Festival "Lido Zivis" (Flying fish) in Kuldiga (On 26th, April)

El día 26 de Abril tuvo lugar en Kuldiga, Letonia, el festival "Lido Zivis" (Pez volador).

On 26th of April had place in Kuldiga, Latvia, the festival "Lido Zivis" (Flying fish).

 

 "Peces voladores en Kuldiga no es una fantasía, los peces harían su camino aguas arriba del Río Venta ya desde hace siglos para encontrar una cascada remolino en su camino de la migración. Un método único de pesca, inventado por habitantes de Kuldiga hace 300 años durante el reinado de el Duque Jacobo, consistía en cestas de mimbre colgadas en  postes a lo largo de las cataratas. Kuldiga ganó su fama como la ciudad donde los peces fueron capturados en el aire. Este fenómeno natural único se celebra cada primavera por un evento especial - el show de primavera "Pez volador en Kuldiga" .

"Flying fish in Kuldiga is not just a fantasy, fish would make their way upstream the Venta River already for centuries finding a swirling waterfall on their way of migration. A unique method of fishing invented by inhabitants of Kuldiga 300 years ago during the reign of Duke Jacob – wicker baskets were hung on posts along the falls. Kuldiga gained its fame as the city where fish were caught in the air. This unique natural phenomenon is celebrated every spring by a special event – the spring show “Fish Fly in Kuldiga”.

Durante el festival, también se celebra el festival de contar cuentos. Este año la novedad fue la participación de voluntarios SVE contando una leyenda o cuento en su propio idioma. Esta iniciativa fue llevada a cabo por la ONG Radi Vidi Pats y por Claudia, voluntaria SVE en dicha organización.
Radi Vidi Pats significa en Letón "Haz tu mismo el Medio Ambiente". Las principales prioridades de la organización son la educación medioambiental y el aprendizaje intercultural para los jóvenes.

During the festival, it was celebrated the Storytelling festival. This year's novelty was the participation of EVS volunteers telling a legend or story in their own language. This initiative was carried out by the NGO Radi Vidi Pats and Claudia, Spanish EVS volunteer in the organization.
Radi Vidi Pats in Latvian means Make the Environment Yourself. The main priorities of the organisation are environmental education and intercultural learning for youngsters.
 

En el evento participamos un grupo de 10  voluntarios que estamos realizando nuestro SVE en diferentes ciudades de Letonia. Finalmente, no todos pudimos contar nuestras historias en el festival oficialmente porque no hubo suficiente tiempo, solamente Andrés, SVE de España en Jurmala, y Susi, SVE de Austria en Jurmala también, contaron sus leyendas :) 
Digo oficialmente, porque antes de las actuciones había "micrófono abierto" y todo el mundo podía contar una historia, y claro, yo conté mi leyenda sobre El acueducto de Segovia :)

On the event, we participated a group of 10 volunteers who are doing our EVS in differents cities of Latvia. Finally, not all we could tell our stories in the festival because there wasn't enough time, only Andrés, EVS from Spain in Jurmala, and Susi, EVS from Austria in Jurmala too, they told their legends :) 
I say officially, because before the performances there was an "open microphone" and everybody could tell a legend or history, and of course, I told my legend about The Aqueduct of Segovia :)

Fue un festival muy interesante, repleto de actividades culturales, actuaciones musicales, gastronomía, talleres, etc. Y quiero agradecer sobre todo a Radi Vidi Pats por la buena organización y el apoyo prestado durante nuestra estancia en Kuldiga :D
It was a interesting festival, with cultural activities, musical performances, gastronomy, workshops, etc. And I want to thank especially Radi Vidi Pats for good organization and support during our time in Kuldiga :D

La cascada Venta (Ventas Rumba) es la mas ancha de Europa, 249 metros y su altura es de 1.80-2.20 metros que cambia en función del nivel de agua en el río.
The Venta waterfall (Ventas Rumba) is the widest in Europe, 249 meters and its height is 1.80-2.20 meters that changes depending on the water level in the river.

Aqui el programa del festival.

Here the festival program.

