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!

I was so excited to be going and spending a summer in a new country, improving my Spanish and adding some new skills to my resume. However, the internship I was placed in had almost no relation to any of my future career goals or my academic track. I was assured that my offer would be perfect for me when I expressed skepticism but trusted ISA and accepted the position nonetheless. This was a mistake as I picked up zero new skills from my internship and was bored most of the time because I completed tasks too quickly. Many of my friends were also disappointed in their internship assignment whether it was a bad placement, weird hours, or that it was an hour train out of the city. The housing they provide is subpar, not terrible it was livable but they could do a much better job when screening their host families. My host family made fun of my roommate almost every day because she struggled with Spanish.

Valencia was an incredible city and the friends I made were incredible and I cherish the adventures we shared. But the summer was not worth even half of what I paid for it. I don’t even list it on my resume unless I have extra room to fill in extra activities. I was extremely disappointed in the lack of support and activities from ISA as well. I recommend you spend a summer in Valencia but do NOT go through ISA if you do.