Mi Aventura SVE en Granada

miércoles, 28 de noviembre de 2018

On-Arrival Training

A few weeks ago, all three of us volunteers finally got the chance to participate in our on-arrival training that all EVS volunteers get when they arrive to the country. Confusingly, it's called on-arrival, but for most volunteers it is actually usually 1-2 months into the project until it actually takes place. Our training was held in Cercedilla, in the mountains near Madrid.

The training was 5 days long and we spent most of it inside the Albergue Villa Castora, which is a youth hostel, since the weather was not exactly ideal for outdoor activities. Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable week and our trainers, Alvaro, Carlos and Patri made sure that there was plenty to do every second of the day!

We had a wide variety of workshops, some very practical, like how to use our Cigna insurance, some very philosophical and thought provoking and a lot that was simply great for teambuilding. Speaking of an awesome team, we had about 25 participants, mostly volunteers from the Madrid area, but we also had one person from Extremadura, one from near Malaga and of course us from Granada! We learned about EVS and the goals of Erasmus+ in general, practical tools for running our projects and also a lot about equality, discrimination and citizenship.

It was't all just being in and around the hostel of course, one day we also hopped on the bus and headed over to Segovia. It is an absolutely beautiful place! The most striking feature I think is the 2000 year old Roman aqueduct that runs through the town, but it was also the permanent residence of the king of Spain for quite some time, so it has a beautiful castle, a huge cathedral and just a very pretty old town center.

Really, the whole training flew by so quickly... On the way home on the bus to Granada all three of us probably looked like zombies, but if you asked us, all of us would have said that we'd stay another day!

lunes, 12 de noviembre de 2018

Dance Class - Kürşat

kursat 7:11 0 Comments

¡Vuelve a bailar en España! It took a long time to dance again!

A party in a chalet in Granada

Hey, I am writing about latin dance in this post. I did latin dance for more or less three years in Turkey, then I haven’t danced for three years because of my department... Until coming to Granada!

I searched on internet and found a dance center which is really close to our apartment and office. Twice of a week for an hour, I go to Salsa-Bachata classes. It is also really cheap at 30 € per month. I met new people there. It is a good challenge to speak Spanish and improve my language skills. My dancing teacher and classmates don’t speak English too well. I have noticed that we actually use all Spanish words with the same form in Turkey during dance classes. For example, Cambio! It means ‘change’ I already knew it!

It gives more opportunities to be social in Granada. I have already been to a free workshop and dance nights two times. My dancing teacher invited me to participate in an activity which was like having a party in a chalet. We brought some food and drinks and we spent all day there, dancing, chatting etc. I met new local people. By the way, for first time I got to play a game called as Who’s the Killer in Spanish there.

I will continue to participate in classes and also I will go to my dancing teacher’s dance academy. So I will get good chance to gain new experiences...

jueves, 1 de noviembre de 2018

Classic Car Show - Marci

Márton Gorka 5:22 0 Comments

As I went for a run on Sunday, I noticed a bunch of beautiful classic cars lined up around Paseo del Salón. Of course, I had to go back and investigate! Turns out there was an event from the 26th to the 28th of October called Ruta Reale, which is all about classic cars and classic outfits. For those who know me, it won't be a surprise that I was mostly interested in the cars!

There was a nice lineup of cars from mainly the 1930s to the 1950s, but there were some older and newer ones of course. I believe these cars were also taking part in some rally too.

Most people were of course interested in the oldest and fanciest of cars, but actually my three favorites were fairly young vehicles compared to the other ones. The first one was a beautiful red Mercedes SL.

The second is a funny one, since this was actually one of the organizers' cars, not part of the show, but I always love a classic Range Rover. It was funny to see this beat up old 4x4 parked among all the shiny, beautifully restored concourse cars.

Last, but not least, the car that was by far the most interesting to me: a Land Rover Santana Series II. It is a Land Rover, but it was actually built right here in Andalusia by a company called Santana. First, they were building exactly the same vehicles as Land Rover, but slowly they started developing their own versions. Eventually, the two companies separated and Santana developed it's own boxy 4x4 competitor to the famous Land Rover Defender. If you want to dive deeper into the story, check out the writeup that I did about the company's story on my blog.

It is always good to see old cars being preserved for future generations and I'm glad I accidentally found this event on the last day it was going on!

miércoles, 24 de octubre de 2018

My First Month in Granada - Marci

Márton Gorka 11:27 0 Comments

I arrived to Granada about a month ago. I came here to do a 10 month volunteering project with Las Niñas del Tul, working to promote Erasmus+ and EVS projects, as well as developing some of my own initiatives. You can read more about the project here. I want to now talk a bit about my first impressions of the city and more importantly, to recount some of the small adventures I’ve been on in the last month.

