Incredibly
fast year, thinking about it everything passed in a blink of an eye! Who was
saying a one year project is a very long term? It is actually flying away - I
just got used to everything around me as if I am home… and it is time to go.
Already the sentiments begun with moments of remembering, good-bye parties and
promises nothing to be forgotten. It won’t be.
This
beautiful spring month of March was the last one I officially had in my
project’s duration. And it was simply amazing! It started and vanished with
visits here and me visiting around. Just like all the rest of the year and somehow more intense, as for being a great
ending of great period J First to visit me in the moment
when all the nature was waking up for the spring, all colored and fresh, was a
friend from my hometown, also a traveler and dreamer. He got involved together
with us both with Santa in a Wine tourism course in English, organized by the Distance
University of UNED. That was an interesting new experience, we spend couple of
days in a romantic chateau producing high class white wine, and our task was to
make the people relax and speak in English, but together with the walks and the
wine-production process presentation that they made for us, it was all a nice
weekend. While Nasko, my friend, was still here we also had a visit from the
volunteers in Santiago and A Coruna, gathering of the big happy EVS family,
playing some music, diving in the lake, walks – all the pleasant activities
going together with over 25 degrees heat. Of course the dinner tradition was
also followed carefully with the first open-air dinners on the balcony “a la plancha”.
In the
first days of the month I visited Porto once more to see Sashka, whose project
was ending already, and Aija. It seemed as a little reunion of the Morroco team
plus some crazy Asturians, with whom we were all involved in organizing an
Asturian evening with a dinner in Casa da Horta, the cultural association with
a cosy vegan restaurant where Aija used to work. It was short, rainy visit, but
my admirations of Porto grew more and to the traveler’s diary were added also
Tuy and Valenca – the two neighboring border villages on the both sides of the
river Minho (the two of them really charming),
which I passed on the way.
Next free
days I went to Vigo with my local friend Mercedes (a unique woman, a pleasure
to know her) and her daughter, to see the city properly after being here only
passing on the way to the beach. We made some walks, museums, fortresses – all
that was included in a nice weekend by the coast. With Merce we made also few
walks around here, as she is the same explorer as me and we went to investigate
beautiful paths in magical forests by the little river Maquians, that also passes
through part of Ribadavia. Next on the list was Pena Corneira – an incredible geological
fenomenon, hills covered with huge oval rocks, as if it was a stone forest and
one of the highest points around Ribeiro. Also this month she brought us to the
archaeological site of San Cibran – a pre-roman village from the Castro culture,
a visit that revived the sleeping archaeologist in me (yep, that’s my
university degreeJ)
Actually,
there was one moment when so many things started happening at the same time.
Two special friends from Bulgaria, Katerina and Ina also arrived here in the
end of the month and got involved in the little craziness of life I had in the
last days of March. At work with the end coming closer the tasks were growing
in number and after all that was the real deadline if we wanted to do anything
more while being here. So the ideas kept on being born and realized, starting
with presentations of Bulgaria and
Latvia in the English classes. That was something we wanted to do from the
beginning of the project, but never fit into time and schedule, so we finally
made it in a short and educational way, but successfully. Then followed a youth
forum organized by OMIX in the school, with all the students coming in one of
the three sessions in the two schools of Ribadavia – the primary school and the
professional college. We presented them the Casa da Xuventude and the
opportunities for the free time and for education – both formal and informal,
they can find there, also the Youth in Action program and EVS. For me it was a
big step speaking in front of more than hundred students in Spanish, something
I have barely done in Bulgaria. But after all the tension passes, you realize
how useful are big challenges like this one.
