Primo estate a Italia e anche il mio primo blog post in italiano (scusi il mio italiano, questo è lo migliore che posso fare dopo di 11 mesi), il mio ultimo post era di maggio e veramente depresso, tutto e tropo diverso ora.

Juliette ha finito il suo progetto e ha restituito alla Francia, anche Laura y Julia sono restituite alla Germania.

Gli miei nuovi conviventi sono Angel, Juan e Jakub. Sono veramente fortunata di avere Angel e Juan, siamo tre spagnoli al appartamento, è come una piccolissima famiglia spagnola. Christina è una persona molto speciale per me, con lei mi sento come quando sono con la mia sorella e posso parlare de qualcosa senza paura di essere giudicati.

Abbiamo conosciuto tantissimi Trentini (Grazie a Angel e il suo progetto veramente e anche a Juan e alla sua socievolezza) e la città se senti come casa, è difficile da accettare che il finale non è lontano, che in meno di 2 mesi Trento non va a essere la mia casa, magari mai ritorno qui (Ancora non è sicuro, forse sono fortunata e posso restare qui un po' pìu).

Ma per ora ho tantissime esperienze che esperimentare, tantissimo che guardare è proprio tantissimo che imperare (italiano specialmente, lo so)

Il mio Ferragosto ha stato terribile, caldissimo e un po' solitario, ma ho andato a Crema, il posto dove si ha fatto il film Call me by your name è la esperienza ha stato bellissima, era la prima cosa che volevo di fare in Italia!

Queste sono alcune foto di queste mese, il mio prossimo blogpost è il ultimo…

Come se dice in Spagna: BAJONA.

 (Not everything written in this blog is true, my perception of reality is heavily influenced by my emotional state)

This blog has been empty for weeks and it’s ultimately my fault.

I don’t want to force people to write. I don’t want to be the one asking for a testimonial when everyone clearly prefers not to write.

These last weeks have been strange. I have had the best of the times and the worst of the times. I went on vacation with Christina and Juliette and it was lovely but I also came back to Trento feeling empty. We went on a lake trip and ended up hitch-hiking and laughed so much but I also felt like I needed to isolate myself for days after.

Not much has been happening in my life, whilst a lot is happening on everyone else’s life, or at least it feel like that.

Remember how during the lock-down in 2020 the world kind of slowed down? I loved that. For once the world was working on my speed and I could finally catch up with everything. Now I feel like the world has gotten back to its normal speed and I am left behind again. Everything feels kind of foggy and I don’t get to look around and see how amazing the experience I am currently living is.

I’ve been in Italy for more than half a year and I am scared that the only thing I will take from this year is stories, but not growth or improvement.

Over these months we’ve written about experiences, travels, friendships and work but not a lot about what’s going on inside. And trust me, there’s a lot going on in the top floor.

Being a volunteer is not easy, it is in fact very hard. You have to get used to a lot of changes happening all the time and all of them happening as you hear a voice in the back of your head telling you “this is only temporary, you won’t be here in a year”, and for me, it’s very hard to put myself out here for year and then go back, it will feel like none of this meant nothing or that it meant so much and didn’t use it wisely.

I am living in the future and it sucks.

The present feels too distant, it’s sunny, it’s a Wednesday, I am surrounded by people, I am in a different country, I am alive and well.

May the following testimonial be written and less depressing. 

(Take a shot every time I write Lock-down, or mention an infestation or mention my birthday. Actually don’t, you’d die)

Second birthday in lock-down baby! And oh god was this lock-down a whole different experience…

I remember last year I was not doing anything by the time COVID19 hit Spain, so my days in lock-down were spent on the Internet, playing Sims and walking on the top of my building. You cannot imagine how hard it is to get 10 thousand steps walking in circles on top a building. But overall it was a good time given the circumstances.

This time I cannot say the same.

All that could happen, happened. During the first week of lock-down we received the visit of a mouse, which I didn’t get to see and who was the star of the flat for a few days. First couple of traps covered our floor.

