The journey of my European Voluntary Service by CVCN

The journey of my European Voluntary Service Dear reader My name is Fabian Jakubowski and I am from Germany. I have done my European Voluntary Service in ClujNapoca, Romania. This book is my personal project which I did with 26 former volunteers from whole Europe. The journey of my European Voluntary Service is a collection of experiences by former volunteers and current volunteers who are almost going to finish their projects. You will find 8 questions in the following pages where you can read all the answers of the volunteers. You also can read from whom is the answer and where the volunteer has done his/her EVS-projects. Some answers are anonymous so you will not find any information about this person. The answers are individual and personal. This book shows the diversity of an European Voluntary Service, good and bad experiences. The goal of this book is to show the unique experiences to future volunteers and people who are interested in an European Voluntary Service. I hope you will like this book and you get a good impression of the European Voluntary Service. 3

European Voluntary Service European Voluntary Service enables young people aged 18 to 30 years to live up to 12 months in another country in Europe, Africa, Asia or South America working in a non-profit organization. European Voluntary Service is based on the following principles: •

increasing your own skills through the practical experience of volunteering abroad;

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encouraging the learning of another language;

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developing the ability to interact with persons of different language and culture;

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preading tolerance among young people of the European Union;

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promoting active citizenship;

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supporting the development of local communities.

The projects are in different areas like culture; international mobility; sports; social care of elderly, the disable and immigrants; art; leisure; media and communications; environmental protection and education; rural development and development cooperation. For more information: https://tinyurl.com/yc3ldoac

Contents

1. Where have you done your EVS? 2. What have you done in your project? 3. What was an EVS for you? 4. What did you learn about yourself? 5. What was the best thing in your EVS? 6. What was the worst thing in your EVS? 7. What was your biggest challenge? 8. Describe your time in EVS with one word.

Where have you done your EVS?

Romania: - Cluj-Napoca - Arad - Baile Tusnad Germany: - Stuttgart Poland: - Krakow - Lodz - Bydgoszcz Finland: - Kuopio

Sweden: - Stockholm Estonia: - Tabasalu The Netherlands: - Rotterdam Italy: - Rome - Bozen - Amalfi Norway: - Selbu

Belgium: - Sankt Vith - Brussels

Latvia: - Ogre France: - Allinges Spain: - Lleida

What have you done in your Project?

“I was working with children in different enviroments: • Clinic animation in local hospitals and psychatrie • Multicultural clubs in rural area around Cluj-Napoca • German lessons with non-formal education methods in a primary school • Lessons about environment, politics, refugees, social and global inequality in the world” Anna Dröber, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“I worked in a nursery. My main tasks were to play with the children and assist the teachers with their daily tasks. I also taught the children English and German once a week” Marion Moll, Krakow, Poland

“I was following the multiple teachers in the Stockholm School of Arts which is an organization. Stockholm School of Arts offers afternoon activities in music, dance, art, media and drama. Sometimes I helped preparing lessons, but sometimes I only supported their work at the lessons. Furthermore I helped out and joined in 11

with other projects of the organization, taking place both in Stockholm and abroad.” - Rebecca Hofmann, Stockholm, Sweden

“I had several tasks, including: supervising children at a primary school during the break; working at an urban garden (Rotterdamse Munt) and helping to teach a class of children following lessons there; cooking all fair trade jam with students from a school for students with special needs in “Rotterdamsche Confituur” and helping out at the cafe/restaurant business there; working with clients at a day care center for people with difficulties mainly after having a stroke (“Middin”); and designing and distributing the weekly schedule for all the volunteers in the organization.” Sofie S., Rotterdam, The Netherlands

“Together with my EVS-Partner we were organizing different kind of intercultural projects in Stuttgart, for and with youngster with and without migration background. I took a part in several seminars and workshops (Topic: pedagopy), and I had the opportunity to organize two children camps and two youth exchanges. Beside this were also responsible for different 12

tasks in the office, from answering emails, helping the stuff with various tasks.” Tekla Fodor, Stuttgart, Germany

“I worked with disabled children between 6 and 12 years; supported the teachers; played with the kids and helped them in their subjects like sports and music.” Jascha Nell, Sankt Vith, Belgium

“Me and my fellow volunteers organized workshops and free time activities for children from the community, based on non-formal education. Examples for these activities are: Language clubs, handicraft activities, environmental workshops, etc. We also help during big local events, such as the Tusnad Marathon. We also have a blog where we write about our EVS time.” Anonymous

