Como trabajo final tuvimos que expresar nuestro aprendizaje, nuestra experiencia en Budapest. Paso a publicarlo aquí, en inglés, porque era el idioma en el que teníamos que hacerlo.
IP CREME BUDAPEST, May 2011.
STUDENT: CLARA PASCUAL HERNÁNDEZ
(UNIVERSIDAD PABLO DE OLAVIDE - SEVILLE - SPAIN)
Substance cares in contexts.
We have been several European countries representatives in this IP in Budapest. For knowing about substance cares, for creative methods for addiction rehabilitation, we needed to know more about other countries substance cares and the first thing we did after our introduction, was talking about this theme in our countries.
Knowing about drugs demand reduction, drugs supply reduction, international cooperation, and several themes about information, research and evaluation, would be the theory before working in the CREME we are waiting for.
Each country has a different problem about drugs. The reality is that there isn’t countries whithout drugs problems but each one has a different national drug policy, and they emphasize in the drug problem which they think it’s worse.
That policy about drugs can talk about prevention, about addiction reduction, about solutions for drugs problems (addicted, traffic, etc.). But I think that the first thing this policy and all the scientist and technical who talk about drugs must focus in health and human rights.
Hungarian people told us about the big problem of pálinka production and consumption. His policy is about universal prevention, to deter o to delay the onset of substance. Hungarian student proposed different points to help: Supporting abstinence, delaying onset, mindful/sensible coping with drugs, reduction of frequency, limiting possible health damage. Their clue, NIDE: principles of good quality prevention based in research.
Megállo Group is a foundation for addicts (Timea Kiss-Lukasik) where there are different programs for people with addiction: drop-in, prevention, rehabilitation, education, employment, waiting before entering rehabilitation center, flats for living together in abstinence time, groups support - for continuing together because rehabilitation is not enough. Creative methods are used for several of them, to give motivation and to make patients feel part of a group. Work group is important to self-help, organize, operate, accept self-help group, and Megáló group motivate and support them with therapy, several workshops (theater, music, free-dance, photo, film) and others things, including education programs.
In Hungary they have something like our “botellona” called mephedrone.
The way for rehabilitation is: Detoxification in a hospital, addictology in hospital, rehabilitation centers -after going home, relapsu and abstinence.
Lithuania students told us about drugs situation in their country. Alcohol consumption starts at 15-16 years old and it is the first cause of suicides (38%) and traffic accidents (19%).
For giving solutions to this situation, they have short and long rehabilitation programs of 1-2 weeks up to 6 months, with social work and psychologist.
The Netherlands told us about legal drugs (alcohol and cigarettes) and non-legal drugs.Soft drugs are tolerated in their country.
They have coffeeshops, where they make several products with cannabis, for example, cakes.
It is legal to have a cannabis plant for each house. They have several therapy programs, as Art with pictures, drama (learning change feelings/thinking and acting in her day life), music, psychomotor exercises, drama main goal: self-confidence.
Finland said that 7-11% people in Finland abuse of alcohol and it was the most common cause of death in 2009. They start consumption at 14-18 years old (22% boys and 21% girls) with aggressive and violent behavior results.
People start smoking at 15-24 years old (22% male and 16% female).
Government gives information cards about drugs (amphetamine/ecstasy) to share in parties.
The A-Clinic Foundation operates to reduce addiction problems in prison intoxicant rehabilitation with 46% of inmate’s drug and 39% alcohol. There, they help in counseling, information about drugs, financial options, therapy options, addresses, centers, etc. Ambulant after-care has as objects: stabilization of abstinence, return to job and keep the workplace, discuss inner personal conflicts. They have a dayclinic too, as an alternative rehabilitation hospital without accommodation.
