„I don’t want to go away!“ this is kind of the main thought when I walk through Bolzano now, almost at the end of my one year voluntary service. My name is Lia, 19 years old, and for 11 months now I have been participating at an ESC-Project in youngCaritas Bolzano.

Last year after graduating from school in Germany, I found myself in the same situation like many school leavers: with only a little idea about how my future should look like- far too little to decide directly to go to university- and the curiosity to do something completely different from school. Therefore, I started searching for possible opportunities then found myself on the page of the ESC- Programme, and now here, in Bolzano.

Before I came here, I didn’t know anything: I never was in South Tyrol before, not even in Italy in general, my impressions of Bolzano where made out of Google Streetview and my grandparent’s opinion, who were there in vacation many years ago. With my future flatmates, I exchanged 3 or 4 text messages in advance and my future work supervisor I knew from a Zoom call and some emails.

Now looking back, at this Lia unsure about what to expect and about how things will turn out, it feels so unreal. Because now all this has become a part of my life: Bolzano feels like home, I love the city, the mountains all around, the mix of cultures. My flatmates are like second sisters to me and I am very close with my colleagues. Looking back, I think I could have taken now better decision.

I really like my work, because there is so much variety: Some days we are in the office, organising things for young people, creating some things for Instagram, also doing some translation work... Two times a week I am helping in a Refugee-Home, doing homework with the children or just playing with them. Sometimes it can be very hard, but in the end of the day, I feel that I changed something and that I gave something to the children. It is beautiful to see, how happy they are, when I come to take them to play and how they start to trust me. And that compensates for everything.

In short, I don’t want to go away, but life goes on and there are other things to look forward to. And I know, that they are so many things I will take with me: lifelong friendships, new languages, more self- confidence and the idea, that you can have an impact.

Since a few days I am back home. It's great to see my family, friends and my cat again. I walk along well-known ways, I can express myself more freely in my native language, I enjoy spending time with people I haven't seen in a long time.

Everything is so familiar and so different at the same time. It feels strange to be back in Germany, in my little village. I miss many things from my time in Italy. The city that was my home for 10 months, listening to the Italian language and of course the people I met.But the fact that I miss so much also makes me aware that the time in Italy was wonderful. When I think back to this intense time, I am grateful. Grateful for the beautiful moments, for all the experiences and especially for the people I had the chance to meet.It's not easy to deal with so many different emotions at the same time and I still need a little time to get used to the life in Germany again.Nevertheless, through the precious experiences abroad, I feel ready for a new challenge and to start the next stage of life.

- Luisa

Hello everyone, I'm Ezgi. Today is my 9th month as a volunteer at Associazione InCo. I learned a lot during my volunteering. I would like to share them with you. Maybe you can share what you learned with me.

1. Redrawing my boundaries with more empathy : As we all go through the ups and downs of life, our experiences, limitations and abilities are very different. On the way, we meet people from very different backgrounds and lifestyles. 

While I wanted to expand my boundaries with more empathy, I learned that it was about understanding the needs and feelings of other people and that it was necessary to take time to understand them. We all follow a different path, the more empathy we develop in our borders the more we support and uplift each other.

2. Acquiring new skills :Acquiring new skills means being open to trying new things. Being open to new things means not being afraid of failure. Volunteer projects always offer tasks that will take you out of your comfort zone. You may not be able to do these easily at first, but over time, you can acquire and develop it as a skill by practicing and learning.During my volunteering period, I had the opportunity to do many things that I had not tried before. For example, interviewing our project partners within the scope of a project. For the first time, I was the moderator in a meeting.

3. “There is always a way” :Volunteering has taught me to think broadly, not to worry. I usually always think darkly when I'm feeling stressed or scared. I peel off my self to disperse the dark clouds in my head. "There is always another way possible. Please try to see the light."

Because volunteer projects are a hope, a light for other people. InCo continues to produce projects that will give hope to young people. 

4. Self-confidence:My self-confidence developed when I allowed myself to make mistakes and tried to learn from them without trying to make things perfect. Volunteering is a fun way to prove yourself. It's really empowering to see what you can do. You step out of your comfort zone and meet another version of yourself. You try without fear. Every time I try something, I ask myself, "I may fail at the end of this road. So even when I fail, when I look back, will I regret trying it? If my answer is no, I'm on that road." 