I knew I loved Granada – I’ve been here before multiple times, but it was still full of surprises and I am very, very impressed by it each and every day. The historical center is amazing, of course the Alhambra, the old buildings, the Albaicín are all fantastic, but the best thing is just how lively and eclectic the whole place is.

There are of course some things that took a while to adjust to – like that the sun rises after 8 am this time of the year, so going out for a run before sunrise doesn’t actually require getting up that early. But the schedule is also quite different here than what I’m used to. Everything starts later, meals happen later, you meet your friends later... I’ve had people say “Good afternoon!” at 20:30, not kidding! It’s especially funny to experience this change after living in the UK, where most pubs close at 23:00. Here that’s the time when you go out for the first beer of the night with your friends. Even if Spain is in the same time zone as Budapest, the “Spanish Time Zone” is definitely a thing.

Guadix Culinary Trip

A photo I took in Guadix 2 years ago

A friend of ours signed us up to a free trip to Guadix organized by the regional government. I’ve been to Guadix before and the place blew me away. It’s a bit like Tatooine, with crazy sandstone formations and houses built inside of it. However, now we experienced a very different side of it. Kürsat and Hanna (the two other volunteers with Las del Tul), a bus full of university freshers and I headed off to something quite unexpected.

The first stop was a bread and cheese-making workshop, where we actually had to make our own bread and cheese, which was quite a surprise, but also very entertaining. We then went to a vineyard to see how modern-day Spanish wine is made, then of course had a nice lunch and tasted the wines from the area. The final stop was an olive oil factory, which was very impressive and modern. Sadly, we didn’t really see much of Guadix itself, but it’s a quick trip away from Granada, so we can be back later!

Güéjar Sierra

There is plenty of elevation even within Güéjar Sierra and the mountains are very, very close

I bought a bike to explore the area around Granada and to go on a few longer trips too. It’s a simple trekking bike from Decathlon, but I really like it. The first proper shakedown run I took it on was a nice little trip up to Güéjar Sierra, which is a quaint little village not far from Granada. It requires pedaling up a bit of elevation, but the road is beautiful, following the Genil river. There is a big reservoir before Güéjar Sierra, which looks really pretty, sitting between the steep hills.

Güéjar Sierra is a great place to start further adventures from, as it is a hub for MTB and hiking trails, as it is just situated in a beautiful area in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. There is also some quite interesting history here, with a tram line that used to run to the Sierra Nevada from Granada between 1925 and 1974. You can now bike and hike along part of its route and the old stations are still there. I’ll definitely be back here a lot!

Sierra Nevada Hike

The Sierra Nevada is the third highest mountain range in Europe (after the Caucasus and the Alps), so of course I had to get up there as soon as possible! However, getting there is not as easy as it seems… If you just want to do a day trip to the highest peaks, the best option is to drive up a bit. Since I don’t have a car, I had to take the bus: there is one leaving Granada and going up at 9 am and it heads back down at 5 pm. Now that doesn’t give you a lot of leeway! If you miss it, you are stuck up there for a day…

But anyway, I caught the bus up and just had an easy day doing some initial exploring. I walked from the ski resort up to Veleta, which is the second highest peak at 3394 meters. That is an easy and popular hike, with splendid views towards the rest of the mountain range. The peak itself is a pretty scary cliff on the one side, but the approach from the other is side is not too difficult. There is a road up almost to the top, so some really hardcore bikers cycle all the way up. Someday maybe I’ll have the leg muscles for that…

I also took a look at the nearby mountain shelter, since I planned to be back up and exploring more on some multi-day hikes and I’d be using these shelters. They are pretty nice and free to use. The one under Veleta also came with a cheeky mountain goat that was eyeing my lunch for a while. It was pretty entertaining company!

Since then, I’ve been back up in the Sierra Nevada on a 3-day 60 km hike, which was pretty crazy, but that adventure deserves its own blogpost.

I was also very happy, because for the first time ever, I saw a Santana PS-10, the Spanish equivalent of the Land Rover Defender. The story of Spanish-built Land Rovers, and then how Santana split from Land Rover has intrigued me a lot and I even wrote a blogpost about it about half a year ago! Read that post here.

Generalife Walk

Now this one is just bragging – it is amazing how easy it is to get to some nice hills in Granada. The Dehesa del Generalife is the area behind the Alhambra and is just an easy place to get to from the city, yet it offers some proper hiking! The views are great towards Sacromonte and it’s just an awesome getaway.

