Erasmus exchange in Spain: Madrid - part 3
For me those are the moments that I can truly grow, often without even realizing it at first. And as this past week has shown me, the professional side of an exchange can teach you just as much the cultural one.
In the last part I mostly focused on the cultural aspect of Semana Santa. Now I want to shift towards my working week. The third week proved to be quite challenging, as my boss was absent from Madrid. During the previous week he had told me that he would be going on a 10-day vacation and returning only after Semana Santa. This meant that I had to work by myself for the entire week. It came as a surprise, because I had only been informed two days in advance. To make things more confusing, at the start of the week it turned out that the German exchange student working with me wasn’t aware of it at all… and it was his last week in Spain!
Nonetheless, I adapted to the situation rather quickly. I finished working on the brand book for the company, and the next step was developing more branding materials. I created mock-ups of different items the company could use in the future, such as merchandise. After that, I began working on pictograms designed for the company’s website. And just like that, the week came to an end. It was only a three-day work week, and afterward everyone headed home to enjoy their days off.
One thing that stood out to me during this period was the working culture in Spain. From what I’ve observed so far, workplaces here tend to be more relaxed and flexible than what I’m used to. People here value maintaining a good work-life balance, and you can feel the cultural priority of enjoying life outside the office. Even though the pace can be slower at times, the atmosphere is warmer, more personal, and much less stressful, which creates a unique working dynamic that I’ve really come to appreciate.
