I came into this program with a handful of professional and personal goals, and I'm happy to say I achieved all of them!
Professionally, I wanted an internship in Madrid in order to get first hand experience in an office setting, with all of the challenges that come with that. I definitely got that, and I feel like these challenges have both made me more responsible and given me the confidence to say that I could work in a similar setting for future jobs. And while the work was challenging, my coworkers were all very welcoming, patient, and knowledgeable, so I never felt like I was performing badly or holding someone back.
Personally, I was very excited to experience Madrid's culture for myself! I wasn't disappointed: the food was delicious and surprisingly international, the public transportation was easy to navigate and made even the surrounding cities feel very accessible, and the nightlife, while I didn't explore it too much myself, I saw enough to say that it was far from lacking.
Overall, I'm very happy I decided to go, and I advise any interns going soon to make the most of the experience. 6 weeks seems like a lot before you arrive, but it went by in a flash: I could easily see myself having stayed 2 more weeks!
If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I'd definitely bring more casual/loose clothing. I was very overdressed my first week, and I had to buy more clothes in order to fit the more casual office standard as I adjusted to it.