Every other week or so our mentors will organize an event outside of our bi-weekly dinners, often through CityLife. They are always so much fun and a great way to get to know Madrid through the eyes of a college student. There have been activities like karaoke, wine tasting and cycling. Same spirit of La Movida, but a bit more updated for the 21st century). Although, perhaps not quite so modern. Madrileños have some more retro hobbies, one of them being roller blading and roller skating. You’ll see plenty of people whizzing through Retiro Park when the weather gets warm. And there is a huge roller rink outside the center city that at times, felt more like a club than anything else.
So we met up with the mentors at the Chamartin rolling rink after the weekend trip to Toledo. I hadn’t been on rollerblades since sleepaway camp more than 10 years ago but hey, it was reimbursable through the program, so why not? As it turned out I wasn’t as bad as I thought I’d be, although that’s not saying much. But, I had a BLAST bonding with the mentors and our program students. Plus now I can say that I’ve rollerbladed to EDM with a smoke machine. Isn’t abroad really about the experiences?