For a few days we would regularly check the traps in fear of seeing a little being stuck on them (We still to this day have no plans regarding what to do when that happens, it’s a problem for future us). It was really frustating to ask for help and, if you’re a volunteer reading this I cannot stress this enough: WE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN VIDEOS OF THE MOUSE. But in the panic it didn’t cross our minds. So there we had our landlord and his tendency to undestimate our problem (which are his fault and responsibility) and gaslight us, walking around looking for a mouse that obviously was gone after three girls scream at him about him for 30 minutes.

And that’s only the first drama of lock-down, there’s more to come.

A week or so later, we were hanging in the kitchen as we do when Julia saw an insect on the floor and killed it. We looked at it and well, second guest in our flat A COCKROACH. But she was not alone, as 3 more appeared in the following days (again, cannot stress enough TAKE PICTURES OF THE CORPSES, which we didn’t) so after the 3^rd one we could see how it was not an isolated insect and there were probably more to come so again, asked for help and bought traps. Now we have 4 traps hanging around the flat. Also, fun fact but actually really, really sad fact: Probably spraying them would have worked better but they have decided to hang around or fridge, so if we want to eat which sadly we kind of need to survive, we cannot spray them.

Again, lots of drama and anxiety about being trapped in this flat, take in consideration our only trips are to the supermarket and to run/walk on our own for an hour a day.

And yes, we did follow the lock-down rules (probably the only ones in the whole Trentino area), and yes, we’re kind of proud of ourselves for doing so (no human was endangered by any decision taken in our flat during the red zone).

And with that, March was coming to an end and we thought nothing else could happen, my birthday was coming and everything seemed as bad as it could get and yet it got worse.

Two day’s before the 1^st of April we hosted another volunteer in our flat for 48 hours in between moving apartments, and without getting into details, it wasn’t the most pleasant experience.

And the March of animals, panics and smart-working (how can working wearing a pyjama be more stressful than working in jeans in an office??) ended, and April came and oh dio were we the fools.

Second birthday in lock-down and lots of WhatsApp messages to read, which is pretty much all I did that day. Bough myself a cake and some shoes which still haven’t arrived and got Happy bday sang by multiple lovely people and pets.

Were there no positives to lock-down? Not many, but I’ll list some so you don’t send the spanish army to rescue me just yet.

We decided that our good behaviour and respect of other’s well being deserved recognition so we planned to order food every Saturday to celebrate a week passing. First week we decided it was indian time and… Following my brand, my food came completely spilled in the bag, some of it was salvageable luckily, we decided to complain to the delivery service and they gave us my plate’s worth back to be spent in the app. So now I had half a dinner and 11 euros to spend the next week. And the week went by and we decided to buy sushi, my order came to a total of 12’5€, which thanks to the indian disaster was actually 1’5€, as the cheapest person on earth I felt on top of the world and then the delivery guy came and forgot half my food (and Julia’s) so back again to complaining to the app and them giving us 8’5€ back, but we were hungry for sushi and called the restaurant to inform them of the mistake and there was our food being delivered. Which meant that I got my sushi for free, and got money from the transaction. Thankfully the last week of lock-down we ordered kebab and it came perfectly fine and no more complains were made.

Another positive is that we’ve started playing Monopoly and haven’t killed eachother.

Also, I found my favourite book (A book section. Who am I, Sagar?), One Hundred Years of Solitude completely took over my life for a week and had me waiting for the moment to continue reading but also, fearing that it would inevitably end. And not my favourite but a great book experience was listening to the audiobook “Cuando me muera quiero que me toquen cumbia” which had me walking 15 kms one day because I didn’t want to stop listening to it.

I might listen to it again this week because no one can stop me.

And last positive but not least positive, we have discovered that we are great with plants and not awful at baking. My strawberry cake is one for the books, thanks Martha Steward.

I feel so bad for whoever is still reading because I have more to tell. I have never learnt to shut up.

Now, April is here and I am a year older and who would I be if I didn’t make resolutions for myself at 27?