5. Every person is a book and it teaches you something :A project of InCo taught me this. You choose a person in the project called Human Library and you have half an hour. You listen to that person and it means ‘you read’. As we spend time with people and approach them without judgment, we can learn something from that person over time through good or bad experiences. The important thing is that we use our experiences to improve ourselves no matter what. And it is important that we integrate what we have learned into our lives because knowledge is alive. 

6. The ability to make a home wherever you go :If the volunteer project is taking place away from home, you miss your home. After going on a trip and returning to my project city, Trento, I have the feeling of being at home. Because I know every inch of the city, sometimes I meet an acquaintance on the way. Wherever we go, we build our own home with other people we choose, love and empathy.

7. Consciousness of living in the present :When I am here and find myself thinking about what to do after the project, I remind myself that. “You are here now. You are now a volunteer and will not volunteer after 3 months. At the moment, it will be possible to do what you want to do as a volunteer.” 
Anyway, life consists of a lot of "now". Focusing on the present instead of wasting time worrying about the future or regretting the past.

8. Witnessing your own change and transformation :Volunteering is done to change the society, keep it aware and develop it. It is also something you can see your own change and development. 

Volunteering allows you to push your own limits, determine your priorities, discover and develop your talents, feel your inner satisfaction, change your perspective, and sometimes find your purpose. it's like meeting a different version of you on the path you walk.

9. Some things must end for good things to begin :Life is in flux. The beginning of new things means seeing new opportunities, improving oneself, being renewed. Everything has its time.We create a new comfort zone during each experience. Sometimes we have to leave those comfort zones one by one in order to discover new seas and to meet new people and learn from them. I know that I will meet all my volunteer friends and people that I met during the volunteering process in better tomorrows. Sometimes you have to say goodbye to be reunited. 

 Ciao a tutti,

I know, I know, long time no see! What can I say, I’ve been busy. Since May I started having holidays for a few days each month to discover Italy. 

So, in May my first adventure was with my beautiful girls, Juliette and Reme. We rented a car, and we had a small tour in Tuscany. First stop Firenze. If you ever go there, I suggest you have brunch at Le Vespe Café. I’m sure most of you expected a sightseeing place or museum or street. Well, no, this brunch tops it all. Of course, it wouldn’t be an adventure if we didn’t have a hiccup during this tour. After visiting Firenze, Siena, Volterra, Piombino, isola d’ Elba and Bologna, on our last day while driving back home and making a stop at a lake on the way I scratched the wheel while trying to park. Oups, I know it’s just a scratch, but it cost us a lot of money. Sorry girls.

Next stop, June, and Venezia with Juliette. Again, when you go there you need to visit Iguana, a Mexican restaurant. It’s so funny to me because while writing this I’m also realising that it looks like I enjoyed the food more than the places. It’s not true, I’ve enjoyed both equally. Burano was my favourite in this area. Beautiful colours.

Also during this time, we managed to have a bath at the beach which was great.

Jullyyyyyyy!! And my sister arrived!!!!!!! This was a sisterhood trip. Me, Juliette and our sisters, Eleni and Romane visited us in Italy, and we all went to Sardegna. At first, flights were cancelled and delayed, we encounter a very strange taxi driver that didn’t seem to know Olbia, but we finally made it to our place after almost a whole day. For this one I wouldn’t give any suggestions as we made an error, and we lost another day driving from Olbia to Cagliari (8 hours of driving). You can laugh in my face about it, I’m still laughing at myself. One thing I can say is that YOU NEED A CAR THERE!

But we were fortunate enough to have been at some beautiful beaches. After we parted ways and me and my sister had an amazing stay at Cinque Terre. It’s a magical place. Riomaggiore it’s a must! I also wanted to show my sister where I live and work, so we visited Casa Lamar together and did the SUP at the lake.

August was the friendship honeymoon. Six of my friends visited me from Cyprus. Organising this trip really felt that I was some kind of a travel agent! It was sooooo much fun, we did sooo many things. We’ve been to Rome dancing on a bridge all night, we had beer with some local people, we were awake almost 24 hours. I thought I wouldn’t make it to bed but it totally worth it. Next stop Amalfi coast! So beautiful! From there we ended up at Capri, where we rented a boat for a day, and we did the whole tour of the island. This was the best highlight of these holidays. Coming next Napoli!!!!! OMG!! What a great city!!!! For me it was a mixture of India and Europe. I loved it. It’s unique to the places I visited in Italy so far. Coming back though from the last holidays I found an empty apartment with no flatmate anymore. And it hit me. I knew it was coming of course, but my mind didn’t comprehend it. I miss you baby! So much! I can’t wait for our next meeting in October and for our future adventures together.

