New volunteer in Pomiechówek!

Hi, it's Sara!

¡Hola! I'm Sara, the Spanish volunteer working in Pomiechówek's library this year. I come from a little city in the south of Spain called Badajoz. My town is on the border with Portugal so it is common to see Portuguese people in my city. Actually, you can cross the border walking haha. However, for the last five years, I moved to another town in the North, called Salamanca, where I studied English literature and linguistics and recently finished my master's in English culture and literature. Since I was little I've always had a passion for good stories. I especially enjoyed reading about myths and legends from different cultures. One of my favourite books as a child was a collection of volumes about Greek mythology. I think that was the beginning of all. 

I like to think that my passion for folklore comes from the fact that I was born on the 31st of October, the night of Halloween. That is why I usually refer to myself as a Scorpio by soul because I'm very attracted to the unknown and dark stories. So if you meet me don't be surprised if I refer to myself as such haha and beware if you ask me something about folklore because I may start talking for hours.

I decided to study English literature because during high school I met an amazing teacher who made me love literature and discover that my passion was doing research and analysing literary texts. For that reason, after my master's I engaged in a PhD project about European folklore that I wish to start next year. I want to become a specialist in European witchcraft and folklore. Hence, if you look around my personal library you can find many folklore essays and popular stories.

Besides my professional career, I am a very sporty person. For me, the gym is my safe space. It is where I can feel peace, forget about everyday problems and release my stress. I've been training for one year and I have already seen the results. Feeling strong and having consciousness about your body helps you a lot to deal with your daily life. I also started doing pole dance last year which is another of my passions. It was a challenge for me as I am scared of heights and I do not feel comfortable in classes with lots of people. However, joining pole dance classes helped me to overcome those fears and meet incredible people. I am also a very creative person. This year I rediscovered my passion for painting which was something I used to love when I was a child. Artistic activities are those things that we usually abandon as we grow up, but reconnecting with them makes you heal in many ways. It is very relaxing. My tip is to find what you are good at painting. What happened to me was that I was very frustrated by not being able to draw human anatomy, so I started painting other things such as landscapes, animals or objects. Painting is a great activity for your mind and soul, so I encourage you to find your safe place in it.

This has been my first week in Pomiechówek and by far it feels like home to me. You may wonder why I decided to come here. Well. My master's year has been a little bit of a mess, to be honest. Lots of stress. So, I decided that this would be a gap year for me. Initially, I wanted to do another master's in Spain, but after an administrative problem with the university that made me unable to study it this year, I decided that I needed to leave Spain for a year. It is not the first time I have spent time alone in another country because as a teenager I spent one month in Ireland and another in the US to learn English. Nonetheless, I have never travelled to East Europe and for me, it has been a great discovery.  Although it has been my first week here, I already feel at home. The landlady Ella is amazing, she reminds me of my Spanish grandmother and I have already found a great group of friends who are amazing. I'm expecting to meet new people here in Poland and visit lots of places around the country. 

If you have some questions about the volunteering program or the life here in Poland feel free to ask. Also, I will be writing about my research on European folklore, what I know and some curiosities about Polish and Spanish folklore. Despite being far away and different cultures our folklore is more connected than we usually think ;)

Sara