L’article Winter in Budapest and Vienna est apparu en premier sur Asociatia Eiva.

Povestea proiectului meu de voluntariat în România

Numele meu este Roxana și sunt o tânără de 25 de ani din România. În 2020, am avut plăcerea de a intra în lumea programului Corpul European de Solidaritate și de a descoperi oportunitățile pe care acesta le oferă tinerilor care doresc să se dezvolte personal și profesional, prin experimentarea unor contexte în afara zonei lor de confort. Datorită organizației EIVA, care m-a sprijinit în călătoria mea în lumea ESC, dar și a faptului că am devenit voluntară în propria mea țară, în România, pot spune că mi-am schimbat viața în totalitate.

Mi-am început stagiul de voluntariat prin Corpul European de Solidaritate în proiectul „Education Through Games”, alături de un grup format din 6 persoane din România, Franța, Insula Reunion și Spania. Pe parcursul proiectului, care a durat 6 luni, am urmărit să oferim oportunități de învățare non-formală copiiilor proveniți din grupuri defavorizate, care au nevoie de sprijin pentru a se integra în societate, pentru a-și dezvolta abilitățile și pentru a beneficia de noi tipuri de învățare.

Proiectul a reprezentat inițierea mea în lumea educatiei non-formale, a vieții interculturale, a dezvoltării leadership-ului și a muncii în echipă.

De-a lungul stagiului de voluntariat, am avut șansa de a explora în profunzime multe aspecte legate de planificarea și facilitarea activităților, diseminarea rezultatelor unui proiect, descoperirea și dezvoltarea abilităților mele digitale, exersarea limbilor străine și, mai presus de toate, descoperirea traseului profesional pe care doresc să îl urmez în viitor. Cel mai important pentru mine, de la începutul și până la sfârșitul proiectului, a fost faptul că pot, în sfârșit, să acționez pentru a-i ajuta pe cei care au nevoie.

Lucrurile care au reprezentat provocări la început, cum ar fi integrarea, luarea de măsuri și asumarea responsabilității, au fost depășite cu bine. Am învățat că de regulă, ceea ce credem că ne va încetini la început este, de fapt, ceea ce ne va face să creștem, prin depășirea obstacolelor. Așadar, am decis să am încredere în proces și am avansat mai departe datorită sprijinului pe care l-am primit din partea organizației, a mentorului meu, precum și a echipei frumoase din care făceam parte.

Cred că am trăit experiența proiectului ESC în cel mai bun mod posibil și mă consider un adevărat exemplu al transformării pe care aceste proiecte încearcă să o aducă în lumea tinerilor care doresc să se dezvolte și cea a comunităților defavorizate.

În prezent, continui să lucrez în cadrul organizației EIVA, învățând, dezvoltându-mă și planificându-mi cariera pe viitor, aici, unde a început totul, alături de oamenii care mi-au arătat uimitoarea lume a proiectelor europene.

L’article Roxana Borbilau est apparu en premier sur Asociatia Eiva.

L’article Seyma Ceylan est apparu en premier sur Asociatia Eiva.

During my volunteering in Romania, the thing that impressed me the most was the culture of Romania. Romanians are very hospitable and good people. During the 2 months I was in Romania, I always felt at home. I made very good friends. I learned a lot of great things during my volunteering at Organizatia EIVA. My coordinators and colleagues were very helpful and good people. They have always been very helpful to me. We were like a family. During my stay in Romania, I had the opportunity to visit many Romanian cities. In this way, I was able to learn more about the history of Romania. European and Ottoman architectural works in the cities of Romania amazed me. Castles and churches were amazing. I am fascinated by all Romanian food. I have always felt at home as our food cultures are very similar. Desserts, soups, and sarmale are among my favorites. It was very difficult for me to leave Romania and my friends there. I miss our work, trips, and conversations we all had together. Thank you again for everything Organizatia EIVA.

