All our off-campus study programs in Spain and Latin america offer a variety of internship opportunities in different fields. For other options in Spain, pleas see: EUSA-European Study Abroad and http://www.goabroad.com/.
Students' internship experiences
Allison Brinkhorst, 2010
Sucre, Bolivia
This summer I spent 4 weeks in Sucre, Bolivia. My trip was comprised of a homestay, Spanish classes at Academia Latinoamericana, and volunteering at Hogar Mallorca. Mallorca is a home for 80 working boys age 6-17. They study, eat, play and sleep at Mallorca, so I played with them and helped them with their homework. They were very excited to learn English from me, and often asked me for help with their math homework. I also came up with educational games that they really enjoyed.
I really loved the city itself and the relationships I built so quickly with family, other international friends, and the boys at Hogar Mallorca. My Spanish improved so much while I was there too! While I was originally unsure if I should take any Spanish classes while there, I'm very glad that I did. I was put in classes that were learning grammar that I had already learned at Grinnell, but with 4 hours of class each day, I really had the time to practice speaking, and this helped everything come to me much more quickly and naturally outside of class. The full-time immersion really helped too.
I would really suggest trips like this to everyone. It was so rewarding to have traveled with the purpose of volunteering. I still got just as much out of it as if I had been traveling just for my own sake, but with this month I was able to donate my own time and knowledge and privilege, giving back to the country for the great experience that it gave me.
If you're interested in a trip at all like this, I would recommend AmeriSpan Study Abroad, which serves as kind of a middleman to set up your housing, schooling, and volunteering in whatever configuration you want and wherever in the world you want. Their website is www.amerispan.com.
Thomas Davis '10
Hazel McCallion School
Quito, Ecuador
I basically created my own internship, but I worked through a Colombian Mennonite missionary family (Cesar and Patricia Moya) whose sons went to my high school during my senior year and who I had become good friends with. I contacted them and set up the work I would do with them, as well as my work in the primary school. The school's name is Hazel McCallion, in the neighborhood of El Inca. The Moya's set me up with Nancy and Solano, who are the directors of Hazel McCallion. At the school, I taught English to each grade (kids ages 4 to 7) for three hours each day and I helped the Moyas with a number of their projects: I helped set up and run a Saturday afternoon program for very poor children in Quito, created and lead a youth leadership meeting, met with indigenous church leaders in the Amazon region and made house visits to Colombian refugees. Because of the personal nature of my internship, all my work was tailored to my specific experience. Hazel McCallion's directors would love to have Grinnell students teach and Cesar and Patricia have numerous projects in which one can help. I would definitely recommend looking into working with the directors of Hazel McCallion. They would provide housing, food, and some trips to famous places in Ecuador. Thus, if someone would be interested, email me at davistho@grinnell.edu or Nancy and Solano directly at hazelschool_ecuador@hotmail.com. Cesar and Patricia may not be in Quito for much longer and working with them is quite an experience, but it is definitely an experience worth looking into. Email me if you would like to contact them. I received a Lily Grant from Grinnell for my four weeks in Quito. To get it, you have to work through the CDO office and it's a great way to get some money for such an endeavor.
Kate Morley '08
Amigos de las Américas
Diferentes países en Latinoamérica
Kate Morley está en su último año en Grinnell Collage. Tiene una concentración en Sociología y también ha tomado clases para entrar en la Facultad de Medicina. Kate empezó a trabajar en el extranjero mientras estaba en la escuela secundaria. Ha trabajado por tres veranos en Latinoamérica. En el verano de 2002, estuvo en Intibucá, donde trabajó con “Save the Children” de Honduras, en una comunidad pequeña cerca de La Esperanza, para construir una cocina en la escuela primaria. En 2005, ella estuvo en Oaxaca y trabajó con grupos de madres para educar en hábitos saludables y ayudar con huertos comunitarios y familiares. El verano pasado, tuvo un internado con la Secretaría de Salud de Guanajuato, México, donde supervisó a los voluntarios que trabajaban en la escuela secundaria y trabajó con grupos de niños y jóvenes en comunidades rurales. En todos estos veranos, ha trabajado con “Amigos de las Américas”, un programa voluntario que colabora con varios organizaciones de salud pública, servicio civil, liderazgo juvenil y desarrollo comunitario en ocho países latinoamericanos. “Amigos” manda voluntarios de los EE.UU. a Latinoamérica por ocho semanas durante los veranos para vivir con familias locales, trabajar junto a líderes de la comunidad para promover el desarrollo sostenible e iniciativas propias de la comunidad y promover el intercambio cultural. Kate aprecia mucho lo que la organización hace y le está muy agradecida por las oportunidades de liderazgo y conciencia cultural que “Amigos” le ha dado. A ella le encantaría trabajar con “Amigos” otra vez.
Emily Reiersgaard '08
SOLAC
Lima, Perú
¿En qué programa participaste y adónde viajaste? El programa fue organizado por SOLAC (una organización sin ánimo de lucro), que está localizado en Lima, Perú. ¿Por cuánto tiempo duró tu viaje? Estuve en Lima por cuatro semanas y viajé por Perú durante una semana más. ¿Cuáles fueron tus responsabilidades en este programa? Tuve la responsabilidad de enseñar matemáticas a 8-10 niños de un nivel de quinto grado y, además, a veces, preparé el almuerzo para los 30 ó 40 niños que venían al programa. ¿Lo pasaste bien? ¿Cuáles fueron algunos de los aspectos más positivos del viaje? ¡Fue increíble! Los niños definitivamente fueron una fuente de alegría: ¡Eran tan divertidos! Y realmente se esforzaron mucho. ¿Recomendarías este programa a alguien? ¿Por qué? Absolutamente. Fue una oportunidad increíble para ser introducida a en la vida de Perú: pude aprender de la historia turbulenta de violencia política y de la pobreza que resultó de esta violencia; pude practicar el español y, sobre todo, pude pasar tiempo con unos niños impresionantes. ¿Tienes algunos consejos para otros estudiantes que quieran viajar este verano? ¡Que vayan por todas partes! ¡Que disfruten! ¿Usaste tu español mucho durante el viaje? ¿Crees que mejoró durante esta experiencia? Usé mi español muchísimo— con los niños, en las tiendas y restaurantes, en la vida diaria—. Pero también había algunos voluntarios allí que no podían hablar español, quienes lo pasaron bien, también. ¿Dónde podemos encontrar más información sobre este programa? ¡Pueden preguntarme a mí! También pueden ir al website: http://www.asociacionsolac.org ¿Hay algo más que quieras compartir con nosotros? Todo fue maravilloso, deben buscar información para participar.
Brigitte Anthony '08
La Grada Casa Sofía
Santiago, Chile
Cuando estaba en mi programa de "off-campus" con CIEE en Santiago de Chile yo tuve una pasantía en la Grada Casa Sofía que es un hogar de niños fundado y dirigido por el gobierno. El "staff" consiste de empleadas permanentes, llamadas las tías, estudiantes de enfermería y voluntarios como yo. El hogar es para niños que son huérfanos o que tienen familias que no pueden cuidarlos bien. Los niños son divididos en tres partes en el hogar: los guaguitas que tienen pocos meses, los medianos que tienen entre ocho meses y dos años y los niños que tienen entre tres y cinco años. Yo trabajé los jueves con los medianos desde las nueve de la mañana hasta la una de la tarde. Cuando yo llegaba en la mañana las tías estaban bañando y vistiendo a los niños y yo jugaba con los otros. Jugaba con los niños, cantábamos, los cogía y los tranquilizaba y al mediodía yo ayudaba a darles la comida. Yo no me enfoqué en la política del hogar sino que traté de cuidar a los niños, pero puede ser una buena pasantía también para los que se interesan en el sistema público de la salud y cuidado de los niños. Todos los niños son preciosos y sólo quieren atención y amor. Sin embargo, es una experiencia bien triste porque el gobierno no tiene fondos suficientes para un hogar excelente para estos niños. Aunque las condiciones de la casa no son horribles- y son absolutamente mejores que las condiciones en que vivían en sus propias casas- hay poco espacio para los niños. Los medianos sólo tienen dos salas de cuna y un espacio afuera cuando el tiempo permite. También los niños se pelean porque hay tantos niños y poca disciplina porque las tías no pueden prestar atención a cada niño a cada minuto. Las tías son gente maravillosa y cariñosa, pero a pesar de sus esfuerzos, la Casa necesita más dinero y más voluntarios. Fue para mí una pasantía muy agotadora y triste pero a la vez fue super-entretenida. Los niños son adorables y les encanta jugar con cualquier persona. Aunque es a veces una situación triste que causa mucha frustración, es una experiencia importante y buena para los voluntarios asi como para los niños.
