Internships in Madrid - Adelante Abroad

I had a great time in Madrid! I already speak Spanish so I was able to live with four girls (who were not on Adelante) from various countries and communicate entirely in Spanish (some of them didn't speak English at all). My internship shadowing Dr Enrique Rojas was wonderful and I learned so much about psychology and psychiatry. I sat in on most of Dr. Rojas' sessions, received lessons during free time, and even conducted a few one-on-one sessions with patients on my own. The social-life was also great, I fell in love with Madrid as a city and can't wait to go back as soon as possible!

As a side note (this is neither good nor bad): I wanted to be very independent on this program and I was able to be (especially because I was not housed in Adelante apartments). I lived abroad for almost half of my life growing up and have been to over 35 countries so I loved that, but I would caution others who might not feel as comfortable navigating a new city/language/culture to live in non-adelante housing because you receive a lot less support.

I have to say that the internship set up was convenient and the application was easy enough to complete. The cost, in comparison to other abroad competitors, was quite affordable considering I was posted literally 400 feet from in the exact center of Madrid. I would do this again if there was another opportunity to do so. However, I immediately suggest that whoever is looking into this program to plan, at minimum, 6 months ahead to get all the requirements settled. After all, I ended up having more fun than expected. Every penny is worth it and the people I was with were nice enough to help me with anything I needed.

Loved this experience! Going abroad is something that is on everyone's bucket list, so why not learn something while you're at it? Adelante does a fantastic job providing a great experience abroad along with a great internship. The Spanish class that came with my program was a surprise but definitely my favorite part. The internship itself (medical) was great as well- very enlightening. The one suggestion I would give is to make sure to get a visa! Traveling in Europe is fairly affordable and with all the extra time you may have from work, it's worth it to get out and explore! I would do this program all over again!

Absolutely the experience of a lifetime!!! I was terrified before I left and almost bailed because of my anxiety about going somewhere totally new where I wouldn't know anyone coupled with some Visa issues. But the staff (and my Dad) were voices of reason and got me set to leave. And basically from the moment I arrived- everything was great.

I highly recommend living in the housing with other Adelante/international students in Madrid. Definitely some of my best friends were my roommates, but also there is so much going on in Madrid all you have to do is take the initiative to walk outside and you'll meet the greatest people! It's right in the center of the city by so many bars/shops/clubs/transportation hubs/gyms/etc etc etc. Some of the appliances are pretty old and sometimes don't work great (ie microwave, washer, etc), but it's well furnished and equipped with pots/pans which is great. The language school classes before the internship were definitely helpful as a kind of adjustment period.

After arriving home, all I want to do is go back and my Dad likes to remind and tease me about how I didn't want to go and thought I would be happier just doing a regular semester in Boston because the semester abroad was really the greatest one of my life. So JUST DO IT (you're aloud to be scared- but take that leap).

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.

I am so glad that I came across Adelante! To be honest, I was pretty ambitious when I decided to take a shot in doing an internship in Spain without hardly any prior Spanish knowledge (I taught myself for about a month before going to Spain), but I quickly picked up on the language and am now able to understand what people are saying 90% of the time. The 2-week classes at the Spanish school were unquestionably helpful and a wonderful experience overall. I have never taken a language class that consists of no more than 7 students, and where the instructors taught everything in Spanish.
As for my internship, I interned for a famous psychiatrist who has his own private clinic in Madrid, which was such an eye-opening experience for aspiring psychologists who intend to work in the clinical practice field. Not only was I able to observe what it was like to be a psychiatrist, I had the opportunity to directly interact with some of the patients (even without the presence of the doctor, but mainly only with those who speak English), and even attend special events such as lectures and the presentation of the doctor's newest book! I definitely recommend anyone out there who is thinking about going into the field of clinical psychology to try to get this intern position. (Note: be prepared to wait around because sometimes the patient just wants to be alone with the doctor). Also, this internship will definitely improve your Spanish because you're listening to Spanish all day!
Overall, the price I paid for this program is so worth what I was given. Not only was my intern position a great one, the living situation (GREAT location, big and well-furnished apartment) and support from the Adelante staff exceeded my expectations. Although I have a month and a half left, I am sad to even think that my internship will be ending soon. The past 2.5 months flew by!

I never truly felt completely independent until this experience. My internship placement did not have much work for me so I created a lot of work for myself so that I can grow within my future career. I also wanted to branch out from the people in my program and started to use a traveler's app to meet traveler from all over the world and it helped my branch out of my shy shell. Overall being abroad has made me fearless.

My internship was with a Physical Therapy clinic in Madrid and I absolutely loved the experience. It was much more hands on learning than I could do in the United States. I was able to apply techniques like massage therapy, ultrasound, and go to observe surgeries. The physical therapists I worked with were energetic with their patients and very helpful as they explained to me each of their techniques. They were patient and understanding with my intermediate level of Spanish. If I did not know what they were saying right away they would take the time to explain more to make sure I understood. One of my favorite memories at the clinic was when one of the physical therapists asked me if I could ask the other doctors for a cushion. I misheard the word for cushion in Spanish so I went around the office asking the doctors, “Donde esta el culo?” Once everyone was done laughing at me, I found out I went around the office asking doctors where is the butt. Needless to say I was pretty embarrassed, but everyone thought it was hilarious and it will definitely be a funny story I will remember forever. Overall, I loved my time here in Madrid and I thought the program was fantastic. I learned more Spanish by speaking it everyday with the people I worked with and gained valuable clinical experience in a different culture.