by admin
Mireia is a 19 years old Pattern Making and Fashion student from Barcelona that has decided to go ahead with her Erasmus+ internship in Théâtre du Capitol in Toulouse despite all mobility challenges derived from the COVID-19 global pandemic.
In this article you can learn about her motivations to go ahead with her Erasmus internship, the challenges she has faced and some advises for potential students wondering to go abroad in these pandemic times.
Hello, my name’s Mireia. I am 19 years old and I am studying the second year of the Higher Vocational Education and Training Degree in Pattern making and Fashion at Anna Gironella de Mundet Institute in Barcelona.
Recently, I have done a two-month Erasmus in Toulouse (France), working at Théâtre du Capitol, the main theatre in the city. During my internship I have developed the following tasks, among others: making custom-made clothes for the dress rehearsals, making the final touches, fitting each piece to its measure…
My main motivation to go ahead with my Erasmus in time of a global pandemic has been the opportunity to do my internship in a theatre. I have always wanted to work in a theatre. It was one of my life’s goals, and I’m proud to say that now, I’ve worked and earned experience as a dressmaker in theatre’s clothes.
When Laura, Barcelona’s Xarxa FP Mobility Manager, told me about the possibility to do my internship at Théâtre du Capitol I’ve got very excited. I knew the risks involved, but it was priceless compared to be able to travel, learn a new language and work in the field I love.
During the internship I had to face four weeks living with some restrictions due to the pandemic. I have not had enough time to do all the visits and have not met as many people as I’d have liked.
I would recommend to other students wondering to go on an Erasmus in these pandemic times to live in a shared house, so you know that if something happens to you, you have someone there who can help you and your weekends will be more entertaining having some company.
During my stay in Toulouse I met other people who were also doing their internships at the theatre, but due to the lock down measures, we could not stay together as long as I would have liked. Doing an Erasmus is an emotional and personal challenge, which becomes even bigger because of the Covid-19 circumstances, and you have to be prepared for facing such challenges.
It is true that there are unpleasant situations, but there are also very good ones. During my stay, I met Philippe, Xarxa FP Mobility Manager in Toulouse. He was the person who managed my stay in France and helped me every time I found myself lost. The first day I met him, he brought me a bag with a lot of information about places to visit, how the metro works, public transport cards, masks, an adapter for my charger, notebooks… This made my stay more enjoyable from the very first moment.
When we were locked down he was the first to inform me of what I had to do and helped me to handle all the paperwork to be able to go out to work, shopping, etc.
Philippe has always been very kind to me and has provided me with free tickets to the places I wanted to visit. Thanks to him, my stay has improved a lot.
