“By the end of my time in Madrid, I was able to converse fluently in Spanish with my work colleagues and master my everyday life in Spanish.”
Madrid, a city full of charm, beautiful buildings and parks. I was able to experience the breathtaking diversity of Spain’s capital up close for three months! As I am studying Spanish as a second foreign language in my International Business degree and my partner company, Bio-Circle Surface Technology GmbH, is a good fit. Bio-Circle Surface Technology GmbHhas a branch in Spain, the choice was quickly made and I went to Madrid for three months at the end of March. I was really excited because this internship abroad gave me the chance to improve my Spanish and immerse myself in Spanish life for three months.
The search for accommodation
With the help of my boss and her colleague, we looked for accommodation for me in advance that was centrally located and offered me the opportunity to make contact with other international students/interns as quickly as possible (costs approx. 800 euros per month). I chose a hall of residence on the Gran Vía. Gran Vía is the largest shopping street in Madrid and is also home to countless restaurants, cinemas, theaters, etc.. So I was right in the middle of the action in a beautiful old building in a room of about 15 square meters. I shared the huge apartment with 13 other international students/interns. Nothing better could have happened to me.
To the office by metro
I had to take the metro to work for about 30 minutes, which is no problem at all in Madrid. The metros run very regularly from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., so you never have to wait more than four minutes. As Spanish traffic is quite chaotic, I really recommend that you do without a car/scooter and buy a metro ticket. The price for a monthly ticket is very reasonable and is only 20 euros for students. With this ticket, you can use the metro and all buses at any time.
Beautiful city of Madrid
For the first few weeks, I was overwhelmed by the beautiful buildings, numerous squares and parks that Madrid has to offer. Even if you are a little overwhelmed by the size and the many people in the city for the first few days, this feeling soon subsides. At some point, you don’t really notice the background noise of sirens and honking cars throughout the city. [Unfortunately, the Spanish always honk at everything! 🙂 ]
In Madrid itself, there are around 70 museums spread throughout the city, offering something for every taste. A little tip: admission is always free after a certain time. There are two huge parks in the city center that can be easily reached on foot from Gran Vía. To the east of the city is the Parque de Retiro. This offers many sunbathing areas where you can enjoy the sun at any time and a small lake where you can hire a small paddle boat for 45 minutes. The price here is also very reasonable at 6 euros.
To the west, on the other hand, is Casa de Campo. There you will find a great zoo with an aquarium, a leisure park, great mountain bike trails, a cable car and great views of the city. This can also be reached very quickly on foot and by metro.
As I really wanted to see a lot of the city, I let myself drift through the city with the crowds. This allowed me to get to all the squares and feel the Spanish charm. Towards the end of my time, however, I also went on a free walking tour with a city guide to find out a bit more about the city and learn something about the significance of large squares. (There are lots of free walking tours – all free and you can tip the tour guide at the end, but you decide for yourself how much they’ve earned!) The Hop-On/Hop-Off bus tour is also highly recommended, in both good and bad weather.
The food – good and late
To fully immerse yourself in Spanish life, good Spanish food is of course a must. From paella to tapas and wine, everything is on offer. However, you should stay away from the restaurants on Gran Vía and in the surrounding area, as they are unfortunately just tourist rip-offs and don’t offer good food. Outside the tourist zone, however, you can stop off almost anywhere.
I also noticed very quickly that the Spanish have completely different meal times. From 9 p.m. onwards, the restaurants slowly fill up, as the Spanish only eat very late. That’s why most restaurants don’t open again until 8pm. In contrast, I didn’t notice much of the typical Spanish siesta in Madrid. The stores are open all the time and you can even go shopping in peace and quiet on Sundays. Some of the supermarkets are also open as normal on Sundays.
Even though we are used to different meal times in Germany, we quickly adjust to a late lunch and a very late dinner and adapt to the Spanish here.
Live and let live
The Spanish themselves like to enjoy the evenings, meet up with friends in bars and don’t rush home after work. As a result, you get much more out of the day here and I really enjoyed this custom myself. “Live and let live” is a big priority here in Madrid!
I felt very comfortable in my day-to-day work right from the start. I already knew my boss from meetings in Germany and she immediately welcomed me and integrated me into the daily work routine. My tasks were even discussed in advance and we thought carefully about how I could best support the Spanish branch.
I also spent a lot of my free time with my boss’s family. The hospitality was wonderful! We went on a safari tour together, often went out to eat together and I was warmly welcomed into the family.
At the weekends, I often did things with the students from my hall of residence or with other people I got to know over time. The city has so much to offer that we never got bored. The nightlife also leaves nothing to be desired. Countless clubs open their doors almost every day and numerous international students as well as locals storm the dance floor. Numerous rooftop bars also invite you to enjoy a cozy evening with good food and wine!
In any case, you don’t need to be afraid of feeling lonely. You can make contacts faster than you think!
At the end
All in all, these three months were a very exciting time full of new impressions, new people and a new language – and I gained unforgettable experiences. My Spanish improved a lot and by the end of my time in Madrid I was able to converse fluently in Spanish with my work colleagues and master my everyday life in Spanish.
Even if you get stuck with your Spanish, the helpful Madrileneans do their best to understand and help you. I enjoyed my time and three months was a great time to get to know the country and its people better.
