#IPEMadridSummer

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#1: Apartment Life

Hello everyone!

Settling into Madrid has been surreal. A part of me feels like I’ve been here forever, and another can’t believe it’s been nearly two weeks! What I love about being in a new place is that everything I do is finding something new. My friends and I have discovered restaurants, parks, shops, and so much more in our time here, but this week I’d like to go over one of my first destinations in the city – my apartment.

Housing on IPE programs can vary, even on the same program. Here in Madrid, there are three big housing options for students to choose from: apartment, residencia, or homestay. The former is definitely the most popular; I’ve only met a couple students in the residencia or in homestays.

I chose to live in the apartments for two main reasons: First, because it’s the cheapest one that’s already included in the program cost, and secondly because I wanted a taste of independent living in the city.​​ The residencias are dorm-style and, from what I’ve heard from my classmates, generally have two to a room with shared bathrooms and an included meal plan. That way, you don’t really have to worry about cooking for yourself.

Another way to get food provided is the homestays where you live with a local madrileño family or individual. You have to obey house rules (some of my classmates have a specific dinner time or shower time limits) but you do get a home cooked meal on your plate every night. And having been in the apartments for some time, I’ve come to realize that making food for yourself isn’t as easy as it looks – let’s just say I’ve had pasta every night I’ve stayed in for the past week and a half.

But never fear – apartments are great! You get to experience everyday life in the city and get to know your own neighborhood really well. The apartments are individual units scattered around Madrid, so you really get immersed into the city. Depending on your location, you may have to take the metro or walk more than others, but the transportation here is amazing (more to come in a later post).

In my unit there are seven bedrooms, three bathrooms (one is connected to a bedroom), a kitchen, and a dining room. Though I had asked for a double room (the cheapest option), everyone in my apartment got a single room. That was a great surprise at no added cost (make sure you check that box in your housing application to avoid being charged!) and it’s been extremely comfortable so far. Each bedroom comes with a bed with sheets and a comforter (mine is a full, but they vary in size), a desk, a wardrobe with hangers, a chair, and towels. My room also has three (!!!) windows that open onto small balconies as well as a drying rack. Speaking of drying clothes, my apartment did come with a dryer – another surprise – but it doesn’t work too well, so my roommates and I have resorted to the old-fashioned way.

Sharing the communal spaces in the apartment is also quite comfortable. Our kitchen is large and comes furnished with appliances (stove, oven, fridge, microwave, dishwasher) as well as dishes and silverware. Having all this in an apartment really surprised me – I was told it would all be provided to us, but didn’t quite realize how easy it would be to move right in. Fair warning, though – all apartments are different and have their own issues to work through. For example, we had no hot water for the first couple days and had to reach out to the housing department to get maintenance help. CEA CAPA does have a lot of direct support to the students, though, so I’ve been generally pleased.

My bed and desk

Though I spend most of my days out and about in the city, the homebody in me has grown quite attached to my apartment. Having a comfortable place to call your own in a new and foreign place is the best way to unwind, rest up, and get ready to keep exploring.

See you soon!

Chao,

Aylin

Aylin Ozdemir

Computer Science

Engineering in Madrid, Spain

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#0: Summer Bucket List & Beginning Reflection

(yes I count from zero, I'm a computer science major)

Hi!

My name is Aylin, pronounced like “Eileen”. If there is one thing you should know about me it’s that I love a good list. Flipping through my notebook now, I have pages titled “Books I want to read soon”, “End of semester to-do”, and of course, “Summer 2025 Bucket List”. Now that’s a pretty special one in particular.

I make a bucket list for myself every summer, and it all started with me and my childhood best friend. We got the idea when our families would go to Türkiye on loooong summer trips – I’m talking like two months. To deal with being away for so long, we decided to write bucket lists for each other to get out of our comfort zones and regale each other with each task’s story at the end of the summer.

So I’ve decided to do the same here as I begin my study abroad experience in Madrid, Spain.

1. Get better at Spanish

My high school Spanish had pretty poor timing: my first year was The Year of COVID, and my school didn’t offer anything past Spanish 3. That is to say I’m walking into Spain after three years of no practice after already having a good chunk of it interrupted by the pandemic. Though my classes are going to be in English (thank you, universe!) I’m still going to be in a Spanish-speaking country, so I’m hoping that this will be the best opportunity to force myself to brush off those conjugations and restart my Duolingo streak.