A guy I know from Spain draws comics for a living and he did one which read “He would run away from problems but his real problem was that he runs away” and it DESTROYED me. It had me thinking for hours because that’s exactly who I am. I love running from my own problems or fixing other’s people problems to avoid my own or spending hours tweeting about the world's problems to not face mine and… that probably isn’t the healthiest way to live?

So this month so far I have made the decision of deleting social media apps from my phone and focusing on everything else, also face little by little some of my problems and think about the things that I usually avoid thinking about (mostly fears of mine). I also made the resolution to write more, as I do every month and fail, but well, this is 1236 words so far so maybe this is the month to win, maybe I am not a fool after all.

Growing up is kind of scary, I wish I knew when the feeling of “you’re wasting your life away” will go away. But I will do whatever it is in my hand to not feel like this year was wasted.

Congratulations for reading all of this, it was a total of 1307 words, which as a freelance would be paid with 13’4€, which I am giving you for free because I am that nice.

-Reme Torrico. 

The city feels ours, somehow it helps. I've recently been told that It will not be possible to go home for the next few months to see my family, and although it is sad news, at least Trento feels like home now. 
It feels so much like home that sometimes I found myself realizing that there's a possibility than in the next few months I will walk these streets for the last time, how awful does that sound, right? 

I firmly believe that movement attracts movement (don't quote me on that, I really don't know science) and having a routine, working daily, sharing ideas and talking about projects has made me already more creative, more efficient, and the world noticed. During the last week, I've done an interview for the thesis of a spanish student (It is crazy that I am considered a reference by someone) and have been offered to send whatever I write to a couple of spanish outlets, I didn't have to do anything, movement attracts movement. 
On a different note, coronavirus huh, what a couple of years... 
We were planning to go to Venice during this weekend. It seemed perfect... Carnivale and Valentine's Day in Venice, at the same time, the year in which tourist are not allowed to flood the streets. Turns out, moving between regions is still kind of forbidden so all the planning and hyping up got lost pretty easily. 
We will still have a pretty great weekend, of that I'm sure. 
At least we'll have great breakfasts, lately our life has been quite focused on breakfast. 
Here's a photodump of the last weeks, in it, you can see how Anya always bring me a clementine to work, and I think it's the cutest thing, Laura made cinnamon rolls and I have never felt luckier (if you ever get the chance to live with people that enjoy baking I would highly recommend it), Sagar took pictures of us having a meeting from CoffeClub, Our nice Sunday breakfast and a family picture. 

That's all folks. Take care. 

Reme Torrico

 Hello everyone! It’s been more than a month since the last time I wrote on here. Trento has grown on me and it feels like home, we don’t know what’s going to happen in the following week and that’s making the upcoming Christmas feel strange.

I decided to stay here instead of coming back home, I don’t feel like going home for the holidays is the most responsible thing to do, but I have to admit that the perspective of spending Christmas alone and in lock-down doesn’t seem like the best plan to end this chaotic year.

Luckily I’ll get to use my time wisely and read “Italian for dummies”.

Yes, you read that correctly.

In preparation for Christmas and to get some rest for my eyes, 7 hours a day in an office looking at a screen isn’t the best thing to have rested eyesight, I started to watercolour some Christmas cards to send my family and friends, I would 100% recommend it to anyone in need of some creative activity.

During this months I also got to see the snow (!)

This is such a big deal for me, I couldn’t stop smiling as soon as we stepped outside of the bus in Madonna di Campligio, everything looked so shiny and beautiful, and white, really white. It was not an easy trip anyways, turns out you really have to dress accordingly to the weather conditions, who would have thought! 

We had the amazing idea of doing a short hiking trail, it took us 3 times the amount of time it was supposed to and I ended with my legs covered in bruises from kicking myself trying to get out of holes in the snow that I sinked it when walking. As bad as that sound it was one of the funniest experiences of my life, also one of the most tiring ones. 

Would I repeat it? Yes, but with better clothing, 100%. 

