Madrid (Chinese: 马德里) 🇪🇸

Madrid moves fast—but it remembers. The wide boulevards, sleepy plazas, and shifting shadows tell stories both grand and everyday. I studied in Universidad de Alcalá for five unforgettable months, and if there's one person I owe that experience to, it’s Dr. Blanca Rosa García Henche—my professor at SISU and our guardian angel in Spain. She’s the reason I fell in love with Madrid’s coffee culture (and also why I sampled no fewer than ten “best” coffee shops in town… which one is the best? It really depends. 😂)

If you ask me what made this journey truly special—it wasn’t just the museums or subway tiles or sun-drenched streets. It was the people. Like the father and son who struck up a conversation with me on the metro after realizing I spoke Spanish… and then invited me to their bakery to try what they swore was the best croissant in Madrid.

It’s not that I’m too trusting (okay, maybe a little). But in that moment, the connection felt sincere, smooth, human. Sometimes, you just trust your gut—and hope it leads you to pastry.

This journal is a small attempt to capture those moments—the light, the laughter, and the sense that in Madrid, even strangers feel like part of your story.

Landscapes