2. Make new friends

As fun as “study abroad in Madrid” sounds, “spend eight weeks in a foreign country away from your family and friends” is kind of terrifying if I think about it too long. Being an out-of-state student at Michigan has forced me to come to terms with this already, but trying to do it again while also assimilating into a new culture is daunting. I’m hoping to find people to experience the city with – it’s always better to try something new with a buddy or two.

3. Explore museums and Spanish history

In preparation for this trip, I checked out nearly every Spain or Madrid travel guide my local library had to offer, and the largest sections in each of them were about the museums. The collection of art in this city is vast and encompasses all the cultures and people that have lived on this land over the years. I don’t know if I’ll be able to see it all, but I’m definitely going to try.

The Catedral de Santa María la Real de Almudena. I haven’t been inside any museums yet, but the walking tour on our first night absolutely convinced me that I need to!

4. Read Spanish literature

Despite reading being my favorite hobby, I don’t tend to read more than a handful of translated works each year. While the English-speaking world produces more than enough books to get me through a lifetime, there is something particularly illuminating about a time, place, or culture when you read a story from it. Though my Spanish is not nearly good enough to give me the opportunity to read Spanish literature in its original form (see list item #1), I’d love to spend some time trying new authors and stories. Bonus points if they’re from Madrid!

Future Aylin here: A comic book store me and my roommates found in the neighborhood – it’s awesome to see so many childhood favorites in Spanish.

5. Find a new favorite food

For all the unknowns about going to Madrid for a whole summer, the one thing I’m certain of is that I won’t go hungry. How can I when Spain is sprawling with its love for food? A four-hour lunch break and nap is just what I need every day, and I plan to make the most of it. Between balancing cooking for myself in my apartment and tasting new foods and restaurants, I’m counting on ending this summer with a new favorite dish.

As I settle into Madrid, I hope I can find more things to add to this list and begin crossing them off. Two months is somehow an eternity and no time at all – either way, I hope to spend it with good books, good company, and of course, good food.

See you soon!

Chao,

Aylin

Aylin Ozdemir

Computer Science, BSE

Engineering in Madrid, Spain

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Last Blog!

It's been a week since I left Madrid and I can't believe my abroad experience is already over. I spent the past week in Switzerland with my family which was a super amazing place, but I am definitely happy to finally be home. After basically never having been out of the country before this summer, this has been an amazing learning experience for me and I have grown in so many ways these past two months. If I could give future study abroad students any advice, it would be this:

Be okay with things being hard: When people talk about study abroad experiences, they tend to mainly mention the super fun and exciting mind-expanding parts. And while these parts are definitely real, living in a completely new place with all new people where you may not even speak the language is also super uncomfortable and scary, and that's 100% normal. I promise you everyone else is feeling the exact same way, so don't stress if you think you're the only one having that experience.

Advocate for yourself: For context, I switched my housing situation 3 times. And I'm grateful that I did. My quality of life and happiness increased a lot when I was finally living in an apartment. I won't get into detail on why I needed to leave my homestay, but all I have to say is trust your gut. My only regret about that situation was not leaving earlier. If you know there is something that is not suiting you, then make sure you advocate for yourself to change that situation, even if it takes a little bit of persistence with the program director...

Do your research: Take advantage of being in another part of the world! Especially if you are anywhere in Europe, so many cool places to visit are way more accessible than they would be from the US, so definitely take as many weekend trips as your budget can allow for. On top of that, make sure to put the work into researching every place you go. I definitely wish I had put a bit more thought and research into my weekend trips and had optimized my spending and experiences a little better. Before you go anywhere make sure think about what type of things you want to see/do and put research into flights, hostels, transportation around the city, food, activities, and sightseeing to make your trips worthwhile.

Have fun: Lastly, don't forget to have fun! Socialize with locals and people in your program, plan activities in your city for free days, keep an open mind always, take time to yourself and overall just be excited for all of the new experiences you will have!

And here's some photos of the beautiful Swiss Alps for y'all:

One last ¡adios!

