It was a Thursday, July 22 to be exact. My dad needed to go to Madison for a business meeting. My exchange student, Alicia, and I got up around 6:50 in the morning to go with him. We were going to walk around campus and the capital. 

I remember it being so cold, yet Alicia and I wore shorts and skirts, it was supposed to be 75 in the afternoon. We had all day. So I grabbed my favorite oversized sweatshirt from Pacson and threw it on. We all got into the 2016 Ford Explorer.

The drive was terrible, but we made it. My dad ended up being in a rush and so he dropped us off on the outskirts of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. It was a cold walk to the main campus, nor did we have any idea where we were headed. All I knew was to head down a path and hope we hit campus.

When we got to campus around 8:30, Alicia and I found a coffee shop, Crossroads Cafe. We ordered some warm food while we waited for the Wisconsin Union to open. As soon as it opened at 9, we went in and walked around. Alicia got her dad and brother Wisconsin gear for when she went back home. 

Later, when the temperature rose, we began walking around the campus and exploring. We got pretty bored so we walked off campus and went to the Madison capitol building. We just walked in and they allowed us to walk around for free. So we walked to the top of the building and just looked out. We took some pictures and walked back down the spiral staircase. We talked in Spanish and English and it would gain attention. We took pictures on the patio in the campus. We walked around the campus—what felt like a hundred times—waiting for my dad to finish. 

After a few hours, around 4 pm, my dad finally finished, so we stopped at Starbucks, we begged my dad to get some as well so we got him an iced tea. We sat in the Starbucks, waiting for my dad to send one final email. When he finished, we started walking to the car while Alicia was talking about what she got for Sebastian and Gabriel. She showed him some pictures that she took. My dad was talking about how if Alicia wanted to study in Madison, she could and she would be welcome to live with us and have a family to come to for holidays. She loved the idea.

When we got in the car, the clouds came back, it was like Wisconsin decided to make it nice out just for us. Just for Alicia and me to enjoy the day outside in the beautiful state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s unpredictable weather worked out in our favor, for us to enjoy being outside and appreciating everything Wisconsin has to offer.