It has been exactly 18 days since I’ve returned to Montreal, and I still have not found the opportunity to reflect on the amazing year it’s been and how this journey will have long-lasting effects on the rest of my life.
On August 21st, 2015, I left Montreal on a journey that would bring me to 18 countries and over 50 cities, but the experience of living abroad isn’t only about traveling, and my time abroad was about much, much more than the incredible places I have seen.
When I left Montreal over a year ago, I had never really had to push myself in my life; everything had come pretty easily. I attended school and was always getting pretty good grades. I worked, sometimes part-time, sometimes full-time when there was no school. I didn’t really cook seeing as my parents usually took care of that. I didn’t really travel or splurge on myself much seeing as I had this mentality that I needed to be saving money for something more important in life, I didn’t really push myself to get to know new people since I had friends from high school that I still hung out with.
My life wasn’t bad. It really wasn’t, and it would be a sore lie for me to complain about my life then, but it was time for me to do something with my life, time for me to go beyond the ordinary and experience the extraordinary. As my departure date approached, I felt more and more that going abroad, and going for a significant amount of time was something I had to do. I foresaw its use, its purpose in my life, I had this feeling that this experience would have profound and lasting effects on the rest of my life, and that it was something I just had to do.
So I went, and I am glad to say that I was right.
Now, when making a commitment of this magnitude, in this sense leaving your hometown and the only world you’ve ever know, for an entire year, there are bound to be some consequence with your life back at home. And I was ready for that despite fearing some negative consequences, which I rightfully predicted. Unfortunately, yes, the fact of the matter is that throughout the year there were some tough moments regarding my relationships back in Montreal. I lost touch with several friends from before, which only helps you realize who your real friends are and who your real friends are not. I missed countless family events, such as my cousin Alicia’s high school graduation, and yes, I’m sure the atmosphere must have been different at home in Montreal for my mom and sister without me in the house.
Regardless, I regret absolutely nothing and I am OK and have accepted some of the negative consequences to having gone away, because I know that the positives heavily outweigh them.
My journey started in Portugal, in Lisbon, Sintra and Porto, with my mom, in what gave me a first taste of what Europe was all about. The Portuguese architecture was stunning and the food delicious. This would be my only stop in Portugal, though I would like to return one day and visit the South of the country, but Portugal will forever remain with me as the first European country that I have ever visited.
Then, it was time to move on to Madrid, where I settled into my new apartment, met my roommates, Marlena and Samo, both of them amazing people, Samo, of course, would turn into one of the best friends I’ve ever made, and after discovering the city with my mom, she came back to Montreal and it was time for the adventure to begin.
And this is where the transformation happened. Not only in Madrid, of course, but seeing as Madrid was the place I had the privilege of calling home, I must say that most of my experiences took place there.
Throughout the year, I learned to cook. I had trouble cracking a simple egg before I went abroad, and when I returned I could even make some complex recipes work for me. I cooked several dishes throughout the year, including and not limited to: soups (lentil, chicken, vegetable…), pasta, chicken, fish, steak, meatballs, hamburgers, potatoes, beans, rice, broccoli, fajitas, stir fry, couscous, stews, etc… The transformation was gradual, I started off the year making some simple dishes, and my recipes got more and more complex (and delicious) as the year went on.
Take a look at some of my food:
Keep in mind, most of these meals were prepared without an oven!
Of course, the food I made myself pales in comparison to the amazing and variety of dishes I’ve eaten in several different countries, but more on that later.
And my cooking prowess was much to the shock of everyone who knew me back in Montreal, but, to be honest, seeing the awful quality of food some of my peers were consuming, I did not want to be like that. My French roommates in the second semester, for example, they would eat pasta with butter every single night. Some other people I know admitted to often eating dry chicken and plain rice. This was my opportunity to take control of my own diet, and to make the best of it. So I took it upon myself to eat well, to eat healthy, and to make good meals.
Again, when you’re thrown into the lion’s pit, you get your way out of it. In other words, when you’re placed in a situation that you’ve never been in before, a challenging position, you need to work hard and exceed expectations to thrive in these situations instead of merely surviving.
