A month in EVS

Wow has it been already one month? I can barely remember the moment I went to the airport and said goodbye to my parents, was the same moment I met Belen, the other Spanish participant that was going to be my partner on the project, since then, a lot of things happened, meeting new people, amazing moments and cultural shocks, lots  of ``la revedere´´ & welcome parties, a bittersweet mix of feelings and experiences.

Doesn’t matter how much you research about the place where you are going, or even if you don´t do research at all (as me), because the EVS experience is going to be different for everyone.

Let´s be honest, there will be moments when you will feel homesick and you will miss your family & friends and you just want to go back home, but you will also find yourself thought this experience.

You will arrive to a new world, with a completely different language, food, culture, history, background & reality!

But you will find the kindest souls willing to help you even when you don´t know a single word in their language and you are completely lost, you may receive a hug from a kid that you met half an hour ago and that cannot even pronounce your name properly and you will think `` all of this was worthy´´ .

Volunteering&Sustainable Development II - in Oarta de Jos

Cei cinci voluntari gazduiti de Centrul Greentin in cadrul proiectului Volunteering&Sustainable Development II, Anna (Italia), Alice (Italia), Belen (Spania), Esther (Spania) si João (Portugalia), au organizat activitati cu copii si tinerii din Oarta de jos. Activitatile au fost organizate in cadrul parteneriatului incheiat cu Scoala Gimnaziala Oarta de Sus. Profesorul coordonator a fost Iulia Gherman.

What’s EVS?

It is an experience of intercultural learning of European Union with a very high educational value. Our project focus on the sustainable development, gives us the possibility to stay in direct contact with the local people, rich of story and different culture, and learn Romanian language.

When we are arrived in Romania, exactly in Baia Mare, we felt a little bit strange because we have been catapulted into a totally different reality than the one we were used to. Different language, different use, different tradition and conception of help.  

Before to arrive in Romania we didn’t know a lot about this country, for sure we didn’t imagine how beautiful and rich of experience to live is, we didn’t imagine that local people where so helpful with strangers and willing to help us even with the language barrier.

The city of Baia Mare is full of volunteer coming from different Nations in Europe and this give us the possibility to learn different things about different people.

Free time is an opportunity to travel around, use hitchhiking because drivers have no problem to give a ride. This is one of the things that surprised; the simplicity with which one helps the others and with which relationships are established.

To everyone who loves to travel we would suggest to come to Romania without thinking twice, we’ve been here for one month, we had the chance to travel, and if we had to summarize Romania in few words we would say: green country, amazing cities and villages, festivals, a lot of young people, helpful community and much desire to improve and develop.

Alice Bassan & Anna Carleo – EVS volunteers

Project – Volunteering&Sustainable Development II – Erasmus+