Hello, I am Ivanina. I am from Bulgaria, and I am 25 years old. It is the beginning of my second week of this journey.

The adaptation is going well; I feel good. Terrassa is beautiful and peaceful. I walked around aimlessly through the city, and I have to say I liked that, going without any idea of what to expect or which turn I was going to take next. I noticed a lot of differences in the way of life and the overall flow of the citizens; I felt the calmness they radiated.

Since I am living in Eastern Europe, of course I can´t ignore the architecture, the style of the city (buildings, history, etc.). In Sofia, Bulgaria, I am used to more post-communist “block” buildings, monumental civic buildings, and overall a lot more different vibe than Terrassa´s. In this city, you can feel the industrial and modernist blend of architecture, which is really new and inspiring for me. When you are spending time in such different and new place, you can appreciate all the small things, from a small piece of wall art to the way the church domes are shaped. I love this change of perspective. I am already walking around and making small sketches of the city´s architecture or taking photos. Also, I am still finding my special spots here.. I still need to find a favourite place to go get specialty coffee, a place where I watch the sunsets, a place to go to when I need some time alone… so I have a lot more to explore still.

When you spend your life around art and studying it, it makes your mind tickle in a different way. I am already getting so excited, and I can´t wait to put this creativity into my way of living and the purpose I have here in Terrassa. My mission is to contribute to the communication of La Vibria´s local and international activities. With graphic design being my passion (haha), I feel pretty comfortable with the way of working here in the office. I love to express things visually, whether it’s taking photos, making videos, or writing and then adding visual materials; I love this language of expression.

What is new for me is working in an organisation. Coming from a toxic corporate life, it feels so different. You know the saying ¨Here in the office we are like one big happy family¨ and you want to throw up in your mouth. Well, here in La Vibria you can actually feel this in the best way possible. Everyone makes sure to participate in the weekly and daily tasks for keeping a good, clean, and cozy workspace. These small things are noticeable.

Meeting people here has also been a semi-easy task for me. Connecting with the other volunteers is also pretty easygoing, even though we are in different places in our lives and different ages; by just being here on that project, we connect on a high level already. I have had a chance to talk with most of the volunteers and exchange perspectives on life, no matter if it´s a 19-year-old person deciding what to study and which road to take, or me-a 25 year old person who´s coming to this ESC project with experience in living with roommates and already some decent work experience, trying to live life in a new way; we start to realise we are all here for our special journeys, and we can still learn a lot from each other.

I am still to find out when I am going to start to feel the homesickness or start missing my friends and family. For me, I still find it kinda easy since I am very independent, but you can never be too sure. Maybe in my next diary entry I will already be having these new intense emotions, and I will tell you all about it, but until then…