0 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:21,000 Welcome, everyone, to podcast Burbuja. 1 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:26,000 This time we have three students, three exchange students from Lithuania. 2 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:34,000 They are Jurgita, Osteja, and Virginia. 3 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:40,000 I tried my best at pronouncing your names, I'm sorry if I did it wrong, but well, I wanted 4 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:48,000 to start this interview by asking you to tell us a little bit about your life in Lithuania 5 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:58,000 and also this amazing project you have with adults and libraries. 6 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,000 So maybe I will start. 7 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:12,000 We are a county library from Panevegis, and we have an Erasmus accreditation for 7 years. 8 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:31,000 It's a big project of four periods, and we are focusing on education of adults in libraries, 9 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:35,000 how we can implement various activities. 10 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:44,000 So we visit various countries, and we are going not alone, not only librarians from 11 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:53,000 our library, but also we take representatives from other libraries from our region. 12 00:01:53,000 --> 00:02:01,000 So we always go with a big team of 15 people. 13 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:10,000 What type of activities do you usually do in the libraries? 14 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:17,000 Various activities, and we are working on promoting the reading. 15 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,000 We have many reading promoting programs as well. 16 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:30,000 We have workshops for children, sensory reading or other workshops. 17 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:42,000 Also we work with heritage, documental heritage, have initiatives according to this, and also 18 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:59,000 we have various programs integrating people, disabled people, also many events, conferences. 19 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,000 So you do more than just reading? 20 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,000 Yes, yes. 21 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:10,000 You go, you deal with culture, with also history, wow that's amazing. 22 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,000 All right, let's talk now about your experience during this week. 23 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:21,000 What were your expectations when participating in this exchange? 24 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:28,000 What did you want to learn about Spain or about our libraries? 25 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,000 As for myself, I wasn't expecting anything really. 26 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,000 I was very open. 27 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:43,000 I am participating in such a journey for the first time. 28 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:52,000 I have never been with a group of librarians anywhere, so I was just hoping to explore 29 00:03:52,000 --> 00:04:03,000 something new, and really I did explore something new, because how Jurgita said, our job in 30 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,000 Lithuanian libraries is very complex. 31 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:18,000 We do many different, you would say that they are very different activities, and here we 32 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:29,000 experienced something different that libraries in Spain doesn't do, they don't do everything 33 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,000 that we do in Lithuania. 34 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:37,000 It is not a bad thing, it's just a difference between our libraries. 35 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:47,000 So there are differences in the way we work, or in the way how everything is organized? 36 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:54,000 I would say that the difference is in types of activities that libraries do, but not in 37 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:58,000 an organization of the libraries. 38 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:02,000 So it's more in relation with the activities. 39 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:08,000 That's my opinion, I don't know what the other colleagues would say about that. 40 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,000 Would you agree? 41 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:17,000 Firstly, I would like to add to what we do in Lithuania, we do clubs, hobby clubs. 42 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:24,000 We have a lot of clubs in the libraries, like reading clubs, languages clubs, knitting clubs, 43 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,000 senior people clubs and so on. 44 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:32,000 I think that we discovered that people in the libraries in Spain do the same, they really 45 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:38,000 do a lot in this area, and they are very connected to communities, which is very important, and 46 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:44,000 we want to learn it, because we are trying to find more and more ways how to connect 47 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,000 to communities, and we found a lot of good examples here, I think. 48 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:54,000 Even your school library was really brilliant, and I think that we can apply a lot from what 49 00:05:54,000 --> 00:06:01,000 we were shown in this area, and even the university library was very good at this, because they 50 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:06,000 have very interesting projects with citizens, that citizen laboratory is a very interesting 51 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,000 project, and I think that we can do that. 52 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:18,000 I think that it was a very fruitful visit, because we learned a lot, we saw a lot, and 53 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:23,000 working with immigrants and refugees, we have very little experience, and you do much 54 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:30,000 more, because you have more experience in that area, so that was very good. 55 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,000 I'm very satisfied with this visit. 56 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:43,000 And we were very happy to participate by ourselves in these activities. 57 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:54,000 We felt how it feels to come here, to participate, and how you involve people, how they become 58 00:06:54,000 --> 00:07:02,000 closer to each other and to your organization, so it was very interesting and a very happy 59 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,000 feeling to participate in this activity. 60 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:12,000 I mean, that's amazing to hear, I think that was the main idea behind this exchange, so 61 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:19,000 I'm really glad to hear that, not only that you came with many ideas, and you go back 62 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:25,000 with techniques and different types of activities from Spain, but also that you brought here 63 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:31,000 new ideas, and yeah, I mean, that's the idea of an exchange. 64 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,000 All right, let's talk more a little bit about Alcalá in Spain. 65 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:38,000 What was your opinion about this city? 66 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,000 Did you enjoy it? 67 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:50,000 Last evening I thought, what should we show in Lithuania when you come to Lithuania, because 68 00:07:50,000 --> 00:08:02,000 we were so impressed by all the surroundings, all objects, what we saw, so we thought, okay, 69 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:10,000 what we should show in Lithuania to impress you as well, because we were all very impressed 70 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:12,000 by all the things that we saw. 71 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:18,000 I'm sure that Lithuania has lots of history and relevant monuments to visit, and very 72 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,000 interesting as well. 73 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:27,000 And talking about monuments, you had two different cultural visits, such as El Escorial, or you 74 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:35,000 also had a visit inside the University of Alcalá, which one was your favorite? 75 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:39,000 Which cultural visit was your favorite? 76 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:44,000 Some of us visited even other cities, like Toledo, for example. 77 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:50,000 Yes, and personally, I was impressed by everything, because it was new for me. 78 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:52,000 I visited those places for the first time. 79 00:08:52,000 --> 00:09:00,000 Of course, university was really very impressive, all the history, all the things that were 80 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:08,000 happening and how students were forced to take those exams in that very, very difficult 81 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:09,000 way. 82 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:18,000 I think that one good thing that you really do very, very brilliant is that you show that 83 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:26,000 history in a very attractive way, yes, in a simple and attractive way, and you tell 84 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:33,000 people who come to Spain that you really value what you have, because you can really be proud 85 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,000 of what you have, your history, yes. 86 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:48,000 I mean, we always try to not only protect, but also keep updated all this history. 