Just go!

This summer in Medellin, Colombia has easily become one of the greatest summers I've had in years. Despite some negativity and concern from family and friends I arrived in Colombia with an open mind.

Intern Latin America does their best to take care of you from the moment you arrive providing you with a driver who picks you up and takes you straight to your accommodation. Within a few days you have an official introduction with the ILA team where they explain a few more things to know about Medellin. The team, along with the majority of people you'll meet in Colombia are extremely inviting, friendly and easy to get along with. Regardless of your Spanish level, many of the locals are both eager to help and patient enough to wait as you stumble along trying to make sense in their language. It's an excellent place to learn or perfect your Spanish, so take advantage of it!

Fortunately when I arrived there were already a few social events planned, mostly due to the World Cup games, which provided an opportunity to get to meet some of the other interns on the program. This was a huge plus as my roommates and I lived in a separate building and wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet any of the others prior to that event.

Medellin is an exciting and upbeat city, and getting to be there in the midst of the world cup madness was proof that Colombia has some of the most passionate, happy and welcoming people. There is always something to see or do in the city. Granted you do still have to be careful not to flaunt your wealth or act in a way that draws unnecessary attention, however I generally felt quite safe in the city. As with every city, there are good areas and areas to avoid, and this is no exception. The team does their part to warn you of these areas in your introduction.

My main intention of doing this program was to have an opportunity to develop my language skills, experience a new culture and meet many of the locals. For these reasons it was an excellent experience all around. My actual internship wasn't the most educational experience but that may have been due to not knowing how best to make the most of their interns. It was a little difficult to get time to see my boss or get any feedback on the work I was doing until it was a little to late. However, I will say that after communicating my concerns to the ILA team there was a noticeable improvement at work and an increased effort to involve me in more challenging projects.

On that note I found the Intern Latin America team to be extremely helpful and supportive. I think it's unrealistic to expect them to be able to solve every problem, however they do their best to assist in any way possible. They were a pleasure to work with and an absolute blast to get to know. In the end, as with any experience like this it all comes down to what you make of it. It's easy to forget that you are in a developing country because it is so beautiful, but be prepared to be flexible in your expectations in areas such as housing or work pace etc.

The program is on the upper end in terms of cost, but if you have the money I would most definitely recommend it. Travel around Colombia as much as possible, and spend more time out in the city talking to people than you do in your apartment and you will have a good time! Medellin is an absolutely beautiful and unique city and Colombia is a country that is so much more than its past.