A summer in Seville
All in all, I absolutely loved my 3-month internship program in Seville, Spain! It was an amazing experience that I will always remember, and I'm grateful to Adelante for making it possible. To help you learn about this program, here is my pros and cons list (Specifically related to Adelante, as listing the pros of a summer in Europe would take pages!): Pros: - Housing, schooling, & internship completely arranged - Great pre-departure materials & in-country contacts - Regular checking-in by Adelante staff (except during the month right before departure, since I applied early. It would have been nice to receive an "you're about ready to leave, do you have any final questions/here are a few tips for you," but overall I felt like I was always in contact with Adelante - Friendly internship environment: My coworkers were funny and wonderful and very flexible with all my weekend travels! - Airport pick-up: It was so nice to have someone pick me up around midnight and take me to my apartment! - Independence: This is a very, very independent program (especially not doing a homestay), which was perfect for me, but it can be challenging! - Excellent language classes (but only for 2 weeks :() Cons: - Housing (Apartment): roommates. This is a gamble in any situation and can't be fully blamed on Adelante, but I had one very messy roommate who didn't follow house rules or necessarily respect privacy. Additionally, halfway through my program, my landlord (without contacting me first) rented a room to a man. He was very nice, but I wasn't aware that housing could be co-ed, and that is important to me. Also, my housing wasn't necessarily "convenient" - about 30 minutes from the city center by bus, but my neighborhood was very nice and I sometimes appreciated being out of the center. - Internship: I love my company, Pod Group, and my coworkers, but I requested an "International Business" internship and actually received a marketing internship. I'm not pursuing a career in marketing, but the skills I learned at my internship are somewhat related to my interests of management, HR, and international studies, so it was still worthwhile. But know that you may not find your "perfect" internship! Also, my internship was entirely in English, which is both a pro and con, since it was very easy to understand my work, but I didn't get the full Spanish immersion I was hoping for. - Language Classes: My only complaint is that they were only for 2 weeks, because I loved them and I would have appreciated more! - Prepared Excursions: Although I made a lot of friends in Spain, it would have been nice to have a bi-weekly or monthly excursion with other interns! Seville doesn't get as many interns as Barcelona and Madrid, and it was hard to meet some of the interns (though the ones I did meet were wonderful!) I like having my independence, but it would have been nice to have more events - one free flamenco show was provided, and it was very fun! Overall, this experience was truly once in a lifetime and I would definitely recommend it to someone else! My biggest advise is to just be flexible and outgoing (I'm introverted, but I learned to be more extroverted here). Traveling to and living alone in a foreign country is no easy task, but I've grown professionally and personally and I can't wait to return to Seville in the future! I am very grateful to Adelante for making my dream summer come true.
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