Travel

My group and I really wanted to take advantage of our time abroad and the close proximity for us to travel to other countries and cities. However, once we got our work schedule, we realized it would be improbable to do so. While our workday on Friday was condensed and we got off earlier than usual (around 2:00/3:00PM), it was difficult to find the time to travel. Salamanca only had a train station that could take us to different cities around Spain; however, if we wanted to travel to another country, we would have to fly from Madrid. Madrid, in itself, normally took around 1.5 hours to travel to by train. We knew trying to squeeze in an excursion would be rushed and we wouldn’t have enough time to enjoy our trip. To make the best of this situation, we decided to travel to Madrid for a weekend and explore the city ourselves. We spent our weekend walking around, shopping, and visiting prominent sites. It was great to experience another city in Spain, especially one that was vastly different from Salamanca. Salamanca, as I mentioned earlier, is known for its historical and ornate buildings and is home to one of the oldest universities in Spain. Madrid, on the other hand, is an extremely populous city as one would guess since it is the capital of Spain. The large metropolitan area is constantly vibrant and lively, and the streets are always crowded with citizens and tourists. Our time in Madrid was a refreshing change from the western-like city of Salamanca and reminded me of the large cities in such as a New York City back at home. The people were friendly when we out during the day and at night. I think the main difference between Madrid and Salamanca that I picked up on was the language. In Salamanca, Spanish was the only language spoken; there were very minimal moments when you heard someone speak English. Madrid, however, was filled with people of varied cultures, who spoke many different languages. I found that more people in Madrid were open to speaking either Spanish or English and understood both regardless. It was actually more common for individuals to speak English in Madrid, but this was expected as Madrid is a primary point of interest for tourism in Spain and its population is extremely diverse.