Nora Shields '08
Hospital San Luís de Otavalo
Otavalo, Ecuador
Tuve una pasantía en el hospital público de Otavalo, Ecuador con mi programa de MSID Ecuador. Seguía los turnos de las enfermeras cada día, incluyendo en la noche. Trabajé con el departamento de pediatría y también con medicina interna. Algunas veces tuve la oportunidad de ir al departamento de cirugía y observar un parto unas histerectomías y más. Fue difícil en unos aspectos porque no pude hacer lo que quería hacer y hay mucha gente que no puede acudir al hospital porque no tienen dinero suficiente. Pero al final, fue una experiencia buena para mi, porque muchas de las dificultades y frustraciones que tuve son muy representativas de la situación de salud en Latinoamérica.
Sarah Pierce '08
Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (CEAR)
Madrid, España
En el programa "Hamilton College Academic Year in Spain" podíamos tomar una clase que se llama "Modern Social Conscience of Spain". En esta clase la profesora nos ayudó a encontrar y ganar prácticas con varias organizaciones. La mía fue con la Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (CEAR). Los estudiantes haciendo prácticas con esta organización hacen uno de dos trabajos: traducción o investigación. Hice investigación sobre Afganistán. Escribí un trabajo de cerca de 20 páginas sobre los eventos en Afganistán durante 2006. Un abogado iba a usar mi trabajo para convencer a oficiales españoles que dieran asilo a refugiados afganos. Fue una práctica muy interesante pero un poco solitaria. Los trabajadores en la oficina son muy amables pero no tuve mucha oportunidad de hablar con ellos. Una vez tuve una cita con mi abogado que fue muy interesante para mi.
Brij Patnaik '05
Hospital Eugenio Espejo
Quito, Ecuador
This past summer I did a Rosenfield-sponsored internship at Hospital Eugenio Espejo in Quito, Ecuador. In planning the internship I wanted to find something that would give me experience in a health-related field, which I'm considering working in, and immerse me in a Spanish-speaking environment. Luckily, my friend Felipe Bautista '02 had spent a summer working at Hospital Espejo in his hometown of Quito and was able to recommend the hospital to me and give me information about whom I should contact to arrange things. My role at the hospital was generally that of a medical student. Most of my time was spent shadowing doctors, discussing patient's cases, participating in academic lectures and conferences, etc. I was also able to help out in an ad hoc manner by assisting in examinations and treatments, acquiring information from new patients, and taking care of paperwork. My time in Ecuador was really invaluable to my ability to use Spanish. I now feel confident in my ability to keep up with native speaker's pace and accents, and can communicate my own ideas with much less effort. I also learned a lot of medical jargon that I may need in a future career. I think doing this internship or a similar one would be valuable for others. In planning a future internship, I would recommend getting as much information up front as possible because the nature of health care seems to vary a lot in Latin America. But it is probably universally true that you can have a more active role in the process than can be gotten in the United States.
