ICADE

In the beginning it was hard and at times very frustrating to communicate because I found I knew less spanish than I orginally thought. But VERY slowly I found myself getting more and more comfortable and that improvement still continues with me. Classes are the most frustrating part as my teachers speak very fast and it doesnt help that they also have horrible handwriting so reading what they write on the board is also a struggle. But like I said before gradually it improves and I find myself improving little by little. Today I feel I can sit through a class and at least get the larger part of what is taught in class. Socially, communication has not been as much as a struggle with the exception of the use of a lot of slang by spanish students my age. But I also find that they are more than willing and eager to teach you their slang if you ask them. Just be careful on when to use it! (i.e. NOT on a job interview or when talking to a teacher)

Madrid is the spanih capital and after your international experience you can go everywhere in spain and dicover this wonderfull country. personaly I have been from madrid to Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga during 2 months and sevilla before coming in France using car, bus and train. It was a great experience

If you're willing to live in the outskirts if town, you can get quite a big apartment with many bedrooms (to share with fellow students), but in the city be prepared to get up early, find the morning paper and start calling around, if you want to find a good affordable place to stay. Average time for my student colleagues to find a place to stay at all was more than a week - when the whole day was spent on house-searching!

Obviously, the size of Madrid makes it a place where you can do anything. On the cultural side - don´t miss the art museums and the opera. On the "fun" side - in the beginning it is advisable to head to Palacio de Gaviria on Thursdays (c/ Arenal) where international student parties are held but beware of the long queue to get in. For excellent sangría head to España Cañí just off Plaza Santa Ana. A few of my favorite cafés: Español on Plaza Santa Ana and Ruiz on calle de Ruiz, both with nice atmosphere and candle lights. Best restaurants in town (on a student budget, that is) are Finca de Susana and Gloria de Montera.