“I was volunteering in the organization Education Studio, with three other EVS volunteers. We created and facilitated events and workshops for teenagers and young adults. In these workshops, we used non-formal and creative methods and our aim was to enable people to develop new 13

competences For instance, I facilitated workshops about responsible consumption, French language and juggling. We also prepared a project of “youth exchange”: teenagers from different European countries came to share and learn about minorities’ issues.” Anaïs, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“I worked in a daycare center for children aged 317. My main activities were composed of taking care of the children in general (animation); taking care of the lamas, rabbits, the garden and the pond. As well as using them as a working tool to sensitize the children for taking responsibility for themselves, others and the environment.” Nadja Ainetter, Allinges, France

“I worked in the office of youngCaritas which is an organization for youths. I wrote a booklet with information and activities about homeless people for students and teachers. Twice a week, I worked in a refugees home where I also did German language courses there. In general, I was helping my organization wherever I could.” Laura K., Bozen, Italy

“I worked together with another volunteer in a free school as a teacher’s assistant. Our main activities were preparing European lessons for pupils in the age from 2-12 years. Moreover, we helped whenever help was needed. We were in the garden or carrying potato bags to the kitchen. Additionally I had my own projects as drawing an European map or soccer training.” Leon Brülke, Ogre, Latvia

“I organized and held creative workshops for teenagers and young adults, including Intercultural evenings, game, music and movie nights, teaching handicrafts like knitting, fanfiction, writing workshops and we organized a youth exchange.” Karin D., Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“Peder-Morset-Folkehogskole is a boarding school for young people (around 16-25 years old). 2/3 of them have a handicap (mostly more a mental handicap than a physical handicap). I assisted the teachers during classes and I organized some activities with the students during their free-time. Kara U., Selbu, Norway

“My project involves me in activities with kids aged 3-7 years. I worked as an assistant teacher in a kindergarten located in Bydgoszcz. I taught English to kids and I developed new methods of non formal education for them.” Anonymous, Bydgoszcz, Poland

“I did clinical animation in a hospital and a psychiatry; multicultural clubs and German lessons in primary schools; lessons about environment, refugees and global/social inequality in a high school as well as organizing events for the National Volunteer Week.” Kilian Schayani, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“During my project, I was supposed to work in a local youth house but due to different types of difficulties that did not work out, I changed my tasks. I was working in an English kindergarten and a bilingual (English and Finnish) primary school-class” Merima Corbo, Kuopio, Finland

“We were five volunteers of the Marine Protected Area. At our info-point, we were informing visitors about marine biology and conversation. We organized beach clean-ups, raised awareness 16

among children with environmental education actions and gave a hand for kayaking and snorkeling guided tours. We produced our own vegetables in our garden as well and tried to live in sustainable way.” Stéphanie Lacombe, Amalfi, Italy

“The main activity of my project was to volunteer in a kindergarten with kids from 4 to 5 years old. Analytically to support the teachers in her educational process but also to introduce and to deliver own workshops to promote culture, art or any other idea that might seems interesting for kids. Additionally, we were highly encouraged to be involved in activities at our hosting organization to organize activities for other volunteers and for the public. All volunteers were involved in organizing a big festival to promote their personal skills: drawing, playing music, singing, art crafting, etc. Overall there is a place to express yourself in a variety of ways.” Natalia Redina, Lodz, Poland

“In my project, I worked with children in hospitals to do clinic animation and in schools to do multicultural clubs about tolerance, prejudice, 17

diversity and try to connect them and integrate them for a better relationship with each other.” Sofia Martins, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“I was working in a youth center. It is open from Monday to Friday from 13:00-19:00. Youths aged 7 to 25 years can come and go whenever they want. There are different possibilities what they can do: They can for example play billiard, table tennis, table football, play on the xbox, on the playstation, play boardgames or just hang out, listen music, speak with others and eat and drink. Then we also have weekly programs like iprotheater and dance lessons, some handicrafts and school festivals meaning I have a lot of tasks.” Alexander Schmitt, Tabasalu, Estonia

“I worked in a youth center teaching German and informing interested local youngsters about the EVS and Erasmus+ programs. Furthermore, I organized free time activities (sports, handcraft, board game afternoons, etc.) for a local youth club where mainly socially disadvantaged teenagers came. Once per week, I helped out two street workers with a football training for a multicultural group of youngsters. Apart from 18

that, there were other activities like cooking courses, youth fairs, etc., where I could assist as well. In general, the activities were quite diverse. We were two volunteers, a girl from Serbian, and we did this project together.” Anonymous, Lleida, Spain

“I collaborated with professional educators of Villagio SOS (family-type orphanage) and mainly acted as a “big sister” of the children/youngsters. Activities were: • supervision of the homework; • coordination of entertainment and cultural activities; • support in household activities; • assistance to children in need; • elaboration of small projects and initiatives.” Valentina Ryabinina, Rome, Italy

