“Seis respuestas”
Everyone needs to be thrown out of his routine once in a while. Some are happy with taking a short vacation, others find something else. In July I got an opportunity to experience another culture in a small Spanish city Razo in Galicia with the help of
HI Connect programme. When I say experience another culture I don’t mean eating paella and having siesta, but experiencing the surf culture.
Razo is a small city near the sea, which comes alive in summer in time of Art Surf Camp. I spent my day around camps. I chose
Hostel Art Surf Camp because of its remoteness from other cities, because this meant working with children and experiencing a completely different life style that we are used to in Slovenia. What do I mean by that?
1. How high are the waves today?
That’s the question I heard every day, after the question: “Is it 7 a.m. yet?”. Razo is full of surfers in summer. Art Surf Camp is one of the biggest and one of the many surf camps that are going on in the summer months. 200 children of different age and surfing knowledge joined the camp every week. The children learned how to surf every morning and afternoon. If the waves were too high for children, the professional surfing instructors did “show what you got” and surfed themselves. The height of the waves and the wind dictated how the day will go by.
2. Why are there vans by the coast?
A van is the vehicle of choice for every surfers, their surfs and a mattress. They are very useful to travel around beaches and turn into an accommodation at night. Why? Why not?
3. Do you know where Paco is?
No, I don’t know because he doesn’t carry his phone with him. The signal is very weak around Art Surf Camp and the wi-fi signal is available only on certain points so the main communication device is a walkie talkie. This is the reason why the employees and most of the guests don’t carry their phone with them. It enables you to turn off the world and realise the quote “enjoy the moment”.
4. Do you need sunscreen?
Yes. Although the temperatures in Razo are around 25°C, the sun is extremely strong. The locals will offer sunscreen to pale people walking by the sea or surfing. And that’s completely justifiable.
5. When is your free day? Where are you going?
Each volunteer or employee got one free day in a week. And because someone had to do your job, that meant that no one else had a free day. But that was ok. With a little organization you can get to bigger cities like Coruna and Santiago de Compostela.
6. "¿Cómo Estás?"
“Muy bien y tu?” That’s how our conversation was going with the Spanish staff who were twice as old as me. But they were kind and I was eager to learn. People can sometimes definitely get frustrated when the communication doesn’t go as smooth as they want. You just have to be patient and be able to laugh at the situation. Who would’ve thought that imitating animals sounds the same in every language?
What did I do? I applied because I wanted to work with children, in a hostel and to have a chance to learn Spanish. Everything didn’t go as I imagined to go but I was a part of a completely different life style for a month. The people are different and I had a chance to meet new “crazy” individuals who enjoy their life 100%. It was a great experience. Whoever will take the opportunity can’t really see how it will go. And that’s good. Life would be so boring if we could plan everything.
Volunteer Tina
