Kieran from England. I did not expect to be welcomed with such open arms and for people to offer me the support that I received. In terms of the teaching aspect, it hit my expectations!

Kieran

British

Cardona

I was involved with all ages within the school; from infantil to 4th ESO. I spent 1 hour a week with infantil, 15 minutes with 0-3 years, singing English songs etc. The remainder of the hour was based on a 3-week changing schedule; in either mathematics, arts and crafts or language. The rest of my 20 classroom hours were distributed evenly amongst Primary and ESO. I was in the school from Monday to Thursday (Half day on Thursday).

In most classes, I was an assistant to the teacher, where I took students out in small groups (5-7 students) and consolidated what was being taught in the class. This was different in 2nd Primary, where I had half the class and taught the week’s content from the book.

I had a great relationship with all students and teachers within the school. The primary and infantil students treated me as a celebrity and were always very excited to see me.

From the first day, I felt very welcome with my family and they always made it very clear that if I needed anything, just to ask. I had a great relationship with both parents in my family but especially with my host Mother. We spent a lot of time at Moto training with my host child and some competitions also. We visited many places around Catalunya; Costa Brava, Barcelona, Vic, Manresa, Solsona, Port del Comte ski slope. We visited the local salt mine and castle in my first week, which were very cool.

My expectations were exceeded greatly. I did not expect to be welcomed with such open arms and for people to offer me the support that I received. In terms of the teaching aspect, it hit my expectations, where my tutor had outlined my responsibilities via video call and email prior to joining.

I believe my Castellano (Spanish) language levels have improved since joining as I was communicating in Castellano to some teachers who did not have the best English levels. I also believe it has greatly improved my confidence in presenting and conducting class materials/presentations, in which I did not have such experience beforehand. It also has helped my listening and organisational skills, where I have had to organise class materials and also listen to students’ concerns.

One piece of advice is to try to learn a bit of Catalan whilst you’re there. The locals love it and they will welcome you with open arms and treat you as one of their own, if so.

As it is a small town, there are only a couple of things to do in Cardona (touristically); the castle and salt mine. However, my host family took me on a 10km loop around the town and showed/ explained some things to me. This took place along the river (visited an old hydroelectric station) and into the fields.

I highly recommend visiting Montserrat Mountain, which is about 30 minutes from Cardona, which has an old Monastery on top. Additionally, my favourite city that I visited was ‘Vic’, which is about an hour drive from Cardona- it has a beautiful old town with lots of history (we had a private tour from my host father’s friend). If you are part of the January- April cohort, I recommend going to Solsona for carnival; it is a week-long celebration and is the best in the area. If you are into skiing, there are two ski slopes that are near: Porte del Comte and La Masella. I prefer Port del Comte and it is nearer to Cardona. I also enjoyed visiting Sant Miquel del Fai, which is a monastery that is located on the edge of a valley, which is about an hour from Cardona.

My favourite restaurants in the town were Punt Zero and La Volta del Rector (the latter is owned by my host child’s grandparents). They both do typical Catalan dishes. The ‘Fira Bar’ in the town square was my favourite bar to visit in the area. Cardona is a great place to live if you want a more authentic and relaxed experience; the hills around the town were great to walk in and there were spectacular views of the place.

My advice is to anticipate that there are a lot of students that do not have the best English ability, which might be a surprise to some people. Saying that, it made it a lot more rewarding when you see their progress over the three months. Additionally, since the school is very small, you can get to know the students a lot faster and their names too. This allows you to have a more personal experience with each student and see better results. Adding to the above point, because the town is so small, you feel part of the community and almost like you have known them all your life (you piece together who is related to who etc..)

The one big difference between Catalan/Spanish living and the UK/USA is their meal times and sizes; this is stated when signing up but it does take some getting used to. Initially, I would be very hungry during the morning because our lunch time was not until 3pm. This is where ‘2nd breakfast’ comes into play, where you would have a snack/ sandwich at around 11am- I would make use of this. Additionally, I believe that Catalan food is a lot more meat/fish focussed and is saltier than British food- something to be aware of. Meal times are also a time to catch up and talk, especially dinner. You can expect to eat at the dinner table for over an hour talking about your day.

My host family would do anything for me to ensure that I was comfortable/safe in their home; they are very generous people and do treat you as a family. One example was that they would sometimes drive me to Barcelona (90km) and back on my days off, to ensure that I was making the most of my time there.

The best moment in school was going skiing with them at La Masella, which I loved. Additionally, I went to a school residential which was a great experience, getting to know the students more and the teachers. I also thoroughly enjoyed the carnival parade that we did through the town, with entertainment in the town square. It was a real insight into a custom that we do not partake in in the UK.

With my host family, I loved the parties that we had to celebrate theirs or their friends’ birthdays, which included meeting a variety of individuals and eating the most amazing food. I also loved our trip to Costa Brava, which we did with some family friends and stayed in their flat.

One of the highlights of my experience was going to a Barcelona football match with my tutor’s husband- my first Barcelona game and first Champions League game.

I have no regrets joining! It was everything that I expected and more. My tutor, Laia, was so supportive and the next Voluntary Speaker will be lucky to have her for guidance. I would tell someone who was thinking of joining this program to just do it and live with no regrets. I’d tell them to say yes to everything that comes their way and really immerse themselves in the Catalan culture.