Exchange in Madrid

It’s now three months after I completed my 3B semester of school on exchange in Madrid. This was by far the most beautiful city I’ve ever lived in. Not as populous as New York. Not as efficient as Tokyo. But truly just beautiful. The city is walkable, feels fresh, and there is an overall atmosphere of happiness that I wasn’t used to in the grunge, countercultural cities I’m used to living in.

It was very beneficial to be away from everything, especially to avoid hiveminding and think independently for a bit. This was a stage of deep thought, and it was painful to not actively be doing something at all times. Alongside that, I feel like this is one of the first time I prioritized enjoying my youth. Long term, this is definitely not the lifestyle I want to live. Madrid is a place to party and decompress. But living there made be absolutely sure of what I wanted in life.

Exchange was also a bit strategic. This is the semester when all past learning in engineering finally comes together. Networks, controls, concurrency—it’s the core of CS but also required a lot of confusing bottom up knowledge to be able to tackle. This is the first time that I feel like I am learning “top down”.

I noticed this when I was in Japan as well: it’s easy to get caught up in low ROI games when physically in Waterloo. A lot of the assignments aren’t worth doing, some things aren’t worth learning, best grades aren’t worth getting. Here, school is definitely easier, so I felt like I can focus on learning the things that really matter to me.

Traveling was another massive part of this experience. Generally, I don’t like travelling, but I realized the joy in doing random things with friends in random places. My travels ended up being unforgettable. From weirdly romantic Italian dinners with Freeman to getting bathed with my friends in Morocco. A good story is truly what I chase, and my travels definitely added to it.

I’m a little glad I did exchange because I now know what I want. I don’t want to graduate and then backpack for months. I love walkable cities that are convenient. I want other people grinding with me. Madrid taught me all this and more.