How I experienced Madrid

The last post I did was about tips for studying abroad solo. I wanted to write down what I did in Madrid the last 5 months and how I experienced it.

I am going to be brutally honest with you in this post. Madrid is a huge city with 3.2 million people in it. As you might know, I am a girl that grew up on the countryside near a forest with animals and moved to a smaller city to study there. So, it is safe to say that I was pretty overwhelmed the first few weeks in Madrid.

The first week my mom was with me, so she could keep me company and we could see all the touristic places in the city. We had a lot of fun and I really enjoyed spending time together, which we don't actually do very often, just the two of us.

weapon of Madrid (excuse my ripped jeans)

Plaza España

Temples of Debod

Cable cart over Madrid

Puerta de Alcala

But then, my mom was going back home and I had to spent 2 weeks on my own without school and without knowing anyone.

I managed to encourage myself to get out and buy a train ticket to Segovia which is a place close to Madrid. I went there on my own, but I actually enjoyed it quite a lot, because you can do whatever you want, whenever you want.

Segovia is definitely a place to recommend going to if you're in Madrid for a longer period of time or if you have any time left.

I saw a lot of beautiful things in and around Madrid, but what I found out during my time there is that I never want to live in a big city like this. You can take the girl out of the countryside.....
The thing I missed most was the connection with nature and I felt very locked up in the city. Even if I went outside and I could only see buildings on end, I would sigh and think back about the walks in the forest back home. When I was in Malta 3 years ago, I never had that feeling, because you can basically see the sea from everywhere or fields.

Now of course, if you like big cities, Madrid is an amazing place to be. They basically have everything, architecture, culture, history, good food, lots of museums.

What I can take away from this experience is very valuable, even though Madrid wasn't maybe the right place for me. Basically, what I want to say is, that you might be in a place you dislike or you don't feel comfortable but in the end you will get valuable lessons from that too.

I learned how to be with myself, how to ACTUALLY be alone. I've also learned to open up more and be more daring to meet people. Now I know what I value very much in life and what I want and don't want in life.

Have you ever been abroad for a longer time on your own? Or did you maybe feel like you were out of place somewhere?