By crstein1
A few weeks before I left for Madrid, I went rock climbing with a few friends. Rock climbing is one of my favorite things to do. There’s a certain degree of thrill and exhilaration of heights. When you’re high up and you look down, it’s definitely scary, but I still love it. An extremely similar feeling has carried over to my experience in Spain. I’m scared and anxious all of the time, but it’s all so amazing.
I clutch my bag very tightly when I’m out in the streets, I get flustered while I’m trying to decipher metro signs, and I feel my cheeks turning red whenever I can’t figure out how to phrase something in Spanish. But I’ve never been happier.
I am absolutely obsessed with the city and the people here. This week I attended art history classes at the Prado museum, ate the most delicious food, saw an adorable movie at the cinema, attended an exhibition at an art gallery and hung out with friends at discotheques. 
The architecture of the city is absolutely marvelous and I’m positive that I could spend hours and hours just staring at buildings. Madrid is filled with little neighborhoods that are each unique and stunning. I’m so excited to visit more of these neighborhoods and to experience more of Madrid. Every day is a new adventure and I’m learning so much.