Literature, travel and being an intern
Josie Dlugosz writes about her first impressions of Madrid and her love of English literature.
In 2024, I earned my degree in English Writing, Literature, and Publishing from the American University of Rome in Rome, Italy. As a US native, the location of my undergraduate studies always seemed to impress people back home, but once I disclosed my course of study, I’d often be met with mixed reactions. Some were confused. Others found it funny. But most just found it ironic, the fact that I was studying English in a country where English isn’t the primary language.
Reading the classics
I’ll admit that it is ironic, but really, there isn’t anywhere else I would have rather studied English. Throughout the three years I lived in Rome, I encountered people from all over the world, both in my daily life, at school, and in books. Studying literature in such a global, multilingual classroom allowed me to read with a more international lens. Beyond the fact that I got to study Ovid’s The Art of Love before the Circus Maximus, and James’s Daisy Miller beside the Colosseum, I got to analyze literature of my own country from the perspective of another and search for connections between them both.
Now, I find myself in yet another international city: Madrid. Before September, I’d never set foot in Spain, but I loved my time abroad so much that I had to find another way to return. I arrived here through the North American Language and Culture Assistants program and have been working as an English language assistant at a primary school since the start of October. So far, this experience has allowed me to gain insight into the Spanish education system, as well as Spanish culture.
Photo credit: Ksenia Chernaya @ Pexels.com
Interning
In addition to my job as a language assistant, I’m currently an intern here at Ybernia. My love of literature, and my general interest in books, makes an internship at a publishing house seem like a natural choice. However, I’m especially excited about working at Ybernia given the international, bilingual, and diverse nature they embody as a publishing house and capture in each of their publications. It feels like a full circle moment, now getting to work with literature in yet another new country.
I’m still learning Spanish — and getting used to churros for breakfast instead of cornettos — but so far, Madrid feels like the ideal place to continue working with English literature… ironic as it may be.
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