I bought a battery-operated alarm clock, as recommended by the Duke in Madrid staff, although many times I didn't need it. Since my bedroom was located adjacent to the kitchen, the smell of toast and chorizo often whiffed into my small space concurrently; preparations for la cena (lunch) often began early in the morning, as it was the primary meal of the day. Sylvia (my close Duke friend and DIM roommate) and I prayed for papas fritas con pavo (fried potatoes with pan turkey seared turkey breast was our favorite). It had been so long since I was not responsible for my own food arrangements, and I felt a child-like glee of having my favorite dish served at midday.

“Las Meninas,” arguably Diegoo Velazquez's master work, so close that I could touch it in El Museo del Prado. I had been studying the fine details of that painting since I was in high school, and I found myself standing in front of it. Seemingly, the art in my textbook leapt from the pages and became life size before my eyes.

Culinary adventures and museum excursions will be only one part of your rich experience in Madrid, the rest of Spain, and beyond. I don't know anyone who doesn't remember the unparalleled feeling of awe and utter tranquility gazing from a rural mountainside in Galicia overlooking the seemingly endless sea. These are the scenes that postcards are made of—the images that are indelibly printed on your memory forever.

While my experience in Madrid is unparalleled, so were my excursions to other countries. Maybe you will ride camels in the Sahara of Tunisia as I did over spring break. Perhaps you will be lucky enough to catch an amazing exhibit at the London Design Museum—“Manolo Blahnik: A Retrospective” just happened to be open during my brief visit. Not to mention, the jewels of Rome, which tell a story all their own. Don't be surprised if you spot a total stranger in a Duke t-shirt in the ancient Coliseum, and it just happens to be that time in March…I tell you no lie.

Simply put, my Duke in Madrid experience transformed my life and made real those things that I thought were only accessible in print or on television for me. It seems impossible that you will return to Duke, or your respective home university, without a new perspective of the world, and equally as important, yourself.