In December, I participated in the On-Arrival Training (OAT) in Jaca, a small and cozy city in the Pyrenees Mountains. It was an interesting experience, which I will remember for a long time.
Right from the start, even during the bus ride to the resort, I made friends with one of the other participants. Later, we discovered that we would be sharing a room – what a coincidence! I couldn’t have asked for a better match. The whole group was incredibly kind and friendly, and we held together.
I was the oldest participant, but despite the significant age gap between me and some of the others, we integrated seamlessly and found plenty of common ground. All the volunteers came from different countries and backgrounds, which made the experience even more enriching. Not only did it provide a great opportunity to improve our English, but it also allowed us to gain valuable insights into different cultures.
On the day of our arrival, we had a few exercises designed to help us get to know each other. It was very creative and conducted in an engaging way. We were divided into two groups: “artists” and “models” and seated in a circle, with each artist facing a model. The artist would draw the model in front of them, and after a minute, they moved to the next model and continued drawing the person in front of them until they returned to their original seat. Then, we switched roles, so every participant ended up with their own portrait.
Later, we randomly exchanged the portraits, and when the music stopped, we had to find the person whose portrait we were holding. We then asked them questions dictated by the trainers. Thanks to this activity, we quickly learned each other’s names and some basic information, such as age, country of origin, etc.
A fun fact about this training is that the rest of the workshops were mostly conducted in Spanish, with some explanations in English (and the presentations were in English). Some participants, including me, didn’t speak Spanish, so it was quite challenging to follow everything. Fortunately, some people in our group were fluent in both Spanish and English, so everyone who didn’t know Spanish was paired with a “translating buddy” to help with better understanding.
When I went for OAT, it was actually in the middle of my volunteering program, so I didn’t gain as much from the training about how to cope with new situations: being abroad, far away from family and friends, dealing with daily issues, not knowing the language, and feeling lonely and misunderstood. I had to figure it out on my own, with the help of my mentor. But I’m pretty sure that for someone who has just arrived for the program, it would be very helpful and valuable.
Accommodation was in the building owned by the University of Saragossa. It was something like dormitories with auditoriums where we had workshops. All was in one building, which I found comfortable. The building was very close to the center of Jaca. We had a guided trip through the city, which helped us to know the neighborhood better and gain some historical knowledge about this place. We later used this knowledge to integrate better after the workshops. We went to a pub with a DJ and a dance floor twice and, of course, we danced a lot! It was so much fun and a great way to spend time and celebrate.
One day, when we had some free time between training sessions, we took a long walk with a delightful break for churros and chocolate. But the best additional activity we managed to experience was a hockey game! Jaca has its own hockey team – Club Hielo Jaca. I had never been to a hockey game before, so I didn’t know what to expect. However, I quickly got into it – it was super interesting and dynamic. I enjoyed it a lot, cheering and shouting “Go, go, Club Hielo Jaca”. Now, I feel like hockey’s number one fan! I’m sure that if I had the chance to participate again, I would happily do it.
Currently, I’m back in Barcelona, and I’ve gained more than just new experiences. I’ve made some new friends whom I can meet up with from time to time, grab a coffee, or go out for tapas. This is really valuable for someone who is new to the city.
The next training session will be in Málaga, and I’m really looking forward to it! ☺
Stay tuned!
Aleksandra
