La revedere, iarnă!

 

It has been a very good month for me as I have been traveling around different areas of the Maramures region; Cavnic, Sighetu Marmației, Săpânța, Desești among others. Northern Romania has beautiful sites (some of them UNESCO World Heritage Sites) that are worth visiting and that, unhappily are not very well known.  This is the first month that we are living together with Gönül. For me it is an enriching experience to be able to live with her in the same house because I have not had many opportunities to converse with a person whose religion is Islamic or from Turkey. Thanks to this, I have been able to learn more about what is currently happening in Turkey, taste different typical dishes, learn new words in Turkish, as well as find similarities between Turkey and Spain. She is a very nice person, and her company makes our days at home more pleasant.  

Romanian is still difficult for me

 

We did activities with children of different classes and levels. Games with the vocabulary of colors, the days of the week, animals ... They also taught us a bit of Romanian. Romanian is still difficult for me to understand. I had meet the students from the online classes and play in the snow with them which was fun. We had a meal together with the coordinators which was nice and the menu very tasty. The personal development classes are generating more confidence and help for me.

Little by little I am feeling more and more at home

 

This month we continued with the online classes due to the restrictions, although we were able to visit the town and the school where we are going to carry out part of the project. I really enjoyed being able to see the classrooms and start thinking about the activities we could do there.  It was very nice to be able to see the town snowed in and to go hiking in the snow. For someone who has lived all her life in Madrid, being able to have so much snow nearby is really exciting.  

Enjoy every moment.

 

This month went by so fast; I feel like it only lasted a week, it is now 2 months since I arrived in Romania. It may seem long but for me it is as if I arrived 2 weeks ago, I have done so many things during these 2 months. We finally had snow, we were like children, we made snowmen and snowball fights. To be honest, snow is beautiful when you stay at home warm. We welcomed a new Turkish volunteer in the apartment, after her forties we took a tour of the city together and had a good time together. New volunteers arrive regularly, and we meet them with pleasure to discover new cultures, to share moments, to laugh together.

Honestly, this first month I felt lucky.

 

Honestly, This first month I felt lucky. My coordinator and counselors are very helpful and friendly, and we have a good time talking about any topic and laughing during the meetings. 

They care about things for our well-being in the town, in our home, how to move around the area, what places to visit, teaching us things about the country and its culture. I can't complain we have time for ourselves and for volunteering. There are also plans for future activities that I would like to participate in. The truth is, I feel at home. I hope that the future months our stability does not change so much during these months.

This was my goal: to get out of my comfort zone

 

When I learned that I was taken on a volunteer mission in Romania, I was first very happy and then worried about going to a country I did not know at all. This was my goal: to get out of my comfort zone, to discover new people, cultures, new landscapes. When I landed in Cluj, I felt serene, arriving in Baia Mare everyone was very welcoming, I was able to meet other very nice volunteers too.

It has been 1 month now that I've been here, I could meet the children during the online classes, (because of the Covid the schools are closed) we talked about Christmas and the different traditions during the end of the year celebrations. I cannot wait for the schools to reopen so I can meet the children.

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.