Internships in Seville, Spain - Adelante Abroad

Meeting new friends from all over the US and overseas was a unique experience. Meeting people from Seville was lovely too! The culture, the food, and the beauty of the city are amazing. Having the opportunity to internship abroad is quite an experience, knowing Spanish but learning new words and of course, another pronunciation was fascinating. Adelante abroad in Sevilla answered all of my questions when I had one, they were very helpful and friendly as well. While in Seville, I also had the opportunity to travel around Europe.

I was put in a place to succeed even with very little prior Spanish skills, Adelante was very accommodating throughout the process! Everything about the program was great: the 2-week Spanish course, the internship, the housing and of course the wonderful city itself all made for a perfect experience. I highly recommend this program to anyone that loves to travel, would like the chance to immerse themselves in a new culture, or even simply someone looking for meaningful work experience (though I guarantee you will get more out of your time here than that!)

I absolutely loved my experience living in Sevilla through the Adelante Abroad program. This is not your typical study abroad program in which they hold your hand throughout the entire process. You are expected to be completely independent and self-sufficient, and the contacts that you have in your city are simply there for any questions or support that you may need. I loved the structure of the Adelante program because it enabled me to really immerse myself in the city like a local rather than only learning about the surface level/touristy aspects of Sevilla. The only Americans that I interacted with in my 3 months were my roommates and of the friends I made were from all around the world. I don't know of another program where I would have had the opportunity to completely make my own experience.

The simplicity of the program (in which they find you housing and internship placement and then leave you on your own) is also what makes this one of the most affordable abroad experiences. My university has a 5-week program in Sevilla that was 3 times the cost of Adelante and not half as immersive. That being said, if you are planning on doing an Adelante Internship you should be aware that the lack of structure in the program means you have to figure out everything on your own--food, travel logistics, budgeting, safety, socializing, etc. Your program is completely what you make of it, so make sure you are prepared to be pushed way out of your comfort zone. For me, this was the perfect program and if I could go back in time I would have done the exact same program over again.

The months leading up to my high school graduation were very difficult because I felt like I couldn't really decide where I wanted to go to school. I had always thought about taking a gap year and traveling. But the question was, how I could find a company that could fit my needs. I felt as though Adelante was a very fitting program for me. I was able to do an internship at a hospital. This gave me time to learn more about the medical field, learn Spanish, and get real world experience. Being interactive with patients and being able to enjoy being at work. I was able to learn more about nursing and be apart of the practice before diving straight into college after high school. Not only is there amazing internship opportunity but all aspects of the program. They set you up with housing. I was housed with a host mom and I highly recommend this to other people who are thinking about housing options. It gives you an insight on Spanish culture, you have to constantly speak Spanish(which only makes you better), someone who is there for you and can help you when you are lost about something. They are experts of Spain and are there to help you. It gave me a sense of security. Another amazing aspect is the first 2 weeks you are there, you go into a language school which helps you get a refresher of Spanish and will help you to be more confident in the Country you are in. The school also is an amazing opportunity to meet friends from all over the place. It was easy for me to make friends and spend time and study with some of these individuals. The culture and beauty of Sevilla is spectacular and definitely something that is worth experiencing. Meeting friends for tapas/dining around, walking throughout the beautiful city and the tiny streets, warm weather pretty much all year, and the welcoming environment. If someone asked me about studying/interning abroad in Sevilla, Spain... I would absolutely recommend it. I have recently just left Sevilla and I cant wait to go back and plan on visiting many times in my life. Sorry this post is long, but hopefully it helps you make a decision.

I had a wonderful experience interning in Sevilla with Adelante! Since my university study abroad office didn't have much flexibility, I was attracted to Adelante because they were able to offer a customized experience, both with my preferred internship field and the the amount of time I wanted to spend there. Being a computer science student, I wasn't sure if I would be able to find an internship that was applicable to my career path as an international short-term intern, but the job they found for me was great! I was treated almost as a full-fledged member of the software engineering team, which was great resume-building experience and I learned a ton. Even from my first over-the-phone interview with Adelante staff I was impressed with their experience and personal attention to each student.

Wow! I can officially say I've fallen in love with Seville, Spain, and Andalucia in general. I'm so grateful to Adelante Abroad for helping me have this incredible experience. The staff was very friendly and timely in helping me through the application and interview process, and the in-country contact, SIGE, was always around to answer my questions. I asked for an international business internship, but what I really received was a marketing internship. Although I wasn't able to gain experience in a field I'm interested in pursuing, I did gain some useful knowledge, although I did get lots of "intern" jobs like organizing and researching, which was expected but not necessarily great experience. However, my company was amazing because they were very accommodating with the fact I was visiting and would want to travel, and my coworkers were super friendly and funny. I also had unlimited free coffee and fruit, which was amazing. Something that was both a pro and a con is that my internship was in English. I wasn't proficient in Spanish, so it was good I could communicate with my coworkers and understand my tasks, however, my main goal was full Spanish immersion, so working for 5ish hours a day in English didn't help! And I didn't know the internship would be in English beforehand. However, if you are intentional about working on your language skills, there are a variety of other opportunities such as intercambios, language classes, and talking with locals (all of which I recommend). Overall, I did enjoy my internship - mostly because of the environment and the coworkers rather than the actual jobs I did - and I felt as if I did learn more about business!