Lauren Niss

Biomedical Engineering

CEA Engineering in Madrid

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Week 8: Coming Home

Alas, I regret to inform you that this farewell my friends. At the end of the 8th week of our program, my time in Madrid has come to an end (for the time being) and it was a week full of finals, goodbyes, and reflection. I made sure to especially cherish each activity I did this week: the last visit to the metro, the last walk home to our apartment, the last night out, the last view of the city, the last time eating at our favorite local restaurant. Thankfully, I was able to capture some of these moments visually with some nice pics, but they'll never fully do these moments justice.

Over the course of this program, I've made some lifelong friends and some many unforgettable memories, and I'd just like to extend my thanks to everyone at IPE and CEA for giving me this wonderful opportunity to come to Madrid and immerse myself in its fantastic culture. I feel like I've grown a lot as a person in these two months, like I've aged a thousand years despite how short the time has felt. If I hadn't made it clear before, I must now: if you find yourself able to go and study/intern abroad, I implore you to go for it. The life experience you will gain is absolutely invaluable.

Now for some highlights and recommendations for whoever chooses to come visit Madrid:

VISIT THE MUSEUMS!! This is especially emphasized if you are a student–many museums will let you enter for free or at a heavily discounted price and Madrid is home to some of the best art in the world. You can't go wrong with the trifecta of the Reina Sofia, Museo del Prado, and the Thyssen Museum.

Eat local. The large restaurants and chain locations are fine, but there are many, many gems to be found in local hole-in-the-wall bars and restaurants, especially if you are looking for tapas. You'll save a lot too!

Take a day trip to a nearby town or city. You can find train or bus tickets for quite cheap and there are many beautiful towns with rich history in Spain. Toledo and Segovia, for example, were lovely.

Watch a Real Madrid match if they're in town. Even if you're not a soccer (football) fan, this is one of the most storied sports teams on the planet with an incredibly passionate fanbase, so the atmosphere alone of being at a match will make it worth your while.

Use the metro. This is easily the most convenient method of transportation in Madrid, as their metro system in excellent. The public buses are quite good as well. The point is, use public transportation.

I like to say that a lot, if not most of the best things to happen in life are the ones that you don't see coming, so if you plan to visit, I also recommend leaving some free time to just explore see where life takes you. There's lots to do in and around Madrid and sometimes the fondest memories are the little ones.

And with that I don't really know if I have much more that I can say to you guys that will do this experience justice. Thanks to everyone for following my experience and lending some of your time to read my posts, thanks again to IPE and CEA, and of course thanks to my parents for allowing me to take this journey. I leave you with this picture of my goober dog that I get to see now that I'm home.

Be well and I'll see y'all on the flip side!

JV Alencar

Mechanical Engineering

Engineering in Madrid

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Adios Madrid!

Our final week is over! I am heading to Switzerland for vacation with my family next, so I still haven’t processed quite yet that I’m leaving, but it feels pretty bittersweet. Part of me is excited to go home and return to all things comfort, while part of me is sad to leave this cool place and all of the exciting components of travel. 

This week I had finals, so I spent most of Tuesday studying with a couple of friends. On Wednesday I had my exam (I passed!) and then we went shopping and had açaí bowls to celebrate the end of classes. On Thursday, I made a big decision I had been thinking about for a while and I got a tattoo! It is an outline of arms hugging themselves in the shape of a heart with butterflies. It is a symbol of self love and new beginnings. This process was quite nerve-racking—from searching for an artist I trusted and liked to committing to a design—but I’m very happy with the result! 

On Thursday night we had our farewell dinner with the program, and then celebrated by going to our favorite pub one last time. On Friday I went to the Harry Styles concert with my sister! The concert was in an outdoor festival type venue and he was so good! He even did an onstage gender reveal for a fan which was quite cute. 

Today I said goodbye to my roommates who were leaving for their flights early this morning :( and then finished packing up my stuff, checked out of my apartment and headed to my parents Airbnb. It truly has been an eventful two months and it feels bittersweet that this era has come to an end. I can definitely say I have learned and grown a lot through this experience and I am glad I had the privilege of having it. I have one more final blog post to come with thoughts and reflections, and then my time on the IPE Tumblr is complete!

Lauren Niss

Biomedical Engineering

CEA Engineering in Madrid

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Week 7 in Madrid: Segovia and Flea Markets

What's up everybody, another week another post. The itinerary for this week apart from class and general Madrileño activities was a day trip to Segovia and a visit to the renowned Sunday flea market in Madrid known as El Rastro.

