October-September

I’ve now been here in Valencia for two months and feel well-settled. Unfortunately, it was Donata’s last month, which was very sad. But the next day, my new roommate arrived and we get along really well. Over the past few weeks, we’ve made a lot of Halloween decorations together and I helped out with some children’s activities. Unfortunately, our big Halloween event had to be canceled due to severe weather and my arrival training was also postponed. The storm Dana hit large parts of Spain hard, with the eastern regions especially affected by heavy rainfall and flooding. Fortunately, Sagunto was spared the worst, but the images and reports from the affected areas show just how severe the event is/was.

Now a quick update on my work routine: On Saturdays, I work in Sagunto—mornings with younger kids and afternoons with older ones and both groups are a lot of fun! In the evenings, there’s “Esplai” at Casal Jove, where kids can come to play games from video games and board games to outdoor activities like table tennis. During the week, I help the mentors with various activities and put up posters around the center. Sunday and Monday are my days off, and I often take the chance to go on short day trips. Sometimes, we also have special activities with the organization Amics, where all the other volunteers come together. This month, we did a beach cleanup in Puerto de Sagunto.

Aside from the terrible weather, it was a great month, full of new experiences.