Conditions for Exchange Workers

EXCHANGE CONDITIONS AT CAL CLOWN

   

·         What is exchange work?

Exchange work consists in working for a month or two at Cal Clown in exchange for a Professional Residential Course of one month, two months, or two one-month courses.

The exchange work ALWAYS has to be done before the course that you want to do as a student.

It is not possible to be a student and an exchange worker at the same time.
The exchange work can only be done when a course is running.

The exchange does not expire so the worker can choose the best time to be a student as long as there are places, and in consultation with the school.

·         So, does the exchange worker have to pay anything?

The exchange only covers the course cost but NOT the cost of living at Cal Clown (food/light/water/etc.)

That’s why the exchange worker will pay: €250 during the month they are working in Cal Clown and €250 during the month they are a student. This covers all costs of the exchange worker except extras such as visits to shows, alcohol, chocolate, etc.

·         How can you reserve your exchange worker place?

You should contact the school and once you are accepted as an exchange worker, you should put €250 into the school account and send the bank confirmation to the school email address: info@escoladeclown.eu

It’s very important that your name appears somewhere on the bank confirmation.

·         What kind of work does the exchange worker do?

The exchange worker does all the work necessary to take care of the house and the students and teachers who live there during the course.

That includes:

·       Housework (making beds, laying the table, etc.)

      ·       Cleaning  (rooms, bathrooms, dishes, clothes, communal areas, etc.)

·       Kitchen (cooking vegetarian food: 3 meals and 2 snacks/day)

·       Tidying

·       Shopping: food and other, etc.

·       Driving

·       Logistical support for performances and other activiteies away from the school

·       Improving the facilities at the school: carpentry, plumbing, gardening, etc.

·       Helping with audiovisual tasks (video recording, editing, etc)

·       Other tasks that come up during the course

·         What timetable does the exchange worker have?

The exchange work period is longer than a clown course. The exchange workers arrive 3 days before the course and leave 3 days after the students have left.  So the exchange worker stays at Cal Clown for 34 days, whilst the students stay 28 days.

The workday is 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. The exchange worker has 1 day free per week that they will agree with their colleagues. The students have the same timetable, sometimes working more hours, and have the same number of free days as the workers.

The timetable is only a guide and not unchangeable. Life at clown school is unpredictable and the workers should be ready to adapt themselves to it. If the exchange worker is flexible with their work at the school, then the school can also be flexible with the worker.

·         What do we value in an exchange worker?

-        Spanish and/or English speaking.

-        Driving licence and willing to drive.

-        Experience in cooking for big groups (10/15 people)

-        Knowledge of cooking vegetarian meals (at Cal Clown we do not eat meat), respecting the principles of a nutritious and balanced diet.

-        Knowledge in skills such as: carpentry, masonry, plumbing, etc.

-        Experience working in restaurants or bars.  

-        Autonomous and self-reliant in their own work without expecting to receive instructions.

-        Can take the initiative and be willing to work.

-        A positive and responsible attitude and a desire to resolve problems

-        Ability to work cooperatively with others.

-        Respectful with the place and people at Cal Clown.

·         What advantages are there in being an exchange worker at Cal Clown?

-        You will gain previous knowledge of the course, seeing classes, shows, and the process of training students, and have access to films and books which are available to all.

-        The positive experience of living together in a house full of people with a common interest and love for clown.

-        There are benefits of experiencing the courses firstly from the position of serving others, making the course possible by helping the students in an unselfish way, supporting a project which is for the benefit of others like yourself. The exchange is a time for giving, and a s a student it is a time for receiving. This symbolises the process of becoming Clown: in order to be more ourselves it is necessary to forget about ourselves a little and to serve others. Our understanding of clown at Cal Clown is that it is a service profession, as well as being hugely enriching for those who practise it.

If you want to read reports and feedback by exchange workers and students, visit our blog: http://escoladeclown.blogspot.com