Holidays, Birthday, workshop and more activities!! (31st of March - 4th of April)

El lunes, 31 de Marzo, fue mi cumpleaños (Pilar) y fue un día realmente especial :) :) :)
Desafortunadamente, Giorgi, Prokop y Lyudmila no estuvieron en Rezekne porque estaban viajando.
Fue la primera vez que celebraba mi cumpleaños viviendo en el extranjero, ¡Pero yo me sentí como en casa! En JACis, Katja, Vija, voluntarios locales y los niños prepararon para mi una bonita fiesta :D .Me dieron muchos regalos y buenos deseos. Además, quisieron conocer más sobre mi, así que ellos prepararon papeles de colores con preguntas en Ruso, así que las leí y las contesté :)
Luego, comimos un gran pastel que estaba muy rico, y lleno de velas... una de ellas era musical :D
¡¡¡Muchas gracias por este día!!!

On Monday, 31st of March, it was my birthday (Pilar) and it was a day really, really special :) :) :) Unfortunately, Giorgi, Prokop and Lyudmila weren't in Rezekne because they were travelling.
It was the first time that I celebrated my birthday living abroad, but I felt like at home! In JACis, Katja, Vija, local volunteers and kids prepare for me a nice party :D They gave to me a lot of presents and good wishes. Moreover, they wanted to know more about me, so they prepared colorful papers with questions in Russian, so I read and answer them :)
Then, we ate a big cake which was really tasty, full of candles and one of them with music :D
Thank you very much for this day!!!


El martes, Sonora, una creativa niña quien viene muy a menudo a JACis, hizo un bonito e innovador bote para lapices :)) Para hacer la manualidad, utilizamos rollos de cartón reciclados, papel de colores, abalorios, limpia pipas... Y este es el resultado final :D

On tuesday, Sonora, a creative kid who come frecuently to JACis, made a beautiful and innovative pencil pot :)) For making the craft, she used recycled carton rolls, paper colors, beads, pipe cleaners... And this is the final result :D


El 2 de Abril, yo y Giorgi fuimos a Zeimuls porque estudiantes Erasmus, de Turquia, prepararon una tarde cultural sobre su pais. Nosotros asistimos al evento junto con otros voluntarios SVE y estudiantes Erasmus. Ellos cocinaron tipica comida Turca: Kısır.
La comida estaba deliciosa, para mi gusto un poco picante, pero es que la cocina de Turquia, entre otras cosas, se caracteriza por el uso de especias (Cilantro, azafran, alcaravea, menta, pimienta aleppo,etc)
Despues, ellos hicieron una presentacion con informacion sobre la historia, principales lugares para visitar, eventos culturales, y nos ensenaron unas bonitas fotos de diferentes ciudades de Turquia.
(Fotos por Ruta Ivone)

On 2nd of April, me and Giorgi went to Zeilmus because Erasmus students, from Turkey, prepared cultural evening about their country. We attended the event with others EVS volunteers and Erasmus students. They cooked typical Turkish food: Kısır
The food was delicious, for me taste a bit spicy, but the Turkey's cuisine, among other things, is characterized by the use of spices (Cilantro, saffron, caraway, mint, aleppo pepper, etc).
And then, they made a presentation with information about the history, main places to visit, cultural events, and they showed us a beautiful pictures of diferent cities of Turkey.
(Photos by: Ruta Ivone)

El jueves, fue un día de cocina. ¡Cocinamos tortilla de patata!! Es una tipica comida Española, yo creo que  conocida en el mundo entero :D .Giorgi, Gülüş, y los niños de JACis estuvieron interesados en conocer cómo cocinar este plato. Me dijeron que la tortilla estuvo deliciosa,  y yo también lo creo :)) La tortilla puede ser servida como plato principal o, debido a que esta muy rica servida en frío, es una excelente comida para picnic :D

On Thursday, it was a cooking day. We cooked potato omelette!! It is a typical Spanish food, I think knowed around the world :D .Giorgi, Gülüş , and kids in JACis were interested in knowing how to cook this dish. They told me that the omelette was delicious, and also, I think so :))
Omelette can be served as a main course or, because it is good served cold, it makes excellent picnic food :D

 Y....aqui la receta! En caso de que quieras cocinar Tortilla y compartir la receta :D
And...here the recipe! In case you want to cook omelette and share the recipe :D

Monica Galan Ilustracion

Tortilla (Spanish omelette)

Ingredientes / Ingredients:
(Para una tortilla grande / For a big omelette)

1 kilo patatas / 1 kilo potatoes

1/4 cebolla / 1/4 onion

6 huevos grandes / 6 large eggs

Una pizca de sal / A pinch of salt
Aceite de oliva y girasol / Olive and sunflower oil
(You can add vegetables like pepper, zucchini, etc; and also meat, ham, bacon, tuna...)

