Barcelona CEA Students Volunteer at Hospital SJD

Immersion Activities, CEA nursing study abroad students in Barcelona are given the opportunity to participate in a volunteer experience with different Non-governmental organizations. CEA Barcelona is proud to announce a new partnership with Hospital Sant Joan de Déu. Bailey Wentworth and Julia Aube were our first students to participate in this initiative this Fall 08. Here is what Bailey has to say about her experience:

"Choosing to volunteer at Hospital Sant Joan de Deu was probably one of the best things I could have chosen to do while studying abroad. Not only does it help tremendously in practicing Spanish and give an insight to the culture, but having the opportunity to sit bedside with very sick kids and talk to them and entertain them is fun and fulfilling. I work a three hour shift in the morning. My job is to act as relief for parents - I visit the rooms of sick children and tell their parents that they can go eat breakfast, get some air, do whatever they need to do, as often they spend almost their whole day and night in the hospital rooms. These kids range in age from around 8 months to 12 years old. The parents are always very friendly and grateful to have someone be with their child while they get some time to their selves. When all the breakfast rounds have been taken care of, we then go to the waiting rooms of the different departments and entertain the kids there by giving them drawings and talking to them a bit. All in all, the purpose of us volunteers is simply to be there and be comforting to these kids. As far as the interview was concerned in the selection process, Alberta Parayre (the Volunteer Director at the Hospital) basically just sat me down and asked 1) if I can speak Spanish, 2) how long i will be here for, and 3) what is my availability. There were no other questions, and she said, ok do orientation now and we'll see you next week! So for future students they need not to get too scared about the interview. That being said, the nurses speak fast and often they're giving you instructions like "if this baby stops breathing, press this button" or something like that so being able to understand is extremely important. Other than that it's really fun, and I make a ton of mistakes in speaking but the nurses and other volunteers don't care as long as you can get your point across quickly"

Check out these and other Immersion Activities available to CEA study abroad students!

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