¡Hola! My first full week in Madrid has been full of adventures and learning experiences. I began working for ActionAid, an international NGO focused on human rights and advocacy. For my next 2 months as an intern, I will be splitting my time between ActionAid Spain and the European Union office. Starting an internship in a new country and field while reporting to 2 different (but interconnected) offices has been interesting to navigate, and has required me to communicate consistently and take initiative. This is especially true as I am mostly working remote; the EU office’s employees are based in several different countries, so work is largely remote for all, and my coworkers in the Spain office work in-person just two days a week.
Last Tuesday, I flew to Brussels (aka the capital of the European Union) for an in-person workshop with ActionAid EU. I got off my plane, took a train, then a bus, then immediately walked into an office where all my new coworkers were eager to meet me. This experience was a bit overwhelming but very energizing! Throughout the day, I learned about ActionAid’s upcoming campaign to influence the EU’s 7-year budget, which is currently being negotiated and will be finalized by the end of 2027. I am very glad to be working for an organization that hopes to advocate for a budget that prioritizes people and the planet, rather than profit, and centers the concerns of EU citizens rather than just policymakers; it feels great to work for an organization that aligns so closely with my values. I was so grateful to have the opportunity to meet my co-workers in person and see Brussels! Complications with my flight (due to an unexpected strike of air traffic control workers across Belgium) presented a happy accident, and I got an extra morning to explore Brussels by myself before flying back to Madrid. I got to see the impressive Brussels City Hall, pictured above. (Its facade has over 300 sculptures!)
Upon returning to Madrid, I had my first day in the office at ActionAid Spain. This mostly consisted of typical onboarding tasks, like setting up my ActionAid email and completing workplace culture training modules, but also involved me getting familiar with my Spain co-workers and the surrounding neighborhood. A cultural difference I’ve welcomed has been the personal nature of the workplace. Each day I worked in person, my co-workers and I sat down in a cafe for coffee in the morning, then ate lunch together in the afternoon, where we got to know each other more personally.
Much of my first week was spent traveling to and from Brussels, and I don’t exactly feel like I’ve settled into a normal schedule with my internship. However, this schedule seems to be largely self-driven; what’s “normal” is pretty much up to me. I’ll go into the office of ActionAid Spain on Tuesdays and Thursdays at minimum, when my co-workers go in person, and I’ve been spending the rest of the week working either from my homestay bedroom (where I’m very lucky to have a desk and AC) or from cafes across Madrid. This setup will make time management relatively easy, but what might be more challenging will be the need to be consistently self-motivated and organized. I work for multiple offices; I report to multiple direct supervisors; and I collaborate with many different people to support communications efforts around a diverse range of projects. This will require me to be highly organized and communicative. Without a single supervisor giving me directions in-person all day, I’ll have to take initiative and stay on track independently. I believe this will become easier as I become more integrated into my workplaces and accumulate more tasks, which will give me more of a basis to create a structure for my days/weeks.
Overall, I’m very excited about the content of my work, and I believe my passion for what I’m doing will help me naturally adapt well to the flexibility of the internship. I’m looking forward to learning more, continuing to settle in, and sharing more updates soon. ¡Ciao!