The Barcelona SAE Summer Internship program is a great experience for young students looking to expand their horizons and have an experience like none other. Because of the nature of this Study Abroad Experience is different than any other Study Abroad because it is an internship instead of classes. This experience is not only letting me fall more in love with Spain, but also is giving me valuable and unique job experience.

I decided to use Barcelona SAE to give myself an opportunity to work abroad. I wanted to see what the tourism and hospitality industry was and how to run it effectively. I decided to pay extra to live with a Spanish family to further use my Spanish that I had been studying for a long time.

I was assigned to work with a hostel booking agency and I was excited to learn more about the company and what my responsibilities would be. I was disappointed that all they expected of me was to write blogs in English about places I had never been to. I mentioned that I was fluent in Italian and they had me translate parts of those webpage into Italian. I felt frustrated that I was not learning anything about the hospitality industry and I was bored as I listened in to conversations between my coworkers in Catalan.
Perhaps the bar was set low by the previous interns. After all it was explained to me near the end of my internship that I was the first intern they had ever had that spoke Spanish. My internship was overall a waste of money as I learned little since I could have done all of the tasks required of me from my home and the educational part of the internship was never apparent even though I was friends with my coworkers and we got along well.

It should be noted that I did contact Barcelona SAE and they helped me get more responsibility but the improvement was minimal.

I don't really know who is to blame for this, it could be me for having higher expectations from a 20 hour a week internship. Or it's just the fact that I went to Spain for the internship, not for Spain.
My living arrangements were okay. My bedframe was literally held together by tape. It didn't break at any point, luckily. I didn't expect air conditioning since I had lived in the Mediterranean for two years and I know it's a luxury item. But I did expect a fan. I had to ask for one once summer hit full force. The fan given to me was the size of my fist. It was a small room (at 5'6" I'm not tall but I barely had room to do push-ups) but the entire time I was there there was a larger fan that was not available for me to use because it was "dirty". I offered to clean it myself but they said I couldn't use it. Also, the son of the family who lived accros the hall from me smoked like a chimney for the first two or three weeks. I had to ask them to stop. I shouldn't have to ask as that is one of our rules for our host families.
Our breakfast and dinners were provided for us by our hosts but we had to fend for ourselves for lunches. I was allowed to store some things in the fridge but not allowed to use anything in the kitchen to cook. I like to cook. I could have saved a lot of money were I able to use the kitchen.
I had roommates that lived with me in the place and I would say that they were the highlights of my experience. We went places together and spent time together. We were good friends.

Barcelona SAE allowed me to work abroad and submerge myself in the politics, culture, and social scene of a different country. It was truly wonderful to have a group of people help you find an internship customized to you as well as set up all accommodations so that my time once I got to Barcelona could be used as efficiently as possible. The help from the team allowed me to venture on my own and have my own independent experience as well as choose times to bond with other people on the trip; it was the perfect mix of the independence of solo travel and the security of knowing you have someone to help should something come up. I had such an enriching experience and would recommend it to anyone looking to go abroad.

It took a bit of time for my friends, and I to become accustom to life in another country. The first few weeks were tough due to the life style change. Don’t let this comment deter you from experiencing life in another country. It’s helped me to come a more cultured, and well-rounded individual— not to mention employers like to see this sort of experience on a resume. It shows that you have the ability to adapt to diversity which is a very attractive quality.

We often travelled on the weekends. We would pack light, and use low cost airlines like EasyJet, or Ryanair. Flying allowed us to have the maximum amount of time to enjoy our trips to other countries. Trains are nice, but they don’t take you from point A to point B in enough time to experience your destination before work the following Monday.

Overall, this program was great. The housing location was ideal, and there were company representatives on call for emergencies, to answer simple questions, or to give advice. I highly recommend this program for any college student that wants to experience life in another country.

Blaugrana al vent
un crit valent
tenim un nom el sap tothom:
Barça, Barça, Baaarça!

This was my first time over seas and I can truly say it has completely changed my perception of the world and has given me a better appreciation and perspective on my life. Studying abroad not only allows you to see the world, it also allows you to see yourself through a new lens. I learned that I love well seasoned food, like Barcelona's Paella for example is to die for! I also learned that I truly feel my best when I am exploring and doing new things. I fell in love with traveling and getting to learn about different cultures. I wish I could have stayed longer... One piece of advice I'll give that I wish I did in the very beginning of my trip was to maintain a open mind about everything. When it comes to doing something new or trying something new as long as it is safe say yes to it! You can only learn and grow from the experience.

Summer of 2017 I interned in Barcelona, Spain. This was one of the best experiences I could have asked for. I really wanted to be immersed into a different culture; I have a Spanish minor so I really wanted to be in a Spanish-speaking environment. My main goals were to be a better Spanish speaker, be more confident in the business world, and gain knowledge of different cultures. After my two-month internship, I truly believe I reached all of my goals through my internship in Spain.

Not only that but I learned to be a better version of my self. This type of experience really pushed me to be a stronger, more independent version of who I am. I think that this experience, interning abroad, really gave me the confidence to believe that I can now conquer anything.

CEA Study Abroad provided so much support and guidance when I first began the process of applying for the internship. The onsite staff were all so wonderful and friendly that it made me feel right at home. This program was very organized from the seminar to finding us the right internship placements.

This experience has changed me for the better and is something I would recommend for anyone to take advantage of! You will learn so much more about yourself, culture and the world.