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Internship in Valencia: Daphne’s Experience at an International School
CATEGORY: Teaching Internship - Report
COUNTRY: Spain
READING TIME: 6 minutes
Taking time after high school to gain practical experience abroad can be both exciting and challenging. Daphne, 20, chose to spend four months in Valencia completing an internship at an international school, where she supported teachers across different classes and subjects. Alongside her internship, she immersed herself in everyday life in Spain, took Spanish lessons, and connected with other international students and interns. In this experience report, Daphne shares her honest impressions of school life, living in Valencia, and how this time helped her better understand her future goals.
!Hola! – My name is Daphne, I’m 20 years old, and after finishing high school I completed a four-month internship in Valencia. For many years, I had wanted to spend more than just a few weeks on vacation in Spain – on the one hand to improve my language skills, and on the other hand to experience living abroad and getting to know a new culture.
Since I had been considering studying Spanish and Physical Education to become a teacher next year, I wanted to do my internship at a school. Through the StudentsG Abroad organization, I eventually ended up at an international school. There, I had a wide range of tasks, as I was used as support in many different classes and subjects. My responsibilities included supervising students during breaks, giving presentations, and attending a weekly meeting with all interns focused on team building and professional development. To be honest, I didn’t really have the opportunity to improve my Spanish there; instead, I became very good at communicating efficiently and in a differentiated way in English. I also realized that although I enjoy working with children, I prefer the German school system much more and that working with certain age groups can be quite challenging.
In addition, I took Spanish classes on the side. The partner organization on site organized different meetings and trips every week, which made it easy to meet new people. Valencia is generally a very popular city for Erasmus students, au pairs, and international interns, so you quickly make friends if you attend lots of events and excursions at the beginning. For the four months, I also lived in a shared apartment, which meant I already had social contacts from the start.
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Valencia as the location of my internship abroad
As for Valencia as a city, I can only say that it is a perfect place to live – and not just because of its beautiful city center and impressive buildings. There are so many things to do: numerous museums, lovely squares, cinemas, restaurants, and above all the Turia Park, which is perfect for jogging, picnicking, reading, or simply relaxing. Another great aspect is the sunshine, which shines almost every day even in winter, the pleasant climate, and of course the beach, although it is about 40 minutes from the city center. We were still swimming in warm temperatures until the end of October!
The city is extremely well connected by metro, tram, and buses, and in general public transportation is much cheaper than in Germany. What many other Spanish cities lack is such a well-developed cycling network, so getting around Valencia by bike or e-scooter is also very easy. In addition, there are very affordable flea markets almost every day, and with supermarkets like Mercadona or Consum, there is always one just around the corner. However, it should be mentioned that as a vegan or vegetarian, you don’t have quite as many good options as in Germany.
My conclusion after 4 months of international teaching practice
When I look back on my time in Valencia, I naturally remember some exhausting and challenging days. But above all, I think of countless evenings with my friends at TKO Tacos, endless bar visits, my favorite classes and teachers at Shackleton, afternoons at the beach, beach volleyball, hikes in the mountains, and my incredibly fun Spanish lessons.
The experience was definitely worth it!
Written by Daphne – Teaching Intern in Valencia, Spain with StudentsGoAbroad
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