Definitely worth it!

I was very hesitant to do a program like this but I am so happy I did! From the beginning, the Adelante staff was nothing but helpful. I had over a million questions and I am pretty sure I emailed Jeramee about 5 times a day and she replied every single time. They keep you updated (and calm) while you're in the states and continuously check in while you're abroad. The staff in Madrid is awesome as well and will always help if you need anything. For the first two weeks you're in language classes for about 4 hours a day which may seem long but they are necessary. I was slightly annoyed because I thought I wouldn't need two weeks of Spanish classes considering I took Spanish for 3 years but I definitely needed them. The teachers are great and the classes improve your Spanish, I wish I could have taken them the entire time I was here. The only critique I have is the housing situation. For me, I was only there for 6 weeks so I sucked up and dealt with it but others have been here for months at a time and it's not really fair. The room wasn't entirely clean when I arrived and the bathroom was dirty and had a few bugs so a flat mate and I had to clean it. Also it says there's a maid but there isn't so don't expect new sheets or someone cleaning the floors, it's all you. But that has nothing to with program, it's the people running the school. However, the apartment is located in the heart of Sol so you're close to everything: food, shops, metro, school and entertainment. It's also pretty easy to make friends because most people are doing this program alone. I made friends that I know I'll have for a lifetime. And as for the best part of my experience: the internship. I would NEVER have been able to get an internship like the one I have here in America. I was able to get hands on experience, work with an amazing foundation and meet the kindest people. I know I'll still remain in contact with them in the future.

Overall, I highly recommend this program. The staff, the location, the experience, it's all worth it. I feel like I grew a lot as a person through this program and learned from talented professionals. The other nice thing about this intern abroad program is you're not working all day everyday so you have plenty of time to explore the city as well as other cities which I recommend as well. If you want to do something for yourself that will benefit your professional, academic and personal life, this is the program for you.