Preparación / Preparation:

1. En un bol o colador, pela las patatas y córtalas en rodajas finas. Haz lo mismo con la cebolla, verduras, jamón, etc. / In a bowl or colander, peel the potatoes and slice them into thin rounds.Do the same with the onion, vegetables, ham, etc.
2. Anadir sal a toda la mezcla anterior. / Add salt to the whole mixture.
3. Preparar una sartén con mas o menos "un dedo de aceite" y cuando esté caliente, añadir la mezcla / Prepare a pan with more or less "one finger of oil" and to add the mixture when the oil is hot.
4. Dejar cocerlo suavemente durante 20 min. o hasta que estén tiernos / Letting cook gently for 20 minutes, or until tender.
5. Rompa los huevos en un recipiente grande y batelos. Cuando esté cocida la mezcla, mezclala con los huevos en el recipiente / Break the eggs into a large bowl and whisk them. When the mixture is cooked, mixed it with the eggs in the bowl.
6.  Ponga la sartén de nuevo en el fuego, añade un poco de aceite y fuego al medio. A continuación, vierte la mezcla en la sartén. / Put the frying pan back on the heat, add a little of the oil and to medium heat. Then, pouring the mixture into the frying pan. 
7. Espera unos 4 min. para que cuaje el huevo y dale la vuelta ayudándote de un plato. Luego añade otra vez un poco de aceite en la sartén y pon la tortilla. Espera a que cuaje, pincha un cuchillo o palillo. ¡Y ya tenemos lista una tortilla riquísima! :)))) / Wait around 4 min. to curdle the egg and turn it helping you of a dish. Then again, add a little oil in the pan and put the omelette. Wait until it curdle, check it with a knife or toothpick. And we have a tasty omelette ready!! :))))


El 4 de Abril, yo, Giorgi, otros voluntarios SVE (Carmen, Karina, Kike) y estudiantes Erasmus (Marta, Hazal and Gülüş) tuvimos la oportunidad de asistir a una clase maestra de cerámica impartida por el maestro Mihail Sabanskis. Fue una fantástica y experiencia única, disfrutamos y aprendimos mucho y pronto os podremos mostrar el resultado final de nuestras creaciones :D
Aqui, mas fotos. Fotos: Aleksandrs Tolopilo

 
On 4th of April, me, Giorgi, others EVS volunteers (Carmen, Karina, Kike) and Erasmus students (Marta, Hazal and Gülüş) had the oportunity to attend a pottery master class with a craftsmen Mihail Sabanskis. It was a fantastic and unique experience, we enjoyed and learned a lot and soon we will show you the result of our creations :D
Here, more pictures. Photos: Aleksandrs Tolopilo

Midterm EVS training in Umuri (17th-21st of March)

¡¡Y llegó la fecha de nuestra formación intermedia!! Después de seis meses de proyecto yo, Giorgi y Prokop fuimos del 18 al 20 de Marzo a la casa para huéspedes Umuri, cerca de Kegums.
En total nos reunimos 15 voluntarios que estan realizando su EVS en Jelgaba, Stalgene, Jurmala, Dobele, Sauriesi, Daugavpils, Valmiera, Kuldiga y Rezekne. Ademas de 2 formadores, Ieva y Stas, y una encargada de solucionar posibles dudas o problemas durante la formacion, Egija. ¡¡Realmente una gente muy maja!! :D :D
En cuanto la nacionalidad de los voluntarios, estábamos voluntarios de Georgia, Francia, Rumanía, Alemania, Italia, Moldavia, Eslovaquia y España.

