Saying My Final Goodbyes and Getting Ready to Head Back!

Whew! It’s been pretty peaceful lately and I’ve really needed this downtime. Even though it’s our last week and the last chance to go out in Madrid, I’m grateful for the change of pace. I’m officially done going into the office, most of my projects are done, and I’ve said goodbye to most of my coworkers. I’m mainly keeping in contact with some of the English-speaking clients because it’s easier for me to do once a week.

Aside from work, I’ve been trying to see all my friends before I go, but it’s not nearly as easy as I would have thought. Everyone has plans more or less, and it’s fairly difficult to make plans with a dozen or so people in a week. I’m doing my best and I think I’ll get to see everyone in the end.

Yesterday we met up in the park and hung out for a few hours. I even got to hang out with a friend I always see in the discos. That was really cool, but I’m a little disappointed we didn’t hang out earlier.

On Thursday I’m going to a rooftop bar with some of my other friends before our last trip to a disco.

As for Friday, I don’t really want to do anything. My flight leaves Saturday, and after the last two and a half months, I’m rather spent!

My main focus now is trying to buy gifts for my family and friends back home. It’s starting to seem almost impossible here. I just don’t understand. Today I struggled—I walked around so much and could not find anything. Yes, there are gift shops here, but nothing that’s really eye-catching or interesting. In every other city I’ve visited it’s been so easy to buy gifts for everyone. There are usually so many little stores that I can buy unique things. Here in Madrid,  stores like that seem almost nonexistent. Or maybe I just don’t know where they are. I’m facing the problem that I normally face, but on a much greater scale. As much as I know I should buy gifts throughout my stay…I never end up doing it.

Overall, I’ve had a great time on this internship. I’m really looking forward to coming home and relaxing. It’s gone by so ridiculously fast, and I can’t believe that it’s August already. After traveling around Spain, Madrid definitely isn’t my favorite city. However, I really appreciate how they incorporate little parts from all of the other different regions of Spain into their own culture. In my eyes, it’s somewhat like the United States. In the U.S. we do basically the same thing. We take this and a little bit of that and create our own unique blend of culture. Here in Madrid, that’s what they do; they’ve created their own culture and ideas by taking what it likes from other places (Catalonia, Basque, etc.). They don’t have one thing or a couple of things that they do best, but they do everything, which makes it a great place to try out new things and to experience Spain as a whole. A lot of people seem to be against the idea, but I really don’t think that it’s bad. I’ve gotten to experience things that I would have never seen or done normally and I really appreciate that. I may not love Madrid, but it’s given me so much!