Greetings
Hola! My name is Daryna.The decision to apply for a project was really spontaneous and unexpected for me. Since, I never participated into the Erasmus project, I was really curious how it will be. I found that sometimes you need to let go of everything and lean towards the thing that pushes you out of your comfort zone.
Expectations
The one thing that hit me about the project was the description of it. The ability to volunteer in the non-profit organisation under the professional guideline to be involved into daily routine of the organisation was really interesting and important for me. After the project, I might create my own organisation, build a curious community that willing to change and improve a social behaviour around my town.
The First Day in A Guarda
The first evening in the Guarda was quite exhilarating since I was alone in the apartment therefore feeling quite nervous and frighted due to all of the noises in the flat that came from the neighbour, wind and draught. However, I survived and got used to all of the squishy stuff eventually.
The neighbours are pretty welcoming, you may ask them about anything and they’ll provide you with the detail explanation… but it’s gonna be in Spanish. If you don’t understand it, you’ll miss a lot of useful information.
Taste Test
Let me tell you about my first cup of coffee here… It was as fresh as my mum used to do it at home. The coffee had a hint of pleasant sourness and the pastry that came with it was filled with the custard cream. The view on the local people that were just enjoying their time at the moment.
Mountain and Castro de Santa Trega, Ponte de Lima and the Theatre
My first meeting with the famous mountain and the monument was quite hectic.
The winding road hit me with the nausea and dizziness, but it was worth the view I saw at the top. The sunset which bursted with the different colours and coated everyone like the warm blanket.
Let me tell you some words about Vigo, that reminded me of my city. I found really weird, mind-blowing statues that you might observe and learn for hours giving it your own meanings.
Ponte de Lima met us with its own narrow roads, churches, porto wine and of course long bridge
We had the opportunity to visit a local theatre and watch a play there.
Briefly, I have a lot of towns and places to explore, I can’t wait to do that!
Apart from that, the long walks that became a part of my meditation and provided me with the calmness and steadiness even in the cloudy days.
Relationships
Our office for me is the lighthouse and my mentors is the light that comes while guiding us through the ocean path that might have some obstacles and struggles. Juan and Gonzalo created a space for us, where we can discover, learn and create everyday as well as propose our own projects. I believe that we’ll walk during the sad and happy times together as the shoulder to shoulder.
The last but no least I got to meet the other volunteers, Andrea and Irene. We’ve managed not to get into fights and built a partner relationship with each other.
Our plans for the future are quite big and adventurous, I hope that we’ll manage to create a really good projects, travel together to a beautiful places, and leave a part of ourselves in the A Guarda community.
