The End of an Adventure and the Beginning of Another

My last couple of weeks in Spain were bittersweet. I was excited about coming back to the US but was really going to miss Spain. As school was winding down, I had time to do some final exploring but I didn't want my adventure to end. But before we talk about the last few fun things I did, let's talk about school.

After our second rounds of midterms were over, I was pretty nervous because I was not confident in my Biomechanics grade. But at this point, there was nothing I could do. I just had to wait and hope I got a decent grade. Even though the exams were all done (until midterms), I still had lab reports to finish for each of my classes. I had two reports to complete for Biotransport, one report for Biomechanics, and a lab exam for Systems and Signals. Brennan and I worked together on the labs for all of these class so really we each only had to do half of them. But when we needed to work on them, Brennan was skiing in Switzerland! So I ended up doing all the Finite Element Modeling and simulation for Biomechanics. For that lab, we had to design a dental implant that could withstand the required loading conditions and be as light as possible. I actually had a lot of fun learning to use Abaqus CAE and modeling. I spent 8 hours one day just working on this, and I didn't even mind because I was enjoying it. The 15-page lab report that followed was not as fun. However, I just couldn't motivate myself to work on the Biotransport labs. Since Brennan had done all the simulations for those two labs in Matlab, we decided to just split the classes, so I would do the lab for Biomechanics and Brennan would do all the labs for Biotransport. It ended up being an even amount of work and both of us stayed motivated to finish the labs for the simulations we ran. The lab exam for Systems and Signals was a group assignment that we had to turn in before we left so our group met our last week in Spain to get it all done.

While Brennan was in Spain, I was all alone! So I texted some of my other friends about hanging out and finally going to visit the Reina Sofía. Megan said available so we decided to go one day after lunch (which was really closer to dinner time)! The Reina Sofía was huge but it didn't take us 5 hours to get through like Prado did. Reina Sofía showcases contemporary and modern art more than classical. I like contemporary art but only sometimes. When I can understand it, I have a greater appreciation for it. The pieces I enjoyed the most were by the Masters, like a lot of Picasso and Dali works. The coolest piece we got to see was definitely Picasso's "Guernica." It's such an iconic piece so it was almost surreal seeing it in person. A lot of the pieces either really confused me or didn't catch my eye so we were able to get through the whole museum in 3 hours or so. I would say there was an entire floor that just creeped me out, and I have no explanation as to why. It's not like there were any pieces that were scary or creepy, but that whole floor just gave me a bad feeling. My favorite part of the entire museum, though, was definitely the terrace! It was super relaxing and surprisingly quiet. I spent a few minutes just walking around, taking pictures, and relaxing on a bench! We were not allowed to take many pictures so here is a slideshow of the building and some of the pieces we could take photos of!

After Megan and I were finished with the Reina Sofía, we decided to go to Tierra Burrito, a burrito place that Megan said I had to try. However, we didn't realize it was raining outside, and neither of us was prepared. We didn't have umbrellas or hoods so we took the Metro to Sol. Turned out, everyone else in Madrid had the same idea as us. The Metro was absolutely packed. We had to squeeze in like never before. We got to Sol, and the Metro station there was even busier! You couldn't even walk! It took us a few minutes to get out of the station, and we realized that the police had actually blocked off all the entrances. They only wanted people to exit the station and prevented anyone from entering because of the crowd. Instead, they were redirecting everyone to the Tirso de Molina stop, the next closest stop, but still a 5 to 10-minute walk.

Unsurprisingly, Sol was just as packed as the Metro. There were people as far as the eyes could see and it was hard to navigate through the crowd. Ultimately, Megan and I did make it through and get to Tierra Burrito, or so we thought. Megan had only ordered delivery from here. So when we saw a sign for it, we entered the closest door. We were seated, only to look at the menu and realize we were in a completely different restaurant! This was super embarrassing! Plus, at this point, it was pouring outside. We soon realized that Tierra Burrito is a takeout and delivery place only, which made me sad because I was really looking forward to sitting down and eating my burrito while it was warm. But there was no place for me to do that. My only options were to stand and eat it in the downpour or take it home. I didn't want to wait to take it home because we also had plans to go to MadWaffle, an ice-cream waffle place, for dessert. We really had no choice so we got dessert before eating dinner. Mad Waffle was super delicious! We had to navigate through a crowded Sol to get there, but once we got there, I got a fresh chocolate waffle, wrapped into a cone for my Ferrero Rocher ice cream, topped with a dulce de leche sauce, crushed Oreos, and crushed Biscoff (those airplane cookies)! It was incredible. The shop was full of people so we had to stand outside in the rain to eat it. This meant I had to eat it as fast as I could and didn't have time to savor it, but it was still delicious.

After eating our ice cream and waffles, Megan and I split up and went home. When I got home, I wasn't too hungry but decided to eat the burrito I had bought. It was cold and a bit soggy by this point, but still extremely delicious! It was falling apart, and I didn't realize just how much they had stuffed into the tortilla! I could barely finish it. For the first time in Madrid, I also found something spicy! I love spicy food so that was super exciting for me.

