Great time in Georgia

Hello everyone, My name is Annemarijn and I am a Dutch ESC volunteer in GYE in Rustavi, Georgia for four months. Right now I have been here two months and I am going to tell you about my amazing experience so far!

In these last months I have had so much fun working at GYE. My colleagues are really nice and we always have a good time at the office. At times we play games with each other or just talk in our work breaks.

I give English conversation three times a week, once with kids and two times for youngsters and adults. With the kids I play games and make drawing while learning English. With the older group I talk about a lot of different topics, like traveling, the school system and sometimes just having fun like friends.
I also have drawing club for kids. The club is before school at 11 o’clock. We usually search for a drawing video on YouTube and go through the process step by step. The kids don’t really speak English so we communicate throughout hand gestures or someone translates between us. This can sometimes be difficult because there can be easily some miscommunication, but it is also a fun challenge and I learned that you can come a long way with just hand gestures.

Four times a week I go to a kindergarten in Rustavi with one other volunteer and we teach the kids some English by playing games or watching short movies and reflect on them. The kids can be very energetic and a bit too much at times, but they are also very sweet and really enjoy our lessons. So all together it is a good experience!

Two times a week I have Georgian lesson with an amazing teacher. We practiced what we learned the last time, learn something new and laugh a lot while doing it. Georgian is a difficult language, but I do really like learning it. Because you need the language much, you see your own progress very good and gives me motivation to continue.

On occasion we have some Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges or other types of projects, for example a Christmas market or setting up summer camps, and we all help to prepare and run them. These projects can be in collaboration with the Scout Center in Rustavi. Then it is even more fun because we get to work and hang out with all the volunteers.

My apartment is a 1-minute walk from the GYE office. I live with two other volunteers, one also from GYE and the other from the Scout Center. In the beginning some of us had to get used to living together, but right now it is really nice. The other volunteers are in the apartment across the hall from ours, so we hang out a lot and have so much fun! I really like everyone here and have made some really good friends. Not always everyone gets along, but we try to talk about it and fix it. So it doesn’t become a problem and up to now it worked.
I am truly enjoying the variety of nationalities I have met, because you learn more about the way things go in other countries, the culture and some national traditions. Even games or food can be so different, but so much fun to try!

Georgia is such a beautiful country, the nature, people and of course the food! I never thought I would feel so much at home here, as I do. Georgia really got a place in my heart and I will definitely visit it more often after my stay here. I am so very grateful for this amazing opportunity and know that I will remember this for the rest of my life!

Levan Aptsiauri - ESC volunteer's story

Challenges always benefit us and life is really full with surprises and unplanned decisions. A few months ago, I probably could not have imagined that I would be living as a volunteer in a foreign country that was unknown to me before, and this is how the relationship between me, Latvia and Radi Vidi Pats began. Not even two months after starting my volunteer service in a completely different environment, I remember many doubts, fears and an unclear emotional background were accompanying me during the way from home to Kutaisi International Airport, and the way from Riga Airport to the
destination was so foggy that it was difficult to predict anything. There were many questions right away, the most remarkable one was about my professional or personal development, because it was hard to break away from my (legal) field of expertise, in which I am still developing myself today, although after a short interview with my current project coordinator, the inner voice dictated to me all the time that this is exactly where I should be!!!!

Today I pursue my projects and ideas with a completely different mentality. I do my favourite work with great motivation and enthusiasm, and I don't feel tired. Thanks to the locals and the
people I already know, even the cold weather cannot affect my motivation and character. I was surprised by the excitement of these people towards Georgia, which led me to open a Georgian language circle in Latvia, and I’m also pleasantly surprised by their interest in my language. I have the opportunity to participate in activities to support Ukrainians who are living in Liepāja, where I teach English, and together with many other wonderful people we are trying every day to provide as much help as we can. I am actively involved in the socialization program in Liepājas Prison too, which is very challenging and requires a lot of responsibility, but gives a lot of fun as well. 

All this happened in 2 months, and I still have 10 more to go!!! Show must go on :D

Zhenia Sakanelashvili’s ESC story

Hello to Everyone. I'm Zhenia, a 20-year-old student from Rustavi, Georgia, and I'm going to share with you a short story of the happenings that took place in Krakow, one of the most breathtaking cities in Europe, which is also home to some of the loveliest, friendliest, and most supportive people. Krakow is a city rich in culture and history, with architectural excellence. Everything had an easy beginning. For years, I've wanted to take part in the ESC project. The comfort zone is the cause of why it remained only a desire. But when the moment was perfect, I submitted the Krakow application, I felt that I was ready and now here I am.

