Sofia

  • Age: 26
  • Nationality: Spain
  • Languages: Chinese, French, English, and Spanish

Volunteer experiences

View all (9)

Experience in Spain

Hostel Barcelona, Spain May/2023

Cleaning and Reception

Host didn’t write a review

Experience in Mexico

Hostel Playa del Carmen, Mexico Apr/2023

Party Promoter and Bartending

Review written by the host
5

Sofìa volviò a estar en nuestra familia al finalizar su Viaje , como siempre un placer contar con su grandiosa energìa y disposiciòn en todo momento , Siempre bienvenida a Maui 🌴💙

Endorsements
  • Bartending
  • Party Promoter
  • Proactivity
  • Flexibility
  • Sociability
  • Communication
  • Responsibility
  • Commitment
  • English
  • Spanish

Experience in Mexico

Hostel San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico Jan/2023

Reception, Kitchen Hand, Housekeeping, and Cleaning

Host didn’t write a review

Academy certificates

View all (6)

Worldpackers Academy was created to prepare the travel community to be committed and engaged volunteers.

Conscious volunteering: how to participate and collaborate in social projects

Portuguese version

Completed the course “Conscious volunteering: how to participate and collaborate in social projects" learning how to train and plan for social work and how to be a conscious volunteer.

A host guide: how to prepare for volunteering in hostels

Portuguese version

Completed the course "Host X Volunteer Guide: How to Prepare to Volunteer at Hostels " in which he learned how to be accepted, what community hosts look for in travellers, and how to prepare for a volunteer experience.

Eco Certificate for Volunteers: Basic Concepts

Spanish version

This course has been specifically designed to assist volunteers in preparing for non-routine situations, understanding the fundamentals of living in a community, recognizing the differences between life in the city and the countryside, selecting and supporting projects in achieving their objectives, and learning some basic permaculture concepts to help your project flourish!

Community contributions

How the traveler helps the Worldpackers community besides volunteering.

Exclusive promo code

Contributes to the growth of our community by referring other travelers to WP

Blogger

Writing articles for the Worldpackers Blog

Scout

Attracting new hosts to the community

Creator

Producing content about experiences for Worldpackers

Articles written as Blogger

Qué hacer en la isla de Flores, Guatemala: voluntariados, actividades y tours

  • 9min

Cómo conocer el mundo de forma económica: la guía para viajar de mochilero

  • 10min

Languages

Fluent
  • English 7
  • Spanish 7
Beginner
  • Chinese 1
  • French

Skills

I'm an expert!
  • Reception 2
  • Administration 1
  • Child Care
  • Content Writer
  • Teaching Languages
  • Teaching Sports
Some experience
  • Party Promoter 4
  • Bartending 3
  • Music 1
  • Video Making 1
  • Cooking
  • Kitchen Hand
  • Photography
  • Social Media
I want to learn it
  • Farming
  • Gardening

About me as an author

https://sofianicolas.wixsite.com/mysite

Hey there! It's Sofia from Spain, fellow volunteer and passionate writer. Half journalist, half traveler. In my different trips I've realized that travelling fills your soul in unpredictable ways: experiencing new things for the first time, connecting with locals, trying new flavors, making priceless friendships along the way, visiting stunning places… I’m here to bring you all these things closer. To go, see, question, understand and ultimately write about what I live so that we all can share the experiences and broad the knowledge within the Worldpackers community. Hope my posts bring you a little bit of joy and enthusiasm to pack your bags and start travelling!

Background

Education

I studied journalism in my hometown, Valladolid (Spain) and on the third year of the degree I went to Zhuhai (China) to study there. In China I took tourism management, advertising and marketing and human resources classes which broadened my knowledge.

I’ve also taken several courses focusing on international journalism, conflict zones coverage and storytelling and two Harvard courses (“Child Protection” and “Religion, Conflict and Peace”).

I speak Spanish (native), English (Fluent) and Chinese and French (basic level)

Work experience

I work as a hip hop/commercial/reggaeton dance teacher. I started to teach when I was 17, loved it, can’t imagine my life without it anymore. I teach from five year old kids to 50 year old adults and seeing all of them dancing the choreos I teach them is the most rewarding thing in the world. I see my dance classes as a safe space where you can just be yourself, feel the music, let yourself go and move and mostly enjoy and have fun during that period of time (and NO judgment!)

I’m also a volunteer at the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The latest job my team did was helping dozens of Afghan women journalist and their families to flee the country after the Taliban took over in August 2021. My main task in the organization is managing the social media and website. Together with my team we create new content constantly so that we can keep it updated and fresh. Last Christmas we launched a social campaign with which our follower base increased +1000 in 5 months, specifically reaching a lot of new young people.

I’ve been a worker in a cheese factory assembly line, a waitress, a Spanish tutor for a Jordan Professor in China’s University, an English tutor for Spanish kids and an au-pair for a family in Canada (2019) and now in London (which tasks include: taking care of the kids, help them with their homework, cooking for the whole family, cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping)

Travel experience

This is my first time as a volunteer in Worldpackers, however... it's not my first time travelling!

My first big trip was when I was 19. I moved to Canada for three months and I experienced my first solo travel. I went to Montreal and there I discovered the wonders of the backpacking lifestyle. In love with it since then!

When I moved to China, I had the opportunity to travel around the country and also around South East Asia. Every single country was a mind-blowing experience. Landscapes are breath-taking and people are incredibly hospitable. But the thing I value the most about those trips is how AMAZING felt stepping out of my comfort zone. You get to know yourself, you grow, you blossom.

I’ve also travelled around some countries in Europe and right now I’m living in London. One of the trips I cherish the most was Barcelona. I went there for work (I had to do some interviews for my degree’s dissertation) and the hostel and the people there were just awesome. We really connected, we enjoyed a lot the city and by the end of my stay the hostel staff offered me to be part of their team during the summer holidays. I was so sad because I was moving to London by that time so I couldn’t do it but NOW IT’S THE TIME!

I didn’t really know how important travelling was for me until Covid happened. During the lockdown, my mind kept going back to all these places where I was genuinely happy and almost 90% of them where the destinations of my trips. I understood then that, for me, travelling is like the fuel that helps me moving forward. Is what inspires me, what gives sense to my life.

WORLDPACKERS IS THE NEXT LEVEL OF TRAVELLING. BEING ABLE TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY, SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE WHILE YOU LEARN FROM THE PEOPLE YOU MEET, WORK HAND IN HAND WITH LOCALS, CREATE AMAZING MEMORIES WITH THE FRIENDS YOU MAKE ALONG YOUR WAY… I THINK IS THE ULTIMATE WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF TRAVELLING (NOT JUST BEING A TOURIST) WHILE CONNECTING WITH AND POSITIVELY IMPACTING ON THE COMMUNITY.