Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)

Well, housing in Madrid is inexpensive especially for a big city. I paid 200$ a month including utilities and furnishings for my flat. But internet cafes can eat your wallet up, especially if your an internet junkie like myself. But overall Spain is lightly less inexpensive than the US.

I've been here now for a year and a half so by now I'm very comfortable with the host language. The first year here was definitely more of a struggle with the language, especially more colloquial ways of speaking. I came in with a good knowledge of spanish on paper but with a lot of trouble speaking and understanding. It is always interesting to learn more so although frustrating, it is also rewarding improving my Spanish.

Malasaña was my favorite spot for nightlife. It has a bunch of really cool music bars that have cheap drinks. My favorite bars were La Via Lactea and Morgensterns. Plus, there are primarely only other Spanish there so its more cultural. I also liked this Irish pub in my area Arguelles called Finbars. It was my local pub. There are a lot of concerts in Madrid in which a lot of American and Spanish bands play. One event not to miss in september is the Spanish Communist Party fundraiser. Its a big festival weekend festival, with a lot of food from every province of Spain, music from Spain, and it´s just one kick-ass party thats dirt cheap to get into, plus everything including the festival food is cheap. I guess it kinsa has to be since it is a communist fundraiser.