This week I was able to make plans with my friends and navigate the city more easily because my new phone arrived. My host family was dog sitting this week, so that was a nice addition. He was very well behaved. My mom is a veterinarian so I grew up around a lot of animals, and I always feel more at home and more relaxed when I get to be around them. The Madrid heat and lack of air conditioning here started to get to me again so I took a trip bit further north to go to a swimming pool. It was an enormous pool inside of an even bigger park with all different types of facilities for various sports. The water was the perfect temperature. I’m glad that I made the trip to check it out and I will likely be back on a day where the heat is unbearable. I also went back to the Prado to see more exhibits that I have not had time to get to yet, because the museum itself is huge. I got to see the painting The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, which had been a goal of mine to see since I learned about it in my Art of Europe class. It was well worth it, it is one of those paintings that is so large with so many details that you could stand there looking at it forever. I also got to see some Sorolla paintings, one of my other favorite artists. Over the weekend I spent a lot of time with friends. This weekend was the pride festival in Madrid. I walked around with my friends and we got to see the parade on Saturday as well as a lot of live music. That day as well I got to eat one of my favorite foods, ceviche! It is a cold dish consisting of different types of fish marinated in citrus and other seasonings, which was the perfect meal to have in this Madrid heat. On Sunday, I went back to El Rastro with my friends, which is the large flea market open on Sundays. Afterwards, we checked out some more vintage stores. Later in the day I went to the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum. I loved being able to see the impressionist works such as Monets in real life as well as an exhibit for Japanese artist Ayako Rokkaku, who paints only using her fingers, not brushes. Afterwards, I took my friend to a place next to my house that by far has my favorite patatas bravas that I have tried so far here in Madrid. I also showed her my favorite greek frozen yogurt shop here.

Before this internship experience, I would describe my leadership style as confident and capable when necessary, but I would say that because I tend to enjoy working on my own, I would often let others take the lead who enjoy working in a group more than me. This internship experience has challenged me and grown my teamwork and leadership skills greatly. This is my first time working in a professional office setting where I am sitting at a desk working next to the other members of my team. As someone who typically likes to do a lot of work alone, I think that this has been a great opportunity to grow my collaboration and teamwork skills. I work with some really great people here and I enjoy our small office and the company culture. I also feel that my leadership has been challenged within the tasks that I have been given in my internship. Specifically, when I was tasked with giving tours of properties on my own, I was intimidated at first, but the more that I have done them and have accompanied my boss on them, the more natural they have become to me. Giving these tours have not only strengthened my confidence and presentation skills, but my leadership skills as well. I think that I am becoming a better leader as a result of this experience because I now have so much experience jumping into situations that may seem foreign or intimidating, that I always manage to figure out. Even besides my internship tasks, the fact that I left the normalcy of Pennsylvania to go do summer internship in a foreign country where they speak another language has grown my leadership skills greatly. I think that in order to build one’s confidence and leadership, it is important to consistently expose yourself to intimidating situations that will grow you.

Hasta luego,

Julia