EVS in
Valencia, Spain
01.09.2016 - 31.05.2017
I’m Katrin and
this is the summary of my European voluntary service in Valencia. First of all,
I decided to do EVS because I got to the point of my life because I felt that
I’m stuck. I had finished with my studies in university and didn’t find a
professional job as soon as I wanted so I was working as a waitress for a year.
During that year I realised that I need a change: a change of scenery, change
of lifestyle, everything. So I started to look for volunteering opportunities
and it was not easy for me at first but then luckily enough I found that Noored
Ühiskonna heaks has a partnership with and organization in Valencia and of
course I applied straight away because I knew that I want to come to Spain and
the project type wasn’t the most important thing for me because my main goal
was to try something different and learn new things.
Alright, enough
about the introduction, let’s get to the business. I did my EVS in organization
called GoEurope, which main goal is to help young people through different
Erasmus+ programs. I was working with 2 other volunteers in the beginning but
half way through the girl from Italy quit the project, so it was just me and
the Romanian girl (Flavia).
Our main tasks as volunteer were: organising
English café for young Spaniards in order for them to practice English; help
with project management and
also a bit of project writing; promote the organization on social media and at
different events; look for potential partnerships and promote Erasmus+. Through
these activities I learned that it’s not easy to motivate young people to
practice English and for an event to be successful it needs a very good
promotion. I got to know the Erasmus+ world better and gained knew knowledge
about project writing and management.
Our first English café
On-arrival training in Benicassim
During my
volunteering process I also took part in the on-arrival training and mid-term
training, which are a part of EVS program. The first training was more about
introducing EVS and getting us ready for our upcoming life as a volunteer. The
second training was more focused on reflection and analysing our project and it
was more personal. The trainings were a good way to get to know other
volunteers and spend a nice time out of my usual “reality”. At the mid-term
evaluation I met Estonians after 6 months and I was so happy that I got to
speak Estonian.
I met
other Estonians, yay!
One other very
cool thing I got to do during my volunteering was helping to organize a youth
exchange. The youth exchange was held by Valencia youth council but since
GoEurope shares a working space with them and they needed help, I decided to
get involved and help to organize it. I helped to create ideas for the
workshops; also did energizers for the participants and in general I was like
an assistant for the main organizer and helped her with whatever she needed. It
was a great experience because now I got to see the youth exchange from the
organizers point of view and I learned a lot of new tricks to use in non-formal
education.
With the participants of youth exchange
Surely EVS is
not only about working, it’s also about getting to know new culture, learn a
new language, make new friends and travel. During my EVS I learned a lot of new
things about Spain and got to experience a very traditional celebration in Valencia (Las Fallas). I’m very happy that I
met Flavia because we became good friends and I know we will stay in touch for
a long time. I got to see many beautiful places in Spain and enjoy the warm
weather and beach.
City of Arts
and Science
Valencia seen from Torres de Serranos
On Tabarca island
To
sum up I thought that EVS would help me figure out what I want to do with my
life, well, that didn’t happen the experience is something I will never forget.
I have grown in so many ways during these 9 months. I think everybody should do
something like that in their lives because it makes your life so much richer.
You can read
more about our project here: http://goeurope.es/en/evs-2-sve/
This Project was financed by European Commission's Erasmus + Programme
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