¡Hola todos! Before I begin my blog post, let me answer the question everyone has been asking: YES, it’s awesome being in Spain while they won the World Cup. Me and my friends got to witness the insanity that was Plaza Colón (pictured below), which apparently had over 800,000 people gathered around huge screens to watch the Final. However, one of my friends and I made a very good decision to escape the crowd to actually watch the game, retreating to a very local bar with his host mom and friends. Afterwards, we ran through the streets back to the Plaza to take part in the celebrations with the crowds once again. Seeing everyone celebrating from their balconies, hearing horns honking incessantly, and joining strangers in chants as we ran through Madrid was an unforgettable experience. The beginning of my time in Madrid coincided with the Pope’s visit to the city, and it feels very full-circle to witness another huge display of Spanish pride in the nation’s capital during my last few days.

As I’m about to leave Madrid, I cannot believe how fast this experience has gone by. My peers and I gathered for our EUSA farewell lunch, and it felt like just moments ago since we all met for the first time at orientation. Yet, as I take in the city, I realize how familiar it has become; I have specific neighborhoods, plazas and restaurants I’ll miss. I’ve spent my last few days seeing a few final Madrid essentials I haven’t gotten to yet, like the Reina Sofia and the Rastro Market, while also repeating some of my favorite activities, like seeing photography exhibitions, going to free swing dance lessons, and returning to my favorite spots with friends. There’s a lot I’ve missed about home, and I’m definitely glad to be heading back soon, but to say my time here has been fulfilling would be a massive understatement and I definitely hope to be back in Madrid someday.

In addition to Spain in general, I will truly miss my internship at ActionAid and I hope that my coworkers consider me successful! From my understanding, what makes someone successful in the workplace here has a lot to do with taking initiative, putting in energy, and being creative. Through my work with ActionAid EU, I was successful because I was able to come up with creative ideas for social media content for our advocacy campaign. I am naturally passionate about our campaign since it aligns well with my interests, and I feel like the enthusiasm I had served me well since I was often thinking about ideas when my mind wandered throughout the day. Then, when it came time to film the introductory reel for the campaign, I volunteered to be the spokesperson in front of the camera, which also demonstrated initiative and energy. Many of my coworkers have not agreed to being on camera even when I explicitly asked them for help with a reel; sometimes success means being willing to do what nobody else wants to do! I have also felt like my ideas were well-received by my coworkers when I did not hold back and let myself be creative. They have enjoyed some of my more out-of-the-box ideas and how I bring a younger perspective to making social media content. Furthermore, in my work with ActionAid Spain, I have felt that my coworkers considered me successful because of the effort I have put into making volunteer orientation videos. For each video, my coworkers send me the PowerPoint I am to read off, plus the recording they’ve already completed in Spanish. Then, I am to make my own recording of myself going through the PowerPoint in English. Each time, I have been careful to thoroughly understand what is being explained in the videos. I take notes on the key messages, and when I record my version I reiterate these messages and add my own commentary to avoid simply reading off the slide. My supervisor has been very happy with the effort I have put into this task. However, because of the effort I’ve been investing, combined with the amount of work I have for other areas of my internship, it takes me a rather long time to complete each video. This does not seem to be a problem; deadlines are very flexible if at all stated. This is a key difference of how success is measured from the US. Success is more about what’s being delivered rather than the specifics of the timeline.

While the flexibility of timing is a key difference in the US, I feel like overall there are much more similarities in terms of qualities that are considered successful: creativity, innovation, initiative, and passion. This was very much the case in my internship at Oakland Planning and Development Corporation back in Pittsburgh, as well as my work with the Frederick Honors College. I have worked in mostly smaller environments where my role has been more loosely defined, and I’ve often had the trust of my supervisors to work creatively and take initiative. I wonder if this would be different in another field. However, I hear from my friends that the differences I’ve observed with timing and flexibility are consistent even in large corporations in Spain. This is just one of the many cultural differences I’ve observed, and I feel so lucky to have gotten the opportunity to learn so much about another culture (and indirectly, my own) firsthand.