Testimonials

An amazing social experience over anything! Every connection I made was a branch to new things to do in the city! I’ve made amazing friends from all over the world, not just my country of stay, and it has given me new insights on culture, life, and so many other aspects! The activities provided by the program’s connections were also insanely fun! The program also taught me so much about my own self-sufficiency, and how truly competent I am. I now know that if I am able to survive and fend for myself in a foreign environment, I definitely can do it back in my own home country and city. I’ve frequently described this experience and one of if not the best experience of my life so far, and it definitely has molded me into a new, better, more responsible and ambitious person.

I shadowed a doctor in Madrid for four months, and it was the most amazing time of my life. Adelante made the setup process extremely easy, and it was very affordable as well. They were very flexible and accommodating in setting up the perfect internship for me. My doctor was also amazing, and I learned much about respiratory and cardiovascular health while there. I also got a unique look into Medicine in a different culture than my own. The first two weeks of Spanish classes that Adelante provides were very helpful in getting me started. Overall, it was a great experience thanks to Adelante, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a different experience than just taking classes abroad.

I did the medical internship in Viña del Mar, Chile. First of all, it is a beautiful city to live in, with lots to do and with Valparaiso just a 20 minute metro/bus ride away. The location of the house is perfect and in a safe place, just a few blocks from the beach and about a 30 second walk from a supermarket. I lived with other Adelante candidates and got along with all of them exceptionally well. The staff at the language school are welcoming, and my classes really helped me get accustomed to living in my new city. I learned about the unique spanish spoken in Chile, and my professor also took me out of the classroom to explore Viña as well as Valparaíso and learn about their history and culture. In order to meet new people, I recommend going to language exchanges in Viña or Valparaíso – these can be found through MeetUp online, and it’s a great way to meet natives and practice spanish! Living in a new city with no familiar faces and a language barrier can be daunting, so these really helped me at first! When I started my internship at a local physical therapy (kinesiology) office, it was challenging of course due to the new environment and the language. Within a few weeks, however, I was effectively communicating with patients, leading several patient sessions, and carrying out physiotherapy. My spanish improved dramatically and I also learned technical vocabulary that will help me in my future career. The employees were great teachers and always made sure I understood what was happening, the patient’s affliction, and what techniques they were using and why. The last month of my stay, there was political unrest in Chile but Adelante staff made sure we stayed safe, and maintained communication with us. I would not change anything about my experience in Chile, as it helped me grow as a person and greatly increased my skills and confidence in Spanish. The people in Chile are very welcoming and kind, even though Chilean spanish can be hard to understand at first! I’ve come to love Chile so much and I will definitely be coming back! I could’t recommend this Adelante program more.

I had the opportunity to help out at [Hospital Perrier Rossell] to help tend to newborns that do not have parents to go home to. Before Friday, I had never even held a baby before. Quite honestly, I was slightly uncomfortable the entire time due to my lack of experience with newborns. Though pediatrics might not be my specialty of choice, I do believe that it is still necessary to feel comfortable in any specialty. All the nurses were there to answer my questions or concerns that I had. I felt very welcome and everyone was very ready to teach.

Adelante provided me with the resources to grow both personally and learn more about my field in a different country. Adelante staff prior to departure were quite helpful and answered all my questions as best as possible. The two week course at Eureka was great and very laid-back; the teachers are fun and helpful and all of them actually want to teach, so it is a great way to review your Spanish before working. As a pharmacy student, I was given a position at one of the many farmacias in Spain and helped patients find the best medication for their illness, rang out patients, processed orders, and completed paperwork for the pharmacy. I would suggest this program for those who are at least at a low intermediate level of Spanish because I was spoken to only in Spanish at my position and I know many positions at Adelante that are very similar. While there were no issues to report at my job, I would have felt comfortable reaching out to any of the Adelante staff if I did have any problems because they made it clear that they were there to help me. Adelante does a great job with housing because of its location in the center of Madrid and because they find a solution to problems or maintenance issues relatively quickly, especially if you physically speak to Angel who is the director of the Eureka language school.

I loved going to the (language) school and meeting the people, definitely going to miss going there every day. I am definitely enjoying my time out here! I love my internship, the people are nice and the location is very convenient. The people at the internship are giving me tips about Barcelona and different places to visit. I am enjoying my time here in Barcelona.

Adelante is a great option for those looking for an internship abroad. They provide a language course during the first two weeks, housing, and internship placement in your field. Adelante doesn’t baby their interns. Participants will leave their placement more knowledge in their field, and equipped to face the future.

I was an English-teaching intern in Viña Del Mar, Chile for a month. The city was an amazing and beautiful place to be and I felt quite safe. It was relatively expensive to live during the month I was there as my roommate and I had to provide our own food and transportation. However, the work that we were during was great. I had never taught English before until this internship, and I learned a lot about myself; how well I work in a position of authority, and my planning skills. The program had a lack of guidelines on what we were supposed to be teaching, and although that was a challenge, it provided us with the opportunity to create an entirely new lesson plan that catered to the needs of the students. We taught four amazing adults who were eager to learn from us and it felt great! I’d encourage future interns to take as many weekend outings as they can in Chile. The city has so many amazing activities and sights that will keep you busy in between your working hours. The only downside of the program was that I had to find my own transportation back to the airport at the end of the program which was expensive and difficult to navigate. But my experience in teaching in Chile outweighed any cons that arose!

The main reason why my experience was unique is due to the type of company I worked for and activities that I was able to perform. When I discovered that my university program required me to work for a full school year in a foreign country I was worried that I would have had to take part in one of those classic, mundane and monotonous 9-5 jobs which involved performing tasks while sat at a desk in front of a computer screen. This is basically the equivalent of suicide to someone like me who loves living his life outdoors performing sporting activities. Thanks to Adelante’s program, however, I was able to find a football club in Madrid that allowed me to actively participate in their training sessions, as well as help out coaches in as many ways as possible during the sessions. My university accepted the program and I was able to spend these 7 months here about as well as I could have ever hoped for.

I had a wonderful experience abroad in Chile. My Spanish most definitely improved, or I should say my Chilean Spanish since they use so much slang. I loved our teacher so much, in fact, I am still in contact with her. My internship placement also was great, I was an assistant to a professor who had other architecture projects as well. Very nice, welcoming, patient, and open-minded. Overall an awesome experience, I met some wonderful people, learned a little bit about a new culture, improved my Spanish, and my architecture.