Here is the story of four volunteers in ABS

Dion from UK:

"As I come to the end of my first week in Blagoevgrad, I am grateful and relieved. Preparing for my trip to Blagoevgrad, although I had a theoretical understanding of what to expect, I still was a bit apprehensive about what to expect of ABS and Blagoevgrad. Fortunately, I felt absolutely welcome from day one. A huge thanks to the team for welcoming me with a sign, balloons and a smile! After this, everything has run smoothly, from meeting everyone and settling into our accommodation, to getting into the routine of work and spending our first weekend exploring the city of Plovdiv.

Blagoevgrad is a small and intimate city and sits at a junction that provides easy transit to surrounding destinations and countries. It is diverse thanks to the American University and students, volunteers and locals are all friends and this unique milieu can be experienced each week at Chat Club, Happy Mondays and during other more impromptu events such as weekend outings and sports. The pedestrianised streets in the centre always have a calm but inviting energy, where one can galivant aimlessly or simply relax in a café and watch the young couples, animated elderly groups or happy families strolling in the same way. In the evenings there are a few regular haunts where the students both local and international can be found drinking or dancing, and a plethora of cafes and restaurants to sample and enjoy. A lot of the people I’ve met complain that the city is getting quieter, but to me it has a perfect combination of authenticity and approachability.

During our first week we were slowly introduced into the scheduled workload through some fun onboarding activities. One of the highlights was having to Dougie in town. As we’ve found our rhythm we’ve taken on more responsibility and now we are helping run social media campaigns, write/give presentations for students, run/engage in weekly initiatives and develop our own personal projects. Our personal projects allow for a breadth of independence and we have each managed to find something we are interested in and that can contribute to the local community or ABS. Each day is different and each weekend is an adventure in itself. I am looking forward to next week and the spontaneity of next weekend, whatever it holds."

Elena, Italy:

"I decided to take this experience because I had a great desire to discover new things.

Initially, having never gone alone to foreign countries, I had many concerns, for example where I would be going, the people I would meet, how I would be able to live in a country where I did not know the language and when my English is not one of the best. Me and Dion, another volunteer, once we arrived in Blagoevgrad, the ABS team welcomed us with a warm welcome and I thought things were getting better and better.

The first days were intense. All of us volunteers had the desire to discover new environments around us and new people. Personally, I met very nice people. I think the best part of this trip are the people. The atmosphere in ABS is wonderful and when they say that everyone is welcome it's because it’s true. There is an international atmosphere that I like. The other volunteers come from all over Europe, therefore I think this continuous exchange of thinkers, cultures and traditions is fantastic.

This opportunity we have to experience firsthand a multicultural context is a great way to teach people to live with people with different culture from theirs. We had the opportunity to bring together other volunteers and students from the city and spend moments together where all were invited. On those occasions the people had fun together and I heard many languages at the same time and this fascinated me.

The first week has been full of news and I cannot wait to find out what other surprises there are in the future."

Our trip in Plovdiv!

Théo, France:

"I enrolled in the local mission of the Montpellier Center in November 2018, and during my first meetings, ads were posted related to this project, in different countries, for different durations, and on different themes, activities and different objectives.

So I inquired and I was directed to the association IPEICC, which supports my region to send volunteers for EVS. I chose to apply for the project in Bulgaria with an association called Active Bulgarian Society from February 1st to April 2nd, which seemed to me to be an interesting mission and allowing me to have a first experience abroad for 2 months.

I had to write a cover letter and my CV in English. Following this, I got a Skype interview with two of the leaders, Ivan and Kiril, in which they mainly asked me about my motivations. Then they contacted me and informed me that I was selected. My departure and flight to go was therefore fixed from Paris to Sofia on February 1st.

Arriving in Sofia, we spent the first night in a hostel in the center "10 Coins Hostel". We met 3 people, 2 Nigerians and 1 Ukrainian with whom we hung out in the evening and talked about our respective languages and countries but also about our different travel experiences. We had a quick tour in Sofia.

The next day we took the bus to Blagoevgrad for 1,5 hours. On arrival, we were greeted by Kiril and two of the ABS team volunteers, Natasha and Olesya, with a welcome poster, which was very nice!

Kiril then took us to our apartment where I met other volunteers. I settled in and then went out to share a drink in a bar together to talk. Then we went bowling together.
The next day we went to a nearby park and joined some young people from the city for a basketball game. We then ate at a restaurant and had a nice evening together.

The next day we started our first day at the office, where Kiril gave us a presentation on the different parts of our volunteering.

We started to work on our various "personal projects" in which we have to decide on a project useful to ABS in order to bring a novelty to the association. I have chosen to make a booklet / mini-guide featuring interesting weekends possible across Bulgaria but also in other countries for future volunteers of the association to help them discover the best parts of Bulgaria with tips of places to discover and activities to do.

During the week, I met many volunteers of all nationalities and was able to share many moments with them, evenings, sports activities, enriching discussions and more. So, I enjoyed a week rich in emotions and new encounters, which is what I was seeking by coming here.

During our last weekend, with 5 volunteers, we started to visit other places, like the city of Plovdiv, a city full of charm and life. We enjoyed the free tour of the city and went out in the busy Kapana area."

Virginie, France:

"I discovered ABS while looking on the web for a project abroad. I wanted to know more about this unknown country which is Bulgaria. I chose the option to travel for two months.

I started my travel the 1st February 2019 by taking the plane in Nantes airport, leading to Sofia. We had a stopover at Munich (the time to explore the airport). Then I arrived to Sofia in the evening.

At the airport, I met another French volunteer called Théo, and we took the underground to a youth hostel. We visited the capital and we met our roommates for the evening: a Ukrainian, two Nigerians, and a Bulgarian. It was very fun!

Church Alexandre Nevsky, Sofia

The following day, we took the bus to Blagoevgrad. We were welcomed by Kiril and two Ukrainian girls. Then, we visited our flat and went out to play bowling. It’s been twelve days since I arrived here and I had the time to discover the park in the town, be amazed by the mountains view, try the local beers, visit the clubs, taste the traditional dishes, and above all, meet a lot of people from everywhere.

Lately, we went to Plovdiv for the weekend, it was amazing! I and another volunteer hitchhiked to this city, and we met up with the rest of the group there. It was a very pleasant time that will leave us lots of memories.

Here are some pictures of the city:

I also discovered the Chat Club (the last theme was origami), and I liked it.

As for the work part, it is about non-formal education. The tasks are not always clearly defined because we have to find for ourselves the main objective of this volunteering, so we have to find our personal project. We also have to answer to the expectations of the Youth Pass and work, whether it is on languages, digital competences, or budget management. You have to keep in mind that the project should be related to the youth."

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