Shadowing nurses in Sevilla
I signed up for Adelante Abroad as a way to have an immersive experience as an adult in my late thirties. I had previously spent three months living in Granada at an intensive language school, and this time I wanted something that felt more like truly living in the language. Adelante did an excellent job placing me in an internship. I'm in the process of transitioning from a career in tech to nursing, and they arranged a three-month hospital shadowing experience that was exactly what I was hoping for. Where Adelante fell short was in the housing placement. From the start, I clearly stated that I wanted a deeply immersive experience—that I wanted to engage as much as possible with the Spanish language and culture. My first homestay placement did not meet this expectation. The couple treated hosting as a business arrangement and more or less avoided interacting with me; we even ate in separate rooms. They also had another room open for foreign students, which was not disclosed to me. I requested a transfer and, given the short notice, accepted housing with another student from the U.S. Unfortunately, we had very different expectations. I was committed to speaking only Spanish, while she assumed everyone would speak to her in English. Adelante never mentioned that the homestay option might include sharing housing with other foreign students. Had I known, I would have found my own housing. I strongly recommend that, going forward, Adelante be more transparent about housing options. They should offer an option for applicants who are serious about language immersion to request a homestay with a family without other foreign students. I would have gladly paid more (within reason) for a full immersion experience.
Response from provider
Hi there Lauren and thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. We love helping candidates who are transitioning from one professional sector to another and who have been out of college for a while. You received excellent Evaluations from your Spanish Supervisors in your Medical Clinica placement with us and I know you learned quite a bit about the medical field during your time with us. Housing with a family, or homestay, is unique in that we cannot tell them who or when to rent any other rooms they have available (unlike in say a 3-bedroom apartment, we know exactly who is in which room, and for how long.) With a very tight housing market, if a family decides to rent another room to another student, they absolutely do not ask us for permission to do that! I am sorry you felt you weren’t heard, and that we were not clear enough that you could certainly find your own housing (which of course drops the price of the program, too.) Regularly we have candidates ask if they can provide their own housing, in all of our cities abroad, which is published on our website and also in the Pre Departure Orientation materials provided to you. We will underline and highlight those things moving forward, so this doesn’t happen again.
