Saturday 7 December 2013

Volunteering in Spain - Rascafría

The first thing you will ask is probably why I chose to volunteer in Spain. It all started when I was researching on meetup.com. I wanted to search for volunteering opportunities in London but one of the results that came up was volunteering in Spain with a company called 'Vaughan'. As I had never visited Spain before and combined with volunteering opportunities, I immediately jumped on board. 

I applied 6 months ahead of time through the Vaughan website and was able to select which program I wanted to attend. Not knowing which one I should choose, I looked at all the types of accommodation in each town (which was paid for by the company and included meals as well) and immediately saw the Sheraton hotel in Rascafría! 

A few months later, I received an email saying I have been accepted into the program! I immediately booked my flights and thought I'll spend a few days after my program to explore Madrid! 

On the first night of my arrival, the company organised a Tapas reception to introduce the participants for the two programs that was being held on the following day. We had unlimited drinks and Tapas, which was a good sign for things to come... It was interesting to meet the different  participants, with most of them of mature aged (I was the second youngest in the program). This is in no way a bad thing though as it is a refreshing change to meet others with more life experience (and interesting ones) to mine.
After the reception, I hung out with some people from the second program and it was nice listening to the reasons why each person chose to volunteer. One of the participants have already done the program 16 times!

The next day, we meet at a hotel, where a bus picked up all the Anglos and Spaniards to our venue; Hotel Sheraton- Santa Maria, De El Paular (A bit over an hour, North of Madrid). Upon arriving, we had a quick debriefing, followed by a 3-course lunch (the food provided was amazing!) and allocation of our own hotel rooms. I was a little disappointed with my room as it was not as modern as I expected, but it was still nice with its rustic features and contained all the amenities I needed. What stood out in this location was the setting itself; a backdrop of snowy mountains, tree lined walking trails depicting an autumn scenery with its yellow leaves and streams running nearby. It was so relaxing! The hotel even had cheap bike hire so that I could explore the area (the manager let me hire one free of charge). 

Now I won't go into detail of what I did each day in the program but I do admit that it involved a lot of one-to-one conversations with a Spaniard, watching Spaniards and other Anglos perform in plays and skits at night (I was playing the drums using a bin, while other participants played an instrument using kitchen tools) and conducting a real telephone conference call with three Spaniards from our own hotel rooms! 
One interesting feature of the program was the allocation of a siesta every afternoon from 3pm to 5pm. This meant that we had free time for ourselves and typically Spanish people will use this time to have a nap. Although I did have quick power naps (as the sessions are very demanding), I tired to use the time to go exploring around the area. As you can see from the pictures on Facebook and from the ones below, Rascafría is a really beautiful area. It is only accessible by private transport but I was fortunate enough to visit by volunteering in this program.

For anyone who wants to gain an insight into the lives of Spaniards and volunteer at the same time in a rural Spanish town, I do recommend Vaughan Town. I was very lucky to meet and learn from the Spaniards, having fun with other volunteers. Volunteering, whatever the area is very rewarding and I can see myself doing more in the near future...

Where our program was based
The entry to our hotel! The hotel used to be a Monastery

The church next to our hotel is still utilised by the monks who reside there

And... let there be snow! Look what an impact snow makes!

One of the activities involved a photo challenge in the city centre, based on selected themes. We asked a local to pose for us in this photo. Guess what this picture might relate to?

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