Program Reviews

I came to live in Madrid for 3 months. I did an internship that involved teaching Spanish children English, which was very rewarding as I knew that what I was doing was benefitting these children. I have made friends with people from around the world, greatly improved my Spanish and have seen so many amazing things in Spain. During my time in Spain, I also travelled to different cities such as Segovia, Barcelona and Toledo. I highly recommend visiting other cities during your time in Spain. Living in Spain has given me invaluable life skills as I was living on my own for the first time, meaning I had to cook, clean and food-shop for myself. Coming to live in Spain for 3 months was the best decision I have ever made, and it has been an unforgettable life experience!

Interning abroad with Adelante was the experience of a lifetime. I interned as a mechanical engineering student at a creative coworking lab called Makerspace where I got to collaborate on innovative projects using 3D printers, laser cutters, and other cool tools with my coworkers in the lab. I also had the wonderful experience of leading a workshop in Spanish on 3D design in SolidWorks. My coworkers were extremely welcoming and made a strong effort to help me navigate Chilean culture and traveling as well as spending time with me outside of work! I learned a lot with their help and improved my Spanish exponentially, even though Chilean Spanish is quite strange. COVID definitely had a negative impact on the experience, as it made travel difficult and made half of my time at the internship virtual. Also, there were very few participants in the program, so it was a struggle to find friends to do things with. Nonetheless, the experience was overall very rewarding, and I highly recommend this program.

My time abroad was such a great experience! I was really happy with my psychology internship placement where I learned a lot! I was able to work with some of the top Psychiatrists and Psychologists in Madrid. With my placement, I was also able to travel to a lot of other places in Europe. My housing placement was perfect as it was right in the center of Madrid. The lifestyle and nightlife in Madrid were super fun, I could not recommend and city and country to study abroad more! I only wish I was able to spend more time abroad, everything was perfect!

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 spent three months in Oaxaca studying psychology. Understandably, this is a difficult discipline to study as an intern due to the often confidential nature of the work. Despite this, I felt that the program coordinator Carlos did a great job connecting me with local psychologists to learn, assist with presentations, practice Spanish, observe therapy sessions, and even lead sessions on my own. I wanted to learn what it would be like to work as a psychologist and I feel Adelante helped me reach this goal. I also was afforded plenty of time and flexibility to travel throughout Oaxaca and to spend time with my brilliant housemates. The language courses were much-needed and I felt much more prepared going into my work placement having that introduction. The best part of this experience for me was the housing placement. Myself and the girls I lived with were placed with an extremely hospitable family from Oaxaca. Talking with them was the best practice I had for my Spanish. They were also some of the most pleasant people I have met and I felt they really embraced me as part of the family.

If you are thinking of traveling with adelante, I recommend it. It was extremely affordable compared to other programs I have seen. The process was as stress-free as possible, from the pre-departure materials and interviews, the arrival and integration with language classes, and the departure, everything was well-organized. It was also important to me to have independence and to be able to tailor the program to my goals, and this was fulfilled. Everyone I worked with from Adelante was pleasant and helpful. If I decide to study away again, I will likely choose adelante.

If you are thinking of traveling to Oaxaca, also, I recommend it. Some of the best food I’ve had on my travels, some of the kindest people I’ve met, and some of the best places to visit, from the vibrant city to the ruins to the mushroom mountains and to the beaches on both sides. One could spend a lot of time studying and traveling Oaxaca, and by the end, they will want to make it home. Carlos was great as a program coordinator. If you have any concerns about speaking Spanish, I entered the program knowing a decent amount of Spanish but mostly unable to communicate at all with native speakers without great trouble. Through the classes and being integrated I quickly grew in confidence and was able to communicate much more clearly.

if you have any specific questions about the program you want to ask a former participant, I am happy to chat. My email is Jacob.gerber@alumni.furman.edu. Bon voyage.

This was the best experience in the entire world! The staff at adelante and the staff here in Madrid have been so amazing throughout my entire 6 months in Spain. Adelante had stayed in touch and continually checked in on how I was doing. And the best part, the help from the connections in Madrid have been what has made this experience so amazing. From the language school to the AMAZING internship placement, I could not say any bigger thanks to Angel and everyone else here in Madrid.I am very thankful for this opportunity and think that everyone who is considering it should go for it!

Adelante went above and beyond with helping me file for my visa and any other documents. They were very straight forward about pricing, and I was very happy about my internship and housing placement. From your first phone call to your final day in Spain, they will help you with any problem that might arise. They made the visa process very simple for me and even helped me get college credit for my legal internship abroad. They have excursions that you can take a part of, and you will meet amazing people through those excursions and events!

I did a legal internship in Oaxaca for three months with Adelante and it was an incredible experience. I made lifelong friends both from the program and locals. I was extremely happy with my internship placement and the family I lived with. My spanish has definitely improved and it really helped with my university application and I will definitely be returning to Oaxaca!
I learnt so much from my internship which will help me in my career but also had enough freedom to get to know the city and do other activities as well as learn new hobbies and develop other interests.

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 really enjoyed my time abroad in Seville and especially at UPO! My host mother was wonderful and Seville is a fantastic place to live. Everything is within walking distance or easily accessible by the metro, and it's very safe (even at night). There are a couple of things I wish I had known before coming, though - international students typically don't take classes with Spanish students and are actually on a different semester schedule, so although there is the opportunity for language exchange partners, it was a lot harder to actually be immersed in Spanish than I expected. Additionally, the add/drop dates for classes are very short, only 1-2 days of class, so it's hard to switch Spanish classes if you end up in the wrong level. That being said, all of my professors were wonderful and we also had Fridays off every week, which meant we were able to travel much more easily!

Adelante did give us the wrong semester dates during the summer, which meant I had to switch my flights after coming to Spain, but they did send me a refund for those additional costs. However, they also recommended that students not apply for visas after the semester dates had been extended, which I was uncomfortable with given that we stayed past the 90 days allowed for tourists. I ended up getting a student visa regardless and am glad that I did (and would also recommend future students to do so)! It's also worth noting that a couple of things advertised on Adelante's website or in the orientation packet didn't end up happening, like the first-week meeting with the on-site director.

A couple of other things to note are that the 2 meals provided are usually either breakfast and lunch or breakfast and dinner, so I would definitely recommend bringing a container or two for lunch and some packable utensils. Meals at the cafeterias are around $5, so although they're decently cheap on occasion, they're less affordable on a daily basis. Seville also does get cold, so I would recommend packing warmer clothes! It stays a lot warmer than most of the US, but because a lot of buildings and home stays don't have much indoor heating, it can still be really cold indoors. Also, everything outdoors is built to channel wind so it stays cool enough during the summer - which is great, but means the fall/winter can be freezing if you're outside!