I have learned so much...! :D Blog

Hi, my name is Simay and I’m from Vienna, Austria. My EVS project is at the youngCaritas in Bolzano, South Tyrol. Most of the time I’m at the youngCaritas office where I do a lot of different things, for example translations, handicrafts, corrections and many more. It is not easy to explain my work, but I can say that I already learned soooo much, even things I never expected to learn. Twice a week I give German language course to people who live in one of the numerous institutions of the Caritas. I really love doing this, because I feel that my help is needed.
As it gets warmer every day, there are a lot more projects of the youngCaritas, for example a project in which groups of young people has to accomplish an activity within 72 hours, for example painting a wall of an elderly home. Another example is a beneficial run “LaufWunder” for which I have to go to schools to present the children for what exactly they are raising money. I really enjoy those school-visits, because it is so interesting getting to know the children’s points of view of the world, which I get to know better through their questions.
As I started my EVS right after finishing school it is helping me a lot in my maturing process – but being responsible for myself and living on my own is not always as easy as I thought.
The first half year I was the only EVS volunteer at the youngCaritas, but now I got two new EVS-colleagues from Russia and Spain. I am so happy that I am not alone anymore, and I enjoy being with them and exchanging ideas and opinions.
I have three more months to go, which I think will pass by quickly, because the weather is very good and fortunately there are a lot of other EVS in Bolzano. Getting to know so many people from other European countries makes me feel more like an European Citizen. After this year full of experience I am sure that I will go to visit my new friends in their countries when they return home. Thanks to EVS we created this European-wide network that opened my mind and changed my point of view regarding a lot of things!