Dearest gentle reader,

It has come to this ESC volunteer’s  attention that you might want to get to know me a bit more.

I’m Saray Iglesias and my story begins far away from here in a peaceful, little village in Asturias, situated in the North of Spain.  In this place you have the feeling that nothing really happens, time freezes and you can feel as if you were asphysiating but if you look on the bright side, you’ll find that life is simple and you can enjoy these little things such as walking barefoot on the beach,breathing the fresh air no matter where you are,watching the sunrise and the sunset from the top of a hill. And after all, these are the things that matter the most.

If I had to choose a childhood memory it would be one with my grandfather as the main character. Do you know what they say about children? They often choose an adult to be the hero of their lives, someone who is always there to support them, someone who they can learn from so that would be him to me. We had animals at home, we grew vegetables, we made our own handmade cider, he made wooden toys for us. I had this amazing wooden house where at least four us could fit it, we could spend hours and hours playing inside and here I dreamt of becoming a very strong and independent woman with a successful career but dreams sometimes can’t be possible but this a lesson that we might learn later on in life.

By the age of three, I knew how to read properly and I fell in love with books. I wanted to move to a big city,live in a cool apartment, go to university and become a writer. Years past, and this desire evolved into something else, I wanted to study philology instead and translate books.

Books have this healing effect on me, they make me feel safe, while reading I can’t  get hurt.

I was passionate about ancient greek and romans, I loved reading the myths, learning about their history and the language. Translating their texts into Spanish was just a game in which I always wanted to have a go.

But as Forrest Gump said :«life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you’re gonna get«

At the age of eighteen, I decided to go to England and find a job as an au-pair and this is how I started to build up a career on child care / children’s education.

I enjoy travelling so much, discovering new places, meeting new people so when I found out about the European Solidarity Corps I saw it as a fantastic opportunity for my personal endevors.

Finally,after two years of teaching English in a language school and  soon turning twenty-nine, knowing that it was my last call for it, I started to look for a project and this is how I ended up here.

Now, probably you are asking yourselves why this country and not another one. If I’m honest, Slovenia wasn’t what I had on mind but after doing the first interview I got the feeling that I knocked on the right door and I had to wait for it to be opened.

One of my former students, a girl who is eleven years old came here as a participant in a exchange and she recommended it so much and I would never let one of my students down, so here I am now.

I feel like I’m inside a bubble, protected by the workers at the Mladinski Center and here I have the chance to explore myself and create new things.

What I like the most is helping out with children, I could do that for endless hours. Apart from that, I ‘m taking part on the hangouts and helping when it’s needed, doing different chores.

During the summer time, I am just at the Mladinski center but from September until the end of my stay I’m goint to be at the Osnova Šola Toneta Okrogarja helping with the English lessons.

Being here can be hard at  times because I don’t understand the language and I can’t use to communicate with others but I hope that this experience helps me learn new things and I can start collecting memories which I will  take back to my country and treasure them the rest of my life.

Finally,let’s go back to the start maybe some of you recognised the opening of the »Bridgerton«on the first lines that you read, some of you didn’t and that leads me to explain that I love watching period dramas. I’m also very fond of art history, feminism, vintage clothes and making crafts.

Thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully, I will see you around !

Saray Iglesias Martinez, ESC Volunteer.

Photographs 1 & 2: My hometown, Cudillero.

Photograph 3: Cudillero from the air, photo taken while leaving for Slovenia.

 

Volunteering projects under the European Solidarity Corps offer young people opportunities for voluntary work.These projects must address important societal needs and contribute to strengthening communities, while enabling volunteers to gain valuable experience, skills, and competencies for their personal, educational, social, civic, and professional development, thereby enhancing their employability.