Aaand finally our midterm training arrived! After six month of project me, Giorgi and Prokop went from 18th until 20th of March to the guest house Umuri, near Kegums. 
In total we gathered 15 volunteers who are doing their EVS in Jelgaba, Stalgene, Jurmala, Dobele, Sauriesi, Daugavpils, Valmiera and Rezekne Kuldiga. Also 2 trainers, Ieva and Stas, and the responsible for resolving any doubts or problems during the training, Egija. Really nice people!!!  :D :D
About nationalities, we were volunteers from Georgia, France, Romania, Germany, Italy, Moldova, Slovakia and Spain.


El primer dia fue el dia de reencuentros, porque había dos grupos de voluntarios que habían coincidido en su formación a la llegada. Después de los saludos, nos pusimos a trabajar, nos esperaban unos días intensos de reflexión, recuerdos y evaluación de nuestro voluntariado.

First day was the day of reencounters, because there were two groups of volunteers who had met on their On arrival training. After the greetings, we started to work, days of intense reflection, memories and evaluation of our volunteering were waiting for us :))))

Las actividades que realizamos fueron en grupo e individuales, dentro y fuera de la casa donde nos reunimos. Actividades grupales con la finalidad de ver cómo reaccionamos, cuáles son nuestras prioridades y objetivos en determinadas situaciones, observar cuál es nuestra primera intuición...y cómo no, hubo alguna que otra sorpresa... (Mira la foto en la que nos estamos "peleando" por las sillas) :)))

The activities that we carry out were in group and individual, indoor and outdoor activities. Group activities in order to see how we react, what are our priorities and objectives in some situations, observe which is our first intuition ... and of course, there were some surprises ... (Look at the picture in which we are "fighting" for chairs) :)))

Otra actividad fue ponernos en el lugar de nuestro tutor y Organización de acogida, y opinar acerca de algunas cuestiones de cómo vemos a "nuestro voluntario/a".  En cuanto a actividad individual, realizamos un cardiograma para reflejar los puntos altos y bajos en estos meses de proyecto. También, creamos un retrato de nosotros con recortes de revistas y anotando "10 cosas todavia por hacer" y "10 cosas todavia por aprender".

Another activity was to get in the place of our mentor and Host Organization, talking about some questions about how we see "our volunteer". As for individual activity, we draw a cardiogram to reflect the highs and lows points in these months of our project. Also, we created a picture of us with magazine clippings and writing down "10 Things still to do" and "10 things still to learn."

Estamos muy agradecidos a Ieva y Stas por estos tres dias llenos de grandes momentos, todos positivos y enriquecedores. En mi caso, puedo decir que he vuelto a Rezekne con "las pilas cargadas" y con ganas de desarrollar nuevas actividades y sobre todo....¡¡no dejar pasar ninguna oportunidad!!

We are very grateful to Ieva and Stas, for these three days full of great moments, all positive and enriching. In my case, I can say that I have returned to Rezekne with "batteries charged" and eager to develop new activities and above all ....  don't miss opportunities!!!

Pilar, Prokop, Carmen (EVS volunteer in Zeimuls, Rezekne), Ieva (Trainer), Giorgi, Staņislavs (Trainer).

Come back to Latvia (17-21st of February)

¡¡Ya estoy de vuelta en Rezekne!! He estado dos semanas en España, de vacaciones :))))

I came back to Rezekne again!! I spent two weeks in Spain, holidays :))))

El 17 de Febrero, visitamos la escuela Secundaria en Dricanu. Presentamos nuestras actividades ante un grupo de 25 jóvenes, de entre 17-19 años, muy activos.
 

On 17th of February, we visited Dricanu Secondary school. We presented our activities to 25 youngsters, between 17-19 years old, very active.


Juegos para romper el hielo, actividades para presentar brevemente nuestro países España, Bulgaria, Eslovaquia y Georgia; y actividades relacionadas con actividades que desarrollamos en JACis.

Ice-breaking games, activities to present briefly our countries Spain, Bulgary, Slovakia and Georgia; and activities related with activities which we are doing in JACis.

El miércoles 19 de Febrero, celebramos en JACis el "Día Internacional de las ballenas". Prokop preparó la actividad , primero hizo una presentación sobre estos animales con algunos vídeos y para finalizar, un test para comprobar cuánto habían aprendido los niños.

On Wednesday, on 19th of February, we celebrated in JACis the "International Whale Day". Prokop prepared the activity, firstly he started with a presentation about these animals with some videos and at the final, a quiz to check how much children had learned.