“I organized non-formal education activities for pupils under the age of 10 as a support for the teachers of local schools, kindergartens and centers; personal project for Christmas in the Hospital – the pediatric department and activities for the Children’s Rights Campaign and implementing them at local schools. I also 19

promoted the project and the activities trough social media channels; supported and helped other projects and organizations in their activities.” Sofia Eirini Christodoulou, Arad, Romania

“PSC Merlo: It’s a project for and with people who lives in social buildings. Activities: organizing, preparing and evaluating Wednesday afternoons and holidays for the kids living there and in the neighbourhood; Webcafé (for kids and elderly); weekly meetings with inhabitants, events like Christmas party, flea market, movie evenings, etc. Dynamo International: It’s a project which promotes youth mobility to youth in difficulties and helps them to create a personal project to help them in their live (youth exchange, intership, language course, voluntary service). Activities: Inform about the organization (on a festival, Day of the Children’s rights, information evenings, etc.); organizing, and participating in activities for the youth organized by the organisation; office work; blogging; translations.” Linda Koch, Brussels, Belgium

“My project consisted of two parts. For most of the time, I volunteered at an independent theater “Reactor de creaţie şi de experiment” in Cluj. I facilitated workshops with kids, helped with creating settings and music for the shows, promoted the theater in social media and in the city and I stayed in touch with the audience and the artists. The second part of my project took place in a rural elementary school in Sînpaul, Cluj County. Together with other volunteers I facilitated “Multicultural clubs” which were designed to make the children aware of the benefits of multiculturalism. Apart from that I volunteered at many extraordinary events like the National Volunteering Week, the Transylvanian Intentional Film Festival (TIFF), ClujShorts and Temps d’Images.” Tim Seppelt, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“We (me and 5 other EVS volunteers) visited children and teenagers in paediatric hospitals and a psychiatry where we talked, played and did handcrafts together with the patients. In primary and secondary schools in Cluj-Napoca and the nearby rural area we gave multicultural lessons” Olivia Radford, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

What was an EVS for you?

“EVS was a chance for me to know the world, people from different countries, a possibility to change routine life of an office manager. I participated in EVS when I was 23-24 years old, so it helped me a lot to grow up mentally, to learn new areas such as pedagogic and social work. I became a more independent and confident person.” Valentina Ryabinina, Rome, Italy

“It is a unique experience of living and working abroad, although the quality of that experience is associated with a lot of factors that can make it nice and depressing.” Natalia Redina, Lodz, Poland

“A work and life full of happiness, motivation, great food and nature!” Stéphanie Lacombe, Amalfi, Italy

“It was a unique life opportunity for me! The 4th of September can be considered like my new date of birthday.” Sofia Eirini Christodoulou, Arad, Romania

“A really intense amazing time in which I learned a lot and developed myself a lot. An amazing time with so many great people. Helping and receiving help.” Linda Koch, Brussels, Belgium

“The EVS was a great opportunity for me. It allowed me to explore a new culture with great support from my organization and the people there.” Tim Seppelt, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“A great chance to become totally independent, take more responsibility, become aware of more sustainable ways of living, learn more about myself and my plans for the future (due to the fact that I loved working with children I decided to become a primary teacher), build up new friendships, come across cultural boarders, learn a lot about the French culture, be creative in every kind of way, be a lot in nature, became the person I am now. My EVS was totally what I needed and it gave me so much. I am so glad having received that chance!” Nadja Ainetter, Allinges, France

“One of the best decisions in my life I have ever made. For me, it was a great chance to get to 24

know new people and in particular to gain my first work experience.” Laura K., Bozen, Italy

“EVS was a unique experience which has taught me many lessons about myself. It was a chance to improve myself, up-cycle habits and do something sensibly.” Leon Brülke, Ogre, Latvia

“This voluntary service was a good way not only to find out a lot of new things about myself but most important that, in my opinion, it was important to be integrated in a new culture and to have the opportunity to work with children and learn from that the power of some values like cooperation, integration, diversity and equality.” Sofia Martins, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“For me the EVS has been my biggest life adventure so far and an awesome experience in which I have learned a lot about a different country and culture as well as a lot about myself so it has been my best life experience. Alexander Schmitt, Tabasalu, Estonia

“A really important experience that helped me to find better my place in that complex world.” Anna Dröber, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“EVS was my first time living apart from my family and in a foreign country. It was a great opportunity that I would not like to miss.” Marion Moll, Kraków, Poland

“My EVS was a great chance for me to develop myself personally. It gave me a wider insight in life, outside of school and my usual everyday routine.” Rebecca Hofmann, Stockholm, Sweden

“EVS was life changing in many ways: I did not turn back to my home country, changed my career and I got some new fields of interest. Suddenly, my friend list got bigger and more colorful.” Tekla Fodor, Stuttgart, Germany