So let's get right to it and talk about the day in Segovia. Like Toledo, Segovia is a city full of rich history and incredible sight, and we got to see an example of this right as we stepped off the bus, as we had an immediate view of the city's impressive ancient Roman aqueducts.

It's not the case anymore, but up until as recently as even the 1990s, the roads in Segovia used to run between the pillars of the aqueducts, which I can only imagine was a traffic nightmare. Once everyone got off the bus, we went on a guided walking tour of the city, learning more about its local history. The last stop of the tour was the definite highlight, as we got to go inside the Alcazar de Segovia, the city's castle! The view from the top of the tower there was absolutely gorgeous.

After lunch, we took a quick bus ride to the nearby Jardines del Palacio Real de La Granja, which had some shockingly powerful water fountains! We used this as an opportunity to cool off.

After drying off, we took the bus back home and used the rest of the day to relax a little bit. Sunday's main attraction was El Rastro, a traditional open-air flea market that's been going on in Madrid since as early as 1740. Here we found lots of cool second-hand goods as well as artisanal items. The market was also absolutely huge, basically taking up an entire neighborhood of Madrid!

There's unfortunately only one week left before the end of the program and we all go home and I'm already starting to miss Madrid, so I gotta make sure to enjoy these coming days as much as possible. See y'all soon!

JV Alencar

Mechanical Engineering

Engineering in Madrid

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A week of Madrid's heat, Segovia, Arctic Monkeys and the Zoo!

Second week of July and all I can say is that they weren’t kidding when they said Madrid summers get HOT. With 100 degree weather each day and no A/C in our apartment I can definitely say I’m having the full Madrid experience. That being said, after being away in Sicily for four days it has still been nice to be back in Madrid and able to spend more time exploring the city in our last full week!

On Monday and Tuesday I spent some time outside reading and redecorating the porch area by my window in our apartment. Then on Wednesday we went to the Madrid Zoo Aquarium! The Zoo was pretty cool, I haven’t been to a Zoo in a while and there were many fun animals for us to see. On Thursday we visited La Gatoteca. La Gatoteca is a cat cafe where you can play with cats while having a glass of tea or coffee, and all of the cats are adoptable! These cats were very cute although definitely a little sleepy from all of the social contact. 

On Saturday we had a day trip with our program to Segovia. The weather was not too warm (amazing) and Segovia was a super cute city! We had a walking tour where we saw the aqueducts, Alcazar, Cathedral and Plaza Mayor of Segovia. At the end of our walking tour we climbed 152 stairs to get to the top of the Alcazar and have a birds eye view of the whole city. Afterwards we got lunch and then bussed to La Granja de San IIdefonso, a famous garden in Segovia outside the palace. We were able to watch the fountain show before catching a bus ride back to Madrid. 

On Sunday my parents were in town for the morning, so I got brunch with them and then met up with friends to go to the El Rastro Flea Market. I bought a few gifts for friends from home and a fun sweater vest to wear to the Harry Styles concert this Friday! Finally, last night a couple friends and I went to see the Arctic Monkeys play in the WiZink center in Madrid and it was amazing!! The venue was pretty small and we were on the floor, so we got pretty close to the band which was cool. My favorite of their song performances had to be “Do I Wanna Know?” and “Fluorescent Adolescent.”

Can’t wait to update y’all on my last week in Madrid!

Lauren Niss

Biomedical Engineering

CEA Engineering in Madrid

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Week 6 in Madrid: Barcelona Visit

You really thought. You really thought I'd go two consecutive weeks without leaving Madrid. How naïve. WE DON'T SLEEP AROUND HERE!! TOO MUCH TO SEE AND TOO LITTLE TIME!! So naturally my roommates and I decided this week was as good a time as any to take a long weekend in Barcelona to get to know the lovely Catalan city. We took a three hour train out of Madrid bright and early on Thursday morning in order to maximize our time in Barcelona and made sure to get nice and comfy in our Airbnb, soaking in the wonderfully cool air provided to us by the groundbreaking technology of air conditioning.

Once everyone was settled in, we were out and on our way to explore, though Thursday was a more modest affair and we more just became accustomed to our immediate surroundings. One of the early highlights of the trip was our lunch meal on Friday, when we had some INCREDIBLE paella (this was my first time eating paella so I though I might just really like paella but I was assured by roommates that this was about as good as it comes).

