A Multicultural College Student’s Adventure in Europe
I was looking to do something productive the summer before my senior year of college and incidentally my university offered a grant to a handful of students. So, I took the chance! The process of applying for the grant while trying to find an internship of my interest while, at the same time, figuring out where to go to exactly while finding the accommodation situation were not easy tasks to juggle around as I was a full time college student at the same time… However, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon the Sí-internships website since I had no idea what I was doing or how to even start.
Sí-internships took good care of me
The day after my arrival I was able to meet the people at the Sí-internships office who helped me figure out the hows, the whats and the whys when planning my summer. My contact persons Katharina and Sabine were very kind and always asked how my internship was going, if I was getting along with my supervisor, if I liked my internship, etc. It’s always nice to know that while you are in foreign city, country and continent, there’s people that care to know how you are doing.
My internship as a journalist
I worked for a cultural city guide for 2 months and did around 20 hours per week. It’s a small company that publishes ten magazine editions per year about events and venues in Barcelona, plus a website and smartphone app. My supervisor was very kind and flexible with the schedule. The workload was just enough to keep me busy as I was able to write around 7 articles per day and, by doing that, get to know Barcelona’s urban life. Researching, contacting people, writing and updating the website were most of my daily tasks. With this internship, I was aiming to not only get to know Barcelona but also practice my writing and find out more about how publishing works in general.
What is Barcelona like?
The city is amazingly lively 24/7 with plenty of activities during summer and the Mediterranean Sea at such proximity. Moreover, the public transportation is great and there are so many great places to shop (flea markets!), eat and drink. Plus, the artsy side of BCN is also pretty cool. The parks were my favorite places to sit, relax, have a snack and read a book. The weather was almost always nice and sunny (even though a little too hot at times but perfect for the beach).
During my last weeks in Barcelona…
… I decided to explore Europe since I’ve never been to this continent before and had no idea if I am going to be able to come back any time soon. So I took planes and buses to Paris, Rome and Amsterdam. I wish I could have had more time to explore other cities in Spain as well but my stay was only 2 months long. If I knew how easy it is to travel around Europe, I would have scheduled to stay for at least 3 months instead of 2. Overall, it was such an amazing opportunity to be able to go to Barcelona and actually spend two months doing two of my favorite things: writing and exploring. I don’t think I’ve ever walked as much as I did in this city; it was never boring to take an afternoon stroll.
