My last blog post was from the first week of my internship where I shared my experience arriving in Spain and settling into my internship. I have been in Barcelona, Spain, and interning for a little over a month and have learned so much. These past few weeks at my internship have been so incredible to see the participants’ engagement in school meetings and the classroom. Escola d’Adults La Verneda Sant Martí is run by Associació Àgora, a local non-profit. What is noteworthy about the school is that the participants can be involved as much as they would like. Being a part of the school does not stop at the classroom; rather, the participants can be involved in the decision-making processes, meetings, planning, and much more.
Recently at my internship, I have been involved in reading groups where the participants read classic literature in English and then discuss in English as well. This interactive approach helps to improve their language skills. The reading group does not have a professor but instead has a moderator to assist with directing the discussion and making sure everyone can participate. Furthermore, the discussion follows the structure that each participant prepares at least one point they would like to talk about and then they read the paragraph that best covers the point of topic which they would like to discuss. It has been extremely interesting for me to watch and interact in the discussions and see the participants learn and practice their English.
Here is a photo of one of the English reading groups that I am in. 
This photo is from a meeting about interactive learning. As mentioned earlier, participants of the school can be involved as much as they would like. The photo above shows a meeting about interactive learning and how we can effectively have interactive groups to positively contribute to the learning process. I have been involved in many meetings such as this one where we cover important topics such as gender violence prevention, interactive learning, and so on. Participants of the school, volunteers, and employees of the school all participate in the meetings and share ideas, ask questions, and discuss together.
Beyond my internship, I am enjoying Spain very much, and I have grown so much during my time here. I feel that being immersed in a different culture and language has been such an amazing learning and growing experience for me. I am extremely happy that I have been able to meet so many amazing and inspiring people from my internship and even outside of my internship. Also, I am enjoying everyday life here, which is quite different from my life at home. For example, I walk a lot here and use the metro, as opposed to my life in the United States where I mainly drive. The public transportation is impressive in Barcelona, and taxis are also readily available. Furthermore, it is common to eat outside and take time to enjoy a coffee with a friend in the morning, so there is outdoor seating everywhere. Oh, and of course the architecture in Barcelona is magnificent! Every time I step outside, I am in awe of the architecture and how beautiful it is here.
Here is a photo of me standing in front of La Sagrada Família, the largest church in the world. Designed by Gaudí, construction began in 1882 and still continues today.
This is a photo of when I visited Casa Batlló, which was also designed by Gaudí.