Spanish, Strangers, and Movie Sets – Reflections on a first day in Madrid

As I walked to the metro from my host family’s place in the Madrid neighborhood of Peñagrande, I was feeling some mixed emotions. I was excited, but also a little uneasy. Over the past summer, I spent significant time reflecting on my goals for my two-month stay in Spain. My first priority was to assist the host families, doing my best to help the kids learn English. My intentions in Spain expanded beyond this, though. I wanted to engage with cultural diversity on a new level and improve my Spanish as much as possible. By seeing new places, trying new foods, learning new norms, hearing new languages, and meeting new people, I saw an incredible opportunity for growth. Yet, as I walked to the metro (or the “tube,” as my host mother says), I still thought, “mm. What on earth am I doing here, haha!” I want to make the most of my time. I want to learn, meet people, grow… will I actually be able to make that happen?

My host family gave me this first day to do anything. I decided to go to the city center. To do what? I had previously looked up some of the main attractions in the center, but I purposely didn’t make any plans. I didn’t want to micromanage this day. I had a month in Madrid. Today, I would go to the city center and… experience.

When I stepped out at the station at the Puerta del Sol (one of Madrid's most famous plazas) I entered a sea of construction–tough luck. I looked around and picked a random street to walk down. On a Wednesday, the activity of the city center was ideal. Lively, but not packed. I admired the impressive beauty of it all: stone streets, architectural variety, street performers, attractive visitors, colorful banners, the sound of people and life. What a lovely area.

One of the things I wanted to do in Spain: play soccer. When I passed a Real Madrid shop, I had an idea. Perhaps the workers in the shop either played soccer or knew of pick-up games that I could join. In my broken Spanish, I asked one of the workers if he played soccer and that I was looking for games to join. Seeing my struggles, he asked if I spoke English (a common theme on this first day.. I was surprised how many people spoke pretty good English). “You want to play soccer?” the man asked. “Yes!” I told him. “Tomorrow, 10 o clock, at da da da da.” Wowwwza! I was both shocked and ecstatic! I took his number down and he agreed to send me the address. His name–Nacho. How fantastic! Was it really that easy?

As I kept walking down this street of choice, I noticed an opening on one of the side streets. I went over to it and recognized it immediately. I had seen pictures of this! What was it... The Plaza Mayor! What an incredible spot, with a statue of some famous Spaniard on a horse in the middle. I went over to a light post, sat on the concrete, and observed the scene. People watching–it’s such an underrated pastime. People were enjoying coffee and lunch at the terraces that lined the square. Different couples were taking pictures in front of the statute. Mario and Luigi–large, costumed individuals looking for some cash in exchange for a picture–were walking lazily around. I remembered them having a lot more energy in the video games. At some point, a girl with her shopping bag and backpack sat down near me. I looked over, and she was doing much the same thing as me, taking in the whole scene. Let’s start a conversation, I told myself! This can be difficult enough in the US, when you know everyone speaks English. Doing so in Spanish... well... it’s not much easier. Although, this is the city center, which is a common destination for many other Europeans and travelers... For all I know, she is in the same situation as me. As I was thinking about this, a group of three individuals came up to me and asked for directions. I responded: “Derecho. Por tres calles.” I told the group to go straight for three streets. Where did they ask directions to? I have absolutely no idea. Oh well, I told myself, if there’s any place to get lost and go on a little adventure, the middle of Madrid is a fine one! I felt a little bad about doing this... Once my Spanish improves I can tell the truth more. I then turned to the girl and used this amusing interaction as a means to start the conversation. Morgane and I started talking–partly in Spanish, partly in English–and we agreed that I needed to practice my Spanish more than she needed to practice her English. So, we spoke in Spanish. Morgane, bless her, was very patient with me during our half hour conversation. I learned about France (where she’s from), and she learned about the US. I realized in this moment how much fun it is to converse with a stranger in a foreign place. There are so many different life experiences to learn and talk about! The next day, she was to head back to Barcelona for her human resources internship. We took a picture in front of the famous person on a horse statue (who we we both still couldn’t figure out who it was of), and went on our way.

The next few hours consisted of more walking, exploring, and eating. I loved the variety of street performers I saw. Bagpipes, guitars, violins, quartets, harps–so cool. The “medicos sin fronteras” were fun to practice Spanish with. The Market of San Miguel was a great introduction to the “tapas” that are so iconic in Spain. This market displays many of these small appetizers with fresh seafood and beautiful artistry. Touristy? Maybe a little, but still really cool. There was another iconic food that I remembered I had to try: the chocolate con churros. I looked up “Chocolatería San Ginés,” a particularly famous churro destination, and was not surprised to see a mass of people outside the door. Perhaps I would try churros somewhere else. Alas, this place is famous. Of course there’s a line, and I’m in no rush. Then, however, I realized something: this mass of people wasn’t actually forming a line. I made my way to the doors, and was urgently led by a person with a name tag to the street on the right. Was this a tour group? I looked around again. Then I saw it: a massive film set! I walked back around the corner and started watching near the others. I was very curious what movie or TV show I was watching. I looked beside me and saw a couple girls talking with a member of the film set crew. Did I hear some English? I wanted to know what they were filming, so I made my way over and asked them. It was La Casa de Papel (the Netflix show, Money Heist)! As for these friends–they were from the US! In fact, I soon learned one of them had even gone to Ohio State–my alma mater! These two, Maddie and Anisha, were both going to school in Madrid through a student exchange program. They were quite a dynamic duo, and after a fun chat, we exchanged numbers. Little did I know, but these two would become significant characters during my Madrid stay, as not only would they become new friends, but they would introduce me to their many other friends as well.

I felt very thankful. It was a wonderful day. On my train ride back I remembered my thoughts from the morning. Would I be able to make the most of this opportunity? I felt more confident that I would. I know, not every day will be great. There will be days when things are slow or simple. However, that is okay. In fact, it's probably good. As long as I keep my goals and priorities in mind, I felt at peace and confident that this trip would be just as valuable as I was hoping it would be.