Articoli

8 months of a Torinese ESC experience

/in , /da

8 MONTHS OF A TORINESE ESC EXPERIENCE

A few days have passed since my last day in Turin. My volunteering journey started in January this year and now I am writing this final personal reflection on my eight months of volunteering with the European Solidarity Corps.

Before arriving in Turin, I was very excited and motivated to sign up for a long-term project, to spend quality time abroad, especially in Italy. Yes, Italy was my request. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to try living in Italy. My dream has come true.
After a few months of searching for a suitable project, I received an answer from Eufemia. I remember that I really liked the variety of activities and the vivid environment the organization provided. Actually, I found there much more.

All I can say is that all 8 months were full of adventure. Truly. Indeed.

As far as activities go, I tried and experienced different activities and was given a lot of different tasks or responsibilities for small projects. The one I liked the most was when I was leading an English class. My Turin friends know this story well. A year ago I did’t know how to speak English sovereignly. It was mainly shyness and lack of confidence to speak in front of others. Leading English lessons was undoubtedly a huge experience, opportunity and confidence boost for me.

Speaking of adventure, definitely look for the people behind every adventure. The people were a key point of my time in Turin. Sharing an apartment with other international volunteers, coping with a different way of life, taking care of each other, but also finding ways to tackle difficult topics. These situations require openness and willingness. This is what I found during my project. An open, positive and supportive atmosphere.

In addition, Piedmont is a beautiful region. Avigliana has become my second mental home and Piazza San Giovanni has turned into my safe space and the best place to draw strangers. My thanks go to Trenitalia for any delays that allowed us to spend more time looking at the amazing Italian countryside. I am eternally grateful for every road trip, hike, and aperitivo I took. I can’t count how many plates of pesto and pasta I ate and how many aperitifs I drank. Every sunset, every coffee, and every sweet conversation will stay with me.

Last but not least, my thanks go to my host organization for listening to me when I needed it and for being willing to follow my volunteer journey. Thanks for me the opportunity to be your volunteer.

May this article be an encouragement to future volunteers. Volunteering through ESC is a great opportunity to explore yourself more deeply, learn and in various ways improve your personality. I am sure you have heard this famous phrase: “Volunteering is not just about giving, it is also about receiving”. Through volunteering, you can challenge yourself to try new things, improve your skills and give yourself time to explore and make mistakes.
If you are considering ESC, I encourage you and wish you well! 🙂

Anna Ungradyová, Slovakia

ESC Short-term in Torino: Pasta, caffé e incontri

/in , /da

Two unexpected months

Volunteers team

ESC Short-term in Torino: unexpected in many ways.

First of all, I learned a lot by sharing; Sharing moments, sharing a flat, sharing experiences, sharing good and bad news.

Learn how to be alone by being with others.

I also (re)discovered the importance of communication in life.

europe

The process of learning in a multicultural context

Because of (thanks to) the multicultural context (in work but also at home), we had sometimes to find new ways to be understood and be able to communicate together. I realize now the meanings of being a European citizens and how it can be useful for me, as a young. I learned a lot about my roommate’s countries (customs, food and even some words in Slovakian and Ukrainian :D).

I also discovered the work of an association like EUfemia, the way to  manage different projects on different topics and the constant need to coordinate everything and stay focus on the goal in many ways.

But first, Coffee and traveling!

coffee

I’ve tried so many coffees, so many traditional sweet drinks from Torino like the Bicerin (amazing hot chocolate, coffee and cream), the Bombardino (special eggs liquor with cream) and enjoyed these moments to truly immerse myself in the city through peoples, their discussions, routines and behaves.

Turin was also a good place to travel in the North of Italy: Milano, Como, San Ambrogio and other charming villages known for trekking or wines.

Volunteering is definetly about learning!

Despite a difficult beginning because of Covid, i discovered so manyyy different way of work, collaborated with many different people (age, area of work, life situation etc…) and learned a lot in few weeks. Especially with educational activities (language club, after-school, digital school).

I’ve been also surprised that i like to work with child. They teach you a lot without even knowing it. I think the after-school was my best moment and i have to say that before i came, it was the less interesting topic for me.

Finally, I discovered a lot more than expected on my professional skills and myself and most of all, i met my wonderful roommates and made, i hope, long-lasting links. (Did i said that i can now do my own pasta? Thks Chiara and the team “cooking lab”).

Two months are definitely too short but at least, i will keep this ESC short-term volunteering in my mind for ever.

   Aurore

Some people look for a beautiful place. Others make a place beautiful. – My SVE in Italy

/in , /da

“If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.” – Lemony Snicket

This quote describes quiet perfect how I felt about making the next step in my life and deciding to volunteer in Italy.