Housing was a slightly different deal. First of all, I was in the neighborhood Los Remedios, which is very nice, but was a good 30 minutes by foot or bus to pretty much anything I did. However, public buses in Seville are great and easy to navigate, so that was a fun experience! Although I would have sometimes appreciated being in the city center, it was nice to live in a different area. The apartment itself was functional - private room, no AC (do NOT expect AC in Europe, but fans and strategically-timed adventures to air conditioned locations make it bearable) but I did have a fan (after a couple of weeks), a small kitchen (no stove), a small bathroom (with little hot water), and a small living area. A few things were broken, but my landlord was good at fixing them (he even bought a new toaster when I told him the old one was broken). However, my roommates were a bit of a mess. My landlord wasn't always great at communicating when new people would be arriving (I texted him first to ask if a new roommates would be replacing the old ones, and was told one was arriving the next day), nor did he tell me I would have a male roommate after the first two female roommates left. It would have been nice to know co-ed housing was possible. Two of the three roommates were perfectly fine and quiet, but one roommate didn't follow the house rules and brought several guys over, practiced flamenco dancing and singing loudly after 11pm, and never cleaned the kitchen. But roommates are always a gamble, so just be flexible! Honestly I mostly just slept in my apartment because there was so much to see and do in the city, so it didn't ruin my experience.

The language classes at Giralda were wonderful, and a great way to explore the city with the organized (but not always free) activities and a great way to make friends. I was sad they were only for 2 weeks, and I ended up taking more Spanish classes my last month at a different location (Sevilla Habla, near my internship) because I wanted to improve my Spanish. I highly recommend this, as it helped me make new friends after those I had already met left.

As far as the city itself, I 100% recommend interning in Seville! Barcelona and Madrid have the "big city appeal," but the Andalucia region is incredibly friendly and fun. And it's lively in its own way - most people stay out to between 2am-6am, although I don't recommend making a habit of that. Also, the city is very walkable (unlike Barcelona which is spread out and transportation is expensive) and there is so much to see for every person - theaters, shopping (literally everywhere), bars, museums, music concerts (and so many amazing street musicians!), historical buildings, the Isla Magica Theme Park (highly recommend), parks, and an aquarium. I don't really like going out and partying, so I found friends to walk alongside and kayak in the canal, visit the theme park and the aquarium, and eat at sushi joints, tapas bars, and Italian restaurants with me! I was never bored, and even though I traveled almost every weekend, I always looked forward to returning "home" to Seville every single time! The only downside is that flying out of the Seville airport/getting to some other places is a little harder or more expensive than Madrid or Barcelona. However, I visited Paris, Lisbon, Cadiz, Carmona, Granada, Barcelona, and 3 cities in Morocco (via We Love Spain - I highly recommend) during my three months! But there are so many things to see in the city and in the Andalucia region that you don't need to travel very far every weekend! Although I enjoyed my weekends traveling, my weekends in Seville were just as fun!

All in all, here is my advice: Do it! You'll be nervous and unsure, but you will grow so much. Also, I recommend longer programs! I really started to feel settled after the first month, I felt at home after the second month, and I didn't want to leave after the third month! I made dozens of friends from around the world, went on many adventures, took thousands of photos, got lost, said the wrong thing, learned how to shop and order in Spanish, watched soccer games with locals, ate waaaaaaay too much food, gained confidence in my navigational skills, learned how to communicate despite a minimal vocab, and so much more. And I loved every minute of it. Spain is so very different from what I am used to, but I can't wait to return in the future!

Adelante truly is a wonderful program from beginning to end! They were very prompt in responding to my initial interest and setting up a first phone call, followed by comprehensive guidance before my arrival in Spain. I told Adelante my field of interest and they found a perfect internship for me in Sevilla! The two weeks of Spanish class prior to the internship were also excellent; the school had wonderful professors and organized free, fun cultural excursions we could participate in after class. The Adelante staff was incredibly supportive and checked in with me regularly. The on-site people provided airport pickup, accompanied me to the first day of my internship, and organized a flamenco show excursion for all Adelante interns. They care a lot about each individual intern and were very helpful in resolving any questions or concerns promptly. The program is perfect for people who enjoy independence with accessible support when needed. I felt very comfortable in Sevilla and enjoyed the opportunity to shape the experience around my interests.

Seville not only offers the beauty of both rich history and city scenery, but it also offers a very vibrant culture full of music, art, and social life. Adelante's team on the ground is an incredible group of individuals who are constantly making themselves available to both support and ensure that you have the richest experience possible during your time in Seville! Incredible team on the ground!