Learning to Crear

When I first moved to Samara, I was feeling anxious and very alone in this small town with a family that doesn’t speak any English and- at the time- I didn’t speak any Spanish. Things were still hard first couple of months, trying to help coordinate the after-school courses and working on my Spanish. Andrea and the rest of the team at CREAR helped make adjusting to my new life easier; developing a routine with the CREAR courses and other volunteers going through similar experiences that I could relate to. Part of the difficulty I had in the first couple of months was due to not fining things to do in this small town, since I’m from a larger city. CREAR introduced me to the local language school, Intercultura, where they offer classes I can sign up for and meet new people, like, yoga, cooking and dance. I picked up surfing as a hobby, it helped helped me get out more. I spend a lot of time at the local surf school; Pato’s. I look forward to improving my Spanish more, the upcoming school year, and working with another long-term volunteer.