Oh yeah. I am on my EVS now. In Blagoevgrad. Greatest achievement so far - learning to pronounce the name of the city.
Day by day I am getting more accustomed to the environment. It was a great leap of faith making a decision to go on EVS straight after finishing my Erasmus exchange in the Netherlands. I felt that five months away from home is not enough and that I still have so much to see and discover before happily settling in my homeland to finish my studies.
Blagoevgrad, especially Acitve Bulgarian Society, have treated me very well. I was travelling on my birthday and received a heart-warming welcome in the airport. This is really something that gives positive energy. Moreover, coming from the flatlands, it is incredible to have a view of the mountains, does not matter which way to look. I am also happy to already discover the first signs of Spring. The smell is in the air!
On my very first day I also had a Bulgarian lesson and I am very happy about that. During my fifteen years of education I never managed to learn to read the cyrillic alphabet, here it took me a couple of days. What I will probably be doing for the next weeks, is confusing the little that I know of Russian with the new words in the local language. Otherwise, so far, so good.
Youth work is something that cannot be effectively done if you do not actually know the people you are working with. So, the first week has been largely dedicated to getting to know my colleagues. It has been a pleasure meeting people in and out of the office, other volunteers and students from the city. I got very lucky with the two fellow volunteers, who are making sure that I am feeling welcome and happy.
It is very exciting to have the opportunity to work in a diverse environment, with people from different backgrounds and perspectives. I know that together we are able to achieve so much more. I do not want to do propaganda for the EU but it already feels that we are more united in our diversity - people are contributing with different aspects, be it kindness, knowledge, questioning or support.
When weekdays take me out to city tours, lovely cafes, cocktail bars, and hosting a house party, then weekend is useful for relaxing. I sleep in, take my time to visit the park outside the city, that reveals a magnificent view to the mountains and the charm of local nature. We also manage to squeeze in a time management workshop for the organisation where we were given food of thought of how to prioritise and effectively use our time. Non-formal learning includes learning by doing and that is one of my favourite aspects of these kinds of experiences. What else can I say, life is full of challenges that come to our way. It is up to each one of us how we deal with them. I decide to embrace them with open arms. Let’s see how that will turn out.