So that was pretty cool. The rest of Friday we made our way around the city center, walking down the famous La Rambla street and doing some light shopping, as well as passing by a couple beautiful buildings designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí. We also visited the La Boqueria market, which was filled with fantastic food and some delicious Carolina Reaper dipping sauce that we sampled–for those not in the know, the Carolina Reaper is the hottest pepper in the world boasting a Scoville rating of up to 2.2 million (I did not think I would live to see the next day).

Saturday we got to go inside Gaudí's magnum opus, the La Sagrada Familia cathedral, which has been under construction for decades but is nearing completion and is perhaps the most magnificent piece of art I've ever had the privilege to see for myself. It is impossible to understate the scale of this cathedral, especially from the inside. I've never felt so small inside a building, in the coolest way imaginable. The detail and stone masonry that has gone into this structure is just next level.

We also hit the beach for a while, which was absolutely packed with people but still a great time regardless and extremely beautiful.

Sunday morning we had to head back early unfortunately so that we could prepare for classes, but Barcelona was an unforgettable experience, and I really hope to come back someday because I know the city still has so much more to offer than what I saw this weekend.

See you soon!

JV Alencar

Mechanical Engineering

Engineering in Madrid

[umichenginabroad]

Week 5 in Madrid: Staying in Town

What's up gang, I know I've been detailing a lot of travel experiences lately but this week the star of the show was Madrid! This was a week of keeping up with classes and doing a bit more of exploring the city, including a visit to the Reina Sofia art museum and a rooftop bar at the city's iconic RIU hotel.

The Reina Sofia visit, while short because I went at the end of the day, was a great time. Because I entered after 7:00 pm (the museum closes at 9:00), I got free entry and had the privilege of witnessing works of modern art from many of the Spanish greats such as Salvador Dalí, J.G. Solana, Joan Miró, and of course, Pablo Picasso himself. I was not allowed to take any pictures inside the museum so unfortunately I don't have any snaps of my favorite pieces taken by yours truly, but two of my personal favorites were Dalí's "Endless Engima" painting and Solana's "Procession of Death."

The rooftop bar offered some incredible sights of the city at night, and had a nice chill atmosphere. I definitely recommend a visit if you find yourself in Madrid!

Apart from these activities, it was life as usual here in the city this week. My roommates and I had our normal near-daily visits to our favorite restaurant down the block, where we come to enjoy some local tapas and we all spent some time to focus on classwork and just appreciate some leisurely time in a foreign country.

To hold you over with some more pictures, here are some miscellaneous photos I have of some night adventures we've had. See y'all next week!

JV Alencar

Mechanical Engineering

Engineering in Madrid

[umichenginabroad]

Sicily!!!!

Week 6 of 8 has ended! Unfortunately I had to say goodbye to half of my roommates on Thursday since their program ends earlier than ours. We celebrated their last night at our favorite pub right near our apartment, and here's a pic of all of us saying goodbye :((.

On the bright side, we flew out to Italy Friday morning! There were definitely some setbacks to this trip — we didn’t realize how far apart other attractions (like the beach) were from the center of Palermo, and public transportation was not super convenient, so we struggled a bit on getting around the island. Additionally, our airbnb lost power Friday afternoon and we could not get in contact with our host until the next morning, so definitely not a five star experience. However, despite these setbacks we managed to make the most of our time in Sicily and overall had a super fun trip!

On Thursday we flew in early in the morning, dropped our stuff, settled in at the airbnb and spent the afternoon exploring the city. A wedding happened to be taking place in a beautiful church right next to our lunch spot, so we got to watch the couple come outside and celebrate with their friends right after getting married which was really cute. On Friday morning we managed to find a taxi to the beach and spent most of the day there, just relaxing and swimming in the water. The beach had super clear blue waters and was surrounded by mountains in every direction. Friday night we explored a huge festival that happened to be going on with a bunch of Italian artists, but we didn’t know much of the music and didn’t stay for long.