As I mentioned before, I was never the best at meeting people and making new friends. Maybe, back in Montreal, I had my lifestyle and my routine, and this didn’t lend itself well to meeting new people. That probably is the case, but in Madrid I had no choice but to force myself to get to know people. When you are studying abroad, the magic is that you are meeting new and interesting people every single day, so if, at the end of your time abroad, you have not yet mastered the craft of socializing with new people, then I truly wonder what you did with your time.
Throughout the year, I met amazing people and have made friends for life, people I know I can talk to and visit anytime I want. Some of them were my roommates, some of them were classmates, some were friends of friends, and some, well some I just met while traveling. The thing about these experiences, people you meet while abroad are a lot more open minded and friendlier than people you meet back at home. This is not to bash people who don’t travel, at all, because I truly do believe in the inherent good in people, however people you meet abroad are forced to be friendly. They are going to an unknown place, they are surrounded by unknown people and they are all forced to step out of their shell and get to know new people. At first, you may be nervous, but at a certain point this becomes the norm for you, and not only do you enjoy doing this, you thrive and sometimes even get a rush at the mere thought of meeting new people, because you know everybody has a good story to tell, and, well, the more the merrier.
Now, I don’t want to name names, because I have met and formed a friendship with far too many people to list here, also for fear of forgetting someone, however I need to take a moment to thank every single person I’ve met and spent time with throughout the year, really, if it weren’t for you this year would not have been what it was. I realized this at several points throughout the year, but probably one of the most special experiences I’ve had was my 22nd birthday, May 25th, when I went to my favorite bar and just invited a bunch of friends to hang out. It was truly lots of fun!
Of course, family also played an important role in my year abroad. Coming from an Italian family, I have lots of family that remained in Italy, and throughout the year I had ample opportunities to go visit them, and to also receive my mom and sister, and my aunt from Cancun, in Madrid. I had the opportunity to get to know my Great-Uncle Giovanni in Milan, get to know some second cousins, also in Milan, and spend nearly three weeks with my cousins and their parents in Cerfignano, in Italy’s Lecce province.
Truly, had I not gone away for such an extended period of time I would never have had the opportunity to spend such quality time with all of these people, and I realize even more now the important of family in your life. Even during Christmas, when I went to Cerfignano instead of returning to Montreal, I felt so well-surrounded and so happy with the people I was spending time with that I do realize that family really is the most important thing.
At the end of the day, however, the most important takeaway from my time abroad is my independence. Whereas before I went abroad I felt kind of useless, in the sense where there were many things that I didn’t know how to do, now I feel like I can do anything, like I can handle myself in any situation, tackle any challenge that gets thrown my way. I have grown in confidence tremendously throughout the year, and this is perhaps what will have the most profound and long-lasting effect on me.
To elaborate. I cooked. I cleaned (still need to work a bit on that…). I did my own laundry. I paid my rent. I moved, halfway through the semester. I booked flight and transport and hotels and accommodation, paying meticulous attention to all the details as to not get screwed over. I navigated myself (and often-times other people) through new cities seamlessly. I traveled alone occasionally. I did everything on my own, on several occasions assuming a leadership role among my friends or fellow travelers.
Some of these personal accomplishments may not seem all that special, but for someone who had never done some of these things before, these are important steps toward becoming a mature and independent person.
Oh, and did I mention, I traveled! Perhaps the best growing experience out there, traveling helps you grow as a person simply because you see and notice things about the world you never would have noticed had you never left the nest. Some are big cultural differences, some are tiny cultural nuances, yet all are major in terms of learning and appreciating the world, broadening your horizons and further working toward opening your mind.
Throughout the year I traveled to 18 countries and over 5o cities, stopping in some countries for a very short amount of time, while getting to know other countries a whole lot better. I feel downright privileged to say that, well, I haven’t done it all, but I’ve done quite a lot of things.
