It is spring in Madrid-the only season I have not yet seen here. But strangely, it is just the same as all other seasons. This city does not lose its liveliness, its charm and its willingness to party even during the coldest winter months.

Life here has a different taste, a very refined and laid back flavor, as much as those two things go together.

It is refined in the sense that people take time to enjoy everything slowly, whether it is a good paella or a beer at the local bar.

Nothing is hurried-you take that time in the middle of the day to sit back and enjoy good food and good company. Just for a while, you forget about the upcoming two projects, essay and exam that are vigorously jabbing at the pits of your stomach and you turn on a bit of Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin.

Escape from the banality of everyday life and even just for a few moments enjoy time-enjoy the time that you have. That is what Spain has taught me. Maybe a little too well.

But this is an important lesson that I would like to pass on to my fellow students across the ocean, who are probably overwhelmed with midterms and projects. It is important to do well, but it is just as important to have fun.

Let’s look back on our college years and along with our academic successes let’s remember our friends, our nights out and our good times. Learning to balance everything is an art.

The second thing I have learned here is not to take myself too seriously.

I used to be harsh on myself about every Spanish grammar mistake, about all the things I have been doing badly in school or in living by myself, pretty much about everything that was a little short of being exact and perfect. In the end, that was my biggest mistake. I am not exact and perfect.

I may make grammar mistakes all the time (and I still call myself a writer). I say silly things. I wish I knew more. But that’s what life is! Along with trying to improve ourselves, we must learn to love how we are and at times to laugh at how we are. I believe that a person who knows how and when to laugh at himself is truly wise.

I accredit everything I have learned and much of who I am now to Spain. If you take yourself out of your comfort zone, if you push and challenge yourself, if you are willing and open to accepting new ideas and ways of life, you will discover that there is much more out there than everything you once thought you knew.

Thank you for reading my occasional blurbs about culture, philosophy and life. I hope that during these two semesters I have been able to-at the least-make someone smile.

Dorotea Lechkova is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, studying abroad in Madrid.