Hello everyone, IntegrART 9 here!
With the previous year, and the fantastic projects of IntegrART 8 concluded, the time has come for something new. As you’ve all heard, when a door closes, a window opens… so now IntegrART 9 will take the stage!
We all arrived the first of October, marking the beginning of this voyage. Our schedules this first time have been about as crowded as a Walmart on Black Friday. Between the adaptation weeks, visits to our different hosting organizations, and the plethora of different events available in the city, there’s always been something to do! Settling down, finding new routines, and scouting the environs have all been top priorities.
In honour of this new adventure, we decided to make our photoshoot an homage to the one and only Adventure Time! Posing with all the costumes was a great time haha
But enough about that, it’s time to let everybody introduce themselves!
Mikkel Svensson / 18 / Sweden
What’s one thing you cannot live without?
People! I find that your connections to people you like are the most important things you have. They provide something very special, and can make any situation better, like some sort of spiritual all-round spice.
What’s one thing do you do at least once a week?
Really listen to music. Regarding great songs, I feel in a sense that I have to respect them. Therefore I usually sit down somewhere quiet, and do nothing else at all except listen.
What’s one thing that makes you happy?
Food? Yeah, food. Sitting down in a still place and eating a hot meal that you’ve been preparing a long time is super rewarding, and just makes me happy every time😌 (I also douse my dishes in ungodly amounts of spices, hehe)
What’s one thing you have a passion for?
Exploration! In this sense, I haven’t aged at all since the age of five. I still feel the strong excitement to see, absorb, discover. You can see me on one such trip of discovery in the picture above, during a hike in the mountains (what’s the duck for? Let’s just say, it’s a long story)
What’s one thing you spend too much money on?
I wish I had money to spend on anything except rice and beans for dinner ;_;
What’s your spirit animal?
Maybe a poodle? They are sometimes quite calm and enjoy stillness, but also have lots of energetic streaks. As my roommates can attest to, I am often running around the apartment, trying to learn juggling in the sofa and texting five different people at once about meeting up.
Gloria Guerra / 23 / Italie
What’s one thing you cannot live without?
I’m torn between giving a funny answer or a deep one. Ironically, I could say tissues, because I have chronic rhinitis. But honestly, I couldn’t live without the affection of the people I love. Their support means everything to me; without it, I don’t think I’d make it very far.
What’s one thing you do at least once a week?
At least once a week I practice yoga. It’s my moment to reconnect with myself and clear my mind. When I was in Italy, I also used to eat pizza at least once a week, because let’s be honest, that’s another great way to relax the mind! 😄
What’s one thing that makes you happy?
Plants and nature make me genuinely happy. Observing them is fascinating to me, just admiring a landscape, a sunset, or even a squirrel on a tree can brighten my entire day.
What’s one thing you have a passion for? My biggest passion is tropical plants. Back home in Italy, I collect them, and I miss them a lot here. I even wrote a care guide for my mom, who’s kindly looking after them (though two have already died… but I forgive her anyway! 😂).
What’s one thing you spend too much money on? Definitely on my beloved plants: buying them, caring for them, and creating little terrariums. But I also spend a lot on traveling. I love discovering new cultures, and my list of countries to visit is still very long!
What’s your spirit animal? I have no idea, but I absolutely love cats and parrots. Back home, I have two adorable lovebirds, and I think they might be my spirit animals; small, curious, and a bit annoying, just like me! 🐦
Sara Rodríguez / 23 / Espagne
What’s one thing you cannot live without? Probably music. Or art. I think any type of art is integral for living, it’s the central spine for being alive. I listen to music as soon as I get out of bed and the last thing I do before getting into bed as well. Listening to music sometimes even passively helps you process your emotions and can make you feel understood or even brighten your day.
What’s one thing do you do at least once a week? Drawing, I think. I would like to say reading but sometimes I have the book by my side and forget about it during the whole day. But with drawing, I always find time to draw even if its just a small doodle, it feels really relaxing. I also like to keep a calendar where I draw what I did each day so it really becomes a weekly even daily activity.
What’s one thing that makes you happy? To quote Fleabag, people is all we have got. In that sense, I think nothing makes me happier than talking to others and just spending time with people. But I guess people are not a thing so for something that makes me happy it would be costumes and dressing up. Even just finding the accessories that match my outfit each morning or putting some glitter on my eyes makes me feel really joyful and with energy enough for the day.
What’s one thing you have a passion for? I think this answer has a lot to do with the previous one, theatre is my main passion. I have been doing theatre since I was 6 years old in primary school and my last play was during university. It has been a life-long hobby and I am really excited to share my passion with the high school students this year.
What’s one thing you spend too much money on? Clothes, by far. I have stopped since I came to Krakow and hopefully the addiction doesn’t come back. I started going to second hand vintage shops sometimes in high school but it wasn’t till university when I started going monthly even weekly. My closets in Madrid are still full, as well as the ones in Krakow. But hopefully I beat up that vice for good now.
