When I decided to study abroad, I knew that I wanted to go to a Spanish-speaking country. Why? Because I speak Spanish fluently. Even though language is not a barrier, this past month in Madrid has been quite a learning curve.
The first step I took to overcome the learning curve was to participate in a walking tour of Madrid. During the tour, I learned that Spain’s government is a constitutional monarchy. This means that Spain has a king and queen as well as a prime minister. Appropriately, the first place we visited during the tour was Madrid’s Royal Palace. The palace used to be where the royal family lived in the city, but it is now a museum exhibiting the best rooms of the palace. Additionally, the palace is used for special ceremonies. The thing that surprised me the most about the palace was that it has 3,418 rooms! The second place that I saw during the tour was the Cuartel General de la Armada (Navy Headquarters). This building is home to all the departments of the Spanish Navy. The third-place that I saw was the Plaza de Cibeles (Cibeles Square). The Cibeles fountain used to be one of the main sources of water for Madrid’s citizens. Eventually, the fountain became part of a square and it became a landmark in Madrid.
