In the second half of February, a group of 15 trainees from Turkey came to Úbeda. They did their internships in restaurants, beauty salons and a kindergarten. The trainees were able to learn from great professionals who did their best to teach them new skills. According to host organisations, this was made easy because of the good manners and behaviour as well as the effectiveness of the trainees.

Firstly, some of the trainees took care of one, two and three year olds. They put on some workshops and activities that they had prepared themselves in Turkey. They also learnt about different methods of childcare. The hairdressers developed their skills in this professional field by practicing with local people. Finally, the cooking trainees learnt how to use local ingredients and explored new ways of cooking, as well as having the opportunity to cook traditional Turkish food for the restaurants. In summary, this cultural exchange has been enriching for everyone involved, both the trainees and the host organisations.

In their free time, our visitors had the opportunity to visit wonderful Andalusian cities and enjoy its weather. First of all, they visited Ubeda and Baeza, both of which are UNESCO world heritage sites. They admired the impressive views of the landscape and the renaissance buildings. They then visited Granada, which was well worth the visit since they were able to see the Alhambra and explored the halls and courtyards of the most visited monument in Spain. In Seville, they enjoyed the nice weather and walked alongside the Guadalquivir river. They also saw impressive monuments such as the Plaza de España, la Giralda (bell tower of Seville Cathedral), Torre del Oro (the Tower of Gold), Las Setas de Sevilla (Mushrooms of Seville).

We really hope that the trainees enjoyed this experience. We have been very lucky to have such a great, charming and professional group of trainees, and wish them all the best for the future.