IES Internships - Barcelona Summer Internship

About 13 years ago, my family and I moved to the United States as refugees. Growing up, I've always wanted to work for a non-profit that focused on refugees and migrants. That is why I chose Global and International Studies as my major, and it's been the best decision. Getting the opportunity to go to Spain was unbelievable for me. As an intern at Bienestar y Desarrollo Association, which is Spanish for Welfare and Development Association, I received a very warm welcome since the first day, and never felt like I did not belong there. As the first non-Spanish speaker to be hired as an intern, it was an honor and I also never felt like an outcaste or out of the loop. Co-workers who did not speak English would still greet me and make me feel very comfortable. That is what I appreciated the most. The work environment was very comforting, which made communicating much better and easier. I was never scared to ask for help or anything. Through all the professional work, coffee breaks, and simply speaking with other co-workers, without a doubt, I grew both personally and professionally at ABD. As an intern, in many places, you can end up having to do the same task for a very long time, which gets very boring and tedious. However, I was given various tasks, and that allowed me to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. Some of the things I had to do were new to me, but was very educational. It was interesting because the tasks mainly depended on the project that was being created at the time or the main focus, and so my responsibilities include, but not limited to, searching for possible funding opportunities in the EU, possible partners for collaboration, assisting with creating projects (Food Relations and COOLtoRISE), and proofreading/revising documents. Also, because the work environment was much more relaxed as opposed to the US, where everything is more scheduled and at ABD, it was more at flow, I was able to find my pace and work comfortably. I was able to get a lot of tasks completed. I am very proud of all the work that I did, and I hope that my work was very beneficial and helpful to the organization. The two months I spent in Spain were definitely amazing and Barcelona will always have a special place in my heart.

My experience studying abroad this past summer in Barcelona, Spain was the most amazing thing I have done so far in my lifetime. I had always wanted to study abroad and did not know it was possible for many reasons. With the help of my advisors at my home institution and my family, I was able to make this dream a reality and the rest is history! I learned so much from this experience and felt myself grow as an individual each and every day. I went abroad alone, but quickly after touching down in Spain I made life-long friends and memories I will never forget. I don't have any complaints from this experience, everything about it was amazing. The staff at IES were my family, and were there for me each and every day. They were our friends, but at the same time respected people that I knew I could go to for help. I traveled to other amazing places on the weekends with the friends I made in my roommates, who quickly became my support system. While I was abroad, my best friend's brother passed away, and I also sprained my ankle badly and had to miss out on some days at my internship. I faced hardship during those months, but my support system in my roommates and the staff at IES were the reason I was able to get through. I learned so much about the world, and about culture and more importantly, that there was nothing I could not do! There is no better organization to study abroad with, or a better city to study in than IES and Barcelona. I will never forget the memories made there, the places I visited or the people I met. GO ABROAD!! It'll be the best decision you'll ever make.

The 2 months I spent in Barcelona were some of the best in my entire life. I was able to get a great balance of working, exploring the city, and meeting new people. I would highly recommend Barcelona as a city to study abroad in. There is so much to do there that it is impossible to get bored.

Take me back to early Sunday mornings strolling through barrio Les Corts for hours on end. Take me back to typical 9PM dinners with my host mom as my roommates and I fought over that pasta of hers we fell in love with. Take me back to Parc de la Ciutadella, where I never failed to find the perfect bench facing away from the Barcelona sun and crack a book open until the sun began to set. Take me back. Of course I fell in love with Barcelona. Everyone warned me that I would. “If you leave, you’ll never want to come back,” they said. And they were right! I was certain that Barcelona would leave an unforgettable impression on me. I had been dreaming of this trip since I was fifteen. So when April came along and I thought of my time abroad coming to an end, I could not bare to say goodbye just yet. I hadn’t seen all I needed to see or met quite enough strangers that soon turned into life-long friends. More importantly, I did not feel like I had left even the slightest mark on the city that had left a permanent mark on me. It was my turn to give back a little of the magic that I had been lucky enough to receive. That’s where Make-A-Wish Spain came in. When given the opportunity to extend my stay in Barcelona, from the Spring 2016 IES Study Abroad Program to the Summer 2016 IES Internship Program, it was one of the easiest decisions I had ever made. Each and every member of the IES Barcelona staff made me feel confident in my ability to pursue yet another three-month journey in this city — with them as my academic gurus and unwavering moral support system, of course. Ana and Maria, coordinators of the IES Barcelona Internship Program, reviewed my résumé, cover letter, and career goals and thought I was great fit for Make-A-Wish Spain, a nonprofit organization aimed at granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. I learned so much from my time at Make-A-Wish Spain. I had the pleasure of working alongside some of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met as they taught me the beauty and the power that lay within each child’s wish. I worked in multiple departments such as Social Work, Communications, and Fundraising and even had the chance to work with a few wish-kids and families. In all honesty, that was my favorite part of this experience — seeing how one child’s wish can turn into a whole family’s source of hope, strength, and joy. After seven months of immersing myself in the Spanish culture and three months of working towards this beautiful cause, I said a heartfelt “see you later” to those spontaneous strolls through my neighborhood, dinners with my host mom, afternoons at the park, and 9-2 shifts at Make-A-Wish Spain. It was difficult accepting the fact that my time here was up. Though brief, it taught me more about myself than any other experience I have been fortunate enough to have. After studying abroad, we admit to finding new versions of ourselves — independent and adventurous versions that may have been hiding within us all along. That’s one half of my seven-month "self-discovery” process. Finding the other half, the one now guiding my life choices and career path, was all thanks to the IES Study Abroad/Internship Program and Make-A-Wish Spain. Without them, I would not have found my passion for nonprofit work. I’ll never be able to thank them enough for changing my life the way they did. I only hope that more students get the opportunity to study and intern abroad through IES Barcelona, and that in doing so, they learn not only about this beautiful city but about themselves as well.

