Paloma Ortega from Spain (European Solidarity Corps volunteer)

I have been living in Greece for almost 8 months and since the beginning I started playing catchball. The first week Ela told me that she practiced this sport and that it was pretty cool. She asked me if I wanted to go to some trainings to see if I liked it, of course, I said yes, I have always liked to do sports. And there I was the first week without knowing very well what the catchball was about. For those who don't know, catchball is a team sport, a women's team, played on the volleyball court and with similar rules, but in this case, you catch the ball.

IRIDA, my team from Soufli, is made up of a wonderful coach and a wonderful group of women. I admire all of them, the girls for shaping this beautiful project and for pursuing their goals with perseverance. I also admire our coach for supporting and helping the team get to our goals.

Even though I don't speak a word of Greek they always take care of me and have a smile for me, and I am very grateful for that. The Greek part, I’m working on it, I hope I will be able to talk more with all of them soon. The team is participating in different competitions both in Greece and abroad, the last one was in Romania and I went with them! You can't imagine how amazing the experience was, I would repeat it a thousand times and always with my team, with IRIDA (and not just because we came fourth!). In this trip the whole team has been taking care of me and supporting me at all times, not only I have felt part of the team but I have felt part of the family that is IRIDA. I will always be grateful for everything they have done for me. The next big competition is in Las Vegas! I wish the team the very best of luck and I hope they enjoy it as much as this last competition, hopefully I will participate with them too.

When I leave I will miss the team very much. The “pinoume ligo neraki” or the “Bravo Paloma” are words that I will keep in my mind. If the team reads this: Thank you for having welcomed me so well in your team, I hope that if you ever come to Spain you can feel the love of the people in the same way, because you deserve it.