European Voluntary Service in Basida (Madrid), Spain
I arrived in the city of Basida in Spain on the 7th of february 2011 for an 8 months project. For already a long time I was willing to go away from my country and live in another country to live a new experience and meet other culture and other kind of people. At that moment of my life, I was a bit lost. I did not know what to do after graduating from university neither find good reasons to stay and live in my own country (Belgium).
I chose the city of Basida in Spain because the project directly seemed interesting to me and moreover, it is the kind of project that always gives people fear and expectations. During my project I was working in a center for people having aids and drug addicts. Also, I thought that as I studied psychology, this new experience would help me to get to know more within my own field. I came back to Belgium on the 6th of october 2011, talking fluenty Spanish and with a very valuable experience on a professional point of view.
Anyway, that won’t be the only thing I am going to remember from those 8 months. My stay over there has been much more than the learning of a language or professional skills. Indeed, it has been much more than excpected: I found a place where I feel like home, a new family! I met incredible people, welcoming, available and careful to me and the each others. They taught me so much on a personal but also interpersonal level. They highlighted to me the important values of life and taught me a true life lesson. I will never forget Besida and the people I got to know over there.
Information about European mobility, grants, scholarships or seminars and competitions
European Voluntary Service (EVS) in Madrid, Spain, story of Michaela from Austria
European Voluntary Service in Alicante, Spain
European Voluntary Service in Tarragona, Spain
Emilie explains her European Voluntary Service in Barcelona (Spain)
European Voluntary Service (EVS) in the Canary Islands: Jenni from Sweden tells her volunteer experience
