My year in Bolzano Volunteers say

I am Judit, I am 24 and I come from Hungary. It had been my dream for a long-long time to do EVS in Bolzano. Actually, I found the project that I am doing right now 3 years before coming here and I immediately decided that it would be MY PROJECT. The moment I saw pictures of Bolzano, I fell in love with it and also, I found it perfect that both Italian and German are spoken here, because these were the languages that I wanted to practise.

I have been here for 7 months and I must start by saying that although I think I am doing one of the best projects that exists, it has not always been easy and fun for me to be here. EVS really puts you out of your comfort zone and confronts you with yourself. It is a fantastic opportunity to grow: learn things about others, different cultures, intercultural communication, problem solving, but most importantly, about youself! To face your inhibitions, fears, to understand how much your thinking is conditioned by your own culture, to try yourself out in a completely new task and many-many more things. But to achieve this, you have to go through a lot of ups and downs, misunderstandings and moments of confusion and solitude.

I am a volunteer of VKE, an association that works with children. During these 7 months, I have worked in 9 different subprojects, including an ice-skating place, 5 different playing houses across South Tyrol, with the playing bus, in the office as a translator and at the hospital. I have also worked at VKE’s MiniBolzano project where we built up the city in a mini version and kids could try out various different professions, so I have had the opportunity to try myself out in quite diverse situations and challenges. The staff of VKE is really kind and helpful, are ready to find the best solution for every problem and will do their best to find a task for you that fits both your interests and skills.

We are two EVS volunteers in my project and several other ones from Germany and from all over Italy, so the whole project has a young and cheerful atmosphere. I am really really lucky, because I found an amazing friend in the other EVS volunteer and it was so much easier to go through everything knowing that I can always count on her. One of the best things that EVS has given me is her friendship and I definitely know that being the only volunteer would not have been half as much fun. Also, at the on-arrival and mid-term training, I got to know so many other volunteers from all over the world, with some of whom we visited each other afterwards and like that, I could also see a bit more of Italy.

For me an important aspect of being here was to practise my languages. It is amazing how quickly one can improve their language skills when they are forced to use it every day. And for that, children are the best audience, because they are patient and helpful and they cannot explain things you dont understand in English. We also had the opportunity to take part in a language course during this time which has helped a lot.

Bolzano itself is an amazing place; it is surrounded by mountains and wherever you go, you find perfect nature and breathtaking views. It is perfect for people who love sports and skiing, but it has definitely less to offer if you are looking for entertainment or cultural activities.

All in all, I think EVS is a wonderful experience, which everybody would think back to as a very special time, but it requires you to be strong, flexible and most of all, open to all the challenges you would never have imagined and prepared for when you took the plunge to apply for a project.