Internships in Uruguay - Adelante Abroad

I loved the ability to explore Uruguay on my own terms, which I think is unique to this study abroad program. My internship placement at a law firm was perfect, and I had great exposure to Spanish coming back to the US nearly fluent. The beach was great and I felt safe the whole time.

A complaint worth noting -- the head of Adelante, Kimberly, was hesitant at first to let me do the program solely due to my mental health diagnoses. I have been fully stable for years, so it was extremely demeaning to hear my abilities be questioned based on these conditions (and I think that's illegal too?)

I spent 3 months in Uruguay, interning with a law firm in Punta del Este. The firm I interned with was the first firm to receive recognition for its continuous improvement and quality management by the National Institute of Quality (INACAL). It was an honor to collaborate with a firm with such recognition.

My internship placement was flexible, and the team communicated with me well. I received university credit for my internship. Accordingly, I had to meet an hour requirement. My firm was happy to accommodate my hours and fill out all forms I needed for the university.

As for Uruguay, it is a beautiful country. I have traveled to several countries in Latin America on multiple occasions, and my trip to Uruguay was the smoothest. Plus, the people were always willing to talk with me so that I could practice my Spanish.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience and would recommend it to anyone looking for a meaningful internship experience.

I completed Spanish courses and a social media and promotion internship with a Spanish language school in Maldonado, Uruguay right near Punta del Este. I lived in the school residence for 3 months. I loved the neighborhood and being so close to the beach!

The work environment I experienced was very flexible, which is a plus as I mostly made my own hours and worked from the garden of the school. The negative of this was that it sometimes lacked structure and feedback. I do think my language skills improved through writing in Spanish for posts and a newsletter as I was provided with corrections.

I also was able to meet other international travelers learning Spanish and speak with them, which was super interesting. The clientele of the school was mostly middle aged people and not so many university students, so that's something to keep in mind.

Uruguay is a beautiful country with a lot of different places to explore. My favorite weekend trips were to Colonia del Sacramento, a cobblestone street city lined with bright colored buildings, and Cabo Polonio, a secluded beach town with a lot of sea lions. I highly recommend coming to Uruguay!

I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to advance their spoken Spanish and who loves the outdoors to come to Uruguay! There is a lot to see and do! I had many adventures off-the-beaten-path here which is ideal with the current COVID climate. During my two-month stay, I never got bored. There was always something to do and see. Many cities and towns are 1-2 hours away (or less!) with their own distinct characteristics and uniqueness. I left feeling a lot of love for Uruguay. I plan to visit again in the near future to further explore areas and to reunite with friends I made during my trip!

Montevideo is an awesome city and Uruguay as a whole is a wonderful destination. Their culture is beautiful and I fell in love with all of the street art. However I felt 6 months was way too long of a time period. The city is small-ish and after two months I felt I had seen all there was to see. There are many beach towns up the coast that I would highly recommend traveling to. That being said Uruguay outside of their summer months is very bleak. My housing arrangements were with a family that I became very close with and felt like my own. For my internship I was given a lot of busy work. Things I felt to keep me occupied but didn't help or effect the company at all. I used my time there mostly to practice my speaking skills. My internship was my least favorite part of my trip.

Uruguay is a place like no other. I may have come here at the wrong time of year (it's winter), but if I hadn't I wouldn't have been able to work at a place that really enjoy.

I'm a college student, and most internships that are out there for people at this level just have you shredding papers and getting coffee. At International House I got the polar opposite. They had me observing classes, working with teachers, running workshops, and substitute teaching. I actually have teaching experience now, which is amazing and surprising from an unpaid internship. It helped that I'm a native English speaker, but they actually had me working and were using my abilities and asking for how I felt about the classes and what my feedback was about them. I actually felt like a valued member of the school. How often can you say that you feel valued at an internship?

Overall, it's been a great experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

My favorite part about my stay in Montevideo was perhaps my housing situation. I had the chance to live with and become close with people from Brasil, Germany, Denmark, the UK and Canada. And being connected to the Spanish school offered the opportunity to make even more international friends.

Favorite parts about the city:
6. Old VW Bugs
5. Street corner fruit stands - Drink in those colors!
4. Our neighborhood fería (weekend market)
3. The independent cinema network
2. Finding truth in the idiom "A city with the soul of a town"
1. The Rambla - there's city, city, and more city, and then there's the Rambla where the city meets the river (sea) where you can find a place to breathe / change your perspective

Favorite adventure: Visiting the Karumbé field station in Coronilla for the final days of their Spring session, and then making our way to Cabo Polonia (two busses, one hitch-hiked ride, and at least 10 miles of walking later... totally worth it).