I few days or weeks ago I have written a
blogpost about my EVS year, and I promised that I will write another one, since
so many things happened and getting to know a new culture is full of stories
and experiences. Allora, here is the
second half of the questions! (And the answers of them.)
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| A pretty random picture from Verona because I like it |
Working:
This is a
(or the?) big topic of my life (and so of my friends). In Italy I was doing my
voluntary job in the office of InCo, an association which helps youngsters to
find mobility programs (like volunteering abroad, Au Pair, etc.) founded and
supported by persons who lived abroad (or moved to Italy), so experienced the
whole process of “meeting a new culture” and, just like me, loved this process.
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| I have arrived to the office! |
My tasks: were very colorful. I had this period at the
beginning with creative tasks (like editing videos or posters) + office work
(like writing to foreign partners in English) + communication stuffs to do
(like Facebook page, websites). Then I had in every week two hours which I
spent with old ladies (played cards, made a walk, led the gymnastic with and
for them). And I also participated in the so called parallel activities made by
the volunteers of different nonprofit organizations in the topic of healthy
lifestyle, conservation of the nature or inter-culture and mobility. And in the
second part of my EVS year I had more out-of-office tasks like helping in the
organization of a youth exchange and a voluntary camp in Kosovo or
participating in a festival for children. Besides this, because of personal
reasons, I made another voluntary job with alley cats and I lived with mentally
disordered people for more than a week, so I basically MADE EVERYTHING one can
do in a year in social sphere.
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| One of the kittens |
The best part of my job: was that I saw the sense of it and
I was motivated. If it was about the office work, knew that I was helping
youngsters to have amazing experiences. If it was about the old ladies I knew
that I gave them some nice time. I made cats healthier and gave them food. I
watched a Star Wars movie with a mental disordered[1]
lovely guy which makes everybody’s day better (even if there is Jar Jar Binks
in it). So, the best part was that I saw the inner sense in everything I had
done, and they weren’t just about profit. I used to be very idealist even
before the EVS, and I became more idealist during it, because I had the
opportunity to experience this feeling. And to see how my colleagues love their
job which was also a big motivation.
The hardest part of my job: to be a volunteer. My voluntary job
had big responsibilities[2],
and officially as a volunteer I did not have any. So it was hard to situate
myself: I was told to be a volunteer, but I felt the responsibilities and
effect of my job as an employee. So I had this period when I felt responsible
for everything, but in the meanwhile asked for permission for every (sometimes
little) things I was going to do… I needed to control myself, and to let it go,
and just do what I thought to be good without fears. And I had to finish
situating myself and asking what the hell I am. I know that it sounds like a
first world problem, but this can have an effect on your work or your feelings,
so it is kind of a big deal, and looking back to my EVS period, this was the
biggest deal, not when I did not speak any Italian, was tired or had
communication problems.
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| Me as a quasi "youth leader" with my Bosnian, Italian and Spanish people (in a Star Wars T-shirt) |
The funniest story of my voluntary job: well, probably I am missing
something, but I love this story, so I will tell this one. At the beginning I
did not speak any Italian, but I already work with the old ladies who did not
speak any English (or Hungarian, surprise!). But they spoke some German, so
they were nicely speaking with my German roommate. With me, we were kind of
stuck, between the levels of “Ciao! Come stai?” and actual conversations. So I
had my afternoon with this old lady, Silvana, who later turned to be one of my
favorites, sarcastic humor but caring personality with a little melody and
sometimes moody periods. (I am kind of going to be like her when I will be 92.)
So, she just came into the room, she saw me and then asked the lady who was
working in the house (in Italian, but I already could understand her): “The
Hungarian one? Again?” and then she just left the room without saying anything
to me!! I was just sitting there and thinking about my unknown language… Later
on, when I’d learnt Italian, we played the cards, spoke a lot and even made an
interview with her about her traveling stories.
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| With Silvana's back (because of privacy reasons) |
(But it was
also nice when I was at the festival for children. I was in the creative part,
so I started to copy-draw Disney characters, Rapunzel and Mulan, and after that
the children were chasing me and asking for pictures! They were cute and scary at the same time!)
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| One of my drawings at the children's festival: MiniBZ (there is my very artistic signiture, too:)) |
EVS-life:
EVS life
has a particular meaning, I guess. You have to opportunity to meet young people
like you from 18 to 30. And they are like you: they are motivated enough to challenge
themselves in another country and usually they are interested in the topic their
organizations deal with. But they are also very different: they are from
different countries, they don’t speak your mother tongue (especially if it is
Hungarian!), they have different social background, but they are living the
same experience like you. Amazing!
