Adelante International Internships and Study Abroad

For a second there it felt like a dodgy deal in the back alley of downtown New York or something, but then I jolted back to reality and realised I was in Barcelona, standing in front of a guy called Roberto (who looked like he could kill me with a single thought). A soft, low hum of jazz filtered from the stage, followed by a cloud of smoke, past the overcrowded bar, through the noisy entrance hall and onto the pavement where I was standing at the front of the VIP line talking in code, trying to explain who I was and what my business at Harlem was. If anyone could give Steven Seagull a run for his mo...

When I learnt that I was being awarded the Internship Scholarship by Adelate Abroad I was so excited about going to Barcelona I hadn’t even begun thinking about what or who I would be interning with. The first thing I read on the website was an internship with Party Earth (www.partyearth.com) – a company based in Los Angeles (in the USA) that do social reviews of bars, pubs, restaurants, clubs and coffee shops in Europe and America, more specifically in Barcelona. My eyes made the proverbial dollar signs that all the cartoon characters get when they’ve struck gold. I knew then and t...

Tapas must be the Spanish equivalent of a South African 'braai' (or barbeque for those not familiar with the term). Even if you only spend a few hours in Barcelona you are bound to at some point stuff some tapas down your gullet... A vast array of little tasty buffet treats; gourmet sarmies, pastries, pies – basically the type of snacks you will find at a cocktail party, but much much tastier. All Adelante candidates in Barcelona (even scholarship winners) spend their first two weeks at Kingsbrook Language school before kicking off their 3 month internship. Apart from cramming as much S...

I had my first experience as a tour guide this past weekend, working for Tico Viajero Expresso, the travel agency that operates out of Universidad Veritas in San Jose. It was an incredibly nerve-wracking experience, having so much responsibility, and so many people to account for (20 students in total). I discovered, however, that far more than being nervous, I was excited and had an incredible trip while learning quite a bit about tourism and foreign travel.  We left Friday the 26th for the Costa Rica/Panama border, and immediately hit STOPPED traffic. After sitting around for almost an...

When my new Japanese friend Mayumi asked me if I wanted to join her and another Japanese girl on a hiking adventure in Andorra I had no idea where it was. So I said ‘yes of course I’ll go with you’. It was only a day before we set sail that I learnt that Andorra is a tiny little country literally squashed in between France and Spain, clogging the Pyrenees mountain range (that serves as a natural border between the two countries). It took us two hours by bus (one that left at 6am in the morning!) to literally go from humid sunny Barcelona to cold and frosty Andorra. We caught...

Perhaps this blog entry is more for my own geographical education than yours, but I decided that it might be worthwhile showing you exactly where in the world I am. If you look through the pictures you will see a world map that clearly marks Spain (which is the country I am currently in. The next picture marks the city - Barcelona, which is pretty close to France and Andorra (where some of my new friends and I went camping and hiking last weekend... But more about that later) In fact - when I was on top of the mountain in Andorra I could see the tip of the Eiffel tower!! And on the last map you will ...

Since being a Virgo is all about organising things and making sure they fit into a suitable structure, as well as being infused with German blood from both my parents´ side, having a daily routine is of utmost importance. A clear-cut, neat and organised safety blanket if you will. After the mad scurry to orientate myself in Barcelona in terms of the nearest bus & train stations, closest pharmacy and bar I felt a little more at ease to slip into a daily routine (which is easily disrupted by an invitation to the local pub, mind you). This routine includes getting up the morning at about 08h00 am (...

I have no idea what I expected when I first embarked on this journey, but for some (obscure) reason it slipped my mind that everything in Spain will be SPANISH. I am in day three of my language course and the Adelante staff weren't joking when they said it would be intense. None of my teachers speak any English, so it's a case of sink or swim. And boy am I swimming! Before I came to Barcelona I could order beer and wine in Spanish, now I can order something to eat as well... And a whole bunch of other stuff. It is amazing how much I've absorbed in the last three days. Throwing me in in the deep end really...

Well I guess I should introduce myself!  My name is Meredith and I am one month into my stay here in Seville as a journalism intern.  The irony of this has been my desire to share the events of my time here on this community page, but I have been busy doing writing of a different kind!  So this is my first attempt at making updating this journal a constant part of my daily life here.                 My roommate here, another American intern, and I live in the Los Remedios neighborhood of Seville with our...

Today is day one, having arrived late last night at the airport in San Jose! This will probably be the longest entry for a while, as tomorrow I start my classes. The first leg of my trip was an easy flight over to Miami International from Logan International. Next, on the plane from Miami to San Jose, I was seated directly next to another college student, Lauren, who is attending Veritas University through her home University's study abroad program. Coincidentally, we were the only two Veritas students arriving that entire day, so I was extremely lucky to have someone to navigate the San Jose Airpo...