Recently we found out we are moving from the apartment we’ve been staying in for the last 2 months, and that we’re not going to live together anymore. Until now there’s been 3 of us in the same apartment (Julia, Juliette and myself) but from January Julia and I are moving.

Apparently there’s a new law that forced this situation so there’s nothing anyone can do to change the situation, I wish I get to move before Christmas and lock-down so I can get used to our new place by myself, staying in our current apartment alone for two weeks would feel like a two weeks long goodbye.

We were told where the new apartment is and I walked over there the other day, it feels really strange to move for a second time in a city that you don’t fully know yet, it’s a new part of the city to get to know and a lot of new things to get used to. For know my priorities are finding the closest supermarket as it seems like it’s going to be the only place I’ll be able to visit in the following weeks.

I almost forgot to update this blog on our social life, we’ve made some friends, well, at least one friend. But it is refreshing to have someone outside of our home to go visit and to talk to. He also lives really close to the old apartment so we can meet really easily. I also got to meet my mentor and she was nice, hopefully we will hang out with her at some point.

Overall, and after dumping all of this info in here, I am going to continue hoping for the best and trying to make the best out of the situation no matter how bad things get. It’s time to reflect on what we used to have and can’t have anymore and how appreciative we have been about it until now. This may be a strange Christmas but Christmas is just a social event.

Let’s start 2021 being responsible and appreciating what we have and what we have had, for me I am really happy to start 2021 in a different country and how I am getting to met, experience and see so many new thing in such a complicated year.

Reme Torrico

For English version scroll down.

Ya llevo 5 días en Trento y aunque puedan parecer pocos, el tiempo pasa mucho más despacio cuando estas experimentando cosas nuevas, quizás por eso los años parecían tan largos cuando eramos niños. 

El día 9 de octubre fue el primer día de mi viaje y también el dia más largo de mi vida, mi viaje empezó a las 3am en coche viajando de Córdoba al aeropuerto de Málaga donde dije adios a mis padres. Después cogí el avión hacia Bergamo y desde Bergamo cogí un bus hasta Trento, donde me recogió Marco para llevarme al piso que compartiré este año con otras dos voluntarias. Finalmente, después de hacer todo esto eran casi las 11pm pero, 

¡Había llegado sana y salva a mi destino!

Mi viaje fue tan largo porque tuvo 10 horas de espera en Bergamo para montarme en el Flixbus que me traería a la que ahora es mi casa. Supongo que normalmente no hay que esperar 10 horas para poder montarse en un autobús que lleve a Trento, pero la situación en 2020 con la COVID-19 acechando no es en absoluto normal. Como no conozco el idioma, se me hace un poco difícil el consumir noticias locales, aunque me he propuesto leer al menos un articulo diario para comenzar a familiarizarme con el idioma y aprender palabras nuevas. 

Afortunadamente la situación en el norte de Italia parece estar controlada, la gente parece tranquila y todo el mundo lleva mascarilla por la calle y en las tiendas. 

¡No me puedo creer que haya decidido mudarme a otro país en mitad de una pandemia global!

Ya empiezo a adaptarme al que sera mi hogar los próximos 12 meses. Una de las cosas que más temía de Trento era el frío, pero no lo estoy pasando tan mal como esperaba (Es más, ya he olvidado mi abrigo dos días seguidos y no me congelé) Lo que no me esperaba y nadie me advirtió es la cantidad de arañas que viven en las casas! Ya he preguntado y por lo visto es normal que unas cuantas decenas de arañas de gran tamaño y largas patas estén instaladas en tu hogar, algunos incluso me han dicho que mejor que estén porque se comen los mosquitos. Por ahora yo he decidido respetar las que no veo pero utilizar insecticida en todas las que si, creo que podemos llegar a una convivencia pacifica si nos mantenemos alejadas.