Saturday was definitely my favorite day of the trip. We spent the morning exploring more of Palermo and walked on top of the cathedral to see a breathtaking overlook of the entire city. For sunset on Saturday, we took a boat tour right off the port of Palermo. The views were super serene and we got to swim as the sun was going down and the light was reflecting off of all of the surrounding mountains in the background. The tour also provided wine and snacks, and the guides were super nice. After the tour we went into town and enjoyed a bit of the Palermo night life. 

Overall, the city of Palermo was not exactly what I had been expecting. Don't get me wrong, it is a super cool city but there is also a very large disparity in wealth that becomes pretty obvious when you are walking through. The streets will go from being very modern, clean and lined with shops and restaurants to filled with piles of trash, cigarette butts and more run down buildings all within a five minute walk. There is still lots to see and the city is definitely worth visiting, but if you do, make sure you know what to expect and have your activities prepared. If I were to do it again, I would definitely make sure to get a rental car and also plan in advance to spend a night or two exploring the smaller surrounding islands or other cities in Sicily. One random thing I loved about Palermo was how many stray cats there were, all over the city. They seem to manage living on their own well and they are super cute to watch.

Can’t wait to see what these last two weeks hold!

Lauren Niss

Biomedical Engineering

CEA Engineering in Madrid

[umichenginabroad]

5 Weeks In!

Last few weeks and doing everything I can to make the most of it! I stayed in Madrid this week + weekend and it was honestly so nice to have extended time in one place for the first time in a while. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my roommates which has been super fun! We’ve been doing all kinds of activities together, from cooking in our apartment to exploring museums and having late nights out in the city.

On Wednesday I was finally able to check out the famous Reina Sofia Art Museum. I don’t know much about art so I don’t have a great perspective on the museum but it was super large and it was fun to look at many of the paintings. After the art museum, we went to a flamenco dinner and show, which is a famous Spanish dance performance. The show was amazing and all the dancers were super talented. The coolest parts were that the music was made through clapping and the sound of their shoes tapping on the ground, and none of the dances are choreographed. 

On Thursday we explored the area of Malasana, a place with a lot of cute shops, vintage stores and bars. This part of town might be my favorite part of Madrid so far, there are so many colors and cute decorations all around the area. We spent a few hours browsing the vintage stores and shopping.

On Friday morning we took a walk altogether in Parque del Oeste which was super hot but fun. One of my favorite parts of Madrid is how the second you go into a park you completely forget that you are in the city because of how spacious and well kept they are. That night we made the trek across the city to Cerro del Tio Pio, or the Parque de las Siete Tetas. This part is a main attraction in Madrid for watching the sunset, and gets its name from the 7 large mounds sticking out of the ground where you can sit and get a great view of the city.

On Sunday I had the chance to check out El Rastro Flea Market. This market exceeded my expectations merely in size and the amount of stuff you can find there. The market takes up around three or four full streets just filled with stands selling all kinds of clothes and knickknacks. Definitely was a good place to shop for gifts for people from home. 

This week has definitely been a bit more chill than most, but I really enjoyed the change in pace from traveling every weekend. I leave for Sicily tomorrow, so more updates from that trip to come!

Lauren Niss

Biomedical Engineering

CEA Engineering in Madrid

[umichenginabroad]

Week 4 in Madrid: Weekend in Seville

Hey Everyone!

This week started off nice and easy, as I was still recovering from the wonderful but exhausting trip to Portugal last weekend. The rest was much needed, because the next weekend we'd be traveling again, this time as part of our program, and to Sevilla!

You know me though and I can't stay still for too long, so I made sure I still got in at least one notable activity before shipping off for another weekend. This time it came in the form of a visit to the F1 Exhibition right here in Madrid (albeit kind of far from the city center).

I started following Formula 1 pretty closely about two years ago after watching the Drive to Survive series on Netflix, which made me fall in love with the sport. The show definitely dramatizes some of the events that occur throughout a racing season, but I still highly recommend watching the series as it's highly entertaining.

I've never been to any F1-related events, so this exhibition was an excellent opportunity to nerd-out over things that look cool and go fast. The exhibition had all sorts of memorabilia and motorsport tech on display, including an array of race suits and helmets worn by F1 legends, as well as mechanical parts. The star of the show, though, was current French driver Pierre Gasly's race-winning Alpha Tauri AT01 car from 2020, as it was the most recent complete car on display. There were some older cars as well, like the Lotus 63 car used by Graham Hill.

