Anna in Spain

I'm Anna Laurán and I graduated last year with a degree in Community Organising. I always wanted to take a break between my master and bachelor studies, so in my gap year I have been/am involved in different projects. Through the ESC I was able to spend 2 months in Catalonia, in a small town between Barcelona and Tarragona, with several other international volunteers.

There were 8 of us living in a villa, two to a room. It was our job to maintain the house, clean it, etc. and we also cooked for ourselves (lots of different interesting dishes). For me it was a great experience to live with other young people, all from very different countries, so our culture was very different. I learned a lot from them, about other cultures and the unwritten rules of living together.

During the project, we taught English to the locals in the library, where people of all ages from 7 to 80 could be found. The lessons were always very gratefully received and it was great to experience this role.

We also worked with young people with different difficulties during the project, there were basketball classes, theater sessions and various craft activities. We also received a lot of love from them,

These two months were special not only because we got to live in such a beautiful place but also because we got to try an activity that is only available in that region: human towers aka castellers.

We travelled a lot around the area, so we had a lot of good experiences and learned a lot about each other and ourselves. And the friendships we made there I think are a real treasure for all of us.

For me, it was a very good way to recharge after all the learning, to be in a new environment and to spend time in a useful way.