When you choose to study abroad in Madrid, you choose to do so in a beautiful city with one hand firmly rooted in the past and one reaching confidently toward the future.

Geography of Madrid

Madrid is Spain’s capital and the most populated city. The heart of Madrid is a well-developed city with a perfect public transportation system, busy streets and sidewalks. Some of Madrid’s remoter districts, however, feel more like ancient villages. The city sees some snow in winter and plenty of rain in spring and fall. Summers are hot with minimum amounts of rain.

Language in Madrid

The majority of people in Madrid speak Spanish which is the official language of Spain. Most colleges and universities in Madrid are Spanish-language schools. However, many study-abroad programs in Madrid offer options of attending English-language schools. Also, when you’re in Madrid, you might take advantage of many high quality Spanish-language programs available to help you learn the language.

Cost of living in Madrid

The cost of living in Madrid depends on where you want to live. You need to pay three months’ rent in advance plus a deposit of ＄200 for the first time. Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center of Madrid costs about ＄650 per month. Rent for a three-bedroom apartment in the city center costs approximately ＄1,200. If you’re willing to live outside the city center, you can expect to pay approximately ＄450 to ＄850 for a one or three-bedroom apartment respectively(分别地).

Moving to a foreign country is an amazing, life-changing experience. It’s an opportunity to meet new people, make yourself completely involved in a different culture and possibly learn another language. However, before embarking on such an adventure, there are some practical decisions that need to be made. One such decision is choosing where to live.

For me, choosing to live with a French family was the best choice I made, and here are the reasons.

Firstly, a family can show you around the city or town and help you settle in, stopping you from feeling lonely. When you’re in new surroundings with people you don’t know and who are speaking a language you’re still not fluent in, you might feel lost, tired and homesick—I know I did. However, my host family are wonderful and welcoming; they showed me which buses to take to get to work, cooked dinner for me, and took me with them on trips to the beach, the theatre and even a bullring. These were great opportunities to experience French culture and build relationships, which in turn helped me feel at home and welcome.

Moreover, living with French people has been beneficial to helping me improve my language skills. Being constantly exposed to authentic French conversation has allowed me to learn new phrases, widen my vocabulary and even improve my accent. My host family are happy to answer my questions and correct me when I say things wrong, which makes me a better and more confident French speaker.

Finally, the experience of living abroad is one that you will remember forever, and perhaps the friendships—like the memories—will also last. Your host family might become your friends for life. You might return for their birthdays, weddings, holidays, and many more things. I sincerely hope to remain in contact with my host family long after I leave France because when I was away from my friends and loved ones, they welcomed me and made me part of their family.

There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think. On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our culture. It becomes a part of who we are. Many associate food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us. Food from our family often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress.

On a large scale, traditional food is an important part of culture. It also operates as an expression of culture identity. Immigrants(移民)bring it wherever they go, and it is a symbol of pride in their culture and means of coping with homesickness.

Many immigrants open their own restaurants and serve traditional cuisine. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. Some ingredients needed to make traditional cuisine may not be readily available, so the taste and flavor can be different from what they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, immigrants do not only sell cuisine to people from the same countries as them, but to people from different countries. Therefore, they have to make small changes to the original cuisine to cater to a wider range of customers. Those changes can create new flavors that still keep the cultural significance of the cuisine.

We should not only embrace our heritage through our culture’s food but also become more informed about other cultures by trying their food. It is important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it. Food is a window into culture, and it should be treated as such.

There are too many fat people in America, so many Americans are fighting against overweight. But the _________ thing is that the French, who consume rich food, tend to stay thin. Now a _________ by Cornell University points out _________ lifestyle and decisions about _________ may affect weight. Researchers concluded that the French tend to stop eating when they feel _________. However, Americans tend to stop when their _________ are empty or their favorite TV show is over. 

According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating _________ an important part of their lifestyle. They enjoy food and therefore spend a very _________ time at the table, while Americans see eating as anything to be squeezed in between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans _________ the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and __________ foods for the week. The French, __________, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers’ markets where they have a choice of fresh fruit, vegetables rich in fiber, and eggs as well as high-quality meat for each meal. 

After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, decided to __________ about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid __________. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym. 

In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent lifestyle __________ may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity(肥胖)—or extreme overweight—among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains __________ and the young reject older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17%—and is growing.