A vibrant and soothing August

The warmth of August is in full swing, we are in the middle of Rural Art Summer and I'm enjoying every moment. The fruits we can pick outside are juicy and sweet, I feel free and joyful. 

We organize and take part in workshops of theater, origami, communication, games, barbecue, yoga, massage, drawing. For 3 days we had theater workshops, including one I proposed with Alexia on the theme of emotions, where we did exercises and then prepared for the performance organized by Marta. She came up with the idea of doing an unannounced performance in the village bar on the theme of rumors and machismo, and on the day of the performance we were pretty stressed out because this is a difficult theme to deal with and none of the locals knew about it. It was quite liberating to do it, but we're not sure we were heard. In any case, it was a powerful and important experience for us. There are plenty of things to do and see, the atmosphere is calmer after the intensity of Camprovinarte's week and we can enjoy moments all together. Then comes the 5 days of rest, one group is going to Bilbao, San Sebastien and Pamplona, others are leaving on their own and we decide with Mary Grace and Sabrina, to do hiking and visiting the villages around. Mary Grace is also in the program to provide emotional and linguistic support to Sabrina, who has a disability and doesn't speak a lot of english. We visit Haro and its museums, Vitoria-Gasteiz where we meet Eva, another volunteer, and Laguardia for a hike in the vineyards the 4 of us. These days are very chill and fun, we have amazing conversations with the girls and a lot of laugh. The town hall of Camprovín organizes activities on this 4th and last week of Rural Art Summer, among others a stargazing night. We found ourselves in a pretty corner of Camprovín where we had a breathtaking view of the sky. Men from an astronomy association pointed up at the sky with a laser and showed us the stars and constellations. I felt like I was on top of the world, so small and yet part of something huge. Time flew and we had other workshops, we went to Sierra Sonora, a really nice festival in Viniegra de Abajo, that marked the end of the experience in a joyful and energetic mood. The last day of the volunteers of Rural Art Summer was the day of the Chorizo, where the inhabitants show the longest chorizo in the world and everyone gets to have a piece. Then there is music, dance, laughter, I love this energy. 

Also my family came twice, once for Camprovinarte and for Sierra Sonora, I am so grateful of their presence and implication in my life. They are always interested and excited by the projects I am in. 

Each of the volunteers is a goldmine to discover, and I'm now feeling frustrated that I haven't had more time to get to know them even better. Their passions, their stories, their expectations, their reflections on life, are fascinating, and I never stop finding treasures of humanity in each of them. I'm delighted to learn that Mary Grace will be staying until October to run a workshop project in the garage of the office building.

Something we didn't know is that after the volunteers' leaving, the festivities kept going in Camprovín! So we had parties and activities from Monday to Wednesday, dancing in the plaza de la Iglesia, dressing up as the blind mice from Shrek with Mary Grace and Annika, going to the bar and enjoying the rest of the summer. 🌞

Then I went on vacation with my friends and family, I just came back in Camprovín and I'm now very excited about what's coming next for this new chapter. 

This second month has enabled me to take things more calmly, to analyze what has just happened and to think about the next few months ahead. I'm discovering more and more the freedom of action, experimentation and creative freedom we enjoy with On&Off. For my free time, I would like to be more in the nature, to enjoy hiking with the others and endless discussions about life as we already have this summer.