The International Experience finally comes to an end. I want to share my recap of this experience and how I grew personally, academically, and professionally while being 2 months in the heart of Spain. Being native to the Spanish language is something someone expects to be similar in many other Spanish-speaking countries. I thought my cultural experience in Spain would be very similar to the one I grew up in Puerto Rico because we both share the same language. I realized many things that changed my mind quickly about my assumptions of Spain, its professional ambiance, its culture, and the Spaniard’s behaviors.

In a personal matter, I believe that I grew more of an independent and self-reliant self. I started depending much on what the workers told me to do and I was not letting my curiosity speak for itself. I began doing very monotonous tasks like copying and pasting and I knew that I was not going to learn or improve that much of my knowledge doing this so I began letting my immersive thoughts get into action. I spoke, and I started asking a lot of questions to the different coworkers that sat next to me or that asked me something and my answer was very terse. I remember a day of work when I decided that the residing days of work needed to learn something new each day. This method challenged me to work harder on improving my professional knowledge or business-related things that can help me in my future goals. I can say that it was hard to get a piece of good knowledge from my co-workers since they were a bit terse. I learned the most from the head of the company, the one that created it all. He taught me the “freemium model” and how he started the company. Personally, I understood that if you want to get the best results from something, you need to stand up and look for the path yourself and not wait until something happens. It is up to you how much are you willing to learn, and how much work you need to satisfy the need to acquire this knowledge that you may never encounter again which may serve as a key aspect for your future goals. That is why you should never stop learning because it is another field of view of the progress of your path to success.

This was by far the best takeaway that I got from this program and the best advice I would give to someone who is lost. Academically, I can say that I learned the least. I learned very few new things, but I did enhance my communication skills, my research skills, and my problem-solving skills in a personal matter. I wish I learned something more subject-related or an important tool the company used to succeed in planning or operating the business.

Professionally, I would say I improved my networking, and my soft skills relating to interpersonal skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, and problem solving as stated before. Also, I enhanced my time management and how I coped with such a busy corporate schedule compared to my school schedule which is a bit more self-dependent than a more non-self-dependent one. Lastly, I worked on some client relations and managed calls and online contacts that could’ve been potential clients with the company and arranged meetings to talk more over the deal offered and negotiations.

Additionally to all these personal matters, I did have a good time in Spain. All my travels were excellent and the places I visited were beautiful I am glad that I had the opportunity to share my experiences and thoughts with the audience (you reading this). Opportunities like this don’t come very often so I had to make sure to get the most out of it and include every piece of a tourist/international intern experience. The places that I recommend going to if you want to have a lot to do I recommend Barcelona and Madrid. In terms of amazing views, I recommend Segovia, Cuenca’s Old Town, and Barcelona and its Park Guell. The cheapest of all and the best paella award goes to Valencia.

My two months in Spain have been a transformative journey, shaping my personal, academic, and professional growth in ways I hadn’t anticipated. The experience challenged my assumptions and pushed me to become more independent and proactive. While the academic gains were modest, the development of my communication, research, and problem-solving skills proved invaluable. Professionally, I enhanced my networking, time management, and client relations abilities, gaining insights that will undoubtedly benefit my future career. Beyond the professional and personal growth, the beauty and culture of Spain enriched my life immensely. This adventure has taught me the importance of seizing every opportunity to learn and grow, a lesson I will carry forward for the rest of my life.

Gracias a todos and I hope you all enjoyed this journey with me.

Francisco M. Badillo Colberg