Alejandro Ortega English

For our next interview we have Alejandro Ortega Guillén (Ale) a business studies undergraduate from Las Palmas who is studying here at the Universidad Complutense of Madrid

Hi Alejandro, to begin with tell us a bit about yourself and where you come from.

Hi, I’m 24 years old, I’m from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria from Escaleritas and Im studying here in Madrid. My aim is to become an air traffic controller. Recently they have extended the age limit to 30 years for applicants which gives me a bit more time and confidence to be able to finish my university course on time and be able to apply. It has always being something that appealed to me. I remember I was fascinated by its infrastructure and organisation when I was a little boy. In order to apply to do the course you have to have at least graduate degree which is why I decided to study my course since it can open various doors for me in the future.

Any reason in particular you chose to come to Madrid in order to do your university course?

Besides my course I also came here because my older brother David was coming back to Madrid after a spell working in Vigo. He moved back here last summer so I decided to join him in September.

How long have you being living here in Madrid?

I arrived on the 16th of September 2008, its not yet being a year. At the beginning I was staying my friend Chema who lives Pinar del Rey whilst my brother and his friends were looking for a suitable flat to share amongst ourselves. I live with my brother and three more of his friends who are also from the Canaries. We found a cool flat close to Plaza España and Templo Debod. I quite like the area and its also very practical since its very close to my campus.

Tell us a bit about your studies here

I study at the Universidad Complutense here in Madrid. Its one of the oldest institutions in the country, its about 159 years old. This feeling of longevity is quite reassuting offering a sense of stability in comparison to other colleges and universities in the country. I’m doing a course in Business Studies and I’m enjoying it. The course is familiar since I had also studies Business Economics previously. There are some subjects which I enjoy like Statistics. Besides our professor for this subject is very keen and makes an effort in getting us involved during our classes thus making them more enjoyable. There’s other subjects which I find less interesting like Maths or Accounting but can’t avoid them unfortunately. This year I was given all of classes in the evenings and to be honest I would have preferred a morning routine where there’s more of an atmosphere. The campus itself has an impressive variety of facilities such as food and accommodation which is very important to so many of us who are from outside of Madrid. At class we quite an international vibe with students from Morocco, Korea or Latin America. Personally I find it very rewarding to having come over here. I have learnt how to manage myself moneywise and emancipating myself from my parents’ home.

Tell us a bit of your experiences here in Madrid and what do you think of this city?

I quite like this city. I had being here visitng on several occasions both when I was a child and we came here with my family and later on when my brother was studying his university course here and I would come to visit him. I really enjoy going for a stroll in the main streets here in Madrid like Gran Via or Calle Fuencarral and notice the atmosphere and the vibe in the street. In Gran Via for example even if you are there at midnight in the middle of the week you can still be surrounded by people. I love the endless variety of entertainment that Madrid has to offer like bars, cinemas, theatres and clubs. There is also a multicultural environment in the streets with people from everywhere. In general terms there is a peaceful and civilised coexistence of the different inhabitants of this city. The public transport system here is excellent, both the metro and the bus service here are very efficient and affordable.

What significant differences do you find between Madrid and Las Palmas?

The main one I notice is the absence of the sea coast here. Madrid has very extremist seasons. Winters tend to be extremely cold and harsh whereas summers can be unbearably hot. There’s hardly any mid terms when it comes to the weather here. In the streets you find people from a wide array of cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Something that stood out to me at the beginning was the size of everything. The streets are wider, and the distances between one point and another are so much bigger. The night life is also more varied and lasts longer too. One thing that’s stands out to me is the elegance of Madrid’s citizens and the different styles in fashion clothing articles you can find here in comparison to Las Palmas. There is also a bigger variety in the types of restaurants you can find here. When compared to the rest of the cities in Spain you also notice the centralisation of politics and other institutions here in Madrid. Here you can find the main offices of the government, the Palacio Real, you can also find important landmarks of Spanish culture like the Museo del Prado or the Reina Sofia.