My life in the south Blog

Ciao a tutti,

my name is Lilli and I had planned for a long time to go abroad for a year after graduating from high school and luckily, despite the uncertain Corona situation, it finally worked out and I ended up in Molfetta in southern Italy.
I definitely wanted to do something with people and I decided to work with an organization that looks after young adults with disabilities. I didn't have any concrete expectations for this year and I just let everything come my way. Now that I've been here for eleven months, I can say that this year has taught me so much more than it would have been possible if I would have stayed at home in Germany and that coming here was the best decision. I really enjoy the work and I've really grown fond of the people I work with and will definitely miss them. I only speak Italian to them and the initial language barrier has now largely been overcome. Basically, the facility I work in is like a small school, just a little bit different. We learn and work together, are creative, even have our own garden in town that we take care of and always have a lot of fun.

In fact, we are quite a lot of volunteers in Molfetta and together with ten other people I live in a very colorful and very international flat. From Poland to Latvia, Austria, France, Spain, Greece and, most recently, Ukraine, everything is included. And I notice that no matter how much you learn about other cultures at school, for example, personal exchange is best. I've learned so many interesting things about the cultures of my friends' countries here this year like never before. So I know that after this year I will have contacts all over Europe where I am always welcome, which is a great privilege. And then of course there is Apulia with its colorful culture, the long summer and the sea, the olive plantations, the good food and the open-minded and friendly people. I really feel at home in this country and I believe that this will not be my last long stay in Italy. Although I have already seen a lot, there is still much more to discover. Now that I can speak the language to some extent and know what it's like to live here, I can be sure that I can always come back here, because Italy definitely has a special place in my heart.