Eventually, Friday came, and we all hopped on a high speed train and shipped off to Sevilla for the weekend. Despite the blisteringly hot 100-degree weather, it was an excellent trip. It was fun to stay in a hotel for a couple nights, and the heat gave us an excuse to make use of the rooftop pool. Sevilla is a gorgeous city, and the crown jewel of our visit was the Royal Alcázar of Seville, which had its first parts built by the Umayyad Caliphate around the year 914. Since then, many sections have been added and destroyed to the castle by different religious and political orders, making it a fascinating work of architecture that includes a mix of largely Muslim and Christian styles.

The train back on Sunday offered some much needed rest, and now it's time to recharge for the next week! See y'all soon!

Joao Alencar

Mechanical Engineering

Engineering in Madrid

[umichenginabroad]

Week 3 in Madrid: Portugal Episode

So this week we did something a lil different and took a weekend trip to Lisbon! It was a pretty quiet week otherwise, but our Spanish Civilization class did take an interesting visit to a pop-up exhibit (which I unfortunately was not allowed to take any photos in) about La Movida in Madrid in the 1980s, a large cultural movement that occurred in the city following the end of Francisco Franco's dictatorship. Other than that, I also had this pretty good Argentinian empanada after class one day that cost me just one euro.

Me and a group of friends from the program left for Lisbon on Thursday night and stayed until Sunday night, and we were staying at a lovely Airbnb in the Bairro Alto area. After one of us experiencing a little passport hiccup (left in an Uber), we all ended up safe and in the apartment by Friday morning. Those of us who were able to make it the night previous used the extra time to explore our surroundings a little and get acquainted with the neighborhood, and enjoyed a nice breakfast the next morning with some *very* bloggable food. As a Brazilian, this trip was an excellent opportunity to put my Portuguese skills into practice, though I will say the accent is VERY different and sometimes it felt like the locals and I were speaking two different languages.

Following breakfast and our group returning to its full glory, we got right to action with a beautiful bike tour of the city. The highlight here was definitely reaching the highest point in the city, which was an awesome abandoned restaurant covered in graffiti.

After a brief rest period back at the apartment, the next move was a swanky dinner with a view out by the water. I had an oxtail dish with risotto that was absolutely delicious.

Day 2 was just as great, as we did some more sightseeing on foot, visiting the Castelo de São Jorge, where we got some more great views, saw some peacocks, and goofed off for a bit. Later in the day, we caught the sunset on a gorgeous river cruise.

You know we had to sample the nightlife, and we ended up staying out until daylight dancing the night away. Here's proof that I was making the most of the time abroad, sweating buckets on the dance floor.

Sunday was more quiet and we really just relaxed until our flight back to Madrid, but we did go out and enjoy the sun by the Age of Discoveries monument for a while, which felt like a true moment of zen.

By the time we made it back to Madrid, we were all absolutely EXHAUSTED, but so glad we got to experience Lisbon, even if just for a weekend. Hopefully time and money will permit another weekend away somewhere else, but for now, it's back to Madrid for more classes.

JV Alencar

Mechanical Engineering

CEA Engineering in Madrid

[umichenginabroad]

Week 4 and Trip to Sevilla!

Halfway through my time here and I can’t believe it. I still feel like my abroad experience is just beginning. More housing changes but I finally was able to move into an apartment at the beginning of last week, so I am now living with six of my friends in our program which has been SO much fun. 

I started off the week with a cooking class! We made paella, tortilla de patatas, tarta de santiago (an almond and lemony pastry), and salmorejo (a Spanish soup including tomatoes, olive oil and garlic). All of the food was delicious, but the paella had to be my favorite. On Tuesday I had the chance to check out the Yatai market, which was a super chill Asian market in the center of the city. They had all types of noodles and asian dishes but I ended up getting sushi from a restaurant in the back which was so good. The market also had a cute seating area where I enjoyed my sushi with one of my friends for her last night in Madrid. 

This weekend, our program took us on a trip to Sevilla. The weather was super hot, over 100 degrees, but we didn’t let that stop us from getting the most out of the city. Almost all of the students in the program went on the trip, which was super fun and allowed me to get closer with a bunch of the students I had never met before! 

