Mariam Kozlova ESC story from Banska Stiavnica, Slovakia

Let me introduce myself.

My name is Mariam Kozlova. I am a 23-year-old student from Georgia and I would like to share my volunteer experience with the European Solidarity Corps.

My project takes place in one of the most charming cities in Slovakia, Banska Stiavnica, a former mining town and a UNESCO site. For me, as an architect, life in such a wonderful historical place was beyond dreams, but dreams usually tend to come true.

Over the past 6 months, my colleagues and I have been working on the restoration of the Kalvarija church complex, which dates back to the Baroque era and was destroyed during the Soviet era. Now this place is one of the most recognizable in Slovakia, and I am very proud to take part in this project.

In addition to the workplace, our project gives us the opportunity to travel not only in Slovakia, but also in neighboring countries, and in fact, due to its location, Slovakia is called the “heart of Europe”. During my stay here I have visited Italy, Austria and Hungary, and I am very grateful for this opportunity.

Every new day here brings me something new, new impressions, new knowledge, new people around me. Living in a foreign country gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture, now as a tourist, but with the views of the locals in mind, and it's so amazing.

In some ways Slovakia reminds me of my homeland, Georgia with breathtaking mountains and nature, but it is still a new country full of new experiences and new challenges, which usually forces you to leave your comfort zone and start thinking outside the box. And this is probably the best part of my experience.

In conclusion, I would like to thank my Georgian and Slovak colleagues for the opportunity to live and study here, in Slovakia,to explore new cultures and learn a lot of new things every day.

ESC story from Slovakia- Lana Katsarava

Greetings from Slovakia! I am Lana Katsarava, 22 years old. I am volunteering in one of the most beautiful cities in Slovakia, called Banská Štiavnica. Banská Štiavnica is a small town, which still keeps its medieval character. The town is on the UNESCO list and hosts so many tourists every year.                                                         

Everything started in May, when I applied for the project and got an invitation from the host organization. I was so spontaneous and happy at the same time, so I didn’t hesitate. I packed my bag and came to Slovakia on the 17^th of May. My organization is the "Calvary Fund". The mission of the Calvary Fund is to restore the Calvary—a sacral complex of churches and chapels. They are also running a youth hostel in the town and a scout campsite in the surrounding mountains. I work in the Calvary exhibition room. During the service I am responsible for opening the churches, providing information to tourists, and selling souvenirs. During the summer, we organized a summer scout camp, prepared the whole area before their arrival, built tents and other wooden constructions.

From the day I started the project, I met many people from Germany, France, Latvia, Turkey, the Netherlands, Czechia , Spain, Hungary, and so on. I developed my language, communication skills, traveled around Europe, tried paragliding and climbing, exchanged cultural and social information. My project will be finished in December and I already feel sad to farewell my new friends and places here. I am grateful for the memories I have collected in Slovakia and want to thank ESC, Georgian Youth for Europe and my host organization for this opportunity.

Salome Chochua ESC story from Poland

Hello, I am Salome Chochua, 23 years old. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and I’m planning to study educational sciences for Masters. My European Solidarity Corps volunteering project in Caritas, Gdansk, Poland is coming to the end. 

The main goal of project was to integrate foreign volunteers into group of Children in Need, to give them a chance to experience new culture, connect with new, international people and develop new academic and social skills. Simply, we the project is trying to make sure that every child has a safe, happy and secure childhood.

During my stay here I have been working with children. I, with local teachers, was trying to build trusting relationships with children within the group. We conducted workshops, and different projects on important topics. I was supporting the project, planning, implementing and evaluating programme events, seminars and other national/international events, providing input and supporting with creative ideas for strategic development of the center. I took part in implementing outdoor, cultural and educational activities.

The city, by itself is amazing. Beautiful, cosy and friendly atmosphere of the city created my stay here unforgettable. Here I made lot of new friends, met with international people from all over the world. I believe this project helped me a lot to develop cultural awareness and open-mindedness. I think I’ve gained enormous growth in confidence and independence, a sense of achievement, and became aware of possibilities.

Thousands of interesting and useful ideas in my head - ESC Story from Romania

Hello, I am Nino. 8 months ago I decided to use the pandemic period productively, take on new challenges and gain life experience. I took part in an exchange visit announced by the European Solidarity Corps and I went to Romania within a month. I am very proud of myself because I accepted this challenge and despite all the fears, language barriers and I moved to a completely foreign space.

The place was called Empowering youth academy, where I spent 8 months, completely changing my worldview for the better. I worked at a youth center. My job was to prepare social-emotional, art therapy and mindfulness activities with other 4 international volunteers for children ages 6-12.  This place has become my source of inspiration! I was motivated to do civic activities when I returned to my homeland. If not for the people around me I would probably find it very difficult to adapt to a foreign space.

I can’t fail to mention how much experience I have gained working with children. The relationship with the little ones turned out to be very interesting and rewarding. During this time I discovered a lot of things in myself.

It was extremely interesting to live with 5 international volunteers. I learned a lot from them that will be very useful in life, thanks to   them. Romania has become my second home, I got so used to the place, the lifestyle, the culture, the traditions and the people that it was very difficult for me to go back. Traveling with friends and discovering new spaces has motivated me to travel and enjoy new sights.

  

This exchange visit, these eight months made my life more exciting. There are thousands of interesting and useful ideas in my head. Most importantly at this moment I know exactly what I want to do in life and how to be happy.

 

 I am happy

ESC story from Latvia - Ia Artmeladze

Hello! I am Ia Artmeladze. I am 23 years old, volunteer from Georgia. My project “100 words about Europe” (2019-3-LV02-ESC11-002815) started in Latvia on 7th February.

The project directly involves learning and teaching foreign languages (English, Latvian), explore Europe values and doing activities with kids in Augšlīgatne kindergarten “Zvaniņi”. Now I teach English to 3-4 years old children and introduce them with Georgian culture. 

Children are very fun, sociable and active. In a short time, I visited some very interesting and impressive places for me – Līgatne, Sigulda, Zvārtes iezis and learned some Latvian words. I have high hopes that by the end of the project I will gain a lot of experience and learned a lot of interesting things. I wish you a lot of success!