A brief description of my STEP project was doing an internship abroad in Barcelona, Spain. I worked with the program, ISA in Barcelona, and they helped me find an internship based on my skills and interests, as well as helping me find the best housing option for my time there.
In the future, I have plans to go onto law school to become a medical malpractice attorney and this program allowed me to work with a medical malpractice law firm in Barcelona, Spain. My views that changed while completing this STEP project is how the work-life balance is so different here than in the United States. The United States has more of a live to work lifestyle, while in Spain, they have more of a work to live lifestyle. Everything is closed on Sundays to allow them to use it as a rest day and many of them go to the beach on the days off. Working on the weekdays isn’t for too long. If you finish your work, you are free to go and enjoy the rest of the day. That was the best part about working in Spain. The adjustment was not bad at all, especially since I already speak the language here. It was the very relaxed lifestyle they live here, that was very hard to get used to. In the United States, we are so used to a rushed life day to day, while here everything is calmer and not rushed. The average workplace doesn’t even open till 9-9:30 but most employees don’t go in until 10-10:30, while back in the states, it is much earlier.
My trips to different cities in Spain and even out of the country helped me see how the Spaniard culture is different in small details, such as the appreciation for specific Spanish dishes in different cities, but still an appreciation for the cuisine in general. The biggest thing I noticed while in Spain is their dislike for tourists, compared to other countries I have been to as a tourist. Since they live such a calm, relaxed life, the influx of tourists that arrive to Spain every year, especially in the summer, raises their dislike towards them. The vast number of tourists causes overcrowding and rent increase. Their calm lifestyle allowed me to see locals enjoying drinks in the middle of the day or even having a cigarette in the office when talking to coworkers.
This change was valuable to my life because it shows that this kind of lifestyle is the way I would want to live. It’s very good for your mental health, because it gives you time to breathe and live your life. Living a rushed life is stressful and you don’t enjoy it at all. The work-life balance here is the ideal way to live. You still work and do what you need to do, but it isn’t your sole thing in your life. I have shadowed and worked for many lawyers in the United States, who constantly say they work way too many hours which makes it hard when you have a family or want to go on vacation. Working for the lawyers here, who also work hard and big cases, they prioritize self-care and mental health, so that they don’t end up hating their job. Doing this program helped me realize the type of work-life balance I want for myself in the future.