Hace un par de días tuve la oportunidad de pasear por primera vez por la ciudad y caí completamente enamorada. Desde todos los puntos de la ciudad, si miras entre los edificios, puedes ver las impresionantes montañas que la rodean. Paseando por el centro, que es completamente peatonal, llegue a la Piazza del Duomo, donde hay varios edificios con frescos exteriores del siglo XV y XVI, me parecía increíble ver a los tridentinos pasar sin levantar la vista hacia esas impresionantes paredes.

También llevo un par de días yendo a la oficina y los compañeros de Inco están haciendo muy fácil que me adapte, incluso Patricia me ha recomendado una exposición gratuita que tengo intención de visitar esta misma tarde. 

El italiano aún se me resiste y las visitas al supermercado me parecen una odisea, aunque el “scusa” y el “grazie” ya son parte de mis reflejos lingüísticos habituales. Mi gran victoria de la semana es que conseguí explicar a la cajera del supermercado que quería el papel para conseguir la tarjeta del supermercado y aunque no fue fácil, lo conseguí. 

Aún me quedan muchos retos y lecciones que aprender en esta ciudad, esto no ha hecho nada más que empezar y me mata la curiosidad por saber cómo seré y cómo habrá sido mi experiencia cuando vuelva a escribir dentro de 12 meses. 

My first days as a volunteer

    I’ve been in Trento for 5 days already and although it may not seem like much, time goes so slowly when you’re experiencing new things. Maybe that’s why years seemed so long when we were kids. 

The 9th of October was the first day of my journey and also the longest day of my life. It all started at 3am taking a car from Cordoba to Malaga’s airport, where I took the plane to Bergamo and said goodbye to my parents. Then, from Bergamo I took a bus to Trento, where Marco picked me up and brought me to the apartment I’ll be sharing with two other volunteers. 

Finally, after all of this it was almost 11pm but I had safely arrived to my destination!

My journey was that long cause it involved ten hours of waiting for the Flixbus that would bring me to what now is my home. I guess it’s not the norm to wait for 10 hours to be able to take a bus that brings you to Trento, but it's 2020 and the threat of COVID-19 has made all situations abnormal. As I still don’t know the language, it’s quite hard for me to consume local news but I’ve challenged myself to read at least one article a day to get used to the language and learn new words. Luckily the situation in north Italy seems to be under control, everyone is calm and wearing their masks on the street and inside shops. 

I can’t believe I decided to move to a different country in the midst of a global pandemic!

I’m already adapting to what will be my home for the next 12 months. One of the things about Trento that had me scared was the cold weather, but I’m dealing with it better than what I was expecting (I actually forgot to put on my coat for two days in a row and didn’t freeze to death) What I was actually not expecting and no one warned me about is the amount of spiders that live in houses. I’ve already asked about it and apparently it’s quite normal that a few dozens of big sized spiders with long legs are installed in your home, some people have even told me that it’s better that they’re there cause they eat mosquitoes. For now I have decided to respect those I cannot see but spray with insecticide all the ones that show themselves, I feel like we can reach a pacific coexistence if we mantain our distance.

A couple of days ago I had the opportunity of take a walk around the city for the first time and I completely fell in love.  From every point across the city, if you look between the buildings, you can see the impressive mountains that surround it. Whilst walking on the city center, which is completely car-free, I arrived to the Piazza del Duomo, where a few buildings have external frescoes dating from the XV and XVI century, I couldn’t believe seeing the tridentines walk without raising their eyes to observe those magnificent walls. 

I also have been going to the office for a couple of days now and the people from Inco are making my adaptation so much easier. I even got a recommendation from Patricia to visit a free expo and I plan to go this afternoon. 

I haven't mastered italian yet and visits to the supermarket have become an odissey, although “scusa” and “grazie” are already part of my usual linguistic reflexes. My biggest victory so far this week is that I managed to explain to the supermarket cashier that I wanted the form to get the supermarket’s card and althought it was not easy, I got it. 

I still have so many challenges to face and lessons to learn in this city. This is just the beggining and I can't wait to know who I’ll be and how my experience was when I write again in 12 months, the curiosity is killing me. 

Reme Torrico Alcudia 

Trento, Italia