That next week, I asked Zaida to grab ingredients so I could make Mac and Cheese! I had been craving Mac and Cheese for almost the entire trip! At this point, Brennan was back from his trip so I got him to help me grate some of the cheese. We added white cheddar, parmesan, manchego, and mozzarella! I made everything, except for the actual pasta, from scratch! I first started boiling the pasta while I melted flour in a pan and added butter to make a roux. Then I added lots of milk and salt/pepper to make a bechamel or white sauce. After letting the sauce thicken, we added in what must have been over a pound of the cheese we grated and mixed until the Mac and Cheese was creamy and had that satisfying cheese pull! We decided to finish it off in the oven, topped off with crushed croutons (because bread crumbs are hard to find, apparently). It was such an amazing meal!

That week, Brennan's parents were also visiting so we bought tickets to watch a Real Madrid game in person! I'd never been to a professional sporting event in person before, even though I love sports so this was going to be a memorable occasion. This wasn't a high profile game and we got the cheapest seats, in the top corner of the stadium, but the tickets still ran almost 85 euros each! It was definitely worth it though! We were still able to see everything on the field super clearly and we had a great time! Real Madrid was playing Espanyol! On game day, we took the bus over to Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, and right from the beginning, we could tell how popular the team was. Real Madrid has always been one of the most iconic and popular teams in the world. But it seemed like all of Madrid was watching the game, either in person or on TV. The busses to the stadium were extremely packed but Brennan, his parents, David, and I all made it to the stadium in one piece. We had to walk around half the stadium to get to the entrance for our section of seats and climb the stairs to the very top. But the actual game was incredible! Real Madrid won 2-0 and after each goal, the crowd was screaming! During most of the play, however, the crowd was relatively quiet, which was surprising. I expected sports events to be much louder in person, but that might just be (American) football.

After the game, we walked to a farther metro stop so that we could avoid the crowds this time. As we got home, we were ready to feast. Zaida was preparing paella, my favorite meal from the entire trip! I helped her arrange the table and finish preparing everything for the meal, which took a bit. Around 5:30 pm or so, we ate what would be both lunch and dinner! We were absolutely stuffed after this!

The next morning, we all went over to Rastro so we could get our final gifts and souvenirs before coming back. I bought some gifts for my parents and my friends! When we got back, we once again had a late lunch before Gines took everyone to a cafe for coffee. This cafe was the cafeteria in the Reina Sofía but actually ended up being more like a club once we got inside. I didn't get anything here because I was still so stuffed from our late lunch and wanted to save any little room I had for my favorite churros at San Gines. However, before we got to San Gines, we were on the hunt for a Real Madrid shirt for Brennan. This took forever because we were trying to find the best price. But Brennan did end up getting an authentic Modric shirt with patches so yay for him! Too bad he didn't wear it while watching any games on TV. After our hunt for the shirts, we had a short wait to get a table at San Gines and once again stuffed ourselves with the best dessert/snack in Madrid! I also bought some chocolate bars to bring back for my family and friends to try. We were then on another hunt, this time for a Real Madrid beanie with a pom-pom on top! Unfortunately, we weren't as successful on this hunt so we had to give up.

After all of these fun adventures however, it was time to buckle down and start studying. Our first final was Wednesday the 11th. I wasn't too worried about it because I enjoyed Systems and Signals, but I reviewed just so I'd be ready for anything. On the morning of the exam, we found out that it was David's birthday! No one had told us anything about it. So we decided to have some cake that evening and go out to dinner to celebrate both David and Brennan's birthdays after finals. The Systems and Signals final was pretty easy. I got stuck on one problem, but it was fine because not all the problems were going to count towards my grade. After the exam, we celebrated David's birthday. He was turning 28 but we joked that he was really turning 82.

After the celebration, we knew that our focus the entire weekend had to be on Biomechanics. Our toughest class's final exam was Monday morning, and we needed to do well to pass. So for most of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I studied and did practice problems. I went through almost every practice problem I could, probably around 20 - 30. However, we also wanted to have some friends from school over. So Friday night, we took a break and bought ingredients to make a chocolate orange cheesecake. We couldn't really find chocolate chips or some of the other ingredients but we did end up making the cheesecake successfully. Brennan took the lead on that and I helped out whisking whenever his hands got tired. When we went shopping, we ended up buying a lot of ingredients we already had because Zaida's cousin had brought over some ingredients that would have helped but we didn't know. The next morning, I prepped everything to make Nutella-stuffed French Toast, and Chocolate stuffed for Brennan so his allergies wouldn't kill him. Somehow, Brennan and I both missed the fact that the chocolate cream we bought for him had hazelnuts! We both checked twice but we didn't notice it. It explained why Brennan felt sick after eating the french toast. We thought he had a cold or the flu. Anyways, the food turned out amazing and we had lots of fun!

