Jesús Bal traveled to Madrid with the intention of studying "any engineering degree," but then he settled on medicine. He immediately began to be seen around the theaters, the gatherings after concerts, premieres, the zarzuela, and the tertulias in the capital. He wrote on his notebook drafts of many of his poems amongst the figures and drawings for his engineering projects. Galicia was still very much in his heart, as is shown by his research work on Galician folklore, a task that he undertook following a suggestion by Dr. López Suárez, or by his articles on music, poetry, and art written for the newspaper El Pueblo Gallego. They show his interest in exhibitions by artists such as Souto, his close friend, Carlos Maside, Juan Luis, and Castelao, whom he greatly admired; the verses of Pimentel, Correa Calderón, Amado Carballo, and Manuel Antonio; and, finally, his public debate about theater with Rafael Dieste and Fernández Armesto. Jesús Bal was slowly moving, still undecided, from thought into action. However, music was vital for him, and he enjoyed it at the coffee houses, or when he played a Beethoven sonata at Garcia Sabell 's home. Bal’s participation in the select circle of the Seminario de Estudios Gallegos made the train his second home, shuttling between Galicia and Madrid, discussing and enjoying his special "sweetness of life" ... and being very contentious when political decisions forced him to raise his voice.