Rio Genil Valley

Probably my favorite drone shot I have ever taken… at least so far!

Biking to Güéjar Sierra, I already saw a bunch of interesting places along the Rio Genil, which I decided to return to now that I have the drone back. There is a great bike path along the river, but you can bike on the road as well. I’ve never seen drivers being as courteous with bikers as here – and it’s very much the opposite of what happens within Granada. I found an abandoned building complex that is linked to the old quarry near Los Pinillos, so I flew my drone there and explored some other bits too.

Concluding Thoughts

Granada and the surrounding area is just amazing – every time I go on a little trip walking or biking somewhere, I just get ideas to go to more and more places. There is just so much to see and experience here and I’m very excited to keep exploring!

This post was originally published on my own blog.

jueves, 18 de octubre de 2018

Who We Are - The New Volunteers With Las Niñas del Tul

Márton Gorka 8:20 0 Comments

We have just arrived to Granada not so long ago, so for now we'll be writing in English, although we have already started our Spanish lessons too. In our first post, we'd like to introduce ourselves!

'Hola, me IIamo Kürşat’ and I am the one of new volunteers at Las Niñas del Tul. I have just moved to Granada to work for 10 months on a European Voluntary Service (EVS) project. I’m 22 years old and I’m from Turkey. I graduated from the department of Astronomy and Space Sciences. I also did my Erasmus in Stockholm University, Sweden for 5 months. After my graduation, I have already gained a right to study as a masters student in Astrophysics in my university. However I was tired by studying and other things in my life. I decided to take a break - and that’s why I am here. Being in Granada is so exciting!

To be a volunteer? It can change your life suddenly. My life was changed by EVS. I was introduced to EVS three years ago. I only wanted to be a local volunteer, improve my English and help some EVS volunteers at my hometown. Then it showed the way how I could find myself, my childhood dreams and how I could make them come true. They were about traveling and living in another country. I thought that EVS is the best way to go out of my country and explore.

By the way, I was a volunteer in my organization, called the Turkish Red Crescent, Izmir Branch, for 3 years. I worked with youth and youth policy. I participated in many activities and training courses to share the information about Erasmus+ (European opportunities). They were local and international. Now, I will share all my experiences with you in Granada during my EVS project.

Hi! My name is Hanna and I am a girl from Poland who a long time ago decided she will live in different parts of the world and that's what I'm doing now! I have a degree in leisure and tourism, however, I have never wanted to be stuck in one place so I work mainly as a travel writer but also do a lot of other jobs all over the world, the last one was teaching English in Vietnam!

Volunteering is a big role in my life as I did it in Poland as well as abroad. In my hometown, I have been involved in the EBU Foundation for around 10 years now. Thanks to them I've learned about the EVS volunteering program! And as I turned 30 years old already, it was the last call for me to apply. I did and I am here in Granada, which makes me super excited because I have never been to Spain before. Although, when I thought about it, I knew I want to visit Granada in the first place. Well, watch out what you're wishing for because you may get it! I'm here for 8 months, yay!

During this time I would like not only to learn more about Spain and Spanish people (and learn another language!) but also to share my experiences in volunteering, working and travelling in different parts of the world with other people. And who knows, maybe I'll love it so much that I'll just stay here? ;)

Hi, my name is Marci and I’m one of the three volunteers who have just arrived to Granada to work with Las Niñas del Tul. I’m 22 years old and I’m from Hungary, but I spent some of my childhood in Ireland and I went to university in the UK. There, I studied in the University of Cambridge and got a degree in archaeology – but this doesn’t really tell you that much about me... So who am I really?

Getting a degree in archaeology was kind of an accident. I really consider myself a photographer, because I run around all the time taking pictures to tell stories about places and people. Oh, and I also had a business out of it in the last 3 years, so it’s a bit more than a hobby. It is also tied to my love of travel and the mountains, as that is what I like to document most. I’m truly at home hiking up steep mountains, taking photos and exploring new places.

But what am I doing in Granada? I had participated in Erasmus+ exchange programs in Spain organized by Somos la Otra for three years in a row (2015-2017) and I fell in love with the way of life in Andalusia. Already at the end of the first exchange we were discussing with Dani the possibility of me doing an EVS here in the future and now the time has come to actually take up that opportunity and move to Granada for 10 months to work with Las del Tul.

My project is mainly centered around increasing the visibility of the work of Las Niñas del Tul, as well as EVS and Erasmus+ opportunities. I will also be developing my own projects related to photography and video, as well as potentially something outdoors and/or public speaking related. I’m super stoked to be here and I really look forward to the next 10 months’ adventure!

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