Why did you decide to volunteer abroad with Volunteering Solutions in Spain?
Angel: I decided to be apart of Volunteering Solutions because I saw how they offered exactly what I was looking for. From being able to site-see a beautiful city, to working in an immigrant neighborhood, all of these opportunities that the program offered were taken into consideration when making the decision. Also, the cost of the program was well under my budget, so I was able to travel and experience life in Spain for a good price.
Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Angel: Being a volunteer abroad was a great experience. Since I arrived a week prior to the start of the summer school, during that time I would go to the offices were the non-profit organization was located and help the coordinators go over the last changes before they started the program. This week was very fun because I was able to translate a few children's songs from english to spanish, and it was also the time were I was beginning to know everyone that I was going to work with.
On my second day, I met other volunteers that were also going to be there during the same time as me, so working together helped create a bond that would later become into many experiences that we all had. The times to go to the office were very flexible, sometimes it would be from 10am - 2pm and then from 4pm - 8pm (since Spain has a long tradition of having "siesta" during lunch time". The summer school began after my first week, so for the rest of my stay I would go to the elementary school in which we were working.
Due to Valencia's great public transportation, I would sometimes take the train, which would drop me off a few blocks away, or I would ride a bicycle, which was very cheap to use. Playing and interacting with the children was the best part of the day, they would all be very curious about where the volunteers came from and everyday they would receive all of us with open arms. Whether it was lunch or dinner, all of the volunteers tried to eat together in order to have a feeling that we were becoming family. Not only would we play with the kids, but there were also other exercises that would teach the children of other parts of the world, new words, and a english.
What made this experience unique and special?
Angel: Everything made this experience so special. There is not a day that goes by that I don't reminisce about Valencia and of its many great values that it has to offer. The people, the culture, the atmosphere, the diversity, everything that a person didnt think they would ever experience, was very well projected in Spain.
Working with children that had a very different background, makes a person value more what they have or what they experienced. The children always found a way to make a person smile, while at the same time being the professor of their cultures to other people that didn't know their traditions. Another asset that made this experience very unique, was being around other volunteers from different parts of the world.
The long-time friendships that came from that experience will never be forgotten because we only had each other while being away from home. We were like the United Nations, due to the origin of each volunteer, but our common goal was to help other people beyond our boundaries.
How has this experience impacted your future?
Angel: Personally, this experience has impacted me in a great way, because I was able to live and learn a different culture. Being exposed to other ideas made me become more aware of the diversity that there is in the world and showed me how we are all the same under one scope.
