Trip Evaluation

I honestly do not know where to start in describing how much of a great experience I received from staying in Madrid for a month. From the second we landed in Madrid I was in shock from how different everything was. I knew before traveling overseas that it was going to be that way but it is a whole different story when you are able to experience it firsthand.
I think that the place where we were staying was in a great location northwest of the center of Madrid. Before going I figured that it was going to be very hot in Spain and my prediction was one hundred percent correct. No air condition is hard to adapt to but after 3 showers a day and constant pool visits you learn the different methods of how to avoid the heat. There is, however, air condition in almost all of the stores and restaurants which makes those useful for short visits while adventuring through the blazing streets of Madrid. Although I expected the heat to be one of the problems while in Spain I never would have guessed that the food would be one of them also. The food in Spain didn’t live up to my expectations which was a shame considering I was looking forward to eating delicious food as I have in other hispanic countries.
Other than the food and the air condition I think I can seriously say that taking a trip to Spain was one of the greatest experiences in my life so far. For me it was so much fun just talking to different people that live in Madrid and being able to practice a language that I have come to love. For a month I learned how to slow my life down a little and learned to respect things such as the siesta and taking a paseo in the evening. Almost all of the people that live in Madrid are very friendly and sociable. It seemed to me while in Spain that everyone has no worries on their minds and never seem to be overworked or extremely busy as in the United States. All of the buildings in Madrid are absolutely amazing with incredible arquitecture around every turn. From walking the streets of Madrid and realizing that I was in an area more than 3000 miles from my home was absolutely amazing and somewhat of a culture shock for me during the trip.
It is so difficult to evaluate a whole month of adventure in a beautiful country such as Spain but if I could say one thing to someone given the opportunity to go as I was I would not allow them not to go. I am so glad that I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Spain and meet so many different people from all over the world. I can say now in all seriousness that if given the chance to do it all over again I would do all over in a heartbeat.