“For me it was/is one of the best experiences of my life so far and I don’t regret to have made that decision at all.” Anonymous

“EVS was the perfect opportunity for me to move to another country within a guided program. I had the possibility to do something useful and was able to learn how to live alone, how to manage life out of home while learning a new language and getting to know a new culture and new people.” Sofie S., Rotterdam, The Netherlands

“An European Voluntary Service is a unique and enriching experience. First, there is the project through which you will learn a lot, create and try out new things. You also live abroad for a long period of time: you have time to really get to know deeply the culture, learn the language. This is a cultural experience, with exchanges with locals and with other EVS from a large variety of countries. Finally, this EVS is also a great moment to get to know yourself better.” Anaïs, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“It was an experience where I gained and learned so much, especially unexpected things.” Karin D., Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“Learning to live on my own, to be responsible for not only me, but also for a group of 27

handicapped people, organizing activities on my own, learning to live in a different culture.” Kara U., Selbu, Norway

“For me an EVS was a great opportunity to learn more about myself and what motivates me in my daily tasks at work or in my personal time. I think this experience is an ongoing learning process because every day is a new learning experience about yourself or about your work abroad.” Anonymous, Bydgoszcz, Poland

“It was a year between school and university. A year of learning, challenges, diversity, people and fun.” Kilian Schayani, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“For me, it was learning by doing, learning a lot about myself, being part of a great international project and meeting a lot of amazing people.” Jascha Nell, Sankt Vith, Belgium

“First, EVS was a chance to go abroad after graduating High School. But now, at the End of it, I see it as the best experience of my life so far 28

which taught me a lot about myself, my home country and Europe.” Merima Corbo, Kuopio, Finland

“The EVS was for me a unique and unforgettale experience, a cultural exchange, an adventure, a lot of fun, meeting new people, regarding Spain as my second home and so far it was the best year of my life!! It was moreover an opportunity to get to know and develop myself, to expand my horizons and open my mind to other cultures. On the one hand, my first long-term experience abroad and on the other hand the starting point of becoming a citizen of the world, a time during which I developed new aims and plans for my future life.” Anonymous, Lleida, Spain

“The European Voluntary Service was an incredible experience for me and I’m very glad that I decided to do it.” Olivia Radford, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“The EVS was an unique and opportunity to meet people from different countries, to develop my skills and knowledge and to get in touch with Romania which is my second home now.” Fabian Jakubowski, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 29

What did you learn about yourself?

“That it is easier for me when I have a plan what to do, how many kids will come and how old they are. Also it is much better if someone stays behind me and kicks my little ass and watch what I am doing. Also my productivity is strongly related to my mood. I learned how I think and interact in the best way with people and a lot about what are my real interests.” Alexander Schmitt, Tabasalu, Estonia

“To be more patient and relaxed and to enjoy life as much as possible in every situation. I also learned to listen to my gut and to trust in my instincts.” Anna Dröber, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“Putting yourself into new situations always takes a lot of energy and I might haven’t always been able to bring up as much energy as I would have liked or thought I could. As you say in Swedish: “Jag orkar inte” which basically means: “I can not find the energy to physically push myself to do something” . On the contrary I got used to diving into new situations and meeting new people almost everyday that it’s not that big of an obstacle anymore and I don’t care as much what people think of me as I did before, I just gave my 31

best. Moreover I discovered, I am totally able to take care of myself as it was my first time living on my own, in another country where I at first didn’t know the native language.” Rebecca Hofmann, Laupheim, Sweden

“As I did my EVS in a small town in the nature, I had a lot of time for introspection. One of the things I discovered about myself is, that I can be quite courageous if I really want something. And of course I discovered other things as well, but it would be too much to write them down here. :) “ Anonymous

“I used to be quite German. But sometimes it is better to do things in the “French” way – don’t stress so much because in the end everything will be fine” Nadja Ainetter, Allinges, France

“I learned to organize myself, to get independent and autonomous. I also gained some positives attitude and learned that you ca achieve (almost) everything, if you just want it.” Laura K., Bozen, Italy

“I learned about myself that sometimes I want things to happen so fast. There are things that take time and it is better to give it to them. Furthermore I learned that I am capable to manage my life on my own very well and that I could easily integrate myself in the new surrounding.” Sofie S., Rotterdam The Netherlands

“That home is not a place, it is a feeling that I kind a like to work under stress and that I am never bored” Tekla Fodor, Stuttgart, Germany

“I learned that everything is possible if you just start to do it” Leon Brülke, Ogre, Latvia

“I learned that I am able to work in any type of team with people completely different from myself. I learned how to take more initiatives, how to manage conflicts, how to simplify and cooperate in some obstacles that came out during the project. I also learned how to lead a team when it faces with less motivation.” Sofia Martins, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 33