In the case of Spain, Barcelona told us about all the different drugs situations and the main policy against drugs with details about consumption of drugs in all our country and in special, Catalunya. We have several drugs situations and public and privates clinics and programs for rehabilitation and prevention. In Spain, especially in Seville, we have a social phenomenon called “botellón”. It is a crowd of young people drinking alcohol and doing other drugs together authorized in certain way by the government,that provides security and cleaning systems. In Spain smoking and drink alcohol is allowed to people older than 18 years old, but they start drinking before that age,and Botellón is a place where teenager are out of parental and police control. When Spring party is celebrated, for example, botellón is bigger and it is called “macrobotellón” with thousands of people drinking and having other drugs together. It is time for conflict too, because, in the last macrobotellón, a young man was murder with a knife. Young people shouldn’t drink on the streets to avoid disturbing to neighbours and they are set in special place where thre isn’t this problem.
Creative Methods.
We have the opportunity to enjoy, deeply, one of the selected 5 several workshops: Drama-theatre; dance-movement; photo-mask; music and visual works; and creative games. It wasn’t easy to choose one because all of them were attractive. I chose drama-theatre. It was my first chance to enjoy this kind of workshop because, although I am socio-cultural animator and I had acted before, this opportunity was so different because this should be used for drugs prevention and rehabilitation. We had to learn a serie of theatre exercises about expressing feelings, disinhibition, etc. to help us achieving the goals we wanted.
We had the opportunity, in the first time, to know about all workshops thought teachers introducing and afterwards, after days of workshop, through the participants experience. It was so great to discover how this art methods, creative methods can help people to take drugs addiction off.
I think that this creative methods help to addicted people to know themselves and this can help them to re-start their lives and to have new life motivation to change for being better and growing up in their in their own development as new persons.
It is important to get the own knowledge for knowing what part of us to change, to fix the addition problems and with creative methods they can find motivations. By the way, they find a certain way to feel part of a group and to do things which can help them to feel satisfied with themselves.
But, which is my experience with these creative methods? The first thing I loved in my moments in theatre-drama workshop was our teacher Timi. I saw in her that those creatives methods were a reality, because she was an addicted before and she worked with those methods and she is a theatre teacher and more in Megáló foundation, with addicted people, helping them by the same way. But all the things we did in our workshop were useful for me too. We played a lot of exercises of confidence or dishinbition, or feelings expression, all of them where I could have experience of new sensations and exercises to be closed to the others. I was afraid for my English understanding, but Timi made me confidence to be able to understand all she and my partners wanted to mean, and I had Maria’s help, a girl from Barcelona, too.
Exercises we played were, for example, when we had to trust our partner and I with my closed eyes I should follow the sound of my partner voice. Or when we were with our closed eyes in the center of the people circle, closed circle, and they push me inside de circle, everybody touching me and pushing to the others, softly, with confidence. Or in diligent exercise, when one of us is doing movement and the rest of us follow her, and when she touch to other, that other is the diligent and the game is going on… All of those exercises are useful for different ways.
When our partners shared what they did in the other workshops, I felt the sadness of not to learn more about them, because, it was a pity not be able to participate in all of them, and to have more time to do it.
I liked all of them. The empowerment in photo workshop was a good learning, and I can saw it in my partner’s pictures with big meaning.
Or the dance workshop force, or creative dynamics. All of them were great and I want to learn more.
After that, we had the opportunity to share in workshops to Megáló clients and it was a very great moment. I learnt a lot from them and I think we enjoyed together. By the way, in the second part, where Megáló clients shared and they teached in other workshops, it was great. I was in music one, and the beginning was a fantastic performance which I was part. Lights and music in harmony. Drums, percussion, guitar, piano, voices, etc. We took the rhythm and made music together.
The experience with Performance in Budapest Theater was great. I was so nervous but I was sure that everything would be fine, because we were doing art works together and in harmony. To act, to play with Megáló clients and doing a good art job together was so great for me, I enjoyed a lot and it is something I will remember for a long time.
