This semester, I am living in the wonderful neighborhood of Moncloa, a very active, lively part of the city, filled with lots of young people and students due it is proximity to many major colleges and universities in or around the neighborhood. Taking a walk around Moncloa, you’ll see cafes filled with students either talking or doing homework together, people in bars and restaurants, sitting outside on the terrazas enjoying the beautiful weather and energy of the city. Passing by the many bakeries and panaderías in my neighborhood, I often catch a whiff of delicious fresh baked bread, desserts, and coffee. 

Just like everywhere else in the city, the public transportation is incredible; I’m a 20 minute bus ride to the program center, a super easy 15 minute metro ride to the Reina Sofía and Prado museums, where I go weekly for my Art History classes. I’m also less than 10 minutes to Sol, where I connect to cercanías to get to the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid for my class there. I also live just around the corner from el Museo de las Américas, where I will be visiting this semester as a part of my Transatlantic Literature class. And my bus stop, lucky for me, is right outside my front door. I am also an easy and lovely 25 minute walk to the program center, which means I usually opt to walk to and from my classes when the weather is nice, which it has definitely been recently! Early morning walks are such a beautiful and exciting start to my days here, and it’s something I never really got the chance to fully appreciate back at Skidmore, since everything is so close (and cold) on campus. Walks in the city of Madrid, however, are something I now cherish in my day to day life. 

Moncloa is the end of the 3 (or yellow) line, which I love because some of my most important stops are along the 3 line. For example, the 3 line it goes right to Lavapies, which is known as the POC neighborhood of the city, where you will find a lot of amazing food from so many different cultures and countries, and some of the best stores my friends and I have found that sell products for curly or textured hair. Lavapies is also the stop I get off at for my class at the Reina Sofía museum, which is just a 6 minute walk from the metro exit. Lavapies is also the home of El Horno dance and fitness studio, where friends and I also love to go for salsa classes, general work out classes, and to try other fun dance styles during our free time. My two closest friends also live off the 3 line, which means getting to and from their neighborhoods is a breeze. 

I have so much more to learn and explore in and around my neighborhood since it is still early on in the semester, but I am excited to see what else I find. I am really looking forward to the rest of this semester and to many more great experiences and new things I will learn here in Madrid.

There is also a mini gym in the basement of the building, as well as a laundry room, and a comfy common area, where they have fuseball, couches, and a TV with Netflix and movies already set up for us. There are study rooms open for use 24/7, where students are either studying and writing essays or chatting with friends. Dinner is such a fun part of the day, because not only is the food delicious (and unlimited) but the cafetera is filled with students laughing and talking and enjoying long, late night dinners, in typical Spanish fashion. The residencia is in Moncloa, a very active, lively part of the city, filled with lots of young people and students due it is proximity to many major colleges and universities in or around the neighborhood. Taking a walk around Moncloa, you’ll see cafes filled with students either talking or doing homework together, people in bars and restaurants, sitting outside on the terrazas enjoying the beautiful weather and energy of the city. The neighborhood is definitely one of my favorite parts about where I live this semester. Just like everywhere else in the city, the public transportation is incredible; I’m a 20 minute bus ride to the program center, a 20 minute metro ride to the Reina Sofía and Prado museums, and 10 minutes to Sol. I am also just a lovely 25 minute walk to the program center, which means I usually opt to walk to the classes I have there. Early morning walks are such a beautiful and exciting start to my mornings here. The residencia is also just around the corner from el Museo de las Americas, where I will be visiting this semester as a part of my Transatlantic Literature class. I have so much more to learn and explore in my neighborhood since it is still only the beginning of the semester, but I am excited to see what else I find. I am really looking forward to the rest of this semester and to many more great experiences and new things I will learn here in Madrid.

Aja Goldman, student blogger primavera 2020