By asthaa
Studying for midterms in Madrid has been more difficult than I anticipated. It’s not because the classes I am taking are unusually demanding; in fact it’s quite to the contrary. I’ve been able to keep up with the papers I’ve had to write in Spanish. Despite accommodating professors and a variety in structure of the assessments, my mind wanders and concentrating my energy on studies in one of my new favorite cities is difficult.
It wanders to all the things I want to do in Madrid before I leave. Lately the timer on my semester here seems to tick more loudly. As each day does by, the more torn I feel about the fact that my flight is on December 18th. I continue to add more to my list of things to do and see: the ice cream shop with interesting flavors, the new exhibition in the Reina Sofia, spending more time in the el Rastro market, attending more performances, and on and on.
My mind wanders to all the people I’m getting to know more, to my university friends, to my host family, and to the folks I met at the “Intercambio” or language exchange I attended. I’ve been enjoying practicing my Spanish and feeling like I have a group of people in Spain I can look to for support and encouragement.
My mind wanders inevitably to the U.S. How is the semester going for my GW friends? What do we have to catch-up on? I need to tell them about the amazing music store I found! I inevitably think of my family and of course of my friends from home. I bounce in excitement to the idea of my best friend visiting me in just a short couple of weeks and to all the experiences I will share with her.
My mind wanders to now. To the sun streaming through my window. To the sound of my host brother playing his drums. To the pictures in my camera of historic Toledo waiting to be uploaded. To how I really should be wandering back to the political impact of different electoral systems. To the fact that I have never had to force myself more to sit down and finish my readings. To the idea that I’m learning about Spain’s party system in the heart of it’s capital. One thing is clear. Studying for midterms has been difficult here in Madrid, but I cannot say I have any reason to complain.