“I learned that everything is possible if you really want it and I became aware of my enthusiasm about cultural differences and traveling” Anonymous, Lleida, Spain

“I learned about myself that I am capable of much more things than I thought and that I can cope with new situations and challenges. I learned that being alone doesn’t mean you’re lonely. I realized what my interests are and what I want to study at university after EVS.” Merima Corbo, Kuopio, Finland

“During my EVS, things are chaning rapidly from one day to another. It is like the life has different speeds within and without the project. The changes are also fast and intensive. Personally, I found the time and the space to meet myself, to evaluate in depth what I want and what I don’t want for me and for my future. While meeting enormous amount of new people I also realized whom I don’t want to have around me, how to put personal limits, how to work with people I don’t like, how to protect people I like, etc.” Natalia Redina, Lodz, Poland

“I learned about myself how I react in different situations. For example, when there is a problem or when there is a problem or when I have to do things I don’t really want to do. I learned how to cope with such issues and overcome difficulties. I also found out many important things about my personality and behavior that I had not been aware of before. I t was really an eye-opening.” Marion Moll, Kraków, Poland

“I am able to think positive” Sofia Eirini Christodouou, Arad, Romania

“I knew better who I am, my possibilities and limits. This part of my life which I spent far from my family and friends made me reflect what my true desires are. When you live only in your home country you can often feel the pressure of public mind and stereotypes, it is not easy to realize who you are and what do you want. Trough challenges and personal achievements of EVS it is possible to learn yourself better.” Valentina Ryabinina, Rome Italy

“That I appreciate to be without a watch and internet connection.” Stéphanie Lacombe, Amalfi, Italy 35

“I learned how to be independent and tried out many things that I never did before and didn’t think I would like. I got to know a lot about which things I was not able to do and also learned how to do many of them. I also learned how to share and how to live and work in a team.” Kilian Schayani, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“I can organize my own projects if I want and do something for it. I am able to do social work and I like it. You should not trust everybody. If you have a problem ask for help. I love to connect people.” Linda Koch, Brussels, Belgium

“I got a lot more self-conscious and self-aware. I learned that how things turn out depends mostly on my attitude towards them and the energy I spent. They key is motivation and the willingness to achieve something. Being aware of that makes many things easier.” Tim Seppelt, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“That I need to take time for myself to disconnect in order to feel good.” Karin D. Cluj-Napoca, Romania 36

“How other people see me, to take responsibility, to see my home country and the whole world from another perspective, get to know a lot of different people and by trying to see the worlds from their perspective. I often had to question my own perception of life.” Kara U., Selbu, Norway

“I learned to be more independent and also to rely on my own powers here. You also learned more about what motivates you, your likes and dislikes. For me, this experience tries your limits everyday and shows what you exactly can do.” Anonymous, Bydgoszcz, Poland

“I learned about myself that I’m able to live in another country, far away from my family and friends, without being homesick what is really good because I love traveling. So, it was the first time that I’ve been so far away for so long. I learned as well that I can solve problems on my own and I’ve been become more convident. Jascha Nell, Sankt Vith, Belgium

“I have the impression that I learned a lot about myself during these few months (8 months), much more than during the last years. I learned 37

trough different situations: great ones and difficult ones. Now, I know my needs regarding my professional and personal lives. I have also more certainties about what I want to do during next years, and more generally about what is important for me. I also learned to be more adaptive to various situations. Anaïs, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“I was a little worried before coming to Romania about all the changes (sharing a flat for a year with 5 people I hadn’t met before (who became great friends) and making myself understood in a language I hadn’t been able to speak before (which also turned out fine) but I was able to grow a lot – more than I had ever expected – in a place that differed so much from “the home environment”.” Olivia Radford, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“I learned about myself that I can do more than I thought, that I’m suddenly far happier since I’ve been in Romania but also how much I really appreciate to have my family and friends in Germany.” Fabian Jakubowski, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 38

What was the best thing in your EVS?

“I would say that the best thing was that I did it. There were so many amazing things, I am not able to compare hem and choose a single best one, so for me the best was that I did it, left Austria and went to Romania.” Karin D., Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“For me, the best thing was the fact that I can have this experience and travel and also test my own limits and know myself better.” Anonymous, Bydgoszcz, Poland

“Acquaintance with people from all over the world – project’s guys, other EVS voluteers, local people. We spent so many unforgetable moment together.” Valentina Ryabinina, Rome, Italy

“To get a full immersion into the local culture thanks to very welcoming people who introduced us to traditions, recipes, music, dialects etc.” Stéphanie Lacombe, Amalfi, Italy

