An EVS experience

Voici un article que j'ai écrit pour le "Youth voice magazine" de YMCA pour récapituler un peu mon expérience :

An EVS experience

After surviving from ciorbă de burtă, Palinka, deleted trains and romanian taxis way of driving, my European Voluntary Service is about to end : already 8 months passed here, in this other dimension...

I remember the first day when I arrived. The snow and the frozen walking sides of Baia Mare. The blocks of the city, standing there all lofty in front of me. And the first contact with people. Because, yes, EVS is all about meetings. You meet other EVS volunteers all along your experience and very often, like I did, you live with some of them. You meet foreigner volunteers during the different trainings you can experience as well. And this allows to learn a lot about other cultures and by the way... Yours ! Indeed, you take detachment with your own culture !

I had the chance to live with two italians, Bianca and Fabio, one spanish girl, Elsa and one romanian girl, Alexa. I have learnt from them. For exemple, we didn't have the same way of eating, to speak to new people, the same notion of time nor organization... For sure, sometimes, deep breaths were necessary and this for both sides ! But at the end, we were always laughing about it !However, EVS is not just about meeting other foreigners. It's especially also about meeting the real inhabitants of the city where you go. You can come with your sunglasses, never mind ! You are not coming here like a tourist : you are staying for a long time, living to be more exact ! So, you have the opportunity to integrate the community. And step by step, without really realizing it, you finish to own this different culture. For exemple, I have noticed that I have lost the reflex to put my seat belt when I'm going into a car ! And I almost don't complain anymore when people arrive late !

They are several cultural differences that I have experienced here. The contact with people, especially when you meet new persons : it's a little bite warmer than what I have experienced in my country. And I have the feeling that there are a little bite less barriers between the different generations. I cannot compte how many hours I have spent chatting in coffees and in bars ! More than when I'm in France for sure ! Should I worry about a potential addiction borned during EVS regarding hot chocolates and beers ? Also, very often, I have been very touched by the generosity of romanian people. What's more, I feel more relax here. Everything is more flexible and more late ! And even if the organization has been sometimes really frustrating for me, I would like to bring back in France a little bite of this flexibility I have discovered here. And of course, there are much more differences that you experience in a different way following your own culture and your personality as well...

But you must wonder... What the hell did I do here ? That's true, my schedule has been very flexible but basically, in the morning I was going in Caritas, an association which helps Roma children and families. With the other EVS volunteers, we led there plays, handcrafts and educational activities. I also had the chance to participate to two summer camps with the children. This have learnt me working with children, understanding better Roma culture and also, some basic things in romanian language ! Then, between March and June, I have been two hours per week in a primary school, where I have done french workshops through games and chatting. Again, it has been an opportunity to discover an other kind of activities, in a different background. The rest of the time, I have volunteered in the youth center Y4U of YMCA. I have been involved in the activitities already driven, like the youth magazine, a concert for peace with Ten Sing, outdoors.... And in an other hand, with the other EVS volunteers, we also had the freedom to create our own projects and activities. This has been the opportunity to bring something new by sharing our hobbies, skills and culture with the other YMCA volunteers or even more ! Cause, yes, EVS is also all about sharing : taking but giving as well !

For exemple, we have implemented a regular art workshop, where volunteers could come and draw, paint or propose other handcraft activities. And as there were not many volunteers, we turned it into kids art workshops. Two times, we have proposed also a society game evening. The idea was to share games that we like and to play together. For exemple, Bianca and Fabio created a giant « Twister » for this occasion ! Moreover, we did a disability sensibilization afternoon called « In their shoes ». The goal was to understand the « handicaped situation » notion and to feel it from inside, by experiencing it. For this, I contacted an other association and they accepted to borrow us a wheelchair, two walking sticks and an a knee splint. During this event, which occured in the old center, several workshops have been organized : accomplishing a « mission » in the city with the wheelchair, walking and eating blind folded, wraping a present with only one hand, walking with an immobilized knee and doing a fine activity without sensibility, with gloves. An other activity we have organized is a poetry Slam evening. It occured in a Pub of Baia Mare, following what I had already experienced in Paris. Everybody who was willing to, had approximately three minutes to tell a text in front of the others, in a total freedom of style and subject. The sound conditions were not the best but at the end, we had eleven texts ! And perhaps, someone else would like to organize it once again !

Even if we have met many obstacles while implementing these activities, like the few involvement of the volunteers and the lake of their feed backs, these experiences have been very interesting. It has given me the opportunity to experience very different kind of activities, with different types of populations and ages. All of this with a particular status : not a student nor a working status neither but a volunteer one ! It's a kind of downtime where it's possible to learn and pratice in a non formal way. Therefore, I have taken detachment with my job of occupational therapist. By the way, I have improved or gained some skills that I can use after, like team working, initiatives, project management, communication and sometimes leadership skills.

One other important side of EVS is also... Traveling ! And you don't know how much you can learn through it ! How many hours spent on the road ? Many, many... I have traveled through a lot of different cities in Romania (Bucareşti, Cluj Napoca, Brasov, Siguişoara, Satu Mare, Oradea, Vama Veche, Arad...) and also I had the chance to visit Budapest, Amsterdam and Belgrade. During these travels, which sometimes looked like a bite adventurous, some surprised occured, more or less pleasant ! For exemple, during the Easter week end, with Elsa we mistook in Siguişoara train station and we took the train in direction of Braşov instead of Baia Mare ! Result : we stayed seven hours in a Mac Donald of Braşov, waiting for the next train... And after a night spent in the cheapest train with four snoaring men around us, we finaly came back in the early morning, dirty, exausted but still laughing about it ! For me, the best surprised while traveling has been the hitch hiking experiences ! I went indeed to Vama Veche two times like that. A bite risky for sure this way of traveling, but some of my best memories ! In cars, trucks or vans, we have come accross many different people that we wouldn't had the opportunity to meet through our daily life in Baia Mare. I have probably been very lucky but most of the time, I have been astonished by the solidarity and the generosity of the drivers ! Very often, they were glad to have compagny and to have the possibility to show their country and culture to foreigners. Some of them stoped the car just to show us some nice places, gave us information about the country, their culture or their life style and sometimes, offered us food or drinks ! Each new driver was a totally new atmosphere and background ! I won't forget all these meetings, quick but intense. I will add that hitch hiking has been an opportunity for practicing romanian !

What else can I say about this EVS experience ? Maybe the most important : the detachment with myself ! For sure, I have learnt about my strenghts, values, wishes and I am more aware of my limits. In consequence, this has increased self-confidence and autonomy. Moreover, on this eve of coming back home, I feel also that I'm carring a new energy. I'm not speaking about Yoga or Tai-Chi ! No. But probably through a better understanding of what is active citizenship, through the activities and through the inspiring meetings : I am more active and more willing to go into action ! Willing to enjoy more life as well ! It's also about thinking to life from a different perspective : I mean, not to follow what you are supposed to do but your wishes, values and to provide yourself with the means to do what you want. And like one friend told me : « Don't follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail » (Harold R. Mc Alindon).

So, yes, already 8 months in Baia Mare... It's not the end of traveling cause I'm going to South America just after and it's not even the end of volunteering cause I will probably do it back in France but for sure, it's the end of a really nice experience. So, thank you to all of the people who have crossed my way during these 8 months !

Je terminerai cet article avec deux vidéos créées par une volontaire de YMCA, représentant bien l'énergie transmise au sein de YMCA Baia Mare :