THREE MONTHS IN SEVEN WORDS

It’s been almost three months since the beginning of my EVS, and these are the brightest keywords that describe my experience in Eufemia so far:

Vegetables
In Eufemia there is abundance for everyone that agrees to show a bit of solidarity every Saturday afternoon in one of the markets of Turin. In other words – free food for those who need it, sometimes in unbelievable amounts.

Kids
„Diana, which grade are you? Do you want to play? Is it very cold in Latvia?”. We are spending three days a week helping with the activities in a children summer camp, and I don’t want the camp to end.

Babel
Having arrived to Italy, I have ended up speaking Russian way more than I would have expected. Why? Because apart from practising English, Italians are also passionate about learning Russian, which was quite a surprise to me. So now we have a weekly language club, which is our first little project here.

Music
„A little party never killed nobody” is the life principle our neighbours follow daily. This is why after two months we are almost used to the sounds of djembe when falling asleep.

Gelato
Eufemia is not only a place of abundance, but also a place where guilty pleasures awake in you. And you become totally helpless (and grateful, but you try not to show it) when your colleagues choose to pick the new office place right next to the most generous ice cream bar in Turin.

Italian
My roommate and I have discovered that in two months you can become totally fluent in Italian. All it takes is dropping „magari”, „quindi” and „c’è” in the right place and right time, sometimes accompanied by „Madonna Santa!”, „ma dai!” and some hand gesture.

Team
I was unlucky to begin my EVS while still writing my bachelor’s thesis (if you are reading this and considering doing EVS in the future, try avoiding this scenario 🙂 ), but I was very lucky to receive support from my colleagues in Eufemia, both in terms of some extra free hours and moral support (Thank You <3).

Diana