“All my new friends, the European spirit that I was able to live and put in practice with all the other EVS volunteers, the “enlightenment” that 40

French is the language of my heart, a children’s laugh or smile after an activity that I had prepared.” Nadja Ainetter, Allinges, France

“The best thing in my EVS was that I found a second home. I found a place I became familiar with and where I will always be able to come back and be feeling not like going on holiday but visiting an old friend, a second home.” Sofie S., Rotterdam, The Netherlands

“Pack. Travel. Meet new people. Repeat.” Tekla Fodor, Stuttgart, Germany

“To meet all these beautiful people and to travel in Romania and the countries around. The best thing related to work was the organization of the National Voluntary Week. It was so awesome to see the results in the end and to organize events from the very first beginning until the end.” Anna Dröber, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“Traveling and see a lot of cities and places in Italy” Laura K., Bozen, Italy 41

“My new family” Sofia Eirini Christodoulou, Arad, Romania

“The opportunity to expand the limits of my creativity” Natalia Redina, Lodz, Poland

“My group of volunteers and the feeling of putting ideas into reality” Kilian Schayani, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“The possibility to travel, the chance to meet new people from other countries and of course the work with the children. They will have a place in my heart, forever :)” Jascha Nell, Sankt Vith, Belgium

“The best thing in my EVS was to meet so many different people, with their own culture and personality, all willing to connect and share with others. I enjoyed a lot being with them, sharing thoughts, new experiences and I am keeping specific insights from everyone of them.” Anaïs, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“One of the best things was that I felt like I was making a difference in people’s lives. Even if it was just a little contribution, I really enjoyed being able to cheer up the patients we were working with and giving lessons to the pupils who in my opinion very much enjoyed the activities we had prepared.” Olivia Radford, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“The feeling to make other people happy by doing something with them, spending time with them to get the chance to become a part of the wonderful Norwegian culture and so to say find a second home.” Kara U., Selbu, Norway

“The people I met and getting to know the life in a new country through a lot of different facettes.” Merima Corbo, Kuopio, Finland

“The best things were the children that I got to work with, the other amazing volunteers that I met and the many trips across Poland and Europe that I went on.” Marion Moll, Kraków, Poland

“If I nee to choose one thing, it was to get in touch with the Latvian culture and meet so many lovely and amazing people” Leon Brülke, Ogre, Latvia

“The best thing was to work, live and meet so many people from so different countries and to have the opportunity to work with amazing children and try to teach them a lot of important values.” Sofia Martins, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“During my time in Sweden I met so many wonderful, creative and energetic people. With those people from all over Europe I had a lot of interesting and inspiring conversations and experiences. EVS really opened my horizon.” Rebecca Hofmann, Stockholm, Sweden

“For me there wasn’t really a ‘best thing’ so far. I had a lot of happy moments with my fellow volunteers, with the children and the local peole. All these create my best moments of my EVS.” Anonymous

“There have been a lot of awesome things but the highlight was a barbeque party at one of my Estonian friends. It was in the middle of Estonian nature with a swamp next to it which we went swimming and went to the sauna at night and basically just enjoyed awesome an awesome weekend in the Estonian way.” Alexander Schmitt, Tabasalu, Estonia

“Meeting so many people from different countries and cultural backgrounds.” Anonymous, Lleida, Spain

“I would say the life in my shared apartment and the time with the other volunteers. We got so closed friends and still see each other. I hosted a lot of people, I helped them with problems and they helped me, we traveled together, visited each others project.” Linda Koch, Brussels, Belgium

“The best thing in my service was that I could participate in a huge variety of projects, meet many interesting people and see a lot of Romania and its neighboring countries. Overall traveling in the summer I enjoyed the most.” Tim Seppelt, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 45

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The best thing was to live with my flat mates. We worked and traveled together in Romania and abroad. We supported each other and we had a lot of fun. I am glad that I met them and I appreciate to spent one of my most beautiful time in live with them.â&#x20AC;? Fabian Jakubowski, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

What was the worst thing in your EVS?

“The worst thing was to not be allowed to go to one of our primary school class.” Sofia Martins, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“I really didn’t have any bad experiences, I learned that it is my own responsibility to take situations as they are and make something good out of them.” Kara U., Selbu, Norway

“The most difficult part of this EVS was to realize that the project was not meeting my expectations. Perhaps my expectations were too high? Nerveless, I had fun and I enjoyed what I did.” Anaïs, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“I recognized that I can’t save the world” Laura K., Bozen, Italy

“Kids fighting in the class at the last meeting of the Multicultural Club. It made me question the impact we had on the children.” Kilian Schayani, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“The miscommunication and the lack of organization in all aspects of EVS experience.” Natalia Redina, Lodz, Poland

