Accepting the job as the warden of the Elephant House was a bit of a challenge for me at first. I had been staying in a lovely place for a year somewhere in Bristol, so leaving that ‘safe place’ was slightly scary. But I decided to give it a try, so I packed all my stuff and moved to the house. And that was a good decision…

My duties at the house are basically to have everything in order. My main responsibility is to welcome the students when they arrive, to make sure that everything is in place when they get there and to explain them how things work around the house. Also, I am the one to turn to if they have any kind if problem at the house.

But not everything is about work! I’m having a great time living there. My favourite part of the day is dinner. We haven’t set a time for having dinner together but, eventually, most of us will gather around the huge kitchen table eating either a traditional dish or a frozen pizza, chatting about how the day has been or the plans for the weekend.

It’s the perfect scenario to get to know lovely people, some with a lot of stories to tell, some who are willing to listen to the stories you have to tell them. It’s thanks to moments like this when you realise how rewarding the experience of living at the Elephant House is.

Laura Garcia, Elephant House Warden & Social Programme Coordinator