VOLUNTEERS
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A day of travel and you are in the other
place, you see other people speaking in different languages, not as you were
used. And it’s fine. I already met many new people, learnt new things, I saw the
Baltic Sea, seagulls, it’s fantastic. I have my little flat in Sopot next to
the beach. My flat mate is a Romanian girl. She is nice. She is a therapist. I
am lucky with her: she is sharing with me her experience.
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A day of travel and you are in the other
place, you see other people speaking in different languages, not as you were
used. And it’s fine. I already met many new people, learnt new things, I saw the
Baltic Sea, seagulls, it’s fantastic. I have my little flat in Sopot next to
the beach. My flat mate is a Romanian girl. She is nice. She is a therapist. I
am lucky with her: she is sharing with me her experience.
People said that I’ll need months to adapt to
the new environment, but it’s my third weak here and I feel like at home. It’s
because of people working and living with me. Yes, they are so polite and
friendly, I like it. I see I’ll have a huge experience in everything. And I
think it’ll be gained through the challenges.
The first one is language: “English, please”, or “Ja ne razumem, po poski” )))). I have my polish classes, but children in the
center also teach me Polish with the great enthusiasm. I teach them English, but looking for ways
to make them to be interested in it; they like games. At first we need
understand each other; it’s the barrier that I am trying to overcome. I have some ideas, but I must change them,
improvise for their age, interests….. I have time to know them well.
Some days before there was an
international party. I liked it. The next time I am also going to introduce my
country, people are very interested in it.
It’s nice to meet people from different countries. We discuss our
national traditions, youth life, languages, and food. We discovered that “shal”
(a cloth on the shoulders) is the same in Armenian, Romanian and German. We are going to have a photo with our
shals))))). And food: I didn’t like to
cook in the past, but now I do it every day, it’s interesting to try new
things, we share our national dishes. They
liked apricot muraba and honey that I took with me from Armenia))).
We are going to have our on arrival training
in Warsaw, then Christmas. So it’s only
the beginning of my voluntary history.
It’s nine months traveling along the life and countries, which enriches
my life with experience, people, friends….
Anahit Nerkararyan
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My name is Dajana and I come from Poland. I like working with children and I want to become a teacher. In may 2012 I finished my high school and decided to take part in EVS to gain some new experiences instead of starting first year in university. Honestly I was a little afraid about living in unknown environment, but know I know that there was nothing to worry about. I am pleased with people who surrounding me and with exquisite landscapes of Armenia. I am also happy that I have the opportunity to learn Armenian and to practice my Russian. I am going to work in CDCS until April. During this period I am going to help with taking care of children in Child Development Center, organize some classes and create a blog of CDCS.
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Hello, Inquisitive Person!
The name is Martin Loeng, a Norwegian, and I am an EVS (European Voluntary Service) Volunteer working with CDCS (Capacity and Development for Civil Society) in Yerevan, Armenia. As a volunteer I have effectively thrown myself into a vast array of new challenges from which both I and those I affect can reap many rewards. Under the dexterous leadership of Lusine Simonyan I partake in administrative things like coordinating other prospective volunteers' travels here, there and everywhere, and developing propositional ideas for future projects to the benefit of a growing civil society. I may write eloquent and compelling applications for grants and funds for the relevant projects, and I am involved in everything from environmental awareness projects, therapeutic projects for vulnerable or disabled children in rural communities, and all the way to monitoring the political procedures of elections, to name a few.
But! I have not yet mentioned the encouraging helpfulness of the
people with which I work, who are, obviously, quite encouragingly
helpful, friendly and eager for me to learn as much Armenian in as
little time as possible. Suffice it say that I probably appear as
strange to the people I meet as they appear strange to me, but that this
cross-cultural strangeness crumbles on a daily basis as I get to learn
more about Armenia and
Armenians, and vice versa. It is a truism, but large amounts can be learned about one another during the amicable half hour of lunch.
Many choose to volunteer, and for good reasons. Not only does one get to know other cultures and the people that abide by them, but one learns massively, one experiences massively, and one contributes greatly, if one is willing.
All I can say is that so far, for my ten month stay is far from over, has been wonderful in every respect, and I would urge the Inquisitive Person to engage him or herself in something similar.
Armenians, and vice versa. It is a truism, but large amounts can be learned about one another during the amicable half hour of lunch.
Many choose to volunteer, and for good reasons. Not only does one get to know other cultures and the people that abide by them, but one learns massively, one experiences massively, and one contributes greatly, if one is willing.
All I can say is that so far, for my ten month stay is far from over, has been wonderful in every respect, and I would urge the Inquisitive Person to engage him or herself in something similar.
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Not satisfied? Looking for that elusive rush of high quality information?
Well, look no further!
Not satisfied? Looking for that elusive rush of high quality information?
Well, look no further!
- SALTO On-Arrival Training (OAT) in Tbilisi, Georgia
- OAT September 2012 in Dajana's opinion
- Dajana's EVS stay so far
- Martin's EVS stay so far
- Evolution of English and embroidery club
- SALTO Mid-Term Training
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