“Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.” L.M. Montgomery: The perks of living in Madrid

I'm not too keen on overly used statements, but the expression 'home is where the heart is' cannot be any more true. I live by that statement. I find that no matter where you reside, as long as your family (or at least a part of it, in my case) and close friends are physically and mentally close to you, the meaning of home already serves its purpose.

If you read my previous post, you'll know that I live in Madrid. I'm not from here (although I wish I was), I'm from Estonia. If you don't know where it is...get yourself a nice lil' map of the world and try to spot it. In other words, it's quite a small place just below Finland and West of Russia. It's a humble place, but that's as far as it gets. Its humble, it's small, nothing ever happens there, or if it does, it always repeats itself after a while. Everyone knows of everyone, and occasionally you get the feeling and impression that Estonians are infact quite cold people. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this to all Estonians, but some are just...gah.. I just want to draw a smiley face on their face so at least there's something positive about them. It seems to me that many of them are permanently mourning for something or someone. Again, I'm an Estonian and who knows, maybe I seem the same to some Spanish people. It's simply my point of view. However, living in Spain, Madrid to be more exact, has had its downfalls and its utmost joys. Lets start with the downfalls, shall we.

When I moved here, in 2009, I began missing Estonia so much. It was at times unbearable, especially due to my dearest person not being there with me.
If you must know, I'm one of the shyest people you'll ever meet, and changing schools, changing friends and home was uncomfortable at first and I wasn't used to it whatsoever. But that's normal in any case :)
I didn't like how gigantic Madrid was. The population of Madrid is about four times bigger than Estonias population in total.
I don't like the fact that Madrid is so far from the sea. I've grown up next to the sea. And I miss it.
Driving from one end of Spain to the other would take you a day or two, which to me, is a lot. And here's a shocking contrast for you: driving from one end of Estonia to the other must be ca. 400 km? Crazy.
I wasn't used to Spanish people having dinner at 9 or 10 pm. I'm still not used to it! But that's okay cause I eat my dinner at 6 or 7 pm.
At first, I found it unusual how loud spanish people could be. But then I realized it's what makes a spanish person truly spanish.
Cinemas are bloody expensive here. One ticket to a 3D movie may cost you around 11 euros. In Estonia, when I lived there, it would be about 4 or 5 euros.
No snow.
Spanish women either drive slowly or drive like maniacs, in the latter case, I strongly advise you to watch out for them.
The old men that shout 'guapa!' or wolf-whistle at you or are generally being creepy as hell. Not cool.
Metro tickets are 2 freakin' euros. I'm pretty sure i've wasted all my life savings worth of money on metro tickets.
I'm 1.82 or so centimetres tall, and the average spanish woman must be about 1.60. So, I probably qualify as a female giant but that's coo'.
The milk here tastes horrible. This is the reason why I don't drink milk anymore, basically.
The worst downfall, however, is how illuminating and beautiful Madrid is. It absorbs you, it attracts you and makes you somewhat wish you'll stay here forever. Good things happen here. Good people live here. Its a place of benevolence and love. My lovely Madrid, this is. So lovely that I hate it for having to leave it.

The things that I love about living in Madrid.

The people. That's all I need to say. Most of them are as lovely as it gets. They help you when you're hopelessly lost in the middle of Madrid, they will smile at you for no particular reason, they are incredibly enthusiastic when it comes to going out to parties or bars. (that's a definite plus)
Adding on to the previous point, I'd say that not only do good people live here, but also some of the best people, like my best friend, Sofia.
The food. For example, the 24h pizza places in the centre of Madrid. Mmm.

The buildings, the houses, apartments, parks in the centre of Madrid. Personally, my favorite area in Madrid is called Malasaña. The narrow streets, the beautiful terraces of apartments, of which some are filled with plants. The liveliness of the place is what astonishes me most, even on rainy days you'll always find some hipster-looking, cigarette-smoking, coffee-drinking person walking their dog (tends to be a smaller type of dog) and you just think: I wish i lived in this place. Well, in my case at least.
Longboarding around the Kings palace, around Opera or Calle Arenal which are just as fascinating.
Having the chance of just taking the metro and going wherever you wish in Madrid. Mind you, Madrid is enormous and some of the most alluring places are yet to be visited.
The Christmas spirit. The Christmas spirit is absolutely wonderful Even though there is no snow, Madrid's beauty during christmas is redeemed with the magnificent christmas lights on Serrano and Velazquez.
Having the chance to go to so many bars, because quite frankly, Madrid is filled with bars. My personal favorite one is Dubliners, an Irish pub.
My friends in Madrid: now, I'm not the most social person, as I'm very shy but for some reason, I've managed to be lucky enough to have the most amazing people in my life. I'm strongly referring to my best friend, Sofia. I met her the first day I went to school in Madrid, the 4th of September, 2009. Ever since, we're inseparable, literally. With her around, living in Madrid is just ten times more valuable and the time that I have left here is twenty times more cherished. She's an unbelievably fascinating person indeed. I wonder and often realize how lucky I've been.
The fact that Spanish little kids are much cuter than any other kids I know. I mean, I know all kids are supposed to be cute, but Spanish kids are exceptionally cute, with their big, brown eyes and colorful bows in their hairs.
Living in Madrid, seeing what I see everyday, being where I am on weekends, talking to people that talk back to you and smile is something that you can't change for anything. You know why? Because that's the whole point of memories. You live it, you enjoy it, you look back at it once in a while and smile to yourself thinking, life is unexpected, full of surprises but in the end of the day, having something memorable to look back at is what keeps us going, hoping that the good memories last forever and that the bad ones.. Well, the bad ones are there for us to learn from our mistakes. Either way, Madrid will forever be in my heart, along with its people, the city, the endless amounts of coffees, beers, the 'besos' on the cheek, walking and exploring Madrid, lunches and dinners in restaurants, going out, going home, longboarding, being with my best friend and with my family. Those little things are the foundation of my happiness here in Madrid.