Adelante Abroad

As my time in Spain is quickly coming to an end, it has made me reflect on my time abroad and appreciate all the memories I have made. For some context, I am doing a computer science internship in Seville, Spain, from January to May. When I first came out, I took 2 weeks of Spanish classes, which were fantastic. These classes quickly helped me make some friends and get used to living in Spain. After these classes, I started my internship at PCPaco, which was a fantastic experience. It was exactly the role I wanted for my career, teaching me tons. They also helped me explore more of the city and learn about all the holidays. I think that my favorite part of Seville is the people. Everyone I have met out at clubs and in general has been extremely friendly and patient. Admittedly, my Spanish was not amazing starting out, but everyone was patient with me and quickly helped me learn. Overall, 10/10 experience, and I definitely would recommend it to anyone wanting the experience of living abroad!

This is my first time studying abroad and I am so happy I chose this program. First, the price was more affordable than anything else I found in my month of searching! I was also able to get student aid which helped so much. Also the staff were so supportive and responsive to any issue I had both before/during the program and while in Sevilla. I personally took 4 classes which I thought was perfect! I had enough time to do well in my classes and also travel all around Europe. Also, taking all of my classes in Spanish skyrocketed my fluency and understanding. The classes themselves were very manageable in content and work load and I loved all my professors. The program advisors were reaching out often which made me feel secure as well. The only issue I had was with housing and everyone was so quick to help me and make sure I was doing well. The first house I was in was not a fit for me, even though she was such a sweet host. I also had a temporary apartment for a couple weeks which I loved so much. The location was perfect. The final housing I had was as a roommate in the same house as a host and her student. This was amazing for me because I had language/ cultural immersion, student company, and independence. Every student I spoke to loved this program as well.

To begin, I really enjoyed my time in Seville and I don't regret this experience. That being said, there were of course positives and negatives that others should be aware of. Starting with the good, Seville is a beautiful city with great nightlife and many sights to see. The people that I worked with from my marketing internship at the partner school, Spanish Institute for Global Education, were friendly and I always felt I could ask them any questions. I created lots of content for the social media, designed various promotional materials, and gained experience of what it's like to work in marketing. I also was able to travel on excursions with the school and had time to explore around Europe on my own. Now for the negative, my first internship I was contracted to pulled out once I was already in Spain. I ended up doing social media marketing for the school, so I did not experience the Spanish immersion that I had hoped for. I lived in an apartment with other English speakers, and my internship only had me come in two to three days of the week. I made friends with the students at the school, but they were all English speakers as well, and I didn't know how to meet Spaniards my age to help me be immersed. I would recommend staying with a host family so you have to speak in Spanish. With the housing, the apartment was generally nice, but my room had no window to the outside, it opened to the laundry room. There was also a smell of mildew from the bathroom that would never go away. It was just bad luck of where I was placed. I still appreciate the knowledge I gained here and the experience of living among a different culture.