My project started in September and it'll take 10 months. It is difficult to condense all the benefits, but the environment that permeates both inside and outside of the school is the first thing I can mention. After facing many things, I can say now that, despite individual differences, there are no limitation to what humans are capable of. My host school is absolute heaven. It is impossible to go there and not transform. Even one day is enough to leave entirely changed. I've been observing the attitude toward kids every day for the past three months. THIS IS MORE THAN CARE.

In addition to the school's uniqueness, during these three months, I underwent a noticeable personality change. Furthermore, I met and got to know a lot of people from various nationalities and religious backgrounds, which improved significantly my intercultural communication skills and encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and bravely take on new challenges.

After completing this project, I will be certainly a completely different person who continually strives to have an active social life. I want to express my deep gratitude to ESC and GYE for providing me with the chance to join the large ESC family as a volunteer for this.

ESC in Rustavi - Laurin

Hello, I’m Laurin from Germany and I’m volunteering at GYE in Rustavi for one year. I have been here for already 2 months and so many great things happened already!

My tasks are mainly doing German conversation clubs for youngsters and young adults which I really enjoy, but also supporting ERASMUS+ youth exchanges by running energizers and get-to-know-each-other games and general support for the group leaders. The youth centre also offers other activities, such as national evenings or outdoor activities which I help with. In the future I will also assist teachers in one school for German and French classes.

Working with international people brings me a lot pleasure, it is so cool to have volunteers from different nationalities (although many of them are German) and Georgians and other European people. It helps to reflect on your own culture but also gives you so many opportunities to learn about other cultures.

I have already seen many different places in Georgia, I was in Kobuleti, Lagodekhi, Udabno, Stepanzminda and visited Tbilisi many times. What I like most about my voluntary service is that while I am doing a meaningful job, I still have enough free time to travel and explore the country. I’m so happy to be in Georgia because it is a completely new culture for me, everyone is so welcoming and the nature is incredibly beautiful.

Although I had some difficulties in the first weeks, I feel very lucky to have a safe place here in Rustavi where I can be myself as a queer person and have people around me who support me regardless of their nationality. I didn’t expect that, but I guess I’m generally surprised by the extreme comity of Georgian people, which certainly doesn’t exist in this form in Germany.

As I have just finished school, it is the first time for me to live in a foreign environment without my family for a longer period of time. I love my flatmates a lot, we support each other and have a great time together.

I’m very glad that I took this opportunity, there is no other place I would rather be than here now. 

Volunteering in Vilnius

Hello, my name is Vakhtangi, I’m 18 years old, from Georgia and I am volunteering for the European Solidarity Corps (1 year) project in Vilnius, Lithuania. 
I work as a volunteer at a day center “šviesa” for adult people with mental and physical disabilities.

My primary responsibilities as a volunteer are to assist center visitors with their daily needs, to help them during their classes, to provide them individual attention, and to engage in activities. I have a wonderful time with them, we are drawing, having walks, listening to music, constructing puzzle games, and so on. Especially now, during the summer we have so many exciting outdoor activities, on lakes and rivers. For example, last week we had a trip to the Lithuanian seaside city of Klaipeda, we spent a great time in the hot weather in the cool Baltic Sea. I have never met such warm, honest, and kind people as “visitors” of the center. They like spending time with us a lot. They are always ready and willing to share their emotions, thoughts, and, most importantly their works from the day. They give me wonderful emotions and sincere friendship. 

I am going to have a day of presentation of my country and I will definitely try to bake our country's traditional food  Khachapuri with my hands and taste it together with my friends at work.

I must mention that this project is a great experience for me, for several reasons: this is my first time to live abroad, the first time I live so far from my family, the first time I live with foreign-speaking volunteers, the first time I get used to create own independent life in a completely foreign country. Huuh…  It's a great challenge! I've been in Lithuania for four months already, and when I remember myself in the first days… :))) I see a lot of changes in myself, and I'm very happy about this rapid development. 

My sending organisation from Georgia is: Georgian Youth for Europe.

The project is coordinated in Lithuania by: Saltes.

Hosting organisation in Lithuania: Dienos centras "Šviesa".

Many thanks to all of them for such an interesting experience and opportunity. 

Warm greetings from Vilnius, 

Vakho Inasaridze