Lucinda Richard '05
UNASSE (Unidad de atención sicológica, sexológica y educativa para el crecimiento personal)
Merida, Mexico
My name is Lucinda Richard and I did an internship in the summer of 2004, after I had studied abroad. I studied abroad in Merida, Mexico, and wanted to stay in the same city to do my summer internship. I am a Global Development Studies concentrator, so I went to Montgomery Roper and asked him about scholarship opportunities for development-related internships. He told me about the Sunnen Foundation Grant--a summer internship grant that provides two students with the opportunity to study world population issues. I received the Sunnen Foundation Grant and worked for eight weeks, full-time, with UNASSE (Unidad de Atención Sicológica, Sexológica y Educativa por el crecimiento personal). I found out about UNASSE from a student who had volunteered there while studying abroad in Merida the year before I went. To students who are interested in similar work, I would recommend looking at the website www.unasse.com or calling (the code to call out of the US, plus the following number) 999.987.41.07 and asking to talk to Maribel, my boss, or Doña Mirna, the secretary. During my internship, I helped facilitate sex education classes that we gave at public, government-run middle schools around Merida. We also gave sex education workshops at some middle schools in surrounding pueblos. I also helped run the youth after-school programs in three different marginalized communities in the city. This was an incredible experience that I would definitely recommend outgoing students who want to improve their already-advanced Spanish speaking skills. The student must be fairly advanced in Spanish because a lot of my interactions involved joking around with my coworkers (who were some of my best friends by the end). If the student I did the internship in the summer of 2003. I found out about the internship through networking and then by directly contacting persons in charge. I spend my winter vacation in El Salador prior to my summer experience and while I was there I interviewed with Save the Children and USAID. I had several other organizations on the list, but after my second interview I was offered a position with Save the Children. I would say the best way to get information is to try to find a contact with either a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador or any other mayor organization that is doing work in El Salvador (USAID would be another good contact). I was able to do my internship with the funds provided to me by the college through the Rosenfield Program. The specific project that I did within Save the Childen was called the Permanent Housing Project Phase II. The housing project was a strategic response of the U.S. government in conjunction with the Salvadoran government to the earthquake of 2001 that hit the country. I worked in the Community Organization part of the project, which entailed working directly with beneficiaries of the program and helping them understand and participate in various phases of the project (from legal issues with respect to land ownership to contract building). I worked with a Salvadoran counterpart 8h a day, which immensely helped my Spanish. Immersion is just priceless. After my experience in El Salvador, I did a semester abroad in Costa Rica, which to be honest, was a piece of cake after already having the experience in El Salvador. I would definitely recommend an experience like this to anyone interested in Latin American culture, economic development, non-profit based work (human rights, child labor etc.), because an experience like this truly enforces the classroom work where we learn about all these issues. An experience like this is highly culturally enriching and very educational in nature, as well; educational beyond what one can get from a classroom.struggles with basic Spanish, he or she would feel very left out at work. I feel like this internship has caused me to reconsider how I will use Spanish in my post-graduate life and has made me more interested in being involved in Grinnell's Spanish department activities because I don't want to lose the fluency I gained in Merida.
Nihad Heto '05
Save the Children (Desarrollo Juvenil Comunitario)
San Salvador, El Salvador
I did the internship in the summer of 2003. I found out about the internship through networking and then by directly contacting persons in charge. I spend my winter vacation in El Salvador prior to my summer experience and while I was there I interviewed with Save the Children and USAID. I had several other organizations on the list, but after my second interview I was offered a position with Save the Children. I would say the best way to get information is to try to find a contact with either a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador or any other mayor organization that is doing work in El Salvador (USAID would be another good contact). I was able to do my internship with the funds provided to me by the college through the Rosenfield Program. The specific project that I did within Save the Childen was called the Permanent Housing Project Phase II. The housing project was a strategic response of the U.S. government in conjunction with the Salvadoran government to the earthquake of 2001 that hit the country. I worked in the Community Organization part of the project, which entailed working directly with beneficiaries of the program and helping them understand and participate in various phases of the project (from legal issues with respect to land ownership to contract building). I worked with a Salvadoran counterpart 8h a day, which immensely helped my Spanish. Immersion is just priceless. After my experience in El Salvador, I did a semester abroad in Costa Rica, which to be honest, was a piece of cake after already having the experience in El Salvador. I would definitely recommend an experience like this to anyone interested in Latin American culture, economic development, non-profit based work (human rights, child labor etc.), because an experience like this truly enforces the classroom work where we learn about all these issues. An experience like this is highly culturally enriching and very educational in nature, as well; educational beyond what one can get from a classroom.
