Internship in Spain, blog 4

  Feelings and thoughts

What if I had never left my comfort zone and gone explore the world? I would have missed out on a lot. This has been a truly educational exprience that I recommend to everyone. I will miss Spain so much. Finland is also a beautiful country to live in, and now that I am going back there in December, I hope there will be a real freezing winter and lots of snow, so I can get into that christmas spirit. If I had been here in Spain over Christmas, I would not probably have gotten into that Christmas spirit, because here is more palm trees and it's hot, although those things would not have bothered me.

Going home

Anyway, it's been three months now and I'm on my way to Finland. It's been great. I would definitely come again. The workmates I met here have also already left one by one. Now it's my turn. My flight is at night, so I'll be in Finland in the morning. Then there's the train ride back to my hometown. Hopefully transporting my stuff won't be diffucult, because I've been shopping quite a bit.

Event

In my last week at work, I had the task of planning an event. I work at a Finnish bakery, and we decided to make an event related to Finnish Independence Day. We wanted to offer some really good old-fashioned Finnish delicacies in Spain. I had developed a big plan for that day. We had decorations, tastings, raffles, clothes to match the theme, traditional delicacies, music and lots of chatting. We wanted to offer our customers a unique exprience of Finnish traditional delicacies. The customers were happy and so was the staff.

Memories in pictures

Thank you Erasmus+ and teachers who have supported me while I was here!

//WinNovan liiketoiminnan opiskelijaliikkuvuus//

Internship in Spain, blog 3

Culture ways

I think it's pretty cool that many people is still calling others ladies and gentleman here. The words "Ms.", "Ms." and "Mr." are used a lot. Cheek kisses are also normal. You might even get cheek kisses when greeting strangers, because it's a tradition and courtesy. 

Markets are weekly thing for Spaniards, from summer to winter. Here in Fuengirola there is always a vegetable and fruit market on Tuesdays, and a flea market on Saturdays. I am such a flea market person. I like to buy clothes cheaply and sometimes I might find some unique, beautiful vintage products. 

The third thing I've noticed: people always charge customers afterwards. This came as a complete suprise to me. I don't know, I find it pretty funny that they charge afterwards. Many places don't even accept card payments, and it's common in Spain. It's a good idea to ask before buying a product or service whether card payments are possible. They don't say or inform that at the beginning before buying. At my workplace, every Spanish customer always uses cash, so they definitely know that not everywhere accepts card payments.

Me and my friends

I have really enjoyed being here. I wish I could stay longer, but on other hand I also want to see my family. I have already said this in previous blogs, but I will say it again, this experience has changed me significantly and I feel more adult than ever. 

I have made new friends for life. My friend from Finland also visited me and she stayed with me for a few days. I introduced her to places and we met our mutual friend, who I actually spent my first day in Spain with. It was fun. Now my mother is coming to stay with me for the last week of my internship. On Friday we will go home together. It is nicer to have a chat buddy with me on my trip to Finlad than traveling alone.

//WinNovan liiketoiminnan opiskelijaliikkuvuus//

Internship in Spain, blog 2

 Habituation

Getting used to the new work routine was a bit difficult at the beginning, when the tasks, the environment and the people were completely new to me. In time, I got used to them. Now I actually really like my job and I have gained wonderful new relationships, through which I have also been able to see new cultures. Life is different here, but in a good way. 

Use of time

I have six-hour working days every weekday, and there is a half-hour lunch break halfway through the day. After the workday, I usually go to the grocery, do cooking and schoolwork, and if there is time, I go outside. On the weekends, I try to maintain social relationships and update my personal posts. Sometimes it feels like there isn't enough time to do all these things. Then I just have to remember to take one thing at a time and enjoy! 

Free time

I have done a lot of everything with my colleagues. We've been to the zoo, eaten in restaurants and shopped, and it's been fun. Of course, I've also had quieter moments, when, for example, I go swimming alone, or go outside and explore the environment. It's relaxing and reduces stress when you don't have to do something fast all the time. Fuengirola is nice place to explore, and you might meet other finss, because this is like a Finnish city.

Thoughts

If i ever feel homesick, I can just look at the Finnish weather information. I think it helps me feel better. Spain's climate was the reason why i wanted to come here in the firts place. It's already November and it's 22 degrees outside. Here you can enjoy the warmth, and I strongly believe that this reason also attracts many other Finns to come here. And when I'm in Finland again, I'll definitely notice it, because besides the weather, the price different between Finland and Spain are distinctive. Everything is cheaper here. On student budget, this Spain was a good option. It was an exciting decision to go study abroad at a young age. I had never even been on a plane before this exchange. This has been a great experience and i can definitely use this in the future.

    I was walking on the beach, and by chance I found a starfish. I almost stepped on it.

     I have never seen a live starish before. it was pretty and spiny. I was told to put it back in the water, 

because other people might eat it if they find it.

  //WinNovan liiketoiminnan opiskelijaliikkuvuus//

Internship in Spain

 I decided to go abroad for an internship for three months because I wanted to experience something new. And I'm glad I left. The last few weeks have been incredible. The weather has been beautiful and the scenery memorable. I have met new people and learned a lot about life. My English has become better and I would say that I have grown as a person. This is an opportunity that I think everyone should try. I'm going to enjoy every moment. 

A new environment 

The morning I arrived in Spain, my friends were waiting for me at the airport. The temperature was 34 degrees and I was wearing black sweatpants and a sweater. It was a really hot day to travel. When we finally made it to their apartment, they introduced me to places in Fuengirola. I got to experience Spanish food, music and culture. I am really grateful that I could stay the night at their place. 

The next day, I got a ride to my new rental apartment from my friends, otherwise I would have been a bit lost with my heavy luggage. Everything went well, but communicating with the landlord was a bit of a challenge because she didn't speak much English. Luckily, technology was there to support.  

I'm starting to get used to this new environment and I know pretty well where to find something in Fuengirola. Traveling from one place to another is also easy because I bought a used electric scooter from a Facebook group a few weeks ago. When I return to Finland, I will sell it online before I leave.

My workplace

I work in a Finnish bakery. It's a small boutique, with a small staff. The place is located in Los Boliches, the bakery can be reached in six minutes from the train station.  

The shop's Finnish pastries attract the most Spanish people. There are also Finnish and Swedish customers, but most of them are Spanish. The boutique sells, for example, different sorts of rye bread, cinnamon buns and karelian pies. The products are baked every day. At the end of the day, the unpurchased products are taken to Finnish food store for sale. 

My job is to keep the place clean and serve customers: sell products and receive orders. I also have the task of planning an event, which I then promote on the internet. 

Feria festival

The Feria festival is an annual celebration in Spain. I have never heard of such a celebration, but I happened to be in Spain when this was. It was a fun experience. People wore national costumes, horse-drawn carriages passed through the streets, music could be heard from everywhere, and carnival was built on a large plaza, which usually had flea markets. My colleagues and I probably went to the carnival three times. That was awesome!

//WinNovan liiketoiminnan opiskelijaliikkuvuus//