Home - All the european internships information you need

The New

My internship: my first impressions of Bilbao

Actually, I arrived in Bilbao about 2 months ago but my first impressions of Bilbao are still alive in my mind.

This is the first time that I came to Spain. I just studied Spanish at school but I never had had any contact to Spaniards before (well, except for my Spanish teacher who is a native speaker).


So what did I expect from the people, the food, the culture?
First of all, I thought that Spanish people would be really loud, lively and that they really enjoy life. I expected people using their hands to express their feelings or to highlight what they are trying to tell you. In my mind, the Spaniards were really proud and sometimes even begrudging. And I must admit that I have seen many of my expectations coming true.

I did experience that Spanish people love to party and even to communicate very loudly. They use their hands quite often to underline what they want to say – but not as often as Italians do it. But the most exciting – and sometimes even the most annoying – thing to see is that people are really relaxed. They do appreciate their work and are really willing to make an effort but sometimes things are not as well organized as in other countries and you can even find people saying: “Don’t worry, we can still do it tomorrow.” Sometimes this is actually the best thing to do in order not to be stressed all the time but sometimes I had been in situations when I urgently would have needed help…


I was really amazed by the Spanish food. I had only tried Mexican food before but I had never been especially fond of Spanish dishes. So when I got here, the first thing I did was to try out some “pintxos”, the Bask version of “tapas” – and I loved it. The thing that I really like about Spanish food is that you have many dishes that consist of sea food and that the people here eat a lot of bread. At the beginning, it was a bit hard for me to get used to the small portions that you can usually buy in bars. But I really enjoyed that you have a huge variety of “pintxos”, so that you can always eat something that you really like. But usually, “pintxos” are not very healthy because of all the fatty ingredients. Furthermore, Spanish people usually eat very late, they don’t have a big breakfast but prefer to have a huge dinner very late in the evening instead. So I was wondering all the time how people can be that skinny though? I haven’t found a solution yet but I have already accustomed myself to these habits. Hopefully, it will work out for me in the same way…

Apart from all this, I really love the city of Bilbao. Luckily, I made friends with international people very soon after my arrival here in Spain. We have spent a lot of time in town right from the beginning. You want to go shopping? You want to do some sightseeing ant to visit the famous monuments and museums of the city? You want to do some sports or to spend your free time being in the open countryside? Or would you like to go to the beach instead?

Bilbao has so many things to offer and it was really nice for me to discover and as well to do all these things. We also went for clubbing several times and I really enjoyed it. I would have never thought that Bilbao would be such an exciting city! I have been to many places in the city as well as to places around town but there is still so much to see. So I will take advantage of the 2 months that are still left for me in Bilbao and I’m sure that I will enjoy my time here…


More news


Our programs

The best Internships in Europe
Academic semesters abroad
Read more about hospitality managenet
Our Packs with spanish lessons and cultural activities
Questions? Let's Chat
Online Support!
Need Help? Chat with us on Whatsapp