One of the most valuable skills I developed was learning how to adapt to the people in front of me instead of becoming too attached to the plan I had prepared. Every week was different. Attendance changed, students had different language levels, and sometimes they needed more time on a topic than I expected. I learned to read the room, adjust activities in the moment, and create student feedback forms to shape future sessions. Through experiences like this, I became much more confident in public speaking, teaching, planning, leadership, and cross-cultural communication. Working with students of different ages, countries, and backgrounds taught me that good communication starts with listening and understanding what people actually need. I learned that being a good leader does not mean always having the perfect answer or plan. It means paying attention, communicating clearly, being willing to adjust, and creating an environment where people feel comfortable participating and contributing.
My internship began in February, and it changed everything. Week by week, my students stopped feeling like people who simply attended my sessions. I learned about their families, interests, careers, and lives. Some became people I got coffee with outside of class and hoped to see again before leaving Barcelona. These relationships made the city feel less like somewhere I was temporarily studying and more like somewhere I genuinely belonged. The experience changed how I think about studying abroad. It is easy to focus on everything you receive from another country: the travel, education, friendships, and experiences. This internship allowed me to give something back to the community that welcomed me. More than anything, it gave me relationships I still maintain and the connection to Barcelona that I had been searching for from the beginning.
Malak Shahin