Hi! My name is Isabella, and I have been so lucky to have spent this semester in Madrid, Spain, studying at UC3M. I am a junior studying chemical engineering, and I am originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. As my semester comes to an end, I wanted to use this blog to highlight some of the transformative experiences I have had studying here, and I thought it would be perfect to start by introducing a few of the friendships I have had the joy of building. As someone who decided to study abroad without any of my established friends from home or university, I worried about making new friends when I left. The variety of people I’ve met here has taught me so much, and I hope to carry a piece of each of my friends’ best qualities with me, striving to incorporate them into my own life. Here are introductions to just a few of the wonderful friends I have met here, along with stories and memories I cherish with each of them.
Daniella
Daniella is one of the first connections I made when arriving to Madrid. She is a sophomore from San Antonio, Texas, and she attends the Saint Mary’s University. Our first time hanging out was at our school’s orientation when we sat next to each other. She is an international business major and has plans of attending law school. After chatting at orientation, we planned our first trip together to Segovia, Spain. We had such a fun day trip there seeing the castle and aqua ducts, and the next day we went out to celebrate her birthday. From there, we would end up going on several other trips together including Sevilla, Valencia, Barcelona, Granada, Salamanca, Porto, and Malta. There are so many things I love about Daniella. She is so secure about who she is, and her strong personality is so fun to be around. She has such a great sense of humor and always makes me laugh. She also was raised in a proud Mexican household, so she speaks beautiful Spanish and I love listening to it. For knowing me for such a short amount of time, Danielle has been one of the most loyal friends I have met. I am so thankful to have met her here!