for our early departure out of Madrid.
Even though it was our last day, it was one of the absolute best days on the program and we all had so much fun. My advice to anyone going abroad is not to get caught up in the sadness about your program ending. Just enjoy your time abroad and make incredible memories.