I went to Barcelona for three months to take a productive break from university. I chose Barcelona because I had travelled there once before, for only two days, and I promised myself I would go back for a longer period of time. I was placed at an amazing internship by Connect-123. I worked for three months as a GIS Intern for a freelance engineer, at a coworking space in Gracia, Barcelona. Before I was placed in my internship I knew very little about coworking spaces, but as a part of my assigned tasks, I was able to help in the startup of an organization of coworkings – a practice I found very interesting. My internship was multifaceted. A another part of it, I was given the opportunity to learn GIS software and with that new knowledge, I made maps of Gracia, Barcelona as well as a map for a tourists with routes from their touristic flat to major sights nearby. Seeing my maps printed, and presenting them on my final day at the internship was so incredibly rewarding.

While I spent the weekdays at my internship, I devoted the weekends to seeing as much as I could. I took advantage of the travel deals and discount airlines I could find and went for weekend trips to Belgium, Morocco, the South of Spain and Gibraltar, Portugal, and Andorra. In each of the places I travelled, I met people in my hostels to tour with and go out on the town. I found that it was super easy to make friends in the hostels, as we all had something in common – we love to travel. My favorite of the trips was to Marrakech, Morocco – although I got very sick (be careful what you eat), Morocco was the one place I knew I wanted to visit while abroad. The other trips I based on the input of the people I met abroad. Everyone around me and at my internship was very helpful with travel advice.

Taking time off from school to intern abroad is very likely one of the best decisions I have made. I learned a lot at my internship as well as while traveling. I gained experience I never would have otherwise.