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| Crazy but lovely friend-group :) |
The most amazing thing I have seen: sh*t, it is hard to tell. Probably the Giardino in Merano. A colorful, beautiful garden among
the mountains. Or Pompeii. If there would not be so many tourists… A slice of
the history. Or probably the cemetery in Milan. I could not stop thinking about
the stories behind the graves and their sculptures.
The most amazing thing I have done: okay, it is not an EVS thing, but when
I was abroad I told one of my Hungarian friends that his life is not going to
the right direction and he should change… And he decided to! I am so proud of
him – and of myself, because I feel like there is a good progress. (And because
I have this “I am an amateur psychologist, telling everybody who asks or does
not ask what to do with his or her life”-issue.:D)
Favorite festa
with my EVS friends: is probably our first tiramisu party (and the next two ones:D) with my
roommate. We had this big mansarda
(attick) in the house with kitchen, toilet and with space big enough to dance,
so we decided to make a festa there. (And some others later.) And our first
festa was about doing a lot of tiramisu and eating it together. This was the
first time I felt like that house is my – our home. (But I also loved my
birthday party at the lake which is a big surprise, because my birthdays usually
really, really, really suck.)
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| My tiramisu always smiles! |
Any special holiday: well, Christmas was special,
because I have spent it in that house with the mentally disordered persons with
my ex-EVS-boyfriend, so it was really
interesting. Especially the part when I told my mom: “Guess what! It is almost Christmas, I am not at home, but not even in
Trento or in Italy, because I came into a third country to visit my EVS-boyfriend you basically don’t know
about. And how is your day going?”. Luckily, my sister was there to prevent
the third world war.
My Easter
was this kind of “Hello, Ági, I am Life
and here to make you suffer”. I finally went home and I was sick all the
time, so bye-bye good, old, missed Hungarian food! Bye-bye active holiday and
fun programs!
My birthday
party was fantastic, because I decided to not care, so I just told to my
friends that: “Hey, let’s go to the lake
and bring some food and drink on Saturday. BTW, on Sunday I am going o have my
birthday, so you can say me Happy birthday.”. And apart from the heart attack I
had when it started to rain, it was the best idea ever.
The hardest thing in being an EVS volunteer: there were three, I guess. I did
not like the place I lived. I mean it was a really nice house with nice
persons, but the owners of the house did not let me feel totally at home: we
could not have any guests (not even family members) to sleep there or they
forgot to tell me that I was going to have a brand new roommate in my last month there… There are some volunteers who are
luckier in this, and there are who are unluckier, I have heard every kind of
stories while I visited many volunteers in different cities who could host me.
So, with living issues you have to be lucky, I guess.
The other
part was being away from my friends and family. It was not about missing them:
we could speak, and I had a so busy life, I did not have the time to really realize
I missed them. The hard part was about NOT being there for them when they
needed it, when something bad happened. And it is kind of hard to come back and
see that there are still problems, even if it is not my fault.
And the
third part is about love, of course, because in every EVS-story there is a love
story (or more). (Okay, not in every single EVS-story, but in most of them.)
And, according to a Spanish friend, they ALWAYS end up with breakups. Well, I
don’t know about all of them, but mine ended up with it. Still, it is a funny
story, I mean, who else would call her mom with the sentences above? :D
Home:
Living
behind Hungary was not as hard as expected, maybe because I knew that I was
going to return and there was Skype, emails, Facebook. But, still…
I missed: tejföl. Okay, I should say something not food,
should not I? :D I missed the Liberty Bridge from Budapest where we always sit
to speak, drink and watch the city by night. They closed it this summer, so
more people could sit there, do yoga or whatever, and I was not in Budapest!!!
I did NOT miss: negativity, resignation and depression. Okay,
I know that not every Hungarian feels like this, but there are this basic
pessimistic point of view we have and it was nice to be in a world where more
dreams can come true. Or where people believes
more dreams can come true.
Regarding to persons I missed the most: my sister’s daughter. With everybody
else I could communicate just by words, but she does not speak, so Skype was
out of the options. On the other hand, I always wanted to hug and kiss her, so
Skype was still out of options.
Regarding to persons I DID not miss: Hungarian politicians.
Another very
long post, so I am finishing now. The year in Italy was one of my bests, if not
the best itself. (So far, but hey I am just 25, so I gonna have so many ‘best
years’, I even won’t be able to count them!) The hard thing is to finish and to
continue this experience in the very same
time. The really hard part of EVS is ‘EVS afterlife’.
So, there
will be another post about it, I guess.
(Because I
know that every EVS friend of mine is secretly crying at home after this nice
year. ;))
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