Marni about her volunteering in Spain

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Marni about her volunteering in Spain

Hola hola!!

My name is Marni, I’m doing my ESC volunteering project in southern Spain.

I have started the service this February with Asociación Juvenil Inter in Jerez de la Frontera. I’m actively involved in various youth projects with the association, helping them to implement their daily activities and Erasmus+ projects. In the same time discovering the breathtaking region of Andalucía with its rich culture and diversity.

1. Could you please tell about your challenges when you first arrived in Spain? How did you overcome them?
Changing your environment always comes with different and interesting challenges. For me moving to a place where people only spoke Spanish and with their own and fast dialect was challenging. In the beginning I used to sit around a table and I couldn’t understand most of the things. I overcame that by making local friends and not being shy of making mistakes.

2. What were the things that you discovered about yourself during your volunteering time?
This was an amazing opportunity to live outside of my comfort zone and rely on myself. To be more self confident and empathizing and adapting to various situations and people.

3. What do you like the most about Spain and why?
I will specify Andalucía because I am doing my volunteering here and have travelled mostly in this region, it is a place with rich history and magnificent architecture, warm hearted people and amazing beaches on the Atlantic Ocean and the other part on the Mediterranean Sea. The main reason is the diversity that I like the most here.

4. What did you learn during ESC? any skills you gained? attitudes changed?
When I look back I can think of many skills that I gained during these months, within the scope of volunteering I learned how to organize Erasmus+ projects, I improved my Spanish, I worked with the local young people and kids and learned how to communicate with them and make activities that will attract locals. I can say that the main attitude that has changed is that people are different with different perspectives and that is what makes things beautiful.