Valentina, one of our cultural exchange participants, writes to us from the lovely town of Sant Fruitos de Bages, near Manresa. She’s been enjoying her time there for the past few weeks, and her story is one you’ll want to hear.
My first impression? I’m living at the foot of the ancient Montserrat mountain — home to the famous basilica of La Virgen Negra, the only Black Madonna in Spain. Locals call it La Montaña Mágica, and visitors come from all over the world to see it. It’s absolutely breathtaking here.
I’m having such a wonderful time — I’ve fallen in love with the climate and honestly feel like I could stay here forever. We went on a camping trip to France, visited charming little towns, and even explored a mining museum. Since we were traveling in a camper van, anything was possible — we spent each night in a different place. One of the highlights was visiting an adventure park in France with zip lines strung through the trees at different heights. So much fun!
Aside from the great relationship I’ve built with my host family — which is important — what I enjoyed the most was getting to visit Barcelona several times. I traveled there alone by train, which took about an hour and a half, and had to figure out the metro system and local transport all on my own. It was a bit of a challenge, but totally worth it. My goal was to be close to Barcelona, and I’m so glad I made that choice. The beach, the people, the architecture — everything about it is just magical.
When it comes to working with our team, Valentina says:
Everything’s been great!
And her message to future participants:
Just go for it — the sooner, the better. I’d honestly go again in a heartbeat, and my only regret is that it took me so long to make the decision and go in the first place.
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