El día 20, visitamos la escuela secundaria número 3. Esta vez estuvimos realizando actividades con niños con edades entre 12-13 años. Algunas actividades fueron jugar a juegos de grupo y lógica, y actividad para dibujar sobre sus aficiones. Ellos estuvieron muy felices :))

On 20th, we visited the Secondary school number 3. This time, we were doing activities with children with ages between 12-13 years old. Some activities were playing group and logic games, and drawing activity about their hobbies. They were really happy :))

El último día de la semana fue muy interesante, el día 21 de Febrero se celebraba el Día internacional de la Lengua Materna, así que voluntarios EVS y algunos estudiantes Erasmus participamos en una actividad organizada por la biblioteca de Rezekne.

El evento consistío en leer un mismo poema en diferentes idiomas. El poema era "El botón" y fue leído en Español, Inglés, Letón, Ruso, Georgiano, Alemán, Armenio, Turco, Polaco y Búlgaro. Y también, el poema fue leído en Latgalo, gracias a la traducción de las mujeres de la biblioteca.

The last day of the week was very interesting, on 21st of February was celebrated the International Mother Language Day, so EVS volunteers and some Erasmus students participated in the activity organized by Rezekne's Library.

The event consisted of reading the same poem in different languages. The poem was "The bottom" and it was read in Spanish, English, Latvian, Russian, Georgian, German, Armenian, Turkish, Polish and Bulgarian. And also, the poem was read in Latgalian, thanks to the translation for the ladies of the library :))

Además de leer el poema, el evento comenzó con una actividad en grupo para conocernos mejor y después hubo una presentación muy interesante acerca de información y curiosidades de algunos idiomas. ¡Fue un día muy bonito!

Moreover of reading the poem, the event started with a group activity to know us better each other and then it had a presentation very interesting about information and curiosities of some languages. It was a really nice day!

http://rus.rezeknesbiblioteka.lv/index.php/2011-04-19-11-48-40/28-2011-03-30-12-41-39/396-pugovitsa

A great week to remember ! Festival Pop iela 8 Rezekne (25-29th of November)

Fue una semana de mucho trabajo para preparar el festival Pop iela 8.  ¿Qué????  ¿Todavía no conoces este festival? No te preocupes, haz click aquí para conocer mas detalles sobre el mismo o visita su facebook.

Ahora que ya conoces en que consiste este festival, te puedes hacer una idea del trabajo que conlleva la preparación del mismo.

It was a busy week to prepare the festival Pop iela 8. What???? Don't you know about this festival yet? Don't worry, click here for more details or to visit facebook.
Now, you know more about it and you can get an idea about the work involved the preparation.

Gracias al genial trabajo tanto de JACis como de Teatris-Studija Jorik, todo salió perfecto.
Thanks to the great work of JACis and Tetris-Studija Jorik, everything was perfect.

Durante toda la semana nuestro equipo "The International 8" estuvo trabajando muy duro ultimando los detalles de la música, actuación, vestuario, reuniones con Andris (Director del teatro), etc. ¡¡Tuvimos que trabajar a contrareloj!! Debido a que cinco de los voluntarios EVS tuvieron su "training a la llegada" del 22 al 26 de Noviembre.

All week our team "The International 8" was working hard finalizing music, acting, costumes details, meetings with Andris (Director of the Theatre), etc. We had to work against time! Because of five of the EVS volunteers had their "On-arrival training" from 22nd to 26th November!

Y.... ¡¡Por fin llegó el gran día, Pop iela 8 Rezekne!! El 29 de Noviembre por la mañana, los "Rezeknianos" se despiertan con una gran sonrisa. Todo el mundo esta alegre con ganas de actuar y bailar, fuera los nervios y el estres... ¡Hoy hay que disfrutar!
Cada año jóvenes estudiantes trabajan duro para dar lo mejor de ellos en sus actuaciones. Este año, habia nueve grupos en la competición y además hubo otras actuaciones durante el festival.
(Click aqui para ver todas las fotos)

And... The Big day has finally came, Pop iela 8 Rezekne!! It is 29th November morning and people in Rezekne wake up with a big smile. Everyone is happy and the participants are looking forward to act and dance, without nerves... Today we have to enjoy!!
Each year young students work hard to give the best of them in their performances. This year, there were nine groups on the competition and other performances during the festival.
(Click here to see all pictures)

Initially I was thinking that I will be just a help with costumes and set decoration and I was really pleased to participate. But after a while it turned out that we all had to play and actively participate in the performance and I was afraid that I won’t be able to do it. For getting free from this fear and insecurity I owe it to professional director who was helping us. 

