It has been quite the week! Upon arrival, I took a taxi from the airport to my host family’s house, just a 5 minute walk from the famous El Retiro park. I was greeted by their abuela who is from A Coruña, a beach town in the north of Spain, but who was visiting for the week. I met the rest of the family later once they arrived home from school and work. They have been so nice and welcoming! The dynamic feels almost a bit like home because they have 3 daughters, and at home I am the oldest daughter with 3 younger sisters. I have to admit, the sudden immersion into the language was very overwhelming at first, especially when combating jet lag and getting accustomed to my new surroundings, including the dry heat, allergies, and no air conditioning. However, I kept reminding myself that every graceful master was once a beginner, and since it is my goal to become fluent in Spanish, I must put myself in uncomfortable situations in order to truly grow and reach this goal.

I enjoyed my orientation with EUSA on Thursday and Friday. I found it very useful because I definitely learned much more about Spanish culture that I previously knew. It was also a pleasure to get to know everyone in the program from Pitt better as well as meet the students in our program who attend other universities in the US. I have had such a fun time making new friends and exploring Madrid with them. I am also happy to have people to travel around and outside of Spain with. I am really looking forward to getting to know not just Madrid, but Spain as a whole.

Monday was my first day as a B2B Sales Intern with Joivy, an Italian property management company at their office here in Madrid. They have offices in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, England, Scotland, and Luxembourg. Joivy manages short term, mid term, and long term housing options. Many of their clients are students and interns studying and working abroad, employees relocating for work who need temporary housing until they find a permanent residence, or long term apartment rentals. This business is growing very quickly. They have so many projects underway right now and I am so thankful for the opportunity to be part of it! One of these projects is to do business with more student agencies in Spain. These agencies facilitate sending Spanish students abroad as well as hosting foreign students in Spain. My first project is to use a software called Lusha to search for the contact information of employees within these agencies and compile a list so that we can reach out to them. Tomorrow, I will be learning another software called HubSpot in order compile the contact information of the agencies that could not be found through Lusha.

I believe that the main competency that is necessary in order to be successful in this industry is time management. The office is very laid back, but very goal oriented. Because this company is growing so quickly, it is crucial that I am able to complete tasks efficiently in order to reach as many clients as possible. It is also important that I am interested in the work that the company is doing, because I am driven to be a high achiever within the company.

I am lucky enough to be working in an international company, which means that my coworkers are competent in English because they need it to communicate with the other offices. However, all of our meetings are in Spanish, and my coworkers all speak Spanish amongst each other. I need to pay close attention during our meetings to ensure that I am understanding everything. I am very happy to be surrounded by Spanish all the time because it really pushes my comprehension skills. If it is truly necessary, I am able to ask a question in English if I need to, however I am pushing myself to communicate as much as I can in Spanish. Additionally, in order to be a part of the office culture and truly get to know everyone, it is important to use Spanish. All of my coworkers have been very nice and welcoming to me. I am thoroughly enjoying my experience with Joivy so far!

My first week was both exciting and overwhelming, but I am slowly settling into my routine. Although it can be very difficult at times when learning a new language and a new culture, I love how this program is pushing me towards my goals. I am excited to see how I will have grown by the end!

Hasta Luego,

Julia