87 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,000 To promote that cultural heritage, yes. 88 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:56,000 Because we prefer learning that way rather than just studying it on books. 89 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:02,000 Also, here in the school, we do it like that, different trips, in order to get to see how 90 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:07,000 all the things that appear in the books, like El Escorial, the kings, really work. 91 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:13,000 And it's very felt that you value what you have, but you still take other cultures also 92 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:14,000 very... 93 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:18,000 You welcome other cultures to your country, to your culture. 94 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:25,000 We could obviously see that in that activity that we just had, because people are from 95 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,000 different cultures and countries. 96 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,000 I also wanted to talk about that, about culture. 97 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:35,000 Have you experienced any culture shock coming to Spain over the years? 98 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:36,000 Yes. 99 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:44,000 I think we all had on some level, maybe some of us were not that shocked. 100 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,000 Not shocked, but impressed, touched. 101 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:57,000 I wanted to add to Virginia, when you asked about what was our favorite place to visit, 102 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:09,000 and I myself am art and architecture lover, lover, yes, that's the word, but I was a little 103 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:17,000 impressed by myself that that wasn't the most, that wasn't the biggest thing that impressed 104 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:18,000 me. 105 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:27,000 I was most impressed by people, and especially when I was in Madrid, I was just walking the 106 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:35,000 streets and watching people, because people are very different here. 107 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:42,000 They look different, they act different, they do simple day-to-day things, but they do that 108 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:44,000 also differently. 109 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:51,000 I find Spanish people very elegant. 110 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,000 They do everything elegantly. 111 00:11:54,000 --> 00:12:06,000 They eat like it's a, what's the word, like it's not occasionally, but like it's a ceremony, 112 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:07,000 a ritual. 113 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:18,000 It's like you not only eat, but you talk, you enjoy the view, the company. 114 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:29,000 I think it's something that we should learn in Lithuania, to take time to enjoy doing 115 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:30,000 little things. 116 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,000 Yeah, things calmly and to think about what you're doing. 117 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:40,000 Yes, I wanted to add also, so we saw that when you are eating, so you communicate, and 118 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:46,000 usually when we are eating, we just eat. 119 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:51,000 We're trying to communicate after, but when we eat, we don't speak. 120 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:56,000 Even there's a tradition not to speak when you eat. 121 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:03,000 We were told when we were a child, in our childhood, not to speak when you eat. 122 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,000 It's a bad thing to speak when you eat. 123 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:16,000 We also noticed that you smile a lot, so it's also a difference that you see in Lithuania, 124 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:17,000 because you smile a lot. 125 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:24,000 About the dining thing, it's really interesting because here in Spain, we also have this tradition 126 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:30,000 that it's when you have your mouth full, it's not good to speak. 127 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:38,000 And also, when you're dining, when you're having lunch, it's when nobody speaks, we 128 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,000 find that uncomfortable. 129 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:43,000 So it's different, but yeah. 130 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:49,000 But anyways, also I would like to ask you, if you had to define this experience with 131 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,000 one word, what would it be? 132 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,000 One word? 133 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:55,000 Sun. 134 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:56,000 Sun. 135 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:05,000 Well, I mean, there was really good weather, you were lucky, so yeah, what about the others? 136 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:10,000 It's very, very hard to put it in one word. 137 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:19,000 I would maybe choose rich, because it's about everything, experience and food also. 138 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,000 And sun, as Jurgita said, yes, it can be put into that word, rich. 139 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:32,000 The sun is also the feeling of happiness, and also we felt this feeling together here 140 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,000 as we come today. 141 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,000 That's really beautiful. 142 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:45,000 I would choose the word people, because without people, there would be no culture. 143 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:51,000 The buildings would be just buildings, streets would be just streets, the library would be 144 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,000 just a building. 145 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:55,000 So people make everything work. 146 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,000 Yeah, I mean, that's really true. 147 00:14:58,000 --> 00:14:59,000 All right. 148 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:05,000 And finally, to end this interview, would you recommend to our students here in the 149 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:12,000 CEPA to participate in experiences like this and exchanges? 150 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:17,000 Would you recommend this experience? 151 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:22,000 As far as I know, that your students are already going to Lithuania, so they will have 152 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:29,000 this experience, but definitely I would recommend, because this program opens a lot of possibilities 153 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:34,000 to explore not only country, but culture and people, as Ostea said, and of course your 154 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:42,000 profession also, because we are always going on those job shadowing visits to firstly explore 155 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,000 the professional things, but of course, culture as well. 156 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:46,000 All right. 157 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:51,000 So you've got like the two sides, not only the professional part of the experience. 158 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:57,000 It can't be limited strictly just about profession, because you always bring something. 159 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:03,000 You bring new contacts, first of all, because you find new people with whom you work later 160 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:07,000 and communicate and do projects probably. 161 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,000 So it's a very rich experience. 162 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,000 Yes. 163 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,000 All right. 164 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:15,000 So yes, that would be the end of our interview. 165 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:21,000 I would like to say thank you so much for coming to Spain and we're really glad that 166 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:27,000 you enjoyed this experience and we can just wait to go to Lithuania to experience all 167 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,000 things that you mentioned in the interview. 168 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:30,000 Thank you so much. 169 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,000 Thank you.