Preparation for “Pop iela” went like any other creative work and was changing all the time, till the very last moment. Personally, I was very interested in cooperation and interaction with other team members and get some new competences and of course get some new experience. 
Each activity has its own influence on every person’s self development and for me this was a great experience that gave me a chance to build up some new skills that I didn’t have before and I’m truly grateful to all my team members and I’m really happy that I shared this experience with those amazing people.

I was very happy, because this would be my first participate in Popiela.
EVS Volunteer were meeting each other during a month in JACis. We were working and inventing new ideas.

In the first part, I presented the old man, then I was a bad student, and in the third part I was an American football player.
My participation in Pop iela was a great experience for me!!

I thought that it would be great to take part of the event, it was new for me and the posibility to stay on the Jorik's stage it was amazing and unique experience.

It wasn't easy the performance's preparation, because we didn't have much time to meet each other and even I thought that we weren't able to preparer the performance, but finally with the great motivation of Prokop and thanks to the incorporation of Julia and Marco to the team, the idea appeared and then it was dificult but funny to rehearse many times in a record time.

I realized that as a group we were able to share ideas and work as a team, I have been able to do a small role on a stage in a fantastic event and I proud to be the first International team in Popiela :)

From the beginning I thought I will be part of Pop iela. Because it sounds really interesting. And also the videos we looked with Prokop seemed really good.

Our preparation of the Performance was really short, we had someting about 3 weeks to plan the Performance since I joy in. But it was ok! And our Performance shows that we were a skillful group.
For me it meant a lot. Staying on stage is not usual for me. But I enjoyed it!! The audience was great. And my team also. So I will keep good memories when I think about Pop iela.

It was a really great experience to remember our participation in Popiela!

At the beggining it was amazing think that an international people's group would be part in Popiela for the first time!! So, I was exciting and the same time thinking about it all time... because we were watching videos about performances of previous years and it was amazing how young people is able to create a story and then to tell that story throught music...

The preparation wasn't easy... Do you know that feeling when you don't have great and interesting ideas? Fortunately, the inspiration arrived thanks to Prokop, and then thanks to Julia and Marco :)))

We went a great team and I think we did a good work. I enjoyed it and for me it was an excellent opportunity to gain new competences. 

My participation in Popiela will be in my mind for ever!! ^-^

 
For me, it was a very nice experience to be a part of our group for Popiela ! 
It was the first time that I stand on stage! I was really nervous, but we all together had such a nice time and fun together! We train for Popiela only a few days -not like the other for more month- but I think we did a good work! 

I want to say thx -because I ever remember me to be a part of Popiela!
It was a really nice day! I will remember me for a long long time! Thank you too JACis that I was a part of polpiela!!!


 

When Katja first mentioned us a possibility to perform at Pop Iela, I immediately found it an amazing idea, as it would be something totally different and cool, something I have not done in a long time and possibly better than my previous acting experience. 

The preparation for Pop Iela? That was when I felt the hard reality, as I realised this thing was not going to do itself, it would not be a piece of cake, it would be a hard work and above all, motivating others to be as excited as I was about it. Problem was that we lost quite a lot of time for preparation simply because we did not have a clear idea what to do but once that happened, things moved in the right direction. Very important was involvement of Marco and Julia, without whom it would probably be impossible to do it, especially Marco was a big help as he was also really excited about the idea of acting, just like me. 

Participating in pop Iela meant a lot to me. Not only could I act on stage in front of audience which was both challenging and exciting at the same time, I learned, how to mix different audio tracks which I am sure to use later at some point of my EVS. I actually take it as a first step on my way to being able to create videos which I always wanted to learn, but actually never did, not yet.
But above all, I was really happy that all international volunteers in Rezekne kinda got together and worked on a common project and we were finally able to show it to others and make this Pop Iela special, not only for us but also for JACis, and I am sure in the end everyone enjoyed it =.)