A BULGARIAN IN THE HEART OF BOLOGNA AND BOLOGNA IN THE HEART OF A BULGARIAN
We all know the quote “Home is where your heart is”. Well, I wouldn’t be far from the truth if I say that in Bologna I found my home – friends, amazing volunteering experience, fascinating city, challenges, adventures… But, let me start from the beginning.
I am economist but only by education – by heart I have always been interested into non-formal education, volunteering, youth work, skills development, languages. Years back, eager for active participation, I was inspired to improve my practical knowledge beyond my University studies. I started writing social articles for a youth magazine while working as an intern in several NGO’s. The search of the right place for me led me to working in “SMART Foundation” – a Bulgarian NGO aimed at improving people’s skills and helping them opening their mind to cultural differences. Eager to support my future development, I found myself in need of enriching my knowledge – I started searching for an EVS project that is meaningful and challenging enough that I would put my heart and soul in it. Then the EVS project at YouNet came into my attention and it was way more than I expected. I felt fascinated first from the call for participants, then from the interview… and now, now I am actually experiencing the project and I can’t even believe my luck.
Bologna welcomed me with cold weather and warm people. From the first meeting with my roommates I already felt in my place. There were those two nice guys carrying my heavy suitcase 4 floors up on the stairs and those friendly girls making me feel comfortable. What more could I expect? At that time I still didn’t know how much I am going to like the organization and my activities. As I was used to work in a small team, to meet the huge family of YouNet was strange but really welcoming at the same time. Everyone was trying to get to know me and even speak some Bulgarian (and trust me, that is a huge effort). From the beginning they tried to understand my needs, knowledge and interests in order to make sure that the project is going to be as useful as possible for me.
As it comes to Bologna, there is not a single bad thing that I could say about it. Even in the coldest and snowiest periods, it still had its charm with the portici, taking care of you from the rain, the noise, coming from the international youth on the streets, the smell of amazing pizza or pasta when you pass by the typical Trattorias, the coffee, that you learn to drink as fast as a real Italian.
What will be next? I still don’t know. My adventure called EVS is still at the beginning and I can’t wait for all the things that it will offer me.
I am economist but only by education – by heart I have always been interested into non-formal education, volunteering, youth work, skills development, languages. Years back, eager for active participation, I was inspired to improve my practical knowledge beyond my University studies. I started writing social articles for a youth magazine while working as an intern in several NGO’s. The search of the right place for me led me to working in “SMART Foundation” – a Bulgarian NGO aimed at improving people’s skills and helping them opening their mind to cultural differences. Eager to support my future development, I found myself in need of enriching my knowledge – I started searching for an EVS project that is meaningful and challenging enough that I would put my heart and soul in it. Then the EVS project at YouNet came into my attention and it was way more than I expected. I felt fascinated first from the call for participants, then from the interview… and now, now I am actually experiencing the project and I can’t even believe my luck.
Bologna welcomed me with cold weather and warm people. From the first meeting with my roommates I already felt in my place. There were those two nice guys carrying my heavy suitcase 4 floors up on the stairs and those friendly girls making me feel comfortable. What more could I expect? At that time I still didn’t know how much I am going to like the organization and my activities. As I was used to work in a small team, to meet the huge family of YouNet was strange but really welcoming at the same time. Everyone was trying to get to know me and even speak some Bulgarian (and trust me, that is a huge effort). From the beginning they tried to understand my needs, knowledge and interests in order to make sure that the project is going to be as useful as possible for me.
As it comes to Bologna, there is not a single bad thing that I could say about it. Even in the coldest and snowiest periods, it still had its charm with the portici, taking care of you from the rain, the noise, coming from the international youth on the streets, the smell of amazing pizza or pasta when you pass by the typical Trattorias, the coffee, that you learn to drink as fast as a real Italian.
What will be next? I still don’t know. My adventure called EVS is still at the beginning and I can’t wait for all the things that it will offer me.
FRAGMENTS FROM BOLOGNA
I am standing here, beneath the Two towers of Bologna and I cannot realize how fast did 5 months fly away. Already in the middle of my EVS project, I feel more than sure that is a once in a lifetime experience. Sometimes it is even hard to catch it’s magic in words… But let me try to capture the different fragments, emotions and pictures and in case you can feel at least 1/10th of the feeling that I have here, so I did a good job.
- The home
The kitchen: this tiny little room filled in with wine glasses (usually empty and sometimes plastic), with sunsets, each one of which deserves a poem, or at least an instagram photo, with bunch of that simple but caring "How was your day?", with ceci (!), with more tea that we can drink in at least a year, with moments that we want to capture with the Polaroid, but we can never really recreate the emotion, with a dead plant, couple of washing machines and not specifically organised cooking place. Oh, and with love.
- The people
Italy is giving you the beauty of the place. But the people are the ones giving you the true happiness of the burned shoulders, the 62627 stairs on the way up during a hiking trip, the sweat... and as well the laughter on all the stupid jokes, singing with false melody under the music of ukulele, the rice cakes eaten in the middle of the street, the cold sea water, all the coffees in all the gas stations...everything. My roommates.. they are pure happiness. They representthe laughter in the kitchen, the joy in a "2 euro-wine-evening", the "How was your day" warm feeling, the morning singing of a croation voice in the bathroom, the fast waking up of a polish early in the morning, austrian‘s strawberries, czech‘s girl dancing, greek’s warm tea after a long day. They are family.
