Moje ime je Adrià Rubio Navarro, dolazim iz Španjolske. Studirao sam pravo i trenutno sam pred završetkom studija socijalnog rada i izuzetno sam zainteresiran za sve što se tiče rada u zajednici. Oduvijek sam volio volontiranje, a upravo je to bilo ono što me potaknulo da dođem u Hrvatsku kao međunarodni volonter. Došao sam u Društveni atelje putem projekta Europskih snaga solidarnosti "Inclusive community". Prva stvar koja me privukla u Društvenom ateljeu bila je prijateljska i suradnička atmosfera; odmah sam shvatio da je to mjesto otvoreno za svakoga, s jasnim ciljem - poticanje osjećaja za zajednicu.

Ovdje sam stekao prva iskustva u razvoju i provedbi projekata i aktivnosti. Imao sam priliku učiti o vlastitim sposobnostima i ograničenjima te prepoznati svoje snage i slabosti u sigurnom okruženju. Moje socijalne vještine su se ojačale; nisam više osjećao nelagodu pri javnom govoru, naučio sam se povezivati s ljudima različitih dobnih skupina i nacionalnosti i slušati mišljenja i stavove koji se razlikuju od mojih vlastitih. U Društvenom ateljeu shvatio sam dubok značaj timskoga rada, jer upravo je on jedini način da zajedno koračamo prema naprijed, ne ostavljajući nikoga za sobom. Iskustvo rada s raznolikim skupinama ljudi poučilo me da svaka osoba ima svoje posebnosti i da svi imamo vlastite potrebe, izazove i prepreke koje možemo savladati jedino kroz međusobnu suradnju.

Jedno divno iskustvo, među mnogima koje sam stvorio/la u Društvenom ateljeu, jesu popodneva druženja English speaking cluba, gdje su se ljudi različitih dobnih skupina i nacionalnosti okupljali i razgovarali o svakovrsnim temama, učeći jedni od drugih. Vremenom smo stvorili malu obitelj, temeljenu na povjerenju i poštovanju. Iako smo započeli kao potpuni stranci, uspjeli smo stvoriti jake veze, dokazujući da nema nikakvih prepreka za socijalizaciju i međuljudsku interakciju.

Imao sam priliku volontirati s grupom umirovljenika devet mjeseci, organizirajući za njih satove španjolskog jezika. Iako je glavni cilj bio naučiti španjolski jezik, sastanci su postali veselo i zabavno okruženje gdje smo provodili popodneva zajedno kroz igre i aktivnosti. Kroz kulturnu razmjenu, približio sam korisnike španjolskoj kulturi, dok su oni mene podučavali svojoj. Od njih sam naučio da biti stariji od 65 godina nije sinonim za stagnaciju i nemogućnost, već da u toj dobi možete imati život pun avantura i zabave.

Sve što sam iskusio ovdje i sve lekcije koje sam naučio pomogle su mi da gledam na život iz drugačije perspektive, razvijajući novi način postupanja i pristupanja životu. Mogu reći da ću se vratiti kući kao potpuno drugačija osoba nego što sam bio prije godinu dana, zahvaljujući Društvenom ateljeu na prilici za osobnim razvojem.

 

ENGLISH VERSION

 

My name is Adrià Rubio Navarro, I am an ESC volunteer from the island of Mallorca in Spain. I studied Law and I am about to finish my degree in Social Work, being very interested in everything that has to do with helping the community. I have always liked volunteering, being this interest what motivated me to come to Croatia as an international volunteer. 

I ended up at Social Atelier through a project called "Inclusive Community", which was looking for international volunteers. The first thing that caught my attention of the place was its friendly and cooperative atmosphere, I understood from the first moment that Social Atelier was a site open to everyone, with a clear objective, to foster the feeling of community.

My volunteering at Social Atelier has been my first experience in the development and implementation of projects and activities. I have also learned about my capabilities and limitations in a safe environment, where with the help of the team I have detected my strengths and weaknesses. My social skills have been strengthened, losing the embarrassment of public speaking, learning to connect with other people of different ages and nationalities and to listen to opinions and ways of thinking different from my own.
Since I am here, I have learned the importance of teamwork, as it is the only way to move forward together, leaving no one behind. Since I have been working with such a diverse range of people and groups has taught me that each person is different, and that we all have our own needs, difficulties and barriers which can be overcome through cooperation.

A nice experience, among all those I have been creating in Social Atelier, is the afternoons in the English-speaking club, in which people of different ages and nationalities met and talked about all kinds of topics, learning from each other, all in a language that was not our own. Over time we came to create a small family, in which trust and respect were the basis of our relationship. Even though we started out as complete strangers, we managed to create strong bonds, demonstrating that there are no barriers of any kind to socialization and human interaction.

I had the opportunity to volunteer with a group of pensioners for nine months, organizing Spanish lessons for them. Although the main objective was to learn the Spanish language, the meetings became a joyful and fun environment where we spent the afternoons together through games and activities. Through cultural exchange, I brought the users closer to the Spanish culture, while they taught me theirs. My meetings with them were full of laughter and smiles, learning from them that being over 65 is not synonymous with stagnation and impossibility, but also that at that age you can have a life full of adventures and fun.

Everything I have experienced here, and all the lessons I have learned, have helped me to see life from a different perspective, developing a new way of doing things and approaching life. I can say that I will return home a completely different person than I was a year ago, thanking Social Atelier and its team for this personal development and enrichment.