Youth mobility consultant in Barcelona

foto nien

 

A story by Nien Boots

Country of origine: Holland

Country of destination : Catalonia (Spain)

My name is Nien Boots. A school teacher gave me a flyer of an organization that was searching participants for a youth exchange in Montevideo. It sounded exciting, but it felt a little weird too. Having a program funding my travel to South America, there had to be something about it. Indeed; intercultural learning! It was a wonderful experience. During that project I learned so much about myself and I got to discover a new way of learning.

Looking back on that experience, I can say it really market my path. Back then I was a teenager growing up in Holland on the country side. Now 14 years later, I have lived in different places in Europe, and even in Montevideo for a year. Currently I live in Barcelona, where I continue working with the programs provided by the European Union. I work in a Youth Information Point in Sant Boi. Here I advice youngsters on how to plan their travels, search for volunteer opportunities and prepare them for living abroad. A job I can do, because of my traveling and learning experience through the programs.

Making the choice of moving abroad is exciting and a bit scary too. It comes with lots of ups and downs. Especially in the beginning, it is necessary for the youngsters to be aware of this. To know it is OK to go a period of feeling down, it is all part of the culture shock! Lucky enough there are programs as Erasmus+ that make it easier to take the big step. It secures a lot of things, having your first experience abroad as EVS or Erasmus, you know someone is waiting for you to help you out.

 

 

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