As I struggled to get off the plane when first landing in Spain, I could not bare to leave once boarding to head back to the states. Espana had taken a toll on me and I loved it. The city is full of color and culture. Reminding me more and more of my Indian culture and my home and favorite city, Chicago. I knew there would be changes in the two but I was up for the challenge. I had no problem in the process along the way as the IES team does a great job of being responsive and communicates what they need with deadlines to keep you on track. I had a different case being in graduate school but everything worked smoothly. Aja was a great help. I did not know what to expect living away from home but being able to live with a homestay made life so much easier. Actually, better than home as laundry was taken care of, Breakfast and Dinner prepared and the willingness to teach the Spanish language to us always. I would like to say that Barcelona is a great city to tour and be in as there is so much to see and so much great food around. To add, it is the best of the beaches and land. Very clear waters and a relaxed environment. I love the relaxed environment people live by in Spain and eases the pressure that comes along from America. I recommend anyone traveling and thinking about to be in Barcelona. It is the happening city and going with IES, they help assimilate into every aspect from homestay to weekend trips and even weekly events to get to know the people.

I had always wanted to travel to Barcelona, Spain since I was young and IES Abroad offered the perfect opportunity for me get the most out my abroad experience in Barcelona. I wasn't sure about being abroad for an entire semester, so the 2 month option through IES Internships was a perfect amount of time to truly experience the Barcelona culture. I took the 1 credit internship as well as a Spanish class. I would work for most of the day and then go to Spanish (Spanish was only for half of the two months). I am a marketing major at Clemson University, and through IES Internships, I was matched up with a company to do their social media. Doing an internship abroad was a once in a lifetime experience. It taught me skills such as communication across cultures, independence, a strong work ethic, and the ability to work with people from all over the world. Barcelona is a beautiful, lively city never with a shortage of something to do. It really has everything you could ever want while traveling abroad. There was some of the best food I have ever had and there was so much history and beautiful architecture to take in. I can't forget to mention the exciting social scene. Barcelona was some of the most fun times I have had going out. I highly recommend doing an internship in Barcelona through IES Abroad because you get to experience a new, exciting culture as well as gain real world work experience that will differentiate you from others.

Unlike a typical "study abroad" experience, I had an internship in Barcelona, Spain during the summer through IES Abroad. At first I was unsure what I would be able to do for studying abroad because my school at home university is so strict for transferring credits for my major in the communications field from study abroad, especially for internships. In the end I decided the experience of an internship abroad heavily outweighed getting the credits for my degree. I fell in love with Barcelona from the first night I was there. As someone who had traveled abroad for family vacations multiple times prior to my study abroad experience, I was excited to stay somewhere for an extended period of time (2 months) and be able to essentially live among the locals. I lived in an apartment, on Gran Via de les Corts, one of the main streets that runs through the city, with three other Americans on the IES Abroad program and we all had one RA who also lived with us. Being able be independent in regards to living really helped me get to know the city because I had to figure out the public transportation system to get everywhere I needed to go, whether it be my internship, class, grocery shopping or touring the city. Working in Barcelona definitely posed some challenges for me as an American college student, but none that I wasn't able to navigate around by myself. I absolutely loved my internship experience because I felt like a part of the company I worked for, not an intern. I focused all summer on tasks relevant to my field (marketing) and was able to learn a lot about the company during my time there. I never felt like I was forced to be doing things I didn't want to and generally enjoyed working there from day to day. I was lucky enough to work with another IES Abroad student at my internship and that helped relieve some of the anxiety of being around people I didn't know who spoke a language I wasn't fluent in. Being immersed in the Spanish and Catalonian culture for two months was the best part of my time abroad. I don't remember ever being disappointed with the food I ate at restaurants, despite the fact that being a vegetarian in Barcelona is difficult. There are a lot of events gong on all around the city on any given day, so if you just explore the city you're bound to find something interesting. There are a lot of quaint parks scattered among the bustling of the city that are great places to go take a picnic, read a book or do some homework. Whether you're into shopping, the beach, the nightlife or the tourist attractions, there is so much to do in Barcelona, you won't know what to do first!