This summer I was in Madrid for my one-month internship, working at an English summer day camp for children aged 4-16. My experience in Madrid was a very positive one!
In terms of accommodation, the apartment was nice and considering there were 6 people living there it was actually surprisingly spacious! I didn't get to meet a lot of my flatmates because we all had internships during the day, and other things to do so we didn't see each other that often (and I was also only there for one month), but the people I met were great and I'm planning to see them in the future! The apartment was also right in the centre, in Sol, so getting both to the Eureka Spanish Academy and work (and even the airport!) was very straightforward and the metro in Madrid works amazingly. Overall, the apartment gave me the freedom of my own room with the possibility of still socialising with others which is the perfect mix!
The classes offered at Eureka were one of the highlights of my trip! The teachers were absolutely phenomenal and in such a short space of time, my Spanish improved significantly! The people attending the classes changed more or less every week, with new people arriving and others leaving from all across the globe. It was wonderful meeting all of those people and it was sad when we had to say our goodbyes.
As for my internship, being there for one month, I only had the option to teach English, which isn't related to my future career plans per se but was none the less a magnificent experience! It was my first time ever interning, and I was also in a foreign country, but the company I worked with was fantastic! The staff were very welcoming and friendly, and by the end of the first week I had already gotten the hang of how the day camp was run. The children were adorable and they definitely put a smile on my face that I carried with me for the rest of the day! Though I was nervous at first, the final experience was 100% worth it!
As for the city, well Madrid is just beautiful! It can't be expressed it words really, you simply have to try it out for yourself!
What would you improve about this program?
If there is anything that could be improved it would be the one-month option of teaching English. It would have been better if I had gotten a chance to do something related to my future career choice but I understand that for just one month it is hard to find an internship, especially if, like in my case, I hadn't had any previous working experience.
A paid-for taxi for the return flight would have been nice, as there is a paid for one on arrival, but the metro worked fine nonetheless.
Lastly, the program is a bit on the expensive side, especially for an internship seeing as you're not getting paid, but for what the program offered I can understand that the money went to good use. It's just that a little cheaper would have been better.
Response from Adelante Abroad
Thank you Jessica for the wonderful review and all the time you took to write it! Just two points I'd like to address here: 1) your boredom at the workplace. We make it a point to check in with our candidates via email and Whats App, about every four days or so. In those checking-in emails we ask about your internship, among other things, so that if there is any issue we can step in to assist. Usually one phone call from our Director can help with an internship boredom issue, if we would have known about it! And 2) cost of your Spanish classes. Part of this program is the Intensive Spanish Language Course, for 4 hours per day, 5 days per week for the first two weeks you are in-country, to get you prepped for your internship. The price is the same for all Adelante candidates. There are many international students at the same language school, not in the Adelante program, doing different programs or just taking classes during their time in Barcelona. A six week course will be a different price than a two week course; one on one classes also have different pricing; some take classes in the morning and in the afternoons. There is an entire menu of options for other students, not Adelante candidates, at that language school. Adelante candidates all take the same course and pay the exact same amount.
(Last thing - the beach apartment where you lived is a bit far from the tourist center, but we like it because it is close to the beach! Some of our apartments have washing machines and some do not. Most candidates just do their own laundry at a laundry mat if they are in housing with no washing machine)
Thank you again and stay in touch - Team Adelante