SLU Study Abroad Program in Madrid, Spain
Student Internships and Research Projects
My Office
Matt Manz, Class of 2008
Fundación Atlético de Madrid
This January, I have been doing an internship with the Fundación Atlético de Madrid as part of the Spain full-year study abroad program. Monday through Friday, from January 8-February 9, I’ve been working 8 hour days with the Fundación. I work in a department that is the social arm of the professional soccer team Atlético de Madrid, which does numerous acts throughout the season to benefit underprivileged people in the Madrid community (for example, the big act we’ve just completed was a calendar featuring different members of the team playing with young children who suffer from dwarfism). I’ve had the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the players, who have made names for themselves here in Spain and on the world stage in the World Cup.
This is just one of the many opportunities my study abroad option here at SLU has given me. In September, I was able to run with the bulls during my first three weeks in Spain, where I lived with a host family in a small town outside of Segovia. The running of the bulls was part of my pueblo’s festivals that were going on during my time learning about rural Spanish culture, and my small town had an equally small running of the bulls. There were, in truth, only about 6 or 7 bulls and only dozens, not hundreds, of people participating, but it was still a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The food has been terrific, and I’ll be coming back with suggestions for Dana for my senior year (pig ear is a delicacy I think we should try to squeeze in between the pasta bar and the sandwich station). The hardest part for me has been adjusting to the language. For future students, just saying “sí” to every question you will be asked does not work, and in fact frequently leads to awkward situations (incidentally, when your host brother shows you where the key to your host family’s house is hidden and asks you ¿eres ladrón?, he is asking you “are you a thief?” It is best not to say sí to these questions).
I’ve been to a number of different places in Spain already, and I am looking forward to more of our program’s excursions so that I can really get to know the culture here as best as I can before heading back home. We have two more official excursions planned, as well as a number of local holiday’s that are not celebrated back in the US. I’m looking forward to another rewarding semester here in Madrid, and hope that my Spanish has improved enough so that I have no more uncomfortable encounters.
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