Hi everyone, I am Eva and it’s my second report. Last 5 months were full of events and emotions. I had to say good bye to all my neighbors and welcome 4 new people in our flat. But I think it was a positive change, I really enjoy the vibe of our flat, we have many common activities and it’s great.
I also did many nice things: I lived in Berlin in a big and beautiful flat with a cute dog for some days, it was like a test version of my dream life . I visited a football match, flew to Spain and met a lot of cool people on my second seminar.
My work is also pretty good, I am working in a youth center for teenagers and young adults. We had a nice program for the autumn vacations and, I think, will have a great time on spring vacation. I still do my basketball trainings and also made my own small project for Hallowing.
I would give a Grand Prix to my organization for their work and attitude towards volunteers and teenagers. I can always count on their help in any situation, even if it is not their responsibility. At the same time they have a super personal attitude to everyone. I was incredibly pleased when my supervisor wished me a Merry Christmas in my native language.
Nevertheless, sometimes I am not so happy about my volunteering experience. First of all, according to my contract, I should have a mentor. Do I have it? Spoiler alert, no, but I have many interesting situations that I would like to discuss, so I will write about them here.
How would you feel if you were alone on New Year’s holidays in an apartment where the door to the terrace is broken and anyone can open it? And the landlord, instead of fixing it, blames you and completely ignores the problem? Then the situation will become even more interesting, the door will start to open itself at random moments and it doesn’t matter if it’s +10 or -5 outside.
How would you feel if, returning home in the evening, you saw the police just a few houses away from yours, and then in the morning you read on the news that a man was killed right on the street? The most interesting thing is that almost every day you pass by this place returning home from work in the dark.
How would you feel if your flatmate was lying with a high fever like 39,5-40,0 and no doctor in the area had a free appointment? Go to the hospital after four days of fever, no, it’s not that serious, he/she is told to wait a few more days…. By the way, you don’t know what it is and whether it’s dangerous for you and no one cares.
Living in Germany made me to think about many important questions. Where is the boundary between democracy and permissiveness? Where is the difference between tolerance and loss of national identity? What is more important for me, security, stability and comfort or high ideas?
I have received the answers, they may not be final and can change, but at the moment they do not quite coincide with the European values proclaimed in the program. In any case, this is a very useful experience for me and I am thankful for it.
Eva is hosted by Junge Stadt gGmbH on our project co-funded by the European Union.
