Dream Careers Barcelona (Summer of My Life!) Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Each internship has it's own amount of workload, but they are all very reasonable and educational. I worked from 10-4 Monday through Friday and was able to advance many of my finance and marketing skills while working for Expat Financial Advice Spain. We also learned a lot about the Spanish/Catalan culture from our seminars, which greatly enhanced everyone's experience.

On-site administration of your program

The University of Arizona helped out each intern throughout the course of the semester prior to our internships. We held meetings and had info sessions a few times in order to prepare for the summer, and they provided us with everything we needed for the program. From talking to friends from other university's, The University of Arizona helps students a lot more in their internship placements.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived with a guy from Montreal and it was great to get to know him better over the course of the summer. I liked the living situation, but wish it was a bit closer to the city. The campus did have everything we needed though (Rec Center, Soccer Fields, Basketball Courts, Restaurants, Bar, Laundry, etc.)

I was happy having two meals per day Monday through Friday. The food wasn't as good as I had hoped for, but it was paid for and there was a decent amount of variety. There are also a lot of great places to go in the city like Bo De B sandwich shop!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

This is the section that I had the most satisfaction with. The activities we did were all incredible. Once placed, be prepared to have the summer of a lifetime. Dream Careers sets up some amazing trips: I visited the South of France at Carcassonne, had some of the greatest food ever in Costa Brava, Spain, and saw some of the greatest architechtural structures in the world! I also had the opportunity to run will the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, and visit Brussels, Belgium for Europe's largest concert. Running with the Bulls and the concert in Belgium weren't set up through the program, but on the free weekend there is a ton to do, and everyone had great free weekend experiences.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

If you have common sense, the city is really safe. Just stay in groups and be aware of pick pockets. The first day of your program, the program director goes over Safety information so just pay attention and be smart and you'll stay extremely safe throughout the summer.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

You could practice Spanish anywhere in the city. It was really on you to improve if you wanted to, and I was definitely able to revisit my Spanish language skills over the course of the summer. I came over knowing a very small amount of Spanish, and by the end of the summer I was able to get around very easily. You didn't have to use the language all day everyday, but it was cool to touch up on language skills and try new things.

Select all that apply

• Dorm

Select all that apply

• International Students

• Cultural Experience
• The City of Barcelona as a whole
• Internship Placement

• Food