It has already been three months, that I am here in Romania, Constanta as a EVS volunteer,  and I can say that my first stage of great discovery has been successfully finished and now, when cultural shok has gone I want to talked about my feelings that I have had in this 3 months.

I remember the day when I arrived in Romania,  just like the day before yesterday. I remember my confusion  when I found myself removed from my comfort zone to so many strange  people of different nationalities and I was afraid. But I realized that it was the biggest challenge for me, it was the way i learned how to change myself, how to become independent . It wasn’t a hard exam for me, because here I found people like me and we together decided  that we should be friends. So, this is how I made my Romanian friends here… The first days passed by and troubles and confusion decreased. But today, when I ask myself what have I gained so far, there are many more things then lack of confusion…

First of all, I feel how stronger I am personally. Maybe this phrase is already pretty  shabby but I am much more experienced now. During my EVS I have got so much practical experience, I think, I had not had during all my life. I met many new people and I had a chance to experience interesting, pleasant, less pleasant or just relationships. The project gave me the chance to improve my communication and group-working skills and see myself from a totally different angle. I realized good and less pleasant points of my personal character and I started learning and improving everyday.

It is worth mentioning that I faced up cultural differences besides the uniqueness of the human being. This helped me realize how the world can be, small and big at the same time. It made me  become more open minded, more tolerant and gained many friends from different parts of the world!

Next big challenge is my job, which is really amazing and exciting for me, I am working with children, in three different locations. At school we are doing different things, including sociometric test and presentation about our cultures , In Agigea the only thing that we must do is to share our love and warmth. We use different kind of instruments to feel their needs and we see things that sometimes are really sad. In cultural center of Corbu we also have presentation about Georgia, and its very good for us to introduce our culture to them, because most of them have no idea where Georgia is. We  continue to explain that we have mountains and sea resorts and there is only one Georgia and its beautiful and wonderful.

The other very important part of my EVS is  more practical. As an undergraduate of Faculty of Humanities I really lack the practical skills of using modern technologies, such as different computer programs or digital templates. Everyday tasks in the organisation help me a lot to improve myself in this direction and discover my hidden abilities to use modern digital  programs.

Moreover, during my being here, I took active part in the plenty of  initiatives our organisation held. We had out door trainings which was really amazing and unforgetable.

But my 3 months EVS has not been just working and studying. It was new adventures and great fun too! I took up my new hobby – travelling! I had the first long travelling of my life around Romania cities when I visited Bucharest, Sibiu, Brasov, Sinaia, Bran. Not much, but pretty tiring for the first long-term travelling.

To sum up, what has been my 3 month EVS so far? It’s been everyday learning, getting new skills, meeting new people, travelling, experiencing new things and exploring inner and outer world. I am sure when I come back to Georgia… But no, I won’t speak about the future. The only thing I know is that I am collecting the knowledge and experience every day,  I am growing every day. Let’s see what I will have done by the end of my EVS! (Mariam Akobia)

It has been approximately three months that I am living in Romania as a volunteer. With one glance this is not a quite long period, however my life has changed radically in these three months.

Frankly speaking, I did not experience cultural shock because my expectations concerning this country were mostly true. Despite that, getting used to new environment was not easy in the beginning. The first obstacle that I faced was the language barrier. It is some kind of stressful situation where you should find the solution on your own. One week was enough for me to get used to everyone and everything, find the strength in me and live along with local lifestyle. I realized that there are people here who are in the same situation and they need a friend and support just as you do.
Regardless the activities, I mostly work with children and youngsters up to 15 years old. This includes schools, Day Care Center (Agigea) and Cultural Center Corbu.

We conduct trainings on various issues in schools. Our aim is to use non formal methods and create environment for children where they will feel comfortable and will fully express their wishes and interests .

In Day Care Center we try to cheer up children and create positive atmosphere. They are extremely warm and open, they express love openly. They are especially happy while playing with us and making them feel better is our main aim.

In Cultural Center, children mostly come to gain information concerning different topics. They participate in different activities, competitions and try to find more information about environment. In this center we have presented our countries. Not only in this center, but in Romania not many people know much about Georgia. We are doing our best to properly present our country and leave on them correct impressions about Georgia.

We always have different trainings as in Constanta as well as in other cities of Romania. I think this is the most interesting part of the program. While traveling you are learning about the country, people, history, culture. You discover new places and find our important facts about country.

This project together with all activities, jobs and people is new experience, personal growth, discovering myself and gaining new friends. After all this you become more independent and grown that you were, your mindset is broader and it helps you to make correct decisions. (Aleko Machaladze)

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