When I came
in Ribadavia it was summer, it was hot and beautiful, it was funny,
entertaining and everyone was telling the legends about the winter when
“nothing is happening” to prepare us for what is coming. The cold, moisty and
rainy winter when everyone stays at home and there are no opportunities to
spend your time nicely… Well, it was clear that the words of the locals
complaining about the winter are quite exaggerated as it didn’t seem serious
that 5-10C is a really low temperature. And now it is proved, it was all
legends, my winter is like no winter at all by now.
First of
all, outside it is still as green as it was in May, even flowers are still blooming
on the streets; yes, sometimes you get
tired of rain, but still I have some ten from the sunny days… and nevertheless
it doesn’t really feel as if the fiesta has stopped – just got less intense
than in the summer.
December
was as vivid and colorful, just as warm as my never-ending summer of 2011. It
started with a breath of a culture, as I visited the one of biggest cultural
events in Galicia, called Culturgal in Pontevedra in the first weekend of the
month. I really got thousand ideas with
information I got from what I saw at this huge expo of all types of art
creators, promoters, producers, publishers and media… Cultural life has always
been my strongest passion and I enjoyed a lot getting to know how it works in
Galicia, as an example of a now-developing industry, especially when the
promotion of it was live, with concerts, readings, interviews, theatre – three
full days.
The week
after was the so-called Puente, a week
with two Spanish national holidays in beneath, which the students love a
lot because they usually get it all free, as well as some workers. In this week
Casa da Xuventude was working, but the vacations still worked for a long-expected
trip that I made – going to Portugal, visiting Porto for a day and a family
friend in Lisbon. His family I was staying with were really good people that
were all the time taking care of me and showed me the Portugese capital and the
area around it. As I expected, I fell in love with the country, its cities and
coast, even though nothing really surprised me after living almost on its
border line. The Northern Portugal sure has a lot in common with Galicia, both
as a culture and outlook. Porto though is a city to be experienced, as it is
unique, one of those cities which have not only beautiful views and tourist
attractions, but also a character, it feels to be alive, with its own artistic
appearance.
Lisbon gave
me another feeling, as being also a big capital city and as I am used to a much
smaller city-sizes now… But in one word it is also a charming, beautiful place
and the glory of its past still makes it look proud and royal. For years I was
eager to see those both cities and to walk through their little steep narrow
streets all over… My hosts took me to many little beautiful villages and spots
around there, my volunteer foot also reached the most western point of
continental Europe (Cabo da Roca) and the beautiful hills and coastline (where
people keep on riding surf in December) North from Lisbon, the palaces of
Sintra, the port of Cascais, the city of Setubal and its surroundings,
lighthouses, monasteries…
It was a
trip of short duration but with full program, great impressions and feelings. When
I came back to Ribadavia though I didn’t enjoy long my good memories as Aleksander was leaving and we had to say
good-bye to a work and a living mate. The sad truth – the volunteer colony in
Ribadavia lost a member. Soon after we
had to start the selection process of the EVS volunteers after us with the
thought that neither Aleksander really wanted to leave, nor me and Santa want
our project to come to an end. But this is how life goes, changes are more than
necessary…
In general
at work also it doesn’t feel as if in the winter there is less to do, as now I
dare to do much more and stay occupied all the working hours. Truly, the
knowledge of the language would be a plus in my application but I am grateful
that I was given a chance to learn it here and as I already have the basics to
communicate with the youngsters coming to Casa da Xuventude, to work better. The
tasks also grew in number, including translations, phone calls, also I made a
pre-departure training of a girl, soon about to leave for her EVS in Slovenia,
another boy that OMIX had send has returned and thus the EVS wheel keeps on
turning...
And the
cherry on the top of all the travels during all this year going around Europe, was
a travel I made during the Christmas holidays to Morocco. As is it not
connected neither to what I do in my EVS, neither to what I discover from Spain
as a culture, language and places, it was also a trip I used to dream about and
that I knew will come true once I come closer to this part of the continent. Africa
is a must see, a different world, which opens one’s eyes for many things. From
Marrakesh’s square and its fairytale creatures, to the colorful markets which
are swallowing you and then spitting you
out tired of all the colors, goods, smells, bargaining and shouts, to the poor
dusty neighborhoods with children playing football with no shoes, the women
with their vain on motorbikes, the traffic following no logic and the extreme
sport of crossing a street, all the people with no-existing professions.. to
the fish market in Essaueira, the seagulls and the chickens on the roofs. It is
all beyond the imagination of a person from Europe, always surprising and so
intense. But the best part definitely was visiting an oasis on the way from
Oarzazete to the dessert, where only berbers still live as they used to do
thousands of years ago in their cub houses, baking pottery and washing their
clothes in the river… Well, the more I
write the more I realize how impossible it is to give in words all my
impressions, but I am more than grateful (mostly to our friend and host there,
Jamal, without whom it may be wouldn’t be so) for what I had to experience, for
living in the magic of Africa for though only for a week...
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