Q&A with an EUROACE Intern
To stay on the theme of Q&A’s, today we spoke to one of our interns who is doing a custom study abroad program. This interview will tell you all about their experience, share some top tips on how to make the most out of one of our EUROACE programs and include other useful tips. Lets get going!
Hi Zach, thanks again for agreeing to do this interview! I think we’re all set to go. First of all, can you tell us a bit about your background and what your program includes?
Yeah sure. Hi everyone, my names Zach and I’m from Brooklyn in the USA. I’ve always enjoyed travelling and visiting different places so that was one of the main reasons I chose to do a program here in Spain. My chosen field for my internship was Law and EUROACE actually found me a placement in a law firm, this has been one of the highlights of my experience. My other services included Spanish classes, a host family stay and also an airport pick up and transfer.
Cool Zach, so you opted for quite a lot of things then! How did the first few days go? Did you settle in well?
I really did! A EUROACE driver directly met me at the airport after my journey and took me straight to my host family accommodation. I was really happy there from the start because my host family are nothing but accommodating and made me feel really comfortable. Although I’m sharing my space with a family, I have just enough privacy and they always make sure I’m happy, it really is great.
I surprisingly got used to life in Valencia pretty quickly, by the second day I was walking around the city and trying all the nice food and drinks with some other people I’d met at EUROACE. They also organized a pretty cool walking tour for us where all the new students that week saw the main monuments and attractions so we could familiarize ourselves a bit.
The walking tour is one of my favourite things to do too, I love showing everyone around and answering their questions! Can you tell us a bit more about your host family experience until now?
So I’m living with a host mother and her son, and there’s also another Euroace student. It’s really nice because I have the freedom to do whatever I want, which is great because when you’re here you have to see the world, go out, meet other people. I have a really great relationship with my host mother, and she cooks such great food, she’s such a great woman. I speak Spanish with her, and the other EUROACE student also speaks a bit of Spanish so we are constantly switching between the two languages which is definitely good practice. Something I love about my host family is that they give great recommendations as they are locals here, they know everything about Valencia and they really help me out if I need advice or recommendations about anything.
I would always recommend a stay with a host family, it really is the best way to immerse yourself completely. How about your internship, how’s that going?
My internship is great. As I said before, I’m working at a Law Firm which means I am constantly with skilled professionals who are teaching me so much about this field of work and how to really succeed in it. My supervisor is also great, we communicate really well and I can always go to them if I have any questions or doubts.
At the start I was a bit worried that it would be a big adjustment working in a different country but its actually been so helpful and eye opening. I am realizing things that I like and also dislike about this field of work, but that’s ok but it will just help me in the future when I’m applying for jobs.
Exactly! What’s your daily routine like?
I also have Spanish classes, so I do them three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 11:00am-1:00pm. Usually then I’d go home and eat and chill for a bit and then start my internship in the afternoon. This is something I love about my internship because the timetable is so flexible I can fit in everything I want to do or see in the mornings or early afternoons, I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Google maps also helps me a lot on the weekends when I’m figuring out where to go or what to see and of course, I’ve been to a few of EUROACE’S cultural activities and I have loved every single one of them. The Flamenco show and the Xativa Day trip have been some of the best ones and it was such a great way for me to meet new students and make friends.
I’m really glad to hear that Zach. Last question, would you recommend a custom study abroad program to others?
That’s an easy question. I would 100% recommend it. It’s really helped me both personally and professionally to gain more confidence in my desired work field and of course, I’ve put myself in a lot of difficult situations with the language barrier and the cultural differences but I’ve adapted myself really well. Its also helped me realize what I want to focus on after my program ends.
I’m also really glad I chose the custom study abroad program as I could personalize it and modify the services that I wanted, there is nothing better than being able to create your own program so I would definitely recommend that to anyone whos thinking about it! I’ll definitely be sad to leave but I could even do another one in the future if I found the time!
We hope this gives a bit more insight into what a Gap Year with Euroace looks like! If you’d like more information, check out our website here, and you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s going on day-to-day!