Written by Emme Pike ’19 to recount Tuesday, March 6, 2018:

We started our second day in Spain off with a fun adventure to Madrid! After getting a good night’s rest and eating breakfast with our host families, we boarded the bus and traveled to the country’s capital. We had an awesome tour of the city, as we strolled down el gran via (the city’s main touristy area- kind of like time’s square in NYC), learned about the plaza royal (the royal palace), did some shopping in El Centro (the center of Madrid), and browsed in El Museo de Prado (one of the most famous art museums in the country).

In between our tour, we had thirty minutes of free time which some spent going to local churro and chocolate shop, checking out the local market, or getting a quick pick-me-up at the Starbucks on the corner.

After our tour of the capital, we went back to CEM and had a little bit of resting time until our students were ready to go. The school ends at 5 pm, but the students can choose to take an extra class and get done at 6 pm. After classes, a lot of us went to el centro en Las Rosas (a big mall in the town that a lot of our host families live in). As we browsed the three-story megamall, we realized how far away from home we were – this was no MacArthur mall. We laughed and watched the Real Madrid game as we enjoyed our dinner in the mall. Overall, it was the perfect second day!