Recurrent questions. Same answers.

“Why did you decide for doing an EVS?”, that the recurrent question that we heard when for the first time, we met someone here. I have to say that it’s a good and difficult one. Before coming here, it was quite clear for me. First: Because I want Second: Why not ? Third: Because I want to do a break between my Bachelor and my Master. Forth: I want to develop myself and my soft skills. Fifth: Because I want to help. But now, it’s still clear but new questions appear. Are these reasons legitimate, selfish or wrong ? I don’t know and I think I will never know. Because it depends on my mood. Sometimes, it is “I was right” or “I was wrong”. But at the end, I just know that I don’t or won’t regret the choice to come here. If I wouldn’t have come, I would have regretted it for sure. Furthermore, my two last reasons were also a part of my expectations. I think that I achieved them. Even if I’m not totally satisfied with that yet, I still have five months and half. Knowing my character, I know that I will always want more.

But there are more reasons of why doing an EVS is so great. Here are some of them that I experienced and benefited:

1. You meet awesome people from different countries, with different personalities. But we have at least all of us something in common and it’s being a volunteer. Isn’t it awesome? Some of them will become so important for you.
2. You can travel in the country that you are living but also around it
3. You learn new languages. I’m trying to learn Romanian but also Polish. I enjoy telling tongue-twisters in Polish.
4. You improve your English skills. You get confidence in speaking.
5. You develop yourself and develop your soft skills in different ways.
6. You receive so many smiles from people, children that you work with. Even if sometimes, you are not satisfied with what you did.
7. You are doing human-size board games. Come one, it’s just awesome.
8. You discover new interests as Human Rights or Gipsy musics.
9. You dare to do things, that maybe before you wouldn’t have.
10. You will experiment a surprising path, with a lot of obstacles but always with the smile.

That’s what I get during these first months. I feel thankful for that. But I think it doesn’t depend only on doing an EVS but also on your willingness to experiment it. Because it’s your EVS, your adventure. You can share it with others but at the end you are the main character of your life.

After the second most recurrent question is “Why Romania?”. But for this one, I don’t have any answer. I don’t have any answer that can satisfy people. When I did my researches, I just know that I didn’t want to do my EVS in a country next to the French border and quite far away of France. I wanted to do it in a Central or East European country. So I choose much more the project in itself that the country. But I don’t regret this choice and I invite you to read my last article about it. Te iubesc Romana.

Obviously, the other recurrent questions are “Where do you come from ?”. “What are you doing there ?”. But my favorite one “How did you meet?” ❤

Polish, German and French guys met Istanbul

On the 26th of November, we took a bus from Bucharest to go to Istanbul. We were  nearly to miss it, because we should have been at the Bus station 15 minutes before leaving. But we had some difficulties to find the place. We get the bus at 16:59, so 1 minute before the official hour of the departure.

Our trip began ! Our first stop was in Bulgaria. We saw that the homeless dogs were also a problem there and not only in Romania.

Istanbul, a city “stuck” between two continents Europa and Asia, is AWESOME. We arrived at 5am on Friday, so we decided to explore the city. Our city-trip began with the discovery of the European side of this city of about 14 millions of inhabitants, twice more than Bulgaria, 4 million more than Portugal or Greece. We met our first friends, homeless dogs. (But contrary to Romania, the City identified them). They followed us during our first steps in the Old Town. There, we enjoyed the contrast between the night and the illuminated buildings, the sound of the first prayer of the day and the cats.