After the fun, it was back to studying. The final exam ended up being better than I thought it would be. We had 2.5 hours to do 5 questions. I felt fine on most of them, but after finishing and turning my test in, I realized I forgot to do one part of one question and did another entire question wrong. I was super worried that I wouldn't get a C and be able to transfer the credit. I wanted to get the highest grade I could but at this point, I was just hoping to pass. It ended up working out because we found out later that week that VCU accepts the host institution's grading scale when considering what transfers. Instead of a 70 (C at VCU) to transfer, I just needed a 50 (C at UC3)! I was finally able to stop worrying and enjoy my last couple of days in Spain.

My last 2 finals were both on Wednesday the 18th. I wasn't too worried about these because I felt comfortable about the material and didn't need high grades to get As. I spent a decent amount of time studying and only stressed about them a little bit. They both ended up being super easy and I finished early in both exams, so I was finally officially done with the semester!!! I was halfway through with my Junior year!

Our last couple days, Brennan and I went to Takos al Pastor with Corey and Megan to say bye, and because Brennan had never been to Takos al Pastor. We'll definitely see Corey because he's also a VCU student but we'll miss Megan! We also went to dinner with the entire host family - Zaida, Gines, and David. This was our celebration for David and Brennan's birthdays and our last meal together since Gines had to work the rest of that weekend. It was a fantastic meal. Those last couple of days, I also learned how to make a few Spanish dishes. I already knew how to make Arroz a la Cubana and Pisto, but Zaida taught me how to make Tortilla Española and my favorite, Paella! I was super excited to learn and eat Paella one last time before returning to the US.

The next morning was our time to depart Madrid. It was super hard to leave because Madrid had been our home for the last 4 months and we had grown to love all of it. It was especially hard to say bye to Zaida. Despite all of that, I was excited to see everyone back home. So we woke up early, grabbed all of our stuff, and walked over to the Cercanías for our last ride. We got to the airport quickly and made our way to check-in. Our bags were underweight so that was a relief! We hadn't been able to get a good measurement so both Brennan and I were worried that our bags were overweight. We ate a delicious breakfast of coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a chocolate croissant. Our flight to London was fine, but as we got closer to landing, I started getting nervous. We only had an hour and 15 minutes to switch planes, but we circled around the airport a couple of times before landing. When we landed, boarding for our flight to DC had already started. We started to run through the airport. But first, we realized we needed new boarding passes because the ones we got in Madrid didn't work! So we get those and have to go through security again and unpack everything yet another time! At this point, we only have 30 min to switch terminals and board before our flight takes off. On top of all of that, Brennan gets stopped by security! Once he gets through, we run with all of our luggage to the tram and jump in right before it closes. I've never been this out of shape so I was breathing hard. Turns out, other people on our flight were in the same situation. We get to the new terminal and have to run up 3 flights of stairs and then to the end of the terminal! We get there about 5 minutes before our flight was supposed to take off. I get through and see that Brennan disappeared! I waited for a bit and then decided to sit down on the plane. I later found out he got stopped for a random search.

The second flight was a bit uncomfortable. I had the middle seat in the middle section of the 3-4-3 arrangement, with people on both sides. And because of my backpack, I barely had space for my legs. I didn't end up moving my leg at all that flight, so when we finally landed in DC, I had a hard time extending my knee. We finally get off the plane but then realized we had an hour-long line to get through customs. We made it through and we thought we were free! But wait, there's more to this story. We got an email saying our bags had not made it from London to DC! We could either wait 5 hours until 9 pm, when they arrived, or have them be mailed to us later that week. We chose to have them mailed. After that, we met up with Brennan's parents who drove me back to my house before heading home themselves! I was super happy to be back in the States and see my parents for the first time in over 4 months!

Overall, I'm so happy with my decision to study abroad. It allowed me to experience so much about another culture, make lots of new friends, and get away from all my responsibilities at VCU for a semester! In the beginning, when trying to plan for the semester abroad, I wasn't sure if it would work out. It ended up being incredibly fun and I had one of my most exciting semesters of college. I would definitely go abroad again if given the chance. My Spanish improved some, primarily in terms of vocabulary, and I brought back recipes for my favorite dishes. I absolutely loved the trip, with my only regret being not visiting Barcelona. The educational system was definitely a change, and while I still prefer the experiential learning style of VCU and the US, I did appreciate trying a different style in a different country. Being able to complete 4 major classes definitely also helped!

Being back in the United States for almost a month now has been such a change. At points, it almost feels like reverse culture shock. I definitely miss the public transportation and the freshness of all the food. There's nothing in the US that compares to the fresh-squeezed orange juice or the bread in Spain. Always having to drive in a car everywhere was definitely weird. I enjoy driving, but after only having taken public transportation, I realized that I didn't miss traffic at all! I'm a huge fan of public transportation now and think that VCU and Richmond should expand the options available in our community. The Pulse and use of the GRTC busses have been a good start, but we can definitely do more. It's better for the environment, and can oftentimes be even cheaper and more convenient than using cars.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with my blog for this past semester, but this is where we come to a close. This is the last post for my Spain blog so as one adventure comes to an end, a new one starts this semester at VCU.