Jillian in Madrid

Switzerland was not a country I anticipated visiting during the semester, but my friend Jessica stumbled upon an insanely cheap flight to Zurich and I very impulsively agreed to go. Boy, am I glad I did. We arrived in Zurich on Friday afternoon, and after accidentally hopping on a very swanky train at the airport that we definitely didn't have tickets for, we arrived at our hostel. The hostel was in a really cute residential area about a 10 minute walk from Zurichseen (Lake Zurich, pictured above) and served an amazing breakfast that featured Swiss yogurt, which I discovered is even better than the world renowned Swiss Chocolate (Shout out to Swiss cows for making such delicious dairy-based foods and for adorably wandering the hills and valleys). Saturday was spent in the city of Zurich. But before we set off, we went for a run in the morning by the lake. The crisp mountain air was a sweet relief from the heat wave we have been experiencing in Madrid, and the stun...

Located only about an hour outside of Madrid by bus, Toledo is one of the most historic cities in Spain. As a part of our study abroad program, our group took a day trip to Toledo to learn about the significant role it has played in Spain's history. When you approach Toledo, you see a series of giant walls that you must pass through to reach the city proper. It is located on top of a hill that is surrounded by the Tagus River, which extends all the way to Portugal! The unique thing about Toledo is that it hosted the coexistence of Muslim, Jewish, and Catholic communities. Many of the buildings that still survive today were once synagogues or mosques. However, as is a common theme throughout Spanish history, Catholic rulers did exert their power of communities of different faith. As a result, the Cathedral of Toledo (Pictured Below) was constructed to be an extremely outwardly impressive building, with huge towers, elaborate interior artwork and gold-plated everything, not-s...

One of the first things I saw in Madrid after I stepped out of the airport was a giant 3M building followed by a Honeywell building, making me feel much closer than 4,319 miles from home. I've already/only been in Spain for 10 days, and I keep oscillating between feeling like I've been here forever and feeling like I have no clue what's going on. The Spanish have a very peculiar way of describing themselves: "Spain is different. Not better, not worse, just different." And I keep finding myself coming back to this mantra when talking with my friends in the program, when joking about something weird I observed, or when I feel downright out of place. All that being said, my first two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. I have been trying to make sure every part of my day is filled with something purposeful, whether it's exploring a park, talking with my host family, or climbing a mountain (yes, that means no Netflix lol (Ok, minimal Netflix)). With t...

First Spanish Selfie: Happy to be done with 11 hours of flying and happier  to be sitting on la terreza de  mi familia española Bienvenidos!  While I am in Madrid from September 5th- December 20th 2018, I decided to put together a blog site where I can share the highlights of each week and keep friends & family updated. In addition, it will also serve as an outlet for me to reflect on my experiences. Feel free to follow along as I get to know Madrid and the rest of Spain during my last semester of college.  Thanks for stopping by!  ¡Ahora,  vamanos!