Intern Abroad in Valencia, Spain with WorldStrides

I completed my internship in Valencia at a company called SingularStays. They manage the processes related to renting to make things easier for the owners. Many people staying at their apartments are travelers, but they also have longer-term guests. They list their units on their website, in addition to sites like Airbnb and Booking.com. I helped them with various administrative tasks and collected and delivered apartment keys. I’m interested in pursuing a career in the travel industry, and this internship aligned well with that. In addition to interning, I had plenty of time to explore Valencia and travel to various other places in Europe. The ISA on-site staff were friendly and made sure to look out for the safety and well-being of participants. They also organized optional activities and trips. My favorite day trip with them was to Gandia. We went to the beach and had the opportunity to do water activities as well. The activities are also a great way to meet other ISA participants. They also ran an optional paid overnight trip to Barcelona, offering it on two different weekends during my program. The apartment I was placed in was in a great location. I was only about a 15-20 minute walk from the city center, and my internship was also near the city center. I was also only about an 8-minute walk from the nearest metro station, which had a line directly to Valencia Airport. However, an important thing to keep in mind is that air conditioning is not as common throughout Europe as it is in the United States, and it was very hot in Valencia during the summer. For the most part, I had no issues with this as I had a fan in my bedroom, and I was lucky enough that the living room had air conditioning. The apartment was also a little bit worn, and I saw a lizard several times. The first time was on my first night living there, and one of my flatmates captured it and let it out. The second time I saw a lizard was towards the end of my program, and it hid away fairly quickly. While the lizard was harmless, seeing it was still unsettling. Despite this “startling” start, I had a fantastic time abroad in Valencia and in Europe, and it was the best summer of my life! I enjoyed my time abroad so much that I decided to do an exchange program with my university in the UK this past spring, which allowed me to continue my growth and excitement for travel that my program in Valencia helped ignite!

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I had the best summer of my life, and I would highly recommend doing a program abroad if you have the opportunity. In addition to interning, I had plenty of time to explore Valencia and travel to various other places in Europe. The ISA on-site staff were friendly and cared about the safety and well-being of participants. They also organized optional activities and trips. And they ran an optional paid overnight trip to Barcelona on two weekends. The apartment I was placed in was in a great location. I was only about a 15-minute walk from my internship and 15-20 minutes from the city center. I was also only about an 8-minute walk from the nearest metro station, which had a line to the airport. However, the apartment was worn, and it was a little disappointing that it only had air conditioning in the main living/dining area. For the most part, I did not have any issues with this. There was a fan in my bedroom, but I don't think all the fans in the apartment worked. I hear that air conditioning is less common in Europe than it is in the United States, so that is something to keep in mind in case that may be an issue for you. It was also very hot in Valencia during the summer. Additionally, there were two known instances of a lizard in the apartment. The first time there was a lizard was on the first night we were there, and I worried about what else might have been hiding there.

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I loved the whole setup of the program. It was nice having an internship during the day and then the opportunity to experience the city in our free time. The placement of my group and the activities available allowed me to not only get close to the people in my group but meet locals as well. It would have been nice to hear about bigger group activities further in advance so we did not waste money on other plans. Other than that, I really appreciated how involved and helpful ISA was throughout the summer.