Oviedo Site Director, Carmen Arrúe, interviews Jose Manuel Pelaez, President of ESN Oviedo. Jose Manuel majors in Business Administration at the University of Oviedo and spent his ERASMUS in Maastricht.
Q: What does ESN stand for and what is its mission?
A: ESN is a student run organization that is active in more than 300 European cities. ESN Oviedo is part of this network along with 30 other ESN groups in Spain.. The acronym stands for Student Exchange Network. Our mission is to represent the international students coming to our city and create opportunities for cultural understanding and personal development through the philosophy of “students helping students”.
We collaborate directly with the University of Oviedo, providing an effective service by organizing extracurricular activities for international students.
We strive to make ESN activities always a creative entertainment alternative for international students. The students know that by participating in an ESN event, they will experience a completely different atmosphere and enjoy it in the company of a group of young people who also have the same attitude, spirit, and desire to share their culture. All of us who volunteer in the association put forth our effort, resources and skills to develop both our own potential as well as that of ESN in Oviedo.
Q: Who are the organizers of ESN-Oviedo and what led you to work in the association? 
A: We are currently about 10 volunteers working very hard for the organization to succeed in its mission and service to international students studying in Oviedo. We are motivated by the need to do something worthwhile, something that has a positive impact on Asturian society. We provide opportunities for foreign students at the University of Oviedo to meet the locals and get to know our culture, while at the same time participating and enjoying these ourselves.
For some of us, our main motivation comes from the need to compensate for the feelings of loss felt upon returning home at the end of our “Erasmus” (European exchange program) and to re-live the intense lifestyle and experiences of being an international student such as travelling, meeting people from different countries who have a different attitudes and spirit from our own.
Q: What type of services and activities do you organize for foreign students in Oviedo?
A: During the first week of each term we usually organize what we call a “Welcome Week” which serves to as an introduction to the region and in
cludes visits to the most important localities of Asturias: the cities of Oviedo, Gijón and Avilés. It is usually a very intense week with outings scheduled practically every day. Besides the cultural visits, two hiking trips are included: a climb to Mt.Naranco on the outskirts of Oviedo offers excellent view of the city, and an all day hike along the Cares River Gorge takes the students to one of the most emblematic hiking destinations of Asturias.
During the longer terms, we also organize weekend excursions to neighboring regions such as León, Galicia and the Basque Country as well as to destinations which are further away. Of the latter, last year we traveled to Andalucia and Portugal. By making all the arrangements ourselves and hiring our own coach, we can significantly reduce the fixed costs, making the trips much more affordable than if the students were to travel to those destinations on their own.
We also organize other types of events, usually on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, at various interesting eateries, clubs or festivities in Oviedo so that the students can get to know the night life. These venues usually offer the students better service as well as special discount prices. We also organized a “Flashmob” and a “Lip-Dub” which were a lot of fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2mx5XzddCg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o-6afpgUx0
Besides the excursions and special happenings, we organize just about any kind of activity that we can think of that would appeal to students: i.e. informal soccer matches, film nights, etc. We are also currently working on obtaining special offers and discounts on services to ESN Oviedo members such as haircuts. UPS courier rates for students, to name a few.
Q: I know you’ve been very active this summer. Can you comment on the activities you have organized for the intensive summer students?
A: In June, we held our usual walking tours of Oviedo and Gijón and sponsored a night of Tapas. July was a month full of activities: “Welcome Week”, hiking in the Cares River Gorge, canoeing on the Sella River, a tapas and sangria night, an evening of “one-Euro” tapas, and attendance to a local fiesta. We will be repeating these activities during August as well.
Q: Could you give us a sneak preview of the trips you have planned for this coming fall?
A: We are very excited to begin the 2011-2012 academic year because we have planned two very exciting trips to Andalusia and Portugal with visits to several cities, which will take place over 4 day holiday weekends. They should be a lot of fun. We always try to visit as many sites as possible, and surely León, Galicia and the Basque Country will be among those.
Q: I know that our students have been involved with the organization. What is your impression of them and that advice would you offer to them?
A: We like to organize activities for your students because we find those that participate in our activities to be very open and come here with a desire to learn Spanish and get to know the Spanish culture. In general they don’t often know a lot about Asturias before arriving in Oviedo. But, even though our weather is sometimes not the best in the world, they take home with them a wonderful memory of their time here. We work closely with the Casa de las Lenguas and the University of Oviedo to make their stay here an unforgettable one.
One piece of advice I can offer is for them to take full advantage of their time here because it represents an great opportunity to learn about life, get to know people and live an adventure that they will never forget. For those that are not sure about coming toAsturias I would tell them not to think about it twice because they will have one of the most gratifying experiences in their lives and we will work very hard to make it so.
Note: ESN usually repeat successful excursions such as the ones mentioned in the interview and now is participating in a new program called Social Erasmus which helps foreign students integrate through community service: Click here to see how: