My EVS in Andalusia 3

A couple of weeks ago, the weather changed from lovely 20 °C to -2, from summer to winter, (well meanwhile it is back to 20°C) within a night. This sudden and rather unwelcome change however could not hinder us from getting up early the following morning, ready for a new adventure:                                                                                                                                                                                   With about 35 other people from our village, we had registered ourselves for an 18 km long hiking tour (turning out to be 22km) with an altitude difference of 800m and the highest point about 1250m.              Starting our tour right from the central square, my Polish co-volunteer Renata and I were soon confronted with the immensely quick pace of our Spanish walking companions. I might never figure out if they were about to break a time record or just trying to beat the cold which was clearly prominent despite of wearing a t-shirt, jumper, jacket and gloves. The 5 hours walk was energy-sapping but offered spectacular views. After 3/5 of the way, everyone got fruit, bread, chorizo and black pudding with a sip of wine “against the cold”. Back in town, we could all enjoy free beer and a rice dish at the pub.

In the last time I have also tried some Turkish and Polish food, through cooking with the other volunteers. My turn, preparing a German dish, will be coming soon.

Three weeks ago, Renata and I went to Toledo to the so called “On-arrival-Training” to meet 27 other volunteers (all between 18 and 29 years old) from 14 different European countries. On our 12 hours journey by bus and train we had a 2.5 hours stopover in Granada which we used to go to the centre. Since the bus station is rather in the outskirts of the town it took us 40 minutes to get there by foot and the same amount of time for the way back. Nevertheless, we did very much appreciate the time we had left in the town centre. We used it to visit the cathedral and to have a look at the bull fight arena and the main squares and streets.                                          

The bus ride from Granada to Madrid was enjoyable in comfortable seats and a lovely view on the mountains of Sierra Nevada. Near Jaen the bus stopped for half an hour and I couldn’t resist to buy 3 pretty Spanish mugs for my daily cup of tea.                                  

In Madrid, we had one hour to find the way from the bus to the train station, which was rather difficult in the darkness and without any map. At 20:30, we finally arrived in Toledo, got fetched up and brought to the hostel, an old castle, much later than all the other volunteers.                                                                                                             

I really should dedicate more than a few lines to this stunning week in beautiful Toledo, but I have to keep it short, considering how many things have been happening since then and how little time I have got to write them down.                                                     

The most important however: It was a great experience for me to meet all these lovely people, having this cultural exchange, especially of course with my room mates Philippine from France, Filio from Greece and Mari-Liis from Estonia. For our intercultural evening every country had to show or present an important event in their history, talk about special traditions and dances and show us a typical food. I had a lot of fun with the three other German boys, tearing down the Berlin Wall about ten times as a preparation. Beside all the work we had to do (including talking about our Voluntary Service, rights, duties, our insurance, Spanish classes and interviewing people on the street about Europe), we enjoyed every single day, dancing (in the hostel and in a club of Toledo) and playing different games to strengthen our teamwork. We participated in quizzes about Spain, discovered Toledo in the (rather short) free time at night, right after lunch and on one morning as well with a guide. Furthermore, we tried to learn tongue twisters in other languages (Swedish was definitely the most hilarious) and talked about our volunteering projects. We exchanged ideas, dreams and addresses with the result that now we do not only have friends in all Europe but as well in different regions of Spain and we might go and visit them in our holidays.