Four Russian students were chosen for volunteering internship in July in Spain under the Cooperation Agreement and the Special Agreement in international cooperation and volunteering between the Assembly and the University of Cadiz.
Students sent their first report:
- This summer we had a unique opportunity to go to Spain for a month, to the University of Cadiz, under the international volunteering program. The terms for participation were writing motivation letters and interest in the volunteer movement, and we just discussed this topic within the Spanish club of our department.
The selection was carried out by the University of Cadiz and the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly. There were many willing to take part, but only four people were required. We waited and worried, and so we were chosen, and we were able to make our dream come true - to go to Spain and participate in an international volunteer program.
As soon as possible, all the documents were prepared, and on July 2 we landed in Malaga, where we were met at the airport by a chauffeur who took us to the hostel in Cadiz. The Head of the international volunteering project Germán Jiménez Ferrer. welcomed us very warmly and helped to move in. At every turn we feel the support of those who organized and implemented this amazing course.
The first three days were a weekend, so we decided to get to know the city and get ready for the first week of school. The weather was perfect and we spent time on the beaches of La Caleta and Santa María. These days we saw the ocean for the first time! It was unforgettable.
In the first week, we had very interesting and exciting events at the University of Cadiz. We met Esther Puertas, our teacher, and Andres Santana, a man who fell in love with Russia and devoted a lot of energy to the implementation of joint projects with our country both at the University of Cadiz and at the Pushkin Institute.
We visited the Red Cross, where they told us about the history of the organization, as well as about the projects that they implement. We were amazed at the scale of the activities of this oldest organization.
The next day at the university we had classes; we got acquainted with the history, goals and methods of the volunteer movement.
July 7 to 9, we took part in summer courses. Various non-governmental organizations presented their projects related to culture, sports and volunteering. For example, we got acquainted with a project to help families and orphans from Ukraine, who are being helped with the necessary products and landscaping. As part of the project, children are brought to have rest in Spain so that parents in Ukraine can quickly find a job and arrange everything for a better life. Also, there was presented a project devoted to involving migrants from Africa to sports, in particular, they are taught to play football.
On Saturday and Sunday we can go to the beach, walk around Cadiz and visit the nearest cities. But most importantly, we have some Spanish friends! Everything is interesting with them: walking, talking, and getting to know Spain. We even planned to go to Africa, which is a stone's throw from Cadiz, but due to cloudy weather we had to postpone the trip to Tarifa, and instead we decided to just walk around the city, went to cathedrals, listened to mass. In one of them the priest served his first service. On this occasion, there were many of his relatives in the cathedral, who were very happy for him. We also approached him to congratulate on such an important event. The priest answered us in Russian, saying “thank you” without the usual “e” at the beginning of the word for the Spaniards, which surprised us very much.
We cannot believe that so many interesting events happened in just one week. We even managed to participate in one of the programs on the local television channel of Cadiz, because both the course on international volunteering and the visit of the Russian group to study in it - all this is for the first time.