What’s your spirit animal? My first month in Krakow I have had a peacock tattooed on my chest so it would feel unfair not to choose that beautiful animal. I really love birds, in general, flamingos are a close second as well as owls. I love penguins too, even flightless birds have a sort of freedom attached to them. Also in the main park in Madrid, Retiro, there are many peacocks and I have fond childhood memories with them.
Aroa Urteaga / 24 / Spain
What’s one thing you cannot live without? For me, a very important part of my life, and something I couldn’t live without, is my friends. They mean everything to me. Just being with them and talking makes my day automatically a good day. Although I miss them a lot now, I know they are always with me, and I think that’s where true friendship comes in. Even though time passes and we can’t be together every day, the relationship doesn’t change; it stays the same because the connection we’ve created is real.
What’s one thing do you do at least once a week? Eating a dessert that I like. My favourite flavour or ingredient is pistachio, I love it, I’m addicted to it, haha. So I try to go to a nice café at least once a week to enjoy a coffee with a delicious dessert. It makes me happy and keeps me going during the week because I know that at the weekend I’ll get to enjoy a little treat.
What’s one thing that makes you happy? The sun. Perhaps it’s a very simple answer, but it’s very true. The sun and good weather make the day good simply because of the joy that a ray of sunshine on your face can bring. I also think it’s because I associate it with summer, which is my favourite season and where I can say that I fully define the word happiness.
What’s one thing you have a passion for? The mountain, no doubt about it. Until not so long ago, I didn’t understand why people liked to climb a mountain, reach the top and then come back down. It seemed absurd to me, until I tried it. The feeling that develops between you and the mountain is indescribable. The sensation of being in nature and knowing that the only option you have is to understand that reaching the end is the solution completely changes the experience. I think there can be different opinions and that’s completely normal, but I live in a village that is completely surrounded by mountains, so I’ve had to change my mind about it being uncomfortable and really think about how lucky I am to be able to go whenever I want to the mountain I want and enjoy not only the journey but also the feeling of reaching the top.
What’s one thing you spend too much money on? Eating out for lunch or dinner. I’m a very good cook, so I really enjoy eating when someone else cooks for me. It’s true that I’m controlling that side of myself a little bit here, but in my village we do it 2-3 times a week, maybe even more, ha ha ha. And if you tell me we’re going to eat at a restaurant ,on the terrace in the sun, with my friends, after a walk in the mountains and with a pistachio dessert, you’ve won me over.
What’s your spirit animal? My spiritual animal would be the crow. I don’t really have an explanation for why, I just find it a really interesting and mysterious animal, and I like that it’s discreet, so I can identify with it. Also, my favourite colour is black.
Coraline Azalée Bertheau / 24 / France
What’s one thing you cannot live without? Eggs for sure, I love eggs!
What’s one thing do you do at least once a week? Listening tekno really loud
What’s one thing that makes you happy? ॐ !Yoga! ॐ
What’s one thing you have a passion for? Since few months a big passion for HTML/CSS programming and create graphic design om the web. Mix that with my obsession for Twins Peaks and here is my creative universe…
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What’s one thing you spend too much money on? Cinema, museum, exibhitions, workshop… but it’s never to much for art.
What’s your spirit animal?🦜 The lorikeet, it’s a small but colorful parrot 🦜
Guilherme Lobo / 23 / Portuguese
What’s one thing you cannot live without? Music, for sure. It’s music that drives my mood. Most of the time, I always have some kind of music playing in my head, which is great when it aligns with what I’m experiencing — but not so great when it carries me too far into a fantasy world.
What’s one thing you do at least once a week? Journaling. I usually do it on Sundays to reflect on the week, make realizations, or identify things that have been bothering me and try to understand where they come from.
What’s one thing that makes you happy? Feeling things. Feeling intensely, then pausing, reviewing those emotions, and being able to reflect from an observer’s perspective.
What’s one thing you have a passion for? Dancing. I love dancing, especially in front of the mirror. I love the power and confidence I feel when I dance and how I can connect that to the image I see in the mirror. I have a passion for dance because it has an enormous power to heal me.
What’s one thing you spend too much money on? There isn’t really anything specific I spend a lot of money on. I’m actually quite stingy, so whenever I buy something physical, I take days to decide whether I should get it or not. But if the question was “What’s something that makes you spend money without thinking too much?”, then I’d say — going to visit friends who live far away and spending a few days with them. Easy going.
So that’s us! Now, what’s on the agenda going forward? Well, we’re getting our initial projects going, all the while developing our ideas for the future. We’re like a big boiling pot, bubbling with ideas waiting to become reality. Suffice it to say, nobody is bored! The excitement is palpable, and with initial hurdles such as adaptation and acclimatization behind us the rest of the project is certain to only get better!
That’s all for now! We will continue on working on our projects and plans, which you can bet we’ll share here!
/IntegrART 9
