Spending Summer in Barcelona, Spain- A Dream Come True

Since I was a little girl, I have loved to travel. My parents always placed an emphasis on the importance of experiencing other cultures, traditions, and customs to help broaden my worldview. As it did for many other aspects of life, COVID-19 put a damper on my plans to study abroad. When the trip I had planned to attend during the summer after my sophomore year was canceled, I was devastated, thinking that my dreams of traveling abroad through the university would never come to fruition. After learning that the Fisher Global Internships program was open to all majors, I realized I may be able to attain my goal of having a summer internship while living abroad. I applied during my junior year and was ecstatic to be accepted into the program. It is safe to say that spending this past summer in Barcelona, Spain was a dream come true.

My internship was for a start-up company based in Barcelona called Dana Maternal Healthcare. As a Public Health major, the company's positioning at the intersection of healthcare and technology was very exciting to me. Their product, Dana, is an application geared towards new and soon-to-be mothers in Spain which provides them with social support, physician advice, and mindfulness practices. The application emphasizes the importance of mental health for mothers with a specific focus on alleviating the effects of post-partum depression. During my time at Dana, I conducted market research and completed a competitive analysis of similar applications in the marketplace. My co-worker and I reflected upon various UX, and UI components included in these apps and provided advice to the development team on areas for improvement within Dana's interface. At the end of our summer, we presented the findings to the entire Dana team.

In this hybrid position, I visited the office once a week and spent the other days exploring the city's coffee shops, restaurants, and libraries. This provided me with the opportunity to experience all that Barcelona has to offer while establishing cross-cultural relationships with my colleagues. The work culture in Spain was different from anything I have experienced in previous positions. Our Tuesday 9:00am meeting was a guided meditation, we took at least an hour-long lunch break where we all ate together on my days in the office, and my boss acted as more of a mentor than an authoritarian figure. I have never been so happy to not get paid.

Outside of the office, I made great connections with my roommates and other members of our FGI cohort. We tried new restaurants, explored different parts of the city, and shopped...a lot. One of my favorite aspects of living in Spain was the opportunity to practice my Spanish-speaking skills. Although most people spoke English, I felt encouraged to practice without any ramifications or judgment. I attempted to fully immerse myself in the culture and spent most of my time outside of work at the beach, and various parks, reading and enjoying the city's beautiful architecture. Some of my favorite spots in Barcelona include famous landmarks such as La Sagrada Familia and Park Güell; as well as Ciutadella Park, La Boqueria Market, the Bunkers, and the Gothic Quarter. The two months I spent in Spain this summer was truly the best of my life, and I am ready to plan my next visit!