Week 6 in Madrid! And you guessed it: another week, another (chaotic) weekend trip. This time, two of my friends and I boarded a plane bound for the Canary Islands, or more specifically, Gran Canaria. It was early Saturday morning when we left, and if you’ve been following along you’ll be happy to hear that my hearing returned to normal over the weekend! I can now say that you can confidently trust the London doctors and their mysterious prescribed eardrop medicine.
Anyways, Gran Canaria was beautiful! The airport is ocean-side, and the water was sparkling and a stunning cobalt blue. Our day started as soon as we landed; we hailed a taxi (no Ubers on this island! Only taxis, which took a bit of adjustment) and drove to the south area of the island, Maspalomas, to visit a camel habitat. Sadly we weren’t allowed to interact with them, but watching them stroll around the sand dunes was still so fascinating and funny. Afterwards, we walked around Maspalomas, which turned out to be more of a very large resort and less of a town- still very pleasant, though. We grabbed some lunch before setting out on a guided hike, which took us towards El Roque Nublo, a striking rock spar which rises out of the terrain amongst the mountain peaks. It was gorgeous scenery, and our tour guides were personable and fun- we even got to learn about some flora & fauna along the way.
Post-hike, we took another taxi to the north of the island- to the city of Las Palmas. Our taxi driver was a very sweet woman who chatted to us and doled out travel advice, and even called her daughter in the car to tell her about the three nice American students visiting Gran Canaria (I don’t think her daughter was that impressed). We checked into our hostel before grabbing burgers for dinner and spending the evening wandering around the city- it was moderately quiet, but it was quite charming and I would definitely return to Las Palmas to get to know the city better.
On Sunday, we got to explore some cliffside hiking paths between Maspalomas and Mogan, and the views were absolutely amazing. That took us most of the morning, and in the early afternoon we had to head to the airport early to deal with some ticket troubles. However, it was a relaxing afternoon after the go-go-go nonstop activities and exploring, and I got to watch the British Formula 1 Grand Prix on my phone from start to finish, a sport I haven’t been able to keep up with in a while because we’re always doing something Sunday afternoons here in Spain! However, our 9 pm flight home was delayed almost until midnight (1 AM Madrid time) so unfortunately we all got home to Madrid very, VERY late at night…
And yet, the travel troubles were worth it because the trip was so much fun.
The rest of the previous week went well; I got to try some new cafes and bars with my friends, have fun shopping days around various neighborhoods, and have a chill few days in Madrid. As for my internship, I’ve been realizing that we’re well over halfway done with the work experience. That feels surreal, and when I self-reflect on myself entering the internship on the first day six weeks ago, it feels like I’ve developed my experience, approach, and skills substantially.
In terms of leadership, I feel that all of my skills contributing to that- communication, taking initiative, growing my confidence, developing professional relationships with my team- have been consistently practiced here at CIAL and improved upon. I don’t have many opportunities to directly display or hone my leadership skills themselves, as currently I am the only intern so I either work independently or I work with a mentor. However, even though I haven’t directly gotten to assume a leadership position I still feel strongly that they’ve improved and that I’ll see that fully realized once I’m back in the States!
For example, my position at the University of Pittsburgh as a Resident Assistant (RA) is one that requires strong leadership capabilities. I’m looking forward to my second year in this position, where I’ll be able to combine my experience from the first year with my professional experience in Madrid this summer to reassess the job with a fresh perspective and truly do my best in the position! Leadership is so important there as you’re a role model for and a support link to all of the students living on your dorm floor, and so I believe that all of my experiences in Spain- getting out of my comfort zone, developing team skills, completing independent projects, etc- will contribute to me being the best RA that I can in the fall, and in the future at later career opportunities!
Ciao, Katherine