Manu Stefanescu is 19 years old and is Romanian and lives in Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelona). Two years ago he signed up at his vocational training institute to do an Erasmus + internship. We wanted you to tell us your story of change through international mobility and your collaboration in several of our projects. We leave you with your experience. Thank you very much Manu!

MY GREAT EXPERIENCE

My history at the Mundus Association began in 2015 with the discovery of the Association at my institute, since they organized internships abroad through the Erasmus + program.

After the information required to participate, I signed up, since I really wanted to try this experience, but there was a computer problem that made me miss this opportunity.

After a year (2016), with the new course, I was presented again with the same opportunity and I said to myself: "This time nothing will separate me from my goal of going abroad."

After the success of having obtained a place to go for internships abroad (Bologna, Italy), a volunteer who came from exchange to Santa Coloma told me about an activity to practice languages ​​called "Linguistic coffee". I have been going to this activity for 2 years (currently I continue).

After finishing several months of preparation, Mundus prepared us in a youth hostel in Masnou (outside Barcelona) a weekend full of activities to get to know us and other colleagues who would go abroad for internships. The experience was very good: both the activities and the treatment with the monitors, it was also a moment that we have been able to share with everyone.

At the end of the course (June 2017) I could finally meet my goal and be a month of practice. It was an incredible and unforgettable experience both for work, as for colleagues, as for the help of Mundus whenever we needed it ... and for the simple fact of working abroad. After a month full of work I returned to Spain and finally I could enjoy the deserved summer vacation.

In the month of August of the same year, I received information from Mundus about an activity whose main theme was to know religions around the world and the stereotypes destructuring. The activity interested me and I went: it lasted a whole day but it was not a waste since I learned a lot about the subject and the others were also impressed with the activity.

After several months (November 2017) the Erasmus coordinator (Lorenzo) sent me a message offering to be a monitor for an exchange activity in El Masnou with some young people from Romania. I could not believe it because for me it is an honor to be called to be a monitor and I clearly accepted. After explaining the project to me, I quickly got to work to achieve the objective proposed by them. The experience was very pleasant and constructive on a personal level since it is a new experience that also gave me nothing wrong.

To finish and put the icing on the cake, in February I will start teaching Romanian for young people who will go from Erasmus to Romania. Finally, thanks to them, another wish is fulfilled, to be a teacher.

Sometimes I don't believe that in two years I have gone from not knowing them, to being a participant and then a monitor. Even now from time to time I help them out and I am waiting to see if they could offer me another project as a monitor. In short, they are the best.