Hi Everyone!!

I can’t believe that as I’m writing this I’m beginning my third week of work, my time in Madrid is truly flying by. My second week of work was truly exceptional with some more amazing travel experiences. I had the opportunity of working at a different location of my company while receiving some of my first projects. Over the weekend a few of my friends and I traveled to Valencia for a short weekend beach trip!

Internship Update

This week my work especially started to pick up as I have begun some research projects for the marketing and sales department of my company. My first project consisted of researching housing companies in Bilbao, a very college-dense city where a lot of our competitors have locations and our company soon hopes to open a location. I investigated pricing, types of rooms, services, amenities as well as their current room availability for 2024-2025. Around this time of year the housing companies in Madrid typically start to sell out of their preferred types of rooms. In the case of Bilbao the rooms that lacked availability were the cheapest shared apartments and studios while the more expensive and higher end apartments still had availability. Paying attention to this is very important for our company because as they begin the floor plans for the location they wish to build, it’s imperative that they maximize their potential by having preferred room types based upon their market. 

My other project is much more long term and i’ll be working on throughout my internship in between the smaller tasks and assignments I am given.  The project is to develop a potential client database on excel by researching study abroad programs within Spain. A lot of resident companies in Spain work with study abroad programs and are often on their websites for recommended housing or in their housing database that they use to help students find housing. As my company is newer and has only started expanding within the past few years they are not as developed in their marketing. They lack a digital presence on these programs websites and databases. My job is to research study abroad programs, analyze the type of housing students typically live in and if other companies are being advertised. Along with other general program information i’m complying I also write general comments about the housing and program and whether I think there is an opportunity for Nodis to partner or work with this program.

My company then plans to utilize this database to reach out to potential clients and hopefully begin a partnership with these companies, be advertised on their website, or be a part of their housing database. Within this year alone they have opened 5 new locations and have plans for other ones to start construction or planning soon. As they continue expansion its imperative they expand their advertising and outreach, my excel database will be one way in which they can do this.

Spain Adventures

This week has also been filled with more adventures and experiences with friends. As i’ve been working 8 hours a week and have about a 45 minute commute both ways from my offices it doesn’t allow me much time during the weeks to do much exploring of Madrid, however i’ve really enjoyed the time with my host Mom at our morning breakfasts and getting to eat dinner and watch TV with my family at night. We will often talk about the news, current events, or just about our days. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them and having this time after work.

This past weekend my friends and I traveled to Valencia for a weekend beach trip. This weekend was filled with lots of sun, great food, and getting to explore the beautiful town of Valencia. Valencia is known for their Paella and my friends and I got the opportunity to go to one of the best ranked Paella restaurants in Valencia, it was truly exceptional and delicious. Attached below is a photo.

Getting to relax on the beach and explore the city was such a fun adventure!  Below are some photos of Valencia and its architectural rich buildings.

Week 3 Question → Problem Solving with Incomplete Information

Working in a fully Spanish speaking office has definitely caused some unclarity which is typical in any job but especially as I am still learning Spanish and there is a language and cultural barrier between me and my supervisors. This week I started receiving more independent work from my supervisor’s boss who leads the sales division of the company. She set up a call with me to go over a short term project for the day and then a long term project i’ll be working on throughout my internship. One thing that I’ve found has been helpful is reading people’s lips to further my understanding of what they’re saying, however this was simply just a call over the phone and there was no video which made it slightly harder to understand her. I understood all of what was being asked of me during the call, however after the call I sent her a quick message on whats app which is the company’s main form of communication as they all have work accounts clarifying what was being asked of me and if there was anything that I missed. Within just a few minutes she reported back to me clarifying that I was right and adding on something that I missed. All of this being said, a major way I’ve been dealing with ambiguity is clarification, communication, and repetition. Asking for them to clarify what they said, repeating it back to them, and not being afraid to communicate when I am confused or needed something worded differently. So far these things have been proven to be successful. As I continue with my internship I plan to continue these things to help avoid the ambiguity that can sometimes come with the assignments or projects I am being given especially from my supervisor’s boss. My supervisor and I work in a collaborative space and sit right next to each other so the assignments and tasks I get from her are a lot easier to understand and she can typically pick up on verbal and nonverbal cues and clarify if I am confused if not I can ask her.