And since that day there was a sequence of changes in my life here in Italy. Even before I had the time to accept my new living circumstances and with Juliette leaving, I found out that within a week a new person was coming to live with me. I had to cha

nge rooms, rearrange and clean the whole apartment to accommodate this newcomer. His name is Sergio, and I hope he brings his two cats soon. Also, the new girl is coming on the 20 th . At work there is a debate, they are not sure if a Polish or a French is coming. We will find out in the next episode, I guess. It’s a bit hard for me to go through so many changes at a small period of time, but I believe it’s a way to build self-resilience when life is unexpected. I am practising for that, I guess.

As far as my project goes, I love that I have been given new responsibilities, like driving the residents to doctor appointments, or doing the weekly shopping for the home. I am really happy about that. Pfff it’s been long because it’s been a while. I’m done for now. Stay tuned guys! A la prossima. To be continued…..

P.S. I miss my dogs.

-Christina Theodorou

 

It’s been 9 months. Nobody really prepares you for when you are about to leave. I have almost built my habits in this place. I even felt so easy and cozy when I returned after a holiday. And it will soon go away. 

I would wake up kinda late, have a ‘cafe lungo in vetro’ at 10:30, lunch at 13:30, leave work at 16:30 to run to the station to catch the train to Caldonazzo to swim a kilometer....return, make dinner and meet at Christina’s balcony to listen to music and chill. (this is for my future self to read...to see what my most days looked like)

The trip around Europe was intense. Mushroom hunting in Austria and feeling poor in Geneva. And Marseille bebe… it made such an amazing impression on me...by simply being Marseille. Marseille felt honest, no filters, no lies. The symphony in Verona Arena was lukewarm (I was too poor for good seats), Rome was too grand for my liking (I did take awesome photos), Vatican’s Museums were impressive and Napoli was just messy enough for me to feel calm in it. 

I reiterate, Italy is the best country for a traveller.

I am in a misty mood. A bit foggy. Like I slept 20 minutes too little. And when I think of happy thoughts, I am reminded of the books Betty gifted me in Marseille, Arthur’s tiny balcony after a long nap and a bit of wine I drank in the middle of Caldonazzo. 

I wanna go for a run. Or a swim. It’s too cold for a swim. Maybe I’ll go run. 

-Sagar Ghimire

Primo estate a Italia e anche il mio primo blog post in italiano (scusi il mio italiano, questo è lo migliore che posso fare dopo di 11 mesi), il mio ultimo post era di maggio e veramente depresso, tutto e tropo diverso ora.

Juliette ha finito il suo progetto e ha restituito alla Francia, anche Laura y Julia sono restituite alla Germania.

Gli miei nuovi conviventi sono Angel, Juan e Jakub. Sono veramente fortunata di avere Angel e Juan, siamo tre spagnoli al appartamento, è come una piccolissima famiglia spagnola. Christina è una persona molto speciale per me, con lei mi sento come quando sono con la mia sorella e posso parlare de qualcosa senza paura di essere giudicati.

Abbiamo conosciuto tantissimi Trentini (Grazie a Angel e il suo progetto veramente e anche a Juan e alla sua socievolezza) e la città se senti come casa, è difficile da accettare che il finale non è lontano, che in meno di 2 mesi Trento non va a essere la mia casa, magari mai ritorno qui (Ancora non è sicuro, forse sono fortunata e posso restare qui un po' pìu).

Ma per ora ho tantissime esperienze che esperimentare, tantissimo che guardare è proprio tantissimo che imperare (italiano specialmente, lo so)

Il mio Ferragosto ha stato terribile, caldissimo e un po' solitario, ma ho andato a Crema, il posto dove si ha fatto il film Call me by your name è la esperienza ha stato bellissima, era la prima cosa che volevo di fare in Italia!

Queste sono alcune foto di queste mese, il mio prossimo blogpost è il ultimo…

Come se dice in Spagna: BAJONA.