NAVDEEP'S CAS EXPERIENCIES IN SPAIN

This was my first year in this school as well in Spain. I was given the opportunity to interact with older people who live at Savia residencia tercera Edad. This is a home for older people who need assisted living. At first I was very excited as it reminded me of visiting my grandparents, who I didn’t see very often now as they live in India, though as the day of the visit drew closer I became very nervous and anxious.

The nervousness and anxiety stemmed from the unknown, will they like me, will I be able to communicate with them as my Spanish was not good. When I went there we were explained how things work in Savia. They told us that we need to make partners.

During that time I interacted with a number of residents and I met a lady Adela and from the very beginning I felt a very strong bond with her. She made me comfortable and I also got the vibe that she is also comfortable with me and the feelings I started the day with started to lessen much to my relief because they were accepting me even though I don’t speak good Spanish.

 

 

 

In the first visit we played “petanca”. It was new for me because I never played it before. It was really fun. And I found out that this game was my partner’s favorite game as she started jumping when they announced that we are going to play “petanca”. With my partner’s  help, she was able to teach me how to play even with the language barrier which generated a lot laughing between us because we don’t know how to talk with each other and she was trying to explain me with actions and I wasn’t able to understand.

 

 

 

Subsequent visits became easier as our bond started growing very stronger and my command of Spanish improved. During these visits I found out that Adela’s experiences and about her family, friends and about her school life. I also shared my school stories with her and told her about my family and my experiences of growing up in India.

When I visited her at Christmas we completed an activity together of making cards and also we selected costumes and props for the careers  to take our a memorable picture of Christmas together. During this experience we discovered a deeper understanding of each other’s likes, dislikes and humor.

From this visit my bond with my partner and her friends has grown and on now I look forward to the monthly visits to see what they have been doing and update her on my life as well as participating in the various activities on the day with the other residents.

These visits taught me that we can talk with anyone, it doesn’t matter in which country you are, language is not important. I learned so many things from Adela and from her experiences.

I improved my Spanish. Whenever I visited Savia  I always got the same vibe as I used to get when I use to visit my grandparents in India.

I am thankful to El Plantio ISV and to IB for providing us such an opportunity.

 

By Navdeep Kaur Y12V student