L’article Irem Baldas est apparu en premier sur Asociatia Eiva.

What were your motivations to come to Romania ?

The very first thing which motivates me to work with children is their pure and positive energy. When I first started to go to the schools and to work with them, I felt that it will be an unforgettable experience for me. As long as you give them love and affection, they always hug you and show their love towards you. We played great and funny games with children in OASA ( afterschool). In Special School, we cooperated with the teacher and tried to find games that improve special children’s imagination and skills. As for the Kindergarten, we started to work there a bit later but now the only school which we are continuing is Kindergarten, as the other schools are closed due to the summer vacation. In Kindergarten, we also play some games and while doing it we try to concentrate on English in order to help children improve their English vocabulary. We are also going to start to work with children in Library. I am really content with being included in this project.

I am also a travel addict. Here, I visited three cities which are Hunedoara, Oradea and Timisoara, for now. I have been impressed by them and I am also planning more trips to travel all around the country and abroad.”

What can you tell us about the Romanian language classes provided by the organization?

Romanian language classes provided by the organization are really useful for us in order to learn the daily language. We organize Romanian classes in  the EIVA office. Roxana makes us practice speaking, vocabulary and  translation. It is a sincere setting. She is good at teaching.

 What can you tell us about the German language classes provided by the organization?

German language classes which are provided by  the organization are really beneficial for me. I am really enthusiastic about learning German and this  is a great opportunity for me. My German teacher is great. She always motivates me to speak and I can observe my improvement even till now. I really appreciate this opportunity. She is a great teacher.

About the activity :

“It’s a great experience for us and children. We selected interesting and educative topics at the same time and they were also interested in our workshops and they took part in them. We made them brainstorm and trigger them to think about highly important issues all around the world. They thought about the topics and shared their different opinions with us. This also made them more encouraged to remark their thoughts.”

L’article Sude Hosafci est apparu en premier sur Asociatia Eiva.

“For me speaking all the time in English with my colleagues is a very good thing. I improved my English so much in a very short period of time. I always wanted to have some real conversation in English and now I finally had the chance. I love being sometimes a translator for my team or for the kids at activities because it makes me practice more and learn a lot of new words.”

I have only good things to say about my team. They are very kind and they help me whenever I need something. We are a team in the true sense of the word. We always agree on team tasks and resolve problems quickly by communicating with each other. We are very organized and we always prepare in advance the activities/presentations/workshops.

” I think I achieved a lot of competencies through the Kaleidoscope 2.0 project. I can see that I learned a lot about interacting with children, I met a lot of kids in all the places we have been so I was in the position to make them stay interested in our activities. I also achieved self-confidence and courage to speak in public, I improved my English, I learned how to stay motivated and determined.”

“Today we went to a special school. We started with an English lesson and we learned the numbers. The kids were excited to learn how to count from 11 to 20. After that, we sang a song together about the numbers, in English of course. The next activity involved manual work, we helped the kids cut geometric shapes that we assembled together to make a house, a rabbit, or a swan and to paint them. After we finished the work in class we went outside to play a little.”

L’article Adelina Crișan est apparu en premier sur Asociatia Eiva.

How were you welcomed in Romania ?

Life in Romania is really different than in France. The People,  the food,  the life… you have to find a different way to live and get out of your comfort zone. It’s a new feeling and that’s why it’s so good.  Most of Romanian people are happy to welcome us. I was very well received by EIVA Association. Eiva looks like a big family with the others volunteers. Eiva team always tries to help you and they really want the best for your experience in Romania. With the others volunteers, I made a lot of friendship. We do many things together like make some parties, travel, have a nice time after work. The Lunca Muresului natural Park received me very well too. The rangers are very kind to me and I was quick to integrate with them. I had the opportunity to go to Retezat National Park in Transilvania to do some hikes. It was an amazing weekend with the best views ever. I also went to Bucharest a really nice city mixed between old and modern buildings. It was great too. I’m gonna travel to others places at the end of July in Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu and maybe Brasov. I can’t wait for this new trip !”

