Internships in Seville, Spain - Adelante Abroad

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.

My experience with adelante abroad was much different than I expected. I was excited to come to Seville with an already organized internship and plans for my 8 weeks here, however when I got here, my internship was not finalized. Even though I was told I would have an internship relating to my major, when I got here they told me my internship might not work out and were planning on putting me in an internship completely unrelated to my interests. Eventually I was able to do my initial internship, but didn’t allow me to do what I was expecting to do and I did not do what I was told I would. Additionally, adelante abroad was extremely disorganized and communicated very poorly. I felt very lost and uncertain on what I was supposed to be doing at first, if it weren’t for the friends I made here. The staff were very nice, but I just did not have the experience I paid for.

I had the best time in Sevilla. Working in the hospital was a fantastic learning experience, and exploring the rich Andalucía region led to endless adventures. Adelante offered support that allowed me to thrive in my internship while encouraging autonomy for an authentic abroad experience. From my coworkers in the hospital, to my roommates, to the many people I met throughout the city, I know I have made lifelong friends. I would recommend this program to anyone looking to take the next step in achieving their professional goals, or simply someone yearning for a unique adventure.

My experience with Adelante was definitely a good one. Not perfect, but good. The internship placement in the clinic was really awesome except that sometimes the director didn't want to listen to us and it lead to a few misunderstandings. But throughout the week when we were just working everything was awesome. Lots of hands on experience, lots of opportunities to learn new things. And the nurses and doctors there were so nice and really good at their jobs. I was continually impressed by them. I loved that our hours were monday-thursday as well because it gave us more time to travel and explore on the weekends. Our living quarters were pretty average. The bathroom was renovated, and the location was actually perfect, the neighborhood was super safe. Obviously it's not a USA luxury apartment but all things considered it was a good place to live. Usually if something broke or we had a problem they were able to help us out pretty quickly. The actual Adelante program itself was honestly much more independent than I expected, which was not a bad thing. They checked in every once in a while but honestly it felt like I was really living there by myself. Definitely a good way to gain experience adulting in another country haha. The only big complaint I would have with the program was communication. There were a number of details that weren't communicated to me at the beginning of the program like that I would have a specific uniform or little things like that. They would also often text us saying they were going to have someone come to the apartment for maintanence but only give us like a 30 minute warning and we were all at work. They got a little frustrated at that but honestly, we did to. We came to work, what can we say if we're not home at 11am. Anyway, besides the communication issues, it really was an amazing program. I learned and experienced sooooo much and I will never forget my time in Spain. If you're wondering whether or not it's worth it -- it is.

There were a lot of positives from this experience. I was able to work closely with doctors in a way that I had not previously experienced. This gave me a great way to learn, and I was also able to see a lot of different medical cases. However, this was not very hands-on at all, and the program director in Sevilla refused to listen to what we were saying regarding our college majors. So had he been willing to hear us out, we could have gotten a better chance to do more tasks. But besides that, everything else at the clinic was cool.

Meeting new friends from all over the US and overseas was a unique experience. Meeting people from Seville was lovely too! The culture, the food, and the beauty of the city are amazing. Having the opportunity to internship abroad is quite an experience, knowing Spanish but learning new words and of course, another pronunciation was fascinating. Adelante abroad in Sevilla answered all of my questions when I had one, they were very helpful and friendly as well. While in Seville, I also had the opportunity to travel around Europe.

I was put in a place to succeed even with very little prior Spanish skills, Adelante was very accommodating throughout the process! Everything about the program was great: the 2-week Spanish course, the internship, the housing and of course the wonderful city itself all made for a perfect experience. I highly recommend this program to anyone that loves to travel, would like the chance to immerse themselves in a new culture, or even simply someone looking for meaningful work experience (though I guarantee you will get more out of your time here than that!)

I absolutely loved my experience living in Sevilla through the Adelante Abroad program. This is not your typical study abroad program in which they hold your hand throughout the entire process. You are expected to be completely independent and self-sufficient, and the contacts that you have in your city are simply there for any questions or support that you may need. I loved the structure of the Adelante program because it enabled me to really immerse myself in the city like a local rather than only learning about the surface level/touristy aspects of Sevilla. The only Americans that I interacted with in my 3 months were my roommates and of the friends I made were from all around the world. I don't know of another program where I would have had the opportunity to completely make my own experience.

The simplicity of the program (in which they find you housing and internship placement and then leave you on your own) is also what makes this one of the most affordable abroad experiences. My university has a 5-week program in Sevilla that was 3 times the cost of Adelante and not half as immersive. That being said, if you are planning on doing an Adelante Internship you should be aware that the lack of structure in the program means you have to figure out everything on your own--food, travel logistics, budgeting, safety, socializing, etc. Your program is completely what you make of it, so make sure you are prepared to be pushed way out of your comfort zone. For me, this was the perfect program and if I could go back in time I would have done the exact same program over again.