- I’ve climbed the volcano in Tenerife
- I’ve basked in the splendor of Gaudi’s works in Barcelona
- I’ve seen the convents and spectacular views of Montserrat
- I’ve taken in the sunset overlooking beautiful San Sebastian
- I took in Sevilla’s Plaza de España
- I’ve done (several) tapas runs in Granada
- I’ve learned about the rich, Arab-influenced history of Andalucia
- I’ve seen “the end of the world” in Sintra
- And taken a wine-tasting tour in Porto
- I’ve visited, and gotten emotional, at Auschwitz
- Yet, I fell in love with Krakow, Poland and Polish food
- I visited the Harry Potter studios in London
- I awed at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland
- I took a selfie with the Eiffel Tower in Paris
- I visited Nice twice and almost got caught up in a terrorist attack, a disturbing fate to such a beautiful city
- I saw the site of the Monaco Grand Prix
- I took a beer tour in Prague
- I ate Schnitzel visited several palaces in Vienna
- I did Bratislava in a day
- I saw the Jewish Memorial in Berlin
- I took in the Presepe culture in Italy over Christmas
- I saw the David in Florence, the Tower of Pisa
- In Rome, I devoured the best plate of pasta ever, visited the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and the Vatican
- Of course, the Duomo, and family, in Milan
- My friends and I lost the car keys after a day of visiting stunning Cinque Terre
- I saw Slovenia’s biggest lake, and most of the country
- I enjoyed 28 degree sea water in Croatia
- And was stunned at seeing Budapest’s parliament building
- I journeyed to the ‘fairy-tale’ town of Bruges
- And bought a heap of Belgian chocolate in Brussels
- I biked 50km in the Netherlands
- I ate at the world’s oldest restaurant in Madrid
- And, of course, in Madrid, I lived.
The beauty of living abroad for an entire year is that it gives you the opportunity to strike the right balance, of spending a good amount of time in your host city while also spending a good amount of time traveling. For me personally, I made of a point of even traveling a lot around Spain, getting to know the country and the culture playing host to me, and it was not hard to get infatuated with the country. I don’t know where my life would take me, but I would really like if it took me back to Madrid for a little while longer, or, if not Madrid, at least back to Spain.
One city has gone mostly unmentioned in all of this: Madrid.
I sincerely do not believe there is a better city in the world to do a student exchange than Madrid. I have fallen deeply in love with this city to the point where I do not want to leave, and once I do leave, which, again, is inevitable, I will definitely want to come back. Maybe I should start looking for a travel-related job here?
Words cannot describe the beauty of the city. Well, I’ll give it a shot and you tell me if I’ve captured its essence.
Madrid is less popular than Barcelona as a tourist destination, but it has its fair share of charms. The Retiro Park is one of them, and it boasts quite a few other tourist attractions like the Royal Palace, the Palacio de Cibeles and the Puerta de Alcala. But above and beyond these nice displays of architecture, Madrid is a city with vibe. It is that city where you go once, you soak up the ambiance, the atmosphere, the culture, and yes, the beauty, and you’ll just never want to leave.
First off, the people here are lovely. Unlike in Paris, where I was dissed for my French (because it’s with a Canadian accent), here in Madrid, no one criticizes or judges you based on where you come from. The prices of food are really low, and the fruits and vegetables here are so fresh, so cheap and so delicious that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to this imported oranges we eat in Canada ever again.
The vibe is great. People are always out in the streets, at local bars and restaurants, just enjoying life. And isn’t that what it’s all about? Enjoying life? Back in Canada, it’s all just work-work-work and if you don’t have a high-paying internship in university (something I don’t have), then you’re a nobody.
For me, Madrid was the city I was coming to for my Erasmus. Now, and I truly say this with all my heart, it is my home. I accomplished more in my ten months in Madrid than I had in my 21 previous years in Canada, I forged great friendships and enjoyed life way more than I had in Montreal.
Is this due to lifestyle? Perhaps. My lifestyle is radically different since I lived downtown and with roommates and not in the suburbs with my family. But things are different here. The people are different. The overall feel is different. It is home.
Now the trick is implementing this lifestyle for everyday use now that I’m back in Montreal. I’m already doing that, a little bit, as I’ve been named the President of the Student Exchange Association at my university, so I can plan events and learn what it’s like to really be a leader, and this is directly due to my positive experiences during my exchange.
It is impossible to put into words, or into one blog post, the extent of my feelings, my emotions and my transformations throughout the past year. There were some downs, many ups, and memories to last a lifetime, and, truly, I would not change one thing.
Go abroad. Live abroad. Travel. Experience the world. I know that I am now simply counting down the days until my next adventure, which I know will come before I know it.
Dan.
Studying Abroad in Madrid!! 