The city of Sevilla was so beautiful, it might have been my favorite Spanish city so far. It reminded me of Porto where all of the streets are narrow and stone, but it was much less touristy than Porto. I loved the way that the city’s layout created a very cozy small town vibe. All of the historical monuments in the city were filled with super intricate detail and tiling. Almost every building is styled in a way that fits right into the antique aesthetic of the city. One of my housemates described Sevilla as “a modern life happening within ancient buildings.” 

In Sevilla, we went on walking tours, explored the plaza, and were even able to see the sunset on Setas de Sevilla, a popular building where you can stand on top and look out over the whole city. I had some of the best food I’ve had yet in Spain, including garlic chicken skewers, pork tacos and tuna and potatoes. Overall, many memories were made and this trip was one of my favorite weekends so far. 

Lauren Niss

Biomedical Engineering

CEA Engineering in Madrid

[umichenginabroad]

Big Changes in Week 3

This week has been filled with lots of ups and downs. First, I moved out of my homestay and into a new one. I won’t go into detail on why I moved out, but I just wanna remind everyone to always trust your gut and advocate for yourself, especially when in entirely new country. Besides that, I had classes all week and my first quizzes. Both went fairly well! I spent lots of time with friends studying and chatting in coffee shops and residencias which was actually a lot of fun. I visited the famous Sam Miguel market and was able to try tasty paella and bao buns. I had a sunset picnic with a few friends in el Parque Oeste which was very pretty and also spent a lot of time just reading and relaxing by myself in parks or cafes near my homestay. 

For one of our days in my Spanish Civilization and Culture class we took a trip to the museum La Serrería Belga and then walked around the city, passing by the botanical gardens and Prado, eventually ending our journey at Retiro Park. In the park our professor guided us towards the peacocks, which were super cool and unlike any animal I have seen before. 

This weekend I took a trip to Malaga, a city on the southern coast of Spain. I was visiting a friend from high school for his birthday and I had a great time! The city is a bit more quiet than Madrid and the weekend away was a nice change of pace. Malaga is a super nice beach town with colorful stone apartments and lots of places to eat and relax in the sun. 

One thing I learned this week was the value of spending time alone to rest and recuperate, especially when in a completely new environment. For those who are thinking about spending an extended period of time abroad, be prepared to feel a little lost and uncomfortable. Simple everyday tasks can easily become overwhelming challenges when you don’t know where anything is or speak the language of the city. It is easy to always be on the go, but seeking out downtime to relax and be by myself has been one of the key elements that has kept me sane on this trip.

See you next week!

Lauren Niss

Biomedical Engineering

CEA Engineering in Madrid

[umichenginabroad]

Week 2: Tattoos, Rooftops and Porto!

This week has been quite hectic! I finally feel like I am getting into the groove of classes and it is honestly nice to have a routine. All of my professors are super nice and helpful, and I don’t anticipate either class being too overwhelming. One of my friends is visiting Madrid for the week, so I have spent a lot of time hanging out with her along with the other students in my program. Highlights of this week have been:

Going with my friend to get her first tattoo! Along with getting a new ear piercing of my own (fyi - piercings are super cheap in Madrid…). She got the Salamanca frog which is representative of good luck!

Rooftop bars! So many great places to overlook the city and have a drink (mocktails of course). Also, one of my friends cooked all of us dinner in one of the residencias before going out which was super fun.

And my top highlight of the week was taking a weekend trip to Porto, Portugal! This city was absolutely so beautiful and would definitely recommend anyone in Europe to visit. I had a ton of super good seafood, including octopus, sushi and shrimp tacos! We spent Friday morning through Sunday morning in the city, our flights costing around 80 euros. We stayed in Porto Wine Hostel right in the center of town which was around 40 euros a night and super nice. Everyone in the Hostel was very social and we made a good few friends! 

Porto is a super cute old city, with roads made of stone and tons of colorful architecture and pretty tiles. We spent most of Friday sightseeing — grabbing food, shopping around town, walking the famous bridge, seeing all the classic Porto spots and even taking a cable car up for a fun view of the city. On Saturday we got brunch at the famous pancake restaurant (they were so good), went to the beach and watched the sunset while having a picnic in the Morro Garden. Porto for the weekend was a super nice getaway and I enjoyed the slower pace of the town for a couple days. 

Lauren Niss

Biomedical Engineering

CEA Engineering in Madrid