Last September, our dear member Liisu decided to get a Mediterranean breeze and leave for a 11-month ESC volunteering experience in Terrassa (Catalunya) with our colleagues from La Vibria. We have asked her to share with us some insights of her life in Spain so far, and the result is not dissapointing at all! Enjoy the reading!
Did you miss the first part of Liisu’s story? Click here
Events and celebrations
When thinking back to what I have been doing during my free time, it does not seem that there is so much to write, but at the same time I’ve never had such an active social life and so little “free time“, so it is a paradox, in a way.
Since in December-January I was dealing with back issues, like a proper boomer, after regaining strength and stamina for moving I started to overcompensate for the time I felt I had missed. It often happens that I go out of my home at 9AM and get back home around 10-11PM. So what have I been doing?
In February there was an almost week-long carnival with people really dressing up and having crazy parades, so of course I also took part as much as possible: I dressed up in a random costume, observed the parade in Terrassa and also went to the bigger carnival celebration in Sitges. The carnival itself finishes with the funeral of the carnival (of course, only logical solution), also followed by a parade and grilling of Sardines. Thanks to my project coordinator’s good connections in Terrassa, with the Vibria volunteers we had the chance to participate in the parade: carrying a sign like the hangmans and having a black costume.
Discovering Catalunya
In these months I had some friends from Estonia visiting me, so I tried to show them Barcelona and Terrassa as much as possible (also a proper motivation for me to do more tourism in Barcelona). It was kind of strange to also realize that I don’t behave so much like a “proper Estonian” anymore. By this I mean that it actually felt weird to walk with friends and be quiet for an hour. I guess there is no such thing as comfortable silence here. What is even more strange, I expected them to automatically share what is going on in their lives, all the details, without actually asking them. So it took me a while to get back to the rhythm of knowing what to ask to make an Estonian speak.
Now the initial excitement of moving to a new place and seeing all the touristic key spots has calmed down, and I have been focusing more on daily life and smaller things.
During Easter I visited another historical village called Vic with some other volunteers, which had one of the most interesting Catholic cathedrals I have ever seen (all black). The most memorable trip from this period is seeing the Catalonian nature. I had the chance to go to the North and see some hiking trails: one with 7 waterfalls in the middle of the mountains, in a natural park. On the next day I continued to the Pyrenees, to another natural park (Aigüestortes) and had a longer hike there, coming back to the starting point with a flashlight when it was dark, seeing some deers and animals on the way.
It really was a way to disconnect from the city life and feel closer to nature again. To be surrounded by the mountains is something I guess all the Estonians can appreciate. At the same time, it also made me value the Estonian nature and miss it: the large areas of green, the real old forests with their ecosystem and the fact that we can camp almost anywhere, for free. In Spain you have to go to specific camping areas and pay quite a hefty amount of money to just put your tent somewhere OR if you do it illegally and they catch you, you will get a big fine. Also there is a borderline-drought-crisis in Catalonia at the moment, since it has not been raining- so honestly it was scary to see the rivers being dried up, even in the greener areas.
Social activities
I am still very involved with the latin dances, going to bachata and salsa classes and to a bachata-salsa club at least 2 times a month, to practice the dances and enjoy partying in a healthy way. I am also teaching some basic bachata to other volunteers (my secret mission is to have more familiar faces to take with me to the latin dance parties). Since the weather is already Estonian summer, they are starting to have beach-park open air bachata-salsa events for free in Barcelona, so this is where a lot of my time goes.
Yet again I am so amazed how psychologically interesting dancing can be: I don’t speak the local language, but dancing on its own is a language. You just communicate it differently and also don’t understand everyone you dance with.
It is also a cool way to meet a lot of different people, since the dancing community is big, yet friendly- and brings together so many different people with one shared passion.
I also tried out a Quidditch practice (yes, it is a real sport!) with the Barcelona Eagles. I am super grateful for the experience, the team was nice and welcoming. I sucked, of course (never been good at sports) but as a person who hates team sports, I never once during the 3-hour-practice got bored or felt that I did not want to play. Unfortunately for now I will not continue, because I realized it’s not the best for my physical health. Still, I can brag that I understand a little, how the game works and at least tried it!
I have met many interesting and nice people, so I also try to be opened to every experience and adventure, to live this experience to the fullest and not have regrets later for not having done anything.
I have to be honest: it does involve going out a lot and I (and the other volunteers) often wonder from where do I get the energy (probably from the vitamin-D overdose). But the coolest adventures tend to happen when you go out without specific plans, open your eyes and just look around what is happening and are not afraid to talk with people. So this way I have discovered many local places that are not only in the center of Terrassa, heard a lot of different stories from people who still remember Franco times or heard the opinions of Terrassa’s youth on politics and so on.
I am happy that I really feel I have some local friends and a network of people to do different things with. I guess this has helped me a lot to adapt and get through harder moments and sometimes I am just really amazed and grateful to these people for their kindness (you all know who you are!). Living here now really feels like home.
Aha moments and adaptation
I guess that, as for everyone who is doing an ESC, the cliche of “I have changed a lot” seems to be true for me too. I mean, I am still a foreigner, even without the language barrier, but there are some things that have changed in me since I arrived in September.
The little cultural shocks that I wrote about the last time are not shocking for me anymore. One of the things that still amazed and impressed me the most was the march during Women’s day. As we all know, in Estonia and that region, you are basically being congratulated for being a woman and getting flowers and other pretty things and it’s kind of like a day when men pay attention to the feminine side and try to say how they appreciate us. Here they had a women’s march to protest and express some opinions throughout the city, and not only women were participating.
I can honestly say I was shaken to my core when I realized how differently this activity would be perceived in Estonia. I think there would be a lot of nasty comments about hyper emotional women, complaining about nothing, wanting to take rights away from men and just shouting and claiming attention or that we should already be happy for what we have.
I guess it also comes from the fact that it is not in our culture to go and strike or protest when nothing specific has happened. During the march, people were protesting against or bringing attention to issues like the difference in the attitude and actions of the local police when a woman goes to file a complaint or the constant daily discrimination in workplaces, homes, schools, that starts at the root level (even the difference in raising kids and the values you teach them) and so on.
What amazes me about Catalonia is that the mentality surrounding women here is so different and so much more developed compared to Estonia and other countries and the fact that women really get involved in all the movements and politics. Only by actually taking action have they been able to reach this level of equality (which you should never stop fighting for, even if life is already “quite good”). Being surrounded by this constant equal mentality has really helped me to grow in this sense and see things from a different perspective: I should never feel forced to behave or look a specific way, just to be respected in the society by following some archaic standards about femininity and gender roles.
I can only hope that Estonia’s society will continue to grow in this direction: starting from finally making it mandatory for both genders to learn in school how to cook, fix their clothes, change light bulbs and so on, and ending with equal attitude towards both genders social activities, professions, capabilities and skills.
I must say that I am adapting much more to the Spanish mentality, both in a bad and a good way. I have to confess: it is getting super difficult for me to organize something in advance, make clear notes and structures, communicate very directly and efficiently with two sentences or be somewhere on time. ^^”
From the other side, I don’t kill myself with work. I have learned how to make time for socialising and how to shut my mind off of work when it finishes, how to prioritise my needs, how to take joy from the little moments, how to focus on my hobbies or just do things unplanned. This has resulted in me being actually able to smile constantly without getting muscle pain, having much more energy (probably also from the sun and vitamin D overdose) and getting myself into very random, yet cool adventures that I am sure I will remember for the rest of my life.