“The ‘f*cking’ Goodbye party. We had to say goodbye to our people.” Sofia Eirini Christodoulou, Arad, Romania

“That it finished” Stépahnie Lacombe, Amalfi, Italy

“We had some complications which avert me and the volunteers to teach in one of our classes.” Fabian Jakubowski, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“That I had to leave! The time right after was terrible.” Linda Koch, Brussels, Belgium

“The lack of good cheese in Latvia ;)” Leon Brülke, Ogre, Latvia

“The struggles with my hosting organization.” Merima Corbo, Kuopio, Finland

“That my project only lasted 4 months and I didn’t know in advance that it wasn’t possible to do a second project after.” Anonymous, Lleida, Spain

“My mentor an I had - in my opinion – a really bad relationship which actually annoyed me a lot.” Rebecca Hofmann, Stockholm, Sweden

“It’s difficult for me to answer this question because I thankfully have more good than bad memories of my EVS. One of the eye-opening things I learned however, was that the term universal health care doesn’t necessarily mean the same to everyone.” Olivia Radford, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“Sometimes it was hard to find my place in between the different organizations which facilitated my project, but I got used to it and found a good way to cope with it.” Tim Seppelt, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“A cultural shock that I had when I came back to Germany for Christmas.” Anna Dröber, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“That I could not share every special moment with my family and friends from Romania.” Tekla Fodor, Stuttgart, Germany

“At the beginning, the fear of failing and being homesick.” Jascha Nell, Sankt Vith, Belgium

“To leave again.” Marion Moll, Kraków, Poland

“The worst thing of my EVS actually wasn’t related to my project, my flatmates or homesick. There was one day, on which my mood reached his lowest point and I felt really bad internally.” Anonymous

“Nothing really, I’m just a little sad that I missed my cousin’s wedding.” Alexander Schmitt, Tabasalu, Estonia

“Problems with my flatmate and at the beginning my communication problems since I haven’t spoken so much French when I arrived.” Nadja Ainetter, Allinges, France

“The worst thing in my EVS was that I had a time when I was very busy with writing University applications and realizing that EVS is only temporary and that there has to come something after life in an Erasmus program. This realization left me lost and in a state of despair for a short time until I was able to sort everything for myself out.” Sofie S., Rotterdam, The Netherlands

“I had some really low moments, until the point when I was considering dropping out of the project. Also at some point I felt very disconnected from my EVS colleagues and it took quite some effort to get together again.” Karin D., Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“Disorganization of my project. As a volunteers we were mainly left to ourselves in our daily activities.” Valentina Ryabinina, Rome, Italy 52

What was your biggest challenge?

“The biggest challenge was to live with volunteers coming from totally different cultural Background than myself. Coming from a high uncertainty avoidance, universalist culture with future orientation and more individualism, it was difficult to cope with the total opposite at first since both parties were holing on their beliefs and trying to over top with their cultural backgrounds.” Sofie S., Rotterdam, The Netherlands

“My communication problems at the beginning. But even when you can’t express yourself with words; there are millions of other ways.” Nadja Ainetter, Allinges, France

“Holding on even if it’s not always easy, accepting that I make mistakes, and it will be very hard to say goodbye to the kids in two weeks.” Jascha Nell, Sankt Vith, Belgium

“The biggest challenge for me was the language barrier in the beginning. I didn’t speak a word of Polish, and most of my co-workers didn’t

speak English (neither the children, obviously). But I feel like that way I go used to the language more quickly. Marion Moll, Kraków, Poland

“The biggest challenge was to make the best of my project. I felt that the EVS offered great opportunities to me, but I had to take them and shape this year with my ideas. This wasn’t always easy.” Tim Seppelt, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“There was not one big challenge that was the worst for me to overcome. The challenge was actually to try to get along with my hosting organization even though we had such struggles and mainly having to face every problem on my own.” Merima Corbo, Kuopio, Finland

“The biggest challenge I faced before starting my EVS was actually to find a project in Spain. I had to write about 100 emails until I finally got a confirmation from Lleida. During my EVS, especially the communication with local catalan people who were not willing to speak Spanish was challenging for me. Another challenge 55

consisted in reprimanding the youngsters I the youth club when they didn’t comply with the rules, as my Spanish was not good enough at that time.” Anonymous, Lleida, Spain

“Working with people I was only in school and worked on my homeworks and for my exams and a bit with younger students. But apart from that I spent my time with people from my age or people of more or less the age of parents and teachers. In Belgium I had to work with kids, youngsters, old people...and also working with youth in difficulties was challenging because I did not go to all the troubles they went through. I often had difficulties to be strict if needed. But I learned that it is so important to talk and listen to. If people realize that you listen to them they will start to trust you.” Linda Koch, Brussels, Belgium