How can you describe your volunteering experience ?

During these 3 and a half months, my social life has grown incredibly. I met French, Romanians, Turks, Spaniards. We saw each other every week, whether  it was to go to party, or to travel. I also attended gatherings with the staff of the association Eiva where activities like barbecue, restaurant nights, parties, outings were organized. I have also helped the association with manual activities. During my free time, I tried to make the most of my free time by visiting/traveling or participating in the city’s activities ( Arad days, AOA festival) . I had the opportunity to travel a few times through Romania and even to Hungary. Transylvania and especially the Carpathians are for me the most beautiful parts of  Romania. Its mountains and its abundant rivers are incredible. kept in touch with some volunteers and with the association. I also kept in  touch with my internship place where if the opportunity arises I would gladly return to give a hand. Thanks to this experience, I intend to come back to Romania for voluntary work.

L’article Coline Gonçalves est apparu en premier sur Asociatia Eiva.

I participated in a long-term project on non-formal education in Romania between 07.05.2021 and 30.09.2021. I also took part in a youth project on entrepreneurship in Reunion Island, France between 13.11.2021 and 21.11.2021.

Currently, my articles are published every month as a freelance writer in an online magazine. Besides, I love traveling, painting, singing and playing the guitar.

Places visited

I’ve been in Brasov in June for the first time. The feeling of being there at one of the best times to explore Braşov, the heart of the Transylvania region, was incredible. Despite this, it rained lightly during the day and the weather was a bit cold. But my expectation from the Transylvania region was to see it in a rainy weather with its natural beauty. So we can say that my request has been granted! We visited many places in Braşov, which has an incredible nature, with my two Turkish friends.

Before arriving in Braşov, I was very curious about the Braşov sign on the top of the Carpathian Mountains. As you can imagine, when we arrived in Braşov, I was completely mesmerized…

We walked up to Peles Castle in Sinaia, very close to Braşov, and got a bear alert when we were on the hill. I will never forget that moment, it was a magical moment mixed with fear. Peles Castle was truly a magnificent masterpiece!

By the way, I don’t even remember how many minutes I watched it on the window when I saw the glowing “Brasov” text at night!

You must see!

Intercultural experiences

It was the acoustic evening on the 4th of July. That evening, as volunteers and interns of EIVA Associatia, we had the opportunity to taste various wines of our Director Cristian Babutau and his friend Cosmin at our French volunteer friends’ house. We had a wonderful intercultural night accompanied by musical instruments brought by our director from various places. We also had the opportunity to introduce the music of our own countries to each other by doing karaoke and we danced a lot!

Finally, the arrival of our other French teammate that night while we were at the party at their appartement was the best surprise that sweetened the night!

Thoughts about the experience / Romania

I can say that I find myself very lucky to have had this wonderful experience, which I will never forget, at a young age.

With this project, which I spent 6 months in total, I added a lot to myself. To give an example, I came from Turkey and you don’t have many opportunities to be with foreign people there all the time. My dream has always been to get to know different ideas from around the world. I didn’t want to be limited to Turkey and I had to do something about it when I was still young. I can say that my dream came true by coming to Romania. I had many close friends from France, Romania, Réunion Island and many other countries, and everyone was very kind, friendly.

Another great achievement for me was language learning. As someone who has studied a foreign language, I had the opportunity to talk to a French person face-to-face, so I feel much more comfortable now. I have improved myself a lot, especially in English, and with the Romanian lessons I take every week, I have added another beautiful language to my life.

Our organization was perfect in every way and our director and mentor were very helpful people.

I had a dreamy 6 months!

How was it to be part of an intercultural team ?

It was very special for me to be part of an intercultural team. Because I have always been a person who wanted to know different cultures. It is a wonderful feeling to have finally fulfilled this dream.

