It is impossible to forget the nerves of the day before our trip because there were many questions that arose during that moment: How is Romania? Will the weather be very cold? Will I be able to communicate with people? How is your culture different? What type of project am I embarking on?

If we have been able to learn something at the beginning of our adventure, it is the answer to these questions. Undoubtedly, during these first months we have immersed ourselves in the Romanian culture, we have deepened in its geography, language, history and, of course in its popular art (making a special emphasis in the area that concerns us: Dobrogea). The fact of deepening Romanian culture has made our adaptation was quick and comfortable, yes we can highlight that the local climate was far from the homeland climate we were able to enjoy the snow in the beautiful Romanian countryside and its many monuments. Following the order of our questions the first experiences with the Romanian people showed us a warm and welcoming atmosphere, a remarkable aspect has been the affection shown by the Romanian population to know that we are Spanish remembering with affection family members who emigrated to our country. As we mentioned earlier, the deepening of the Romanian culture made us see a culture that is not so far from what we imagined at the beginning of our adventure, an example of this is that we share the Latin roots in our language.

Regarding our project during the first months we have met the staff associated with Creative + and we have integrated into the socio-educational community of the country. In relation to our work, it is necessary to differentiate the three places where we carry out our work: School 29 (Constanta), Day Care Center Agigea (Agigea) and Centrul Cultural Corbu (Corbu). Different places different activities, in School 29 the activities have focused on showing the Spanish culture to the students between 10-14 years, without forgetting that previously said students showed us their culture and traditions during our first weeks of December; in Day Care Center Agigea we are facing a totally different scenario, leaving aside the tasks of student life here we focus on the most human aspects of education: fun and affection, putting into practice the sessions of drumming and letting our imagination fly to make these little ones happy; finally, in the Centrul Cultural Corbu the student body is different with an age that is around 13-17 years old, in these first months we are making a cultural exchange and thinking about future sports activities.

Once exposed our common opinion about what we learned in these beginnings, it seems necessary to show some brief considerations of both participants:

“During my first months in Romania I learned certain values that I never thought I would put into practice. Our volunteering is focused on non-formal education which was a new aspect for me, this innovative education aims to show a more human aspect of education leaving behind the stress of the grades and looking hard for the happiness of the students. With all this, independence and cultural change are aspects that I would like to highlight, from the first moment you start to be worth for yourself in a new country, in just under a month you start to value your individual actions overcoming the barrier of language, everyday tasks or culture. However, during this paragraph we talked about the beginning of the project which gives us a first glimpse of our experience, therefore, there is still much to learn during our stay to be able to carry out a complete analysis of our work. ” (Anaya Rodríguez, Juan)

“Before coming to Romania I had many uncertainties, I did not really know what the project would be like, nor would I understand exactly what the activities were, but I really wanted to start this new adventure. I always wanted to volunteer, as I had heard that it is a unique and unparalleled experience. On the other hand, during these months I have acquired different and new skills thanks to the training courses: graphic design, “outside training” and “drumming”, especially in the latter I learned the ability to express feelings using different instruments and be able to transmit it later to the children of the Agigea center. ” (Del Viejo Núñez, Felisa)

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