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I want to tell you my story and therefore I need to start from the beginning: After living in different countries and feeling the freedom of life I went back into my old job, but very quickly I realised that this wasn’t my life any more. I was back in my “home country” and I felt trapped, trapped in my own daily life. Please don’t get me wrong, I love the country I was born in and I feel very privileged to be one of its citizen for a lot of reasons but I just wasn’t happy neither ready to be back yet…

…once you go back to your “home country”, going to another country feels like learning a foreign language that no one around you speaks, so there is no way to communicate to them how you actually feel and why you wanna leave your “home country” again after just being away for so long. All you want to do is leave, find a new project in your life, get to know a new culture, a new language and new people. For me it’s like a drug you are taking for a while but then you get used to it and you need to change to be able to feel alive again. So I was leaving again to find people who speak the same language as me. Not English or Spanish or Italian or German, but a language where others know what it is like to leave, change, grow, experience, learn, then go “home” again and feel more lost in your “home town” then you did in the foreign place you have visited or lived in.

So, I had a good job and a beautiful home, but I was bored, maybe even afraid that I will end up doing the same for the rest of my life. So, I left, yes maybe I was even running to find a place that would make me happier because it didn’t even took me a month to realise that I need to leave again. Did I find that place? For sure! Do I wanna stay forever? NO! Why not? Because I am a runner. I need to run and try new things before the daily hits me. It is not that I don’t appreciate this way of living but I always feel that there is more to explore before it is too late.

ABOUT MY TIME AND EXPERIENCES IN ITALY…

The last 11 months were  one of the greatest experiences in my life. I got to meet and work with all these beautiful people from totally different cultures, I got to spend all this time in a country that is so rich on culture and history that you actually can’t get bored discovering it.

Living abroad in another culture than your own, always comes with challenges. Nothing and no one is perfect, so things happen you didn’t see coming and you don’t know how to handle them best. It’s about finding solutions and becoming more and more autonomous in your own life. Some things you have to face on your own and with my experiences I can say it makes you stronger, more independent and you start appreciating even more, everything you have. You grow as a person and your mind changes. You get a new perspective on life and also of yourself. You find out what is good and what is not good for you. You learn to speak up and step up for the things that matter the most to you and yes, even if you hurt or disappoint some others with some things, it is okay, because we are all humans and it is not about becoming all the same rather than staying true to yourself. It is about being different and learning how to live together and using these differences to make this world a better and not a worse place.  I believe that we will never really find out why we got the gift to be on this earth but travelling, volunteering, meeting other people and cultures, anywhere in this world, makes me feel like I found a great purpose in my personal life.

Since I moved to Italy to start my SVE I have had mostly positive but also mixed feelings. I can’t really say that I had a cultural shock because I have been visiting Italy a lot of times before and every time I fell in love with this beautiful country. But also I discovered quickly that nothing is perfect and every country has its difficulties and some people would rather like to live in my country to be „safe“ when it comes to having good living conditions. But let me tell you that it is not about the money on your bank account at the end of the month. I am way more happy supporting this project and living with less than I ever had in Germany.

Our projects are so different of what I have been doing before and some of them challenge me a lot but also I would not want to have it any other way.

                        

After being to Rome for the OAT and MTE I am even more appreciating the place I have found to support during my SVE and I see how lucky I got to have ended up surrounded by people who care so much about you from day one, without even really knowing you yet.

Of course you need to be able to afford this kind of work. Let me tell you, you will not be able to save a lot of money doing volunteering work but you will gain something way more important than that. Experiences, personal growth and most importantly you will learn to give and receive LOVE by simply giving your time.  

Some things in Italy are of course different to my “home country” but that does not mean they are worse. Actually I even started to like them and got used to them. I can’t remember the last time I have been somewhere on time, I wasn’t even on time to pick up and welcome my Mom, when she came for a visit from Germany.

Riding the bike through the city blesses you with beautiful moments like this

I am not questioning myself any longer why people risk there life and cross the street even if it is red, I think I almost died 4 times already doing the same while riding the bike. Speaking of riding the bike it is one of the best parts about living in Torino. The city is perfect to get around by bike and I feel the most free and relaxed when I have the opportunity to do so, which is almost every day. 

I was able to have friends visiting me from Germany. I found a great friend in my flatmate. I was dancing on the street and much more….

Now I have only one month left in Italy and thinking about leaving this place already hurts a lot. Because the people I have met here made this place a home, for all of us, and leaving home always hurts. I have left so many places I actually thought it would get easier by the time but I am starting to think it never will, especially Torino is making it very hard to go. I will have to leave and I will feel lost again. This is the hardest thing of living abroad but it is also the very reason why we all run away!

So go! Leave! Live abroad! Run! Take new chances and live your life the way you want it! This is what I have done the last years and I am just getting started!!!

Thank you Eufemia! For letting us be who we are. For helping us grow and explore ourselves, this beautiful project and city.

Y’ALL MAKE THIS PLACE SO BEAUTIFUL!