»Živi svoje sanje« – I think this pretty much sums up my EVS. Doing voluntary work was »just«fullfilling a dream, a childhood dream that I always had and I don’t even know why.
For me it was quite clear. I will finish school and go abroad – learn new things, work as a volunteer, grow up, become independent and gain really, really amazing experiences with awesome people. Slovenia became a second home to me, with a second family and even though I already went back twice, I still miss it a lot. Well, of course you have ups and downs and not everything is always nice, but in the end 10 months (I even decided to stay longer) are nothing and if I look back, time went so fast – too fast, if you ask me!
Getting to know so many different people from different countries and learning about their lives and cultures, made me think about my own home. I never really aprreciated the things Germany offers; that we also have nice places to go,that we have special things too. And when you hear and see all these things, you start to compare. Even work. We don’t have youth centers like in Slovenia with exchanges, festivals or EVS (at least I have never heard about it before) and also the school system is not like ours. So work, life, nature…everything was a new experience and you can often hear me now »…but in Slovenia…«, »…well, during my EVS…«, because it became a big part of me and I don’t want to miss it.
Now that I know so many people from all around Europe, I just want to go to see them all in their hometown, see how they live and vice versa, show them my own home and be more connected with people abroad. I actually also wanted to find a job abroad -working with other countries in an organisation, diverse like my EVS, but outside of Europe. The world is a big place, there is so much more to see, so many places, where our help is needed.We will see what the future brings!
For now I’m just working, earning some money and learning a new job in a totally different area, spreading around the idea of EVS and voluntary work.
In my opinion everyone should do some kind of voluntary work, because it’s always nice to give people your help and learn from each other. Everyone has different ideas, experiences and ways of looking at special things, so why shouldn’t you go and work somewhere and help with your knowledge.
In these 9 months as a volunteer I really changed a lot. I’m thinking more globaly, I became more openand more independent. I want to try and see everything and every place to broaden my knowledge. People around me probably noticed it more than I did. But if I look back to October 2014 and compare it to now, there really is a huge difference and I’m happy about it.
Marie Rudde, an EVS volunteer in Trbovlje, October 2014 – June 2015