Literally
in the same day we made the opening of an exposition we were planning a long
time ago and completed as an idea this month. Three volunteers, four pictures
each – altogether 12 works united by the title Ribalandia. Me, Santa and
Aleksander tried to express what the year here meant to us, what we saw and
experienced. I will publish all these pictures in a separate post. This was the
first time I was showing in an exhibition something mine, after just the news
that some other pictures I was sending to Italy were participating in an
exhibition there. It is a nice feeling of doing something good and sharing, at
least with the friends that came to celebrate with us and few girls that came
especially from Pontereas to see the exhibition. For me it was success, because
it was one of the few things we finally managed to do together as a team with
Santa and Sasha (even though he is back to Estonia for months already).
Then, after
doing some good job (and quite intensively), it was of course time again to
make a little trip, and I joined Ina on her way to Aveiro in Portugal, as she
was about to make a week there as a WWOOF volunteer in a city garden in the
local University. We passed again through Tuy and Valenca, then saw the
majestic sunset above the ocean from the train (that could never be forgotten)
and reached Aveiro – the Venice of Portugal, famous for its channels and boats,
to see it at night. The weekend was all about gardening, village life, great
people and good musical jam-session, also the first nights outside for the
year, around the fire. We had great time and I came back happier than ever. And
it all only became better when I received a call right upon my arrival in
Ribadavia from Shell, a dear friend from my Erasmus times from Ireland, telling
me that she is also coming to see me in my Spanish home … the next day. So
little time and so many emotions! Few days were never enough for me to show my
guests all the little miracles of Ribalandia, even though it is a small village
with nothing to do in the end of the world J But Shell could be part of one of
the last dinners we made at home, and spend together with me a lot of time in
my favorite places along the river, following the tradition to play the guitar
all the time. She also came in the perfect moment to accompany me to go to
Islas Cies – one archipelago of the few Galician islands that is being my
travel destination already a year and finally could be reached this Semana
Santa. Yes, it happened that we spent our Easter on a paradise island, with one
of the most beautiful beaches in the world (according to some statistics) and
amazing views of the ocean, the seagulls and crystal waters. Sometimes I stop
myself and think - have I ever thought before that a voluntary service would
make it possible to be in places like this, places taken out from the dreams.
Directly after this we took the bus from Vigo to Porto to stay with Shell in
another of my favorite places. I realized I am in love with this city and
Portugal in general and so happy for choosing Galicia for my EVS – this way I
felt a lot of Galicia, Spain and Portugal at the same time.
And after
all these intense emotions, here I am again at my sweet home on the last floor
of the Tower, preparing Final reports and trying to figure out of a conclusion
how to put in few words all that I have been already sharing here in the blog
for a year. In the end of each project
the volunteer should make except for the official Youth in Action report their
Youthpass. We are supposed as well to organize everything in the most
comfortable way for the upcoming volunteers, which we won’t be able to meet.
And now are the last days of doing all these big tasks together with many
little ones, connected with leaving a place called Home. Days to prepare also myself for new
beginnings, because I mostly believe in beginnings, not in endings. Days to
organize a way to come back here soon to see again Ribadavia and how the life
goes on after we’ll be away. Days to meet everyone and to say good-bye. Days to
think over everything… or better to stay away from thinking J Days to feel and appreciate.
The
fairytale of Ribalandia was in all I have learned, all I have seen, all I have
experienced. A year ago I had no idea where am I going to, how it is going to
be, what is there waiting to discover. Now I know that basically this all
depends on you, on the person itself and how they see the things. Recently a
friend said “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”. I opened my eyes and heart
for all that was experiencing and the reward was the miracle of my EVS. Of
course, there were bad moments, hard times, misunderstandings and so on, which
I would never mention neither in the blog, nor in front of someone, because I
don’t believe they are more important than all the great things.
So, as last
words I want to thank to everyone that was part of my EVS year – Manuel, Santa
and Aleksander, all the other EVS volunteers, all my friends that came to see
me, all my local friends (amazing ones!!!) and the people I met on the way.
Thank you! And as I wrote already in the first posts: The best is yet to come.
I couldn’t
expect more. I couldn’t get more. Hasta siempre, Ribadavia!
Ortigueira, July 2011
San Paio, October 2011
Oporto, December 2011
At home, always
