evs stories
My EVS in Serbia was a „once in a lifetime experience“ for many reasons. First of all it gave me a self-confidence boost because it was the first time I spent a long period abroad- alone. Also because I had the possibility to contribute my time to voluntary work in a great project- full time! I could profited not only from the good days and successful projects, but maybe even much more from the lonely days and challenges in the projects, which made me learn a lot about myself. In the small Serbian city of Vranje on the border with Kosovo (under UNSCR resolution 1244/99) and FYR Macedonia I experienced what life in the Balkans really looks like and what the daily reality of people there is. I gained a huge knowledge of the complex history, and the community of different ethnicities and religions in the South of Serbia. This experience gave me a closer and more critical view of the concept of Europe and the European Union. I learned the Serbian language and was able to communicate with local people that were not able to speak German or English, which is one of the most satisfying accomplishments from my EVS. I overcame the doubts of giving knowledge to others in another language like English. I overcame my fear of travelling alone and I learned how to organize my daily life in a foreign country.
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Bojana my coordinator helped me a lot and gave me the feeling of a home from the first day. Even though she was busy with work she took the time to help me with obstacles so that I never had to fear any serious problems during the EVS.
In the end it was more a personal than a professional benefit that I got out of this EVS experience but that is worth more than anything else. |
I am Vanessa Götz, a 19-year-old girl from Germany, who is currently doing her EVS in Vranje, a small city in the South of Serbia.
BUT WHY EVS? At first I just wanted to do any voluntary service for the sake of having an intensive and most importantly a real cultural experience. So doing an EVS was the best option, for me and probably anybody else that is eligible, because it has certain features other voluntary services don’t provide. The most crucial factor for me was that there are hundreds of great projects that you can apply for, from working in a home for the elderly or disabled, to animal shelters and NGOs, plus you can do your EVS in any European country and quite a few partner countries, like Serbia. In addition all costs are covered (travel, food, accommodation, pocket money) and you have languages lessons, which I really learned to value over the past few months because it is a necessity if you really want to be part of the community. So the structure of EVS convinced me to choose it, but also did I really want to learn a new language, and of course travel. I enjoy traveling slowly, so slowly that I actually like staying in one place for at least a year before I move on, that way you can really integrate in a community and learn to understand what it is like to live there. But most importantly of all: I enjoy trying something new, something not everybody does and so some might ask: BUT WHY SERBIA? Well why not? As I am from Germany I have never directly dealt with any of |
the Balkan countries and therefore did not have a lot, if any, previous knowledge. So you spontaneously apply, are accepted, get in an airplane and fly to this country without any idea of what it could be like. (All I knew is that the tomatoes will taste great, which is good to know if you are vegan and might have to survive off of them for a year.
Then a few months go by and suddenly your EVS is almost over. You notice that you are sad and cannot yet understand how much this experience changed you and how much you have grown from it. My EVS really changed me and the original reasons why I wanted to go abroad are not the same reasons that have made it a great experience for me. It is a great, unique experience which helps you grow personally and for me the best is that initially I did not believe in that I can really help and do something positive for the community. But I can, maybe not much, and maybe in small simple ways, but I can. |
How much time does it take to fall in love with someone? Maybe one second, maybe one month, maybe the whole life. It's never easy to say the exact moment when you fall in love with someone. Or something. Because there's no exact moment. Every moment is a path to that feeling. The path can be full of curves or can be very long. But anyway, there's always a path. Not a phisical one. But in our minds we build one to remember why we are in love with that person. Or thing. Or town.
More you will be able to find at my blog. |