In Seville, I work with children in extra school activities (English class) and at the end of the course we had to do a theater for parents. I used several dynamics with them and at the end, for making to participle to audience; we played “Anaconda is a snake which roll very slow”. It was very funny for everybody and participation was high.
I am sure that we can use creative methods to guess goals with different kind of people, situations, problems, and they can help us to give solutions to them.
International experience.
In my case, I am 41 years old, and I can say that I have the double of years than the rest of my partners from different countries. I wanted to enjoy of this experience but my way to enjoy it wasn’t the same of them. I don’t like to drink or to go to parties and I prefer to be connected by Skype with my husband every nights.
But those fears weren’t a problem to have a good relationship with my partners from mine and different countries. Different languages and trying to speak in English for a good-understanding and if not, with signs, because our communication was opened every time.
To live in the student hostel was great, because I had the opportunity to share my time and to establish new friendships and to share our abilities and things for making the others’ life better in this placement, a different country, out of our safety houses.
I learnt a lot from my partners in this IP. And they made me overcome the difficulties at all times. I felt much supported, as I supported them.
In the intercultural evening, was great to know more about other countries which were present in this IP in Budapest. To prepare our folk and traditional things and part of our gastronomy, and to sing and dance Sevillanas or rumba (in Catalunya case) and to show Sherry wine tasting or how to use the Spanish fan, all of these things were fantastic. And more when we could learn about the other countries (Hungary, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Lithuania…). I felt so well because I could understand that in this IP we found the unity in our different traditions and gastronomy.
Last 7st of May we went to a trip called “Stoned by Tuff”. It was a very good experience for me, I can say that I dislike walking in stones when I am not prepared but, I could overcome my fears and reached the goal.
The winery time was fantastic for several things. My father and my older brother are oenologist specialist. I was very interested in knowing about wine production in this winery because I wanted to share this information with them and to buy a bottle for each one, to enjoy this wine for me. I don’t like wine, not much, but I like wine culture because I have lived it since I was a child. I could have a taste of all 5 different wines they gave us and to taste them with all the paths my father teached me. I had the opportunity to talk to the woman which showed us the tasting and she told me about it more.
When I leave my country, I try to be Spanish and world citizen too. In winery, after lunch, Sevillian people started to sing and dance sevillanas and we teached how to claps the hands, by the special way for sevillanas.
It was so great too.
Learning and growing experience.
I can list all I learnt in this IP experience in Budapest. I told about some of those items before in this inform.
I want to learn more about creative methods, and to discover the different skills I have for them. I would like to visit more countries, to have other experiences like this. As a social educator I want to become, I need to know diverse contexts to work in and resources to use for getting the goals I want to get.
I will use all I have learnt in all occasions I will have and, in fact, I am using them I job now.
By myself, which limits I have, and all I can to share from me, by me. I think that after this experience I am more open in my mind. In my opinion, I felt as a good partner in several moments, for example, when Emilio fallen or helping my partners about English translations, and I thought that it was important to make the other was happier and I had to have a big effort for it. But it was a wrong feeling. Next time, I hope I will do better. Other and my dislike about when I was woken up in the night because young people arrival to hostel, was changing to understand them. I changed my role for being a partner, to feel like a partner, as them.
It wasn’t easy for me, it is the truth. I had down and up moments. I felt tired and I felt happy. Only I say that I enjoyed a lot with these two weeks where I could share, learn, and speak English very much. Now, I have new friends from these countries. And we go on in contact by net.
Thanks for this opportunity. Thanks for giving me this unforgettable experience and for friendships, happiness, and wishes to learn more this IP gave me.
I want to thanks all the teachers and coordinators. I want to say thank you, specially to my Spanish Teachers, who helped us a lot and showed Budapest in each beautiful places.
Thanks to all organization people because they made me felt at home.
I think the growing process of a person is during all his/her life and I know I have grown a little more in Budapest.
Thanks very much for having me this chance.
Clara B. Pascual Hernández
UPO - 1ºGES - Sevilla.