- The activities
Ready for a challenge? Yes, indeed. On the question “Do you feel comfortable to do that?”, dare! Be brave. I learned that every question is appreciated, every effort – even more. To ask for help not only is a good thing but it gets you closer to the team. Support each other. Open your mind to learn everything you can. Stand your grounds. Show what you can do without hesitation. Believe in yourself.
Embrace the EVS!
- The home
The kitchen: this tiny little room filled in with wine glasses (usually empty and sometimes plastic), with sunsets, each one of which deserves a poem, or at least an instagram photo, with bunch of that simple but caring "How was your day?", with ceci (!), with more tea that we can drink in at least a year, with moments that we want to capture with the Polaroid, but we can never really recreate the emotion, with a dead plant, couple of washing machines and not specifically organised cooking place. Oh, and with love.
- The people
Italy is giving you the beauty of the place. But the people are the ones giving you the true happiness of the burned shoulders, the 62627 stairs on the way up during a hiking trip, the sweat... and as well the laughter on all the stupid jokes, singing with false melody under the music of ukulele, the rice cakes eaten in the middle of the street, the cold sea water, all the coffees in all the gas stations...everything. My roommates.. they are pure happiness. They representthe laughter in the kitchen, the joy in a "2 euro-wine-evening", the "How was your day" warm feeling, the morning singing of a croation voice in the bathroom, the fast waking up of a polish early in the morning, austrian‘s strawberries, czech‘s girl dancing, greek’s warm tea after a long day. They are family.
- The activities
Ready for a challenge? Yes, indeed. On the question “Do you feel comfortable to do that?”, dare! Be brave. I learned that every question is appreciated, every effort – even more. To ask for help not only is a good thing but it gets you closer to the team. Support each other. Open your mind to learn everything you can. Stand your grounds. Show what you can do without hesitation. Believe in yourself.
Embrace the EVS!
ALMOST THE END....
It is already the end of October and the time since my arrival at the beginning of February flew away with the blink of an eye.
Bologna is covered in orange and yellow. The leaves are falling on the streets, reminding again the ending of the summer and the one of my project.
I am the last one of my group of volunteers – the one to say goodbye to the ones that I have spent the last months with and to greet the new once. This task is fullfilling and heavy at the same time.
Train station, bus station, airport – saying “Goodbye” to ones and “Welcome” to the others. Last Margherita at Pizza Casa and the first one (an obligatory introduction to the EVS life in the city). Packing and unpacking. Cleaning rooms and memories to give space for the creation of the new ones.
As the new volunteers arrived, still insecure, wondering about the year ahead of them, the question that was mostly asked by them was “So, was it worth it?”. I realized that always I am answering with no sign of hesitation. It was worth it. It was and still is an experience that I would rate like 10/10.
Of course, it had it ups and downs. It had the moments of enjoying it at its fullest and moments of lack of motivation and a little bit of nostalgy. But hey, that is life, isn’t it? What an experience like EVS actually makes you realize is the fact that exactly during the moments that you are down you can always find a way to push yourself back up. It can be with the help of a mentor, who noticed your moody face in the office. It can be your flatmate who just made you a tea without asking additional questions. Or the other one who just dragged you out of bed to go out and cheer up. It can be also you and only you –just deciding to find the right mindset to look at the situation from the positive side.
I will soon start to pack my suitcase and hopefully I would fit in. Because it reality, I have a lot to carry back with me – memories, knowledge, skills, confidence, friends (if I could only fit the in the luggage!). But there is also something to leave here, in Bologna – a little part of me to be always thankful for the hurricane of emotions during that adventure called EVS.
Bologna is covered in orange and yellow. The leaves are falling on the streets, reminding again the ending of the summer and the one of my project.
I am the last one of my group of volunteers – the one to say goodbye to the ones that I have spent the last months with and to greet the new once. This task is fullfilling and heavy at the same time.
Train station, bus station, airport – saying “Goodbye” to ones and “Welcome” to the others. Last Margherita at Pizza Casa and the first one (an obligatory introduction to the EVS life in the city). Packing and unpacking. Cleaning rooms and memories to give space for the creation of the new ones.
As the new volunteers arrived, still insecure, wondering about the year ahead of them, the question that was mostly asked by them was “So, was it worth it?”. I realized that always I am answering with no sign of hesitation. It was worth it. It was and still is an experience that I would rate like 10/10.
Of course, it had it ups and downs. It had the moments of enjoying it at its fullest and moments of lack of motivation and a little bit of nostalgy. But hey, that is life, isn’t it? What an experience like EVS actually makes you realize is the fact that exactly during the moments that you are down you can always find a way to push yourself back up. It can be with the help of a mentor, who noticed your moody face in the office. It can be your flatmate who just made you a tea without asking additional questions. Or the other one who just dragged you out of bed to go out and cheer up. It can be also you and only you –just deciding to find the right mindset to look at the situation from the positive side.
I will soon start to pack my suitcase and hopefully I would fit in. Because it reality, I have a lot to carry back with me – memories, knowledge, skills, confidence, friends (if I could only fit the in the luggage!). But there is also something to leave here, in Bologna – a little part of me to be always thankful for the hurricane of emotions during that adventure called EVS.