“It was difficult to feel comfortable while speaking English because I didn’t speak well English. Today, it’s easy for me to speak English and to break the language barrier, in my case Romanian.” Fabian Jakubowski, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 56

“The Polish winter and the unfriendly people.” Natalia Redina, Lodz, Poland

“To make the people laugh; in English! But I did it!” Sofia Eirini Christodoulou, Arad, Romania

“At the beginning it was hard to communicate and to have conversations in English and then the other challenge was to work with people coming from different cultures, values, opinions and ways of working.” Sofia Martins, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“The biggest challenge I faced during the EVS was the lack of privacy. Living with three other volunteers in a small flat, without having any private space was really challenging. However, over the course of the EVS, I managed to find solutions to adapt and feel better with that.” Anaïs, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“To leave my family, friends and my little village at home.” Laura K., Bozen, Italy

“Nobody told us volunteers about the handicaps of the students, so it was difficult to find out about which student needs, which kind of help, but this was at the same time really fascinating and a great experience to be completely without prejudices and open-minded towards the students.” Kara U., Selbu, Norway

“Being away from home and the people there.” Kilian Schayani, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“After learning Italian, which was much easier than expected, I tried to learn the Neapolitan language, which made me struggle lots!” Stéphanie Lacombe, Amalfi, Italy

“To go far a haircut alone with just basic Latvian language skills. Later I found out that the lady was only able to speak Russian.” Leon Brülke, Ogre, Latvia

“My biggest challenge was to find my place. In my organization, I was one of the two first volunteers so we had to figure out a lot about what we should and could do.” Rebecca Hofmann, Stockholm, Sweden

“At the beginning it was difficult for me to speak in Romanian in front of the class we were teaching. It wasn’t because I didn’t know any words (we had Romanian lessons and we were learning pretty quickly) it was because I was afraid of making mistakes while speaking in a language I had just started learning a couple of weeks earlier. I had never learned a language this way before (going to a country and then starting to learn it) and I knew that the chances of me making mistake, just by saying a simple sentence were quite high. I quickly learned that the schoolchildren weren’t annoyed or angry because of us making mistakes, they actually helped us out when we were literally a bit lost of words which helped me a lot in becoming more confident in speaking Romanian.” Olivia Radford, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“To be faced and to except some unwritten rules from the Romanian culture that are hard to change.” Anna Dröber, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

“To learn the language, integrate in the German society and in the same time to keep and maintain my own culture.” Tekla Fodor, Stuttgart, Germany

“Working with 25-30 children at once, without being able to use the language properly.” Anonymous

“The biggest challenge was the language, finding local friends at the beginning, overcoming my shy attitude and doing projects on my own.” Alexander Schmitt, Tabasalu, Estonia

“Working together with all my team members as we had wuite different working styles and first had to get used to working together. Also it was hard for me as we sometimes saw each other 24/7 as were not just working but also living together and I just needed time to disconnect.” Karin D., Cluj-Napoca, Romania 60

“To realize that many of my expectations from my EVS project will never come true and to learn how to bepatient and don’t give up.” Valentina Ryabinina, Rome, Italy

“The most difficult thing was to accommodate living with other volunteers and share a room. The majority of volunteers in Poland share rooms with other, because of the very high costs. I also had to accommodate this but for me it was very hard and I feel it’s a continuous challenge. Anonymous, Bydgoszcz, Poland

Describe your time in EVS with one word!

Live Extraordinaire (French) Self-Development Amazingfantasticexcitinginter estingfunnynew -specialgoodthing 63

Exciting Unforgettable

Ineffable Miracle! 64

Adventure-day-by-day Insightful Amazing Growing

Progress 65

Great Harmony Perfect

Diverse 66

Challenge Groundbreaking Unbelievable Adventurous contemplation

Precious-Dragonfly-moments Hetzig (Explanation: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a synonym of funny and means that something was great and we had a lot of fun. South Tyrol German dialect.)

That‘s it. EVS is not only a voluntary service. EVS is a learning and self-development process, challenge and especially a huge experience. I want to thank you, all the volunteers for participating in my personal project by giving your honest answers.

Mulţumesc ● Dankeschön Dziękuję ● Kiitos ● Tack ● Aitäh Dank je ● Grazie ● Takk ● Paldies Merci ● спасибо ● Ευχαριστώ Köszönöm ● Obrigado ● Gracias I wish you all the best for your future. Fabian Jakubowski

I also want to thank my sending organization “Aha – Tipps und Infos für junge Leute” and my hosting organization “Centrul de Voluntariat Cluj-Napoca” for your huge support during my European Voluntary Service.

This material was created as part of the “Ready for diversity” project, implemented with the support of the European Commission, through the Erasmus+ Programe. The European Commission’ support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.