It is those things that make you feel like you're in the right place…

 

 

What do I take? How will my colleagues be? Will I like volunteering? These and many other questions were spinning in my head before landing in Romania.  

From the beginning I had good vibes, the house we arrived in was great, I felt always picked up by my coordinators and when they explained more details of the project in which I was going to participate more illusion made me stay here and be able to enjoy this experience.  

When you arrive, everything is new to you, new city, new country, new culture, people, language… You are looking forward to meeting the children you're going to do the project with, talking to them and doing different fun activities.  

Căutăm voluntar!

Cautam voluntar motivat, empatic si creativ, dornic sa lucreze cu adulti cu dizabilitati mentale intr-un stagiu de voluntariat in Portugalia. Proiectul ESC+YOU=CHANGE include un stagiu de voluntariat in perioada 1.10.2020-27.09.2021. Pentru mai multe informații, va rugam sa ne scrieti la centrulgreentin@yahoo.com.

La revedere, Romania! Hope to see you soon!

 During these ten months in Romania, I got the opportunity to travel to different countries and cities along with Romania, to develop new language skills, to meet incredible people from all around the world, and the most importantly felt valued enough to touch someone else’s life. You learn more about yourself while you are learning more about others. Volunteering is a relation that affects both sides. Until the end, you don’t even understand how much you are affected by it. Looking back now seems like the first day I came here was yesterday. I was trying to find the bus station in front of Cluj Airport with carrying more than 40 kilos of baggage, not knowing a word of Romanian to ask for help. 

11 weeks of Online Volunteering – dealing with COVID-19

We started the online volunteering on 17th March, eleven weeks ago. Neither of us thought it actually could bound us with the kids this deeply. We have prepared our activities every Monday, to become more efficient and raise awareness of the children and their capabilities. Afterwards, we had activities every Thursday and Friday. Due to differences in activities and not boring the children, we planned them according to demand, and we did two activities each day, respectively. It was also essential to provide their activities in order to create an interactive way of learning. 29th May is the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. Therefore, for the 11th week, we decided to have activities related to peace.

How did Romania change me as a person?

Volunteering is about giving your time and skills, for the benefit of others, the local community and very importantly yourself. You can learn new skills, build confidence, make new friends, or simply take pleasure in being a part of something or supporting a cause that you believe in. It is a dialectical relationship and transforms while interacting on both sides. The aspect of life that we never had a chance to learn before, or already forgotten how to learn is taught us by the children. Having expectations is not an obstacle on the way of happiness making a smile on a child dispels all the expectations. It helps you how to have fewer expectations from life and live in the present. 

Erasmus in time of coronavirus

I don’t know what to write. I don t think any other volunteer lived a similar situation and I hope

noone lives this in the future.

Everywhere is Corona, on social media, TV,on the street you only hear  about corona and this is the new world wide trending.

One country after another fall down and no difference between first or third world countries

no difference between religions mosque church synagogue every place of pray is empty no differences of  colors no border can save anyone we survive together or we vanish together.

Humanity and environment are taking their revenge for what we did to them for decades.

For me the worst is to stay at home waiting for the unknown.

Luck of responsibility and the unconscious of many people make the scenario of the virus going 

worst and worst

What happened in Italy should be a lesson for everybody.

Refreshing and thinking more about yourself time – the Midterm Evaluation!

When we heard that other volunteers went to Bucharest, instead of Brasov; we were quite sad. Then when the place of the evaluation was announced, we were quite happy and feeling lucky. It will be held in a lovely historical city in Romania, Sinaia. We got on the way with the night train that goes through Bucharest. I got on the train with all the experiences and thoughts that I have been through in these 7 months in Romania, and cannot say that I was well motivated. Despite this, I was very demotivated. But I had the feeling that everything would be good, and I could have this time for myself and refresh again.

Erasmus+ at its best in Tunisia

  

E adevărat ce se spune: Erasmus+ deschide noi orizonturi! Privind în spate, nu cu multă vreme în urmă nici nu mi-aș fi imaginat că voi ajunge să petrec două luni în Tunisia. Totuși, pot spune că decizia de a părăsi Europa în favoarea caldelor meleaguri africane, tocmai când în România frigul își făcea apariția, a fost una dintre cele mai îndrăznețe și înțelepte decizii pe care le-am luat vreodată. Deoarece cred că un pic de context ar constitui un adaos favorabil în înțelegerea experienței mele, vă voi spune că la finalul verii eram o proaspăt absolventă de master, fără o direcție clară de viitor, și știam doar că vreau să fac ceva diferit. Aveam impresia că nu investisem suficient timp în a-mi înțelege proprile dorințe și aspirații și mă aflam într-un punct mort atâta vreme cât nu reușeam să mă cunosc mai bine. După cum mi-a dovedit experiența din Tunisia, aveam dreptate.