Arts Lab 3.0.: Leire Saenz - Stories of September

The month of September started with a trip to Bucharest, where I had the opportunity to meet many people living a similar experience as mine. Though I did not spend so much time there, I remember it as one of the most important ones from the whole experience. It gave me some alone time to disconnect from the everyday life in Târgu Frumos and my thoughts. At the same time, I got to know a completely different place with a completely different rhythm.

Coming back from Bucharest, I found out that our family had spread while I was out. Kübra, the last member of the international volunteer’s team, had arrived home just two days before. I remember hearing her voice for the first time while I was in my bedroom, trying to readjust my sleeping cycle. I thought she had the sweetest voice, and after I had the chance to meet her, I thought she was as sweet as her voice.

On the 12 of September, I went to Iași with Mihaela, where we met different artists who were taking part in an artistic event on the streets of the city. It was a great opportunity to meet and chat with young people involved in the arts.

We also continued working on the school from Butea, where we facilitated workshops for the students. Thanks to the caravan project, we got to visit different villages and towns nearby. Zmeu was one of my favorite places to visit. The kids had a lot of fun dancing and playing games, and we enjoyed ourselves doing so with them. They were so kind to each other and to us. It was a really nice experience.

Later that month, we met Gheorghe Ciobanu, a naive painter who is almost 80. He received us with open arms in his home and art studio. Even though there are many things I am not able to understand due to the linguistic barrier, listening to this man was a pleasure. You can really tell how passionate he feels about what he does and how he enjoys sharing that with someone who is ready to listen. Hearing his story and seeing his pieces of work, inside of his workplace was really intimate and precious.

While all this happened, we still worked on our workshops back at the Act House. I facilitated my first Basque lesson and it was a really important event for me. Back home, I continued to work on editing the material from Folcloristica, at the same time, of course, that I was working on my personal artistic projects. At the end of the month, I started working on my pieces for the “Beautiful Fair Town” art exhibition.

We decided to end the month with a fun event for both local and international volunteers. We had a 90’s themed karaoke party, where we danced, sang, and laughed together. We had a great night, even if everyone seemed a bit shy at the beginning, no one wanted to leave at the end.

When I think about the way time goes by here, I get a weird feeling inside of me. I still get this sensation of having known Târgu Frumos for ages, at the same time it feels like a completely new and unknown place for me.

An article written by Leire Saenz Quevedo. She is volunteering within Arts Lab 3.0 project, funded by European Solidarity Corps, with the support of European Union.