Buenas de Madrid:

My name is Alex Riedinger, and I am studying this semester in Madrid, Spain, at Saint Louis University Madrid Campus.  I am a third year student at UofL and feel so blessed to have this awesome opportunity.  I have been here for one week, but already so much has happened.  I am living with a host family, so my Spanish is becoming more natural and fluid.  I am trying so many new foods…all of which I’ve liked so far- especially Paella (a mixture of rice and mariscos- shrimp, crap, clams, etc.).  The food here is very healthy and filling.  Moreover, we walk everywhere, so it is constant exercise and I’ll probably come home in good form.

I love Madrid!  Plaza Mayor, the main plaza in the city, is gorgeous and so relaxing.  The weather is amazing here.  It only gets hot around the noon hour, and there is never any humidity.  I have also visited two towns so far: Segovia and Toledo.  Segovia is popular because of the aqueduct, which was built by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago.  Toledo was the former capital of Spain and boasts a beautiful castle & Gothic cathedral.

It has been a blast meeting incredible people from all over the world- Germany, Turkey, Morocco, Spain, Switzerland, Bulgaria, the States (of course), and so on.  I have enjoyed hanging out with all of them- traveling, going out to “Tapas” Bars (Tapas- are basically Spanish appetizers, and very popular during the dinner hour- which is 22:00 here!), and just hanging out in general.

This semester, I will be taking International Finance, German I, Honors Great Books (we’re studying Homer, Virgil, and Dante), International Business, and Business & Professional Speaking in Spanish.  I am very excited to see what this semester holds for me!  I start class here at 10:00, so I must get some sleep, but I will be updating you all soon!

I also will update you on what it was like to prepare for this trip at some point…it is most certainly an interesting story to tell!

Hasta luego,

Alejandro