October started with a bookbinding workshop that Sarah prepared in the office. This time it was a more complex binding process, nevertheless, I decided to try my hand at. The result wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing, but at least I was able to make it to the hand on my own which, considering my artistical abilities is no mean feat.
That weekend was my birthday, so I decided to take a few days off, and enjoy some holidays in Barcelona and its still warm weather – at least compared to Slovakia – where I enjoyed feeling the sun in my skin, listening to the waves on the beach, and tasting some amazing Catalan dishes. Whilst there I got the chance to meet my friend Mia who I hadn’t seen in more than a year, and even got the most amazing surprise birthday party in Vilafranca.
Back to the office, we were all assigned with a group task that, even though it may sound super simple, easy, and not time consuming at all, for some reason it wasn’t: taking a group picture with everyone. First someone blinked in the picture, then someone was making a weird face, then there was a general laugh wave that lasted some minutes, but eventually, after about a quarter of an hour, we managed to get one good picture. That same day we had a mega office celebration, Mirka and I had celebrated our birthdays and Majka and Sarah had their name days. I got a pair of Most SNP branded socks and a pack of 5 malt-based brews. This gave me an extra burst of motivation to keep working on the Youthpass and the promotional videos for next year’s volunteering positions.
INEX’s Intercultural Quiz Night was presented as part of the Erasmus Days initiative and happened just after a meeting in the office about the different opportunities that the Erasmus+ programme brings to young Europeans. The quiz counted with questions from a number of subjects such as History and Geography, Astronomy, Science, Weird Traditions and of course a few questions about the Erasmus+.
That same week I had my first workshop presentation at a school. Our volunteer Tomáš, had arranged with a teacher for me to go to Spojená škola Svätej Rodiny and talk about Media Bias which, as I came to learn that day, is part of one of the subjects of the final exam. The workshop was good, and was improved by the students’ input and discussion. There were only some minor changes to make before next day’s presentation, this time at GJH- Gymnázium Juraja Hronca, where a very interesting debate flourished on the subject of the reliability of the news regarding the current war in Ukraine. This made me realize that asking the right questions is sometimes more important to stimulate critical thinking and the appearance of different opinions then the presentation itself.
I also attended a concert at the Slovak Philharmonic where Munich Philharmonic’s flutist Michael Martin Kofler presented an amalgamation of sonatas by Mozart, Schubert, Poulance, and the Slovak composer Pavol Krška who I didn’t even know before. The day after I found out I got covid-19, and had to miss the Weekend Workcamp in Slatinka.
To celebrate the spooky season, we went to Integra where, we had a few activities lined up for the clients, from painting, to watching a short movie, followed by a light-hearted quiz and dancing to some groovy tunes, all Halloween themed.
Stay tuned for new updates in November!