As someone who has studied a foreign language, making language exchanges between French and English contributed a lot to me. While getting to know their culture, I also introduced them to my own culture, Turkish culture, and taught them words they did not know. Thus, we became more connected to each other, so that we are still close to each other.

My perspective on life expanded and I learned lots of new things!

A little advice for the future volunteers 

I thought about it and first of all, I decided to give examples of things that I didn’t do during my volunteering, but that I thought it would be better if I did. For example, you may never have such an opportunity again and try to explore as many places as you can. For example, you can start from your neighborhood! Don’t be complacent.

Speaking of something I’ve done, don’t be shy and say hi to someone you don’t know! Afterwards, great friendships may be waiting for you!

Do not sleep in this project, which will have a small and valuable place in your life! Participate in all possible events, you will not regret it!

And of course, always help your teammate, whether at home or at work, if it’s one of the most important things you can do. Remember that he/she may be just as tired as you are!

And enjoy your volunteering, explore yourself!

L’article Sibel Uluçay est apparu en premier sur Asociatia Eiva.

About his volunteering experience in Romania

I have now been in Romania for two months and at this moment I have been able to confront myself with the Romanian life. I really appreciate my impact and being a volunteer for this project.

I had some difficulties regarding the language barrier, but they disappeared as soon as I spoke in English and Romanian. I attend English classes twice a week. I also discovered cities and visited them. I find Arad very lively and cosmopolitan. I was not afraid to come here.

How was it to be part of an intercultural team ?

The principle of being in an intercultural team is very interesting for me. Because we have different ideals, different social, personal, professional experiences and that adds to the whole. From the first moments, as the only boy in a team of girls, situations could appear both scabrous and strange. But I had to get used to the idea and move on. When you are also working with other people from different backgrounds, it is very important to trust and adapt. We were able to strengthen our links with the different structures and actors of our project. Thanks to this, we were able to create relationships and a network and friendships.

We shared our experiences and contributed to strengthening our links. Throughout this experience between my Turkish and Romanian friends, I was able to improve my language in Romanian and English. Even if I still have some gaps in my organization, we are learning to trust each other and to live together in this project. I enjoyed working with them and I wish to keep the contacts I made in this wonderful project of ours. I also enjoyed sharing our differences in culture, traditions and cohesion.

Do you think that volunteering in Romania helped you earn skills ?

In the framework of the Kaleidoscope 2.0 project, I think at least for the moment I have discerned some skills in my personal and collective work. Such as the organization between my colleagues and the organization to find cultural projects with the library.

I think that communication is a very important point that I had to face and that allowed me to be a little more open-minded. This entrepreneurial spirit has allowed me to be curious and inventive, which has allowed me to develop my self-confidence and my sense of responsibility.

What was the impact of the volunteering project on your life ?

I was able to develop my ambition and break down stereotypes that one makes of oneself and through the opinions of others. I was able to gain new perspectives on myself and others. I plan to continue to explore my spirit of curiosity and to pass it on to my colleagues and the audiences I will be confronted with in my future experiences.

A little advice for the future volunteers

If I can give some advice for the next volunteers, I cannot say open up to others. Enjoy sharing and be accommodating to your projects and to others. Above all, traveling a lot is what brings richness and culture to everyone and open-mindedness.

If you have ideas, share them with your colleagues, be curious and find interesting aspects and topics.

L’article Vincent Gauthey est apparu en premier sur Asociatia Eiva.

I love books and TV series. I love traveling, meeting people, discovering new places, and taking photos.

I was a volunteer in Arad, Romania, for 6 months as part of the Kaleidoscope 2.0 project. I became a volunteer for the European Solidarity Corps because I wanted to gain in experience while doing something different from what I’ve been studying for. I thought this project was very interesting because, to me, education is a pillar, and I’ve been learning a lot from my teachers those past few years and I thought it was time for me to give a little back. This experience was a good way to do just that.

L’article Yohanna Florin est apparu en premier sur Asociatia Eiva.