ESC Volunteering with Care2Travel in Miercurea Ciuc

Traveling alone and saying goodbye

Ever since the start of my volunteering here in Romania, it has been a goal of mine to go somewhere alone for a few days and spend some days alone in another place. In the middle of February, I had the perfect opportunity because Lisa (another volunteer here in Miercurea-Ciuc who does not work with Care2Travel) flew back home. That is why I decided to go with her to Bucharest on the night of her departure to help her with her heavy suitcases on the trains. It was a great opportunity because the train she planned to take to Bucharest only stops there and then goes straight on to Constanta to the Black Sea and so Constanta became the destination of my first solo trip.

Our journey started on Sunday, in the middle of the night. My alarm clock went off at 3:30, and about half an hour later, I went to Lisa’s apartment to pick her up. I have to say, it was a bit weird to walk around the city alone in the middle of the night because especially in the morning it was very foggy. Luckily my dad is often awake in the middle of the night, so we just had a little phone call. When I arrived at Lisa’s accommodation, we quickly prepared her apartment for the move out, and then we went with her two suitcases, her backpack, and her bag to the train station. When we arrived at the station, we lifted the luggage into the train, which was really a challenge because I am really not the strongest person and the trains are not ground-level, unlike at home in Germany. On the train ride to Brasov, we were lucky that we had our own compartment and could sleep a bit.

In Brasov, we waited for half an hour for our next train, and we could enjoy a very nice sunrise. We talked a bit about Lisa’s past time here in Romania, and then our next train came to Bucharest and Constanta. Once in Bucharest, it was time to say goodbye. I helped Lisa one last time to lift her suitcases from the train. We hugged each other and promised that we would visit each other when I am back in Germany. Of course it was sad that it was time to say goodbye, but at the same time I knew for a little longer that this point was coming, so I was able to prepare for it. But to be honest, at the beginning I was very sad when Lisa told me for the first time that she was going home in February. It was so nice to have a person who also volunteered but not with the same organization, and you could share your experiences.

But soon I was distracted because from Bucharest, my solo trip officially started. I had to travel another 2.5 hours by train until I finally reached my destination. When I arrived in Constanta, I went straight to the sea. My first stop was the Old Casino. I had already read in advance that it is currently being renovated, which is why a large scaffold was there. Otherwise, I enjoyed the fresh sea air very much and probably spent a few minutes just standing by the sea and breathing in the salty air. After that, I went to the city. I had already heard from the other volunteers that Constanta was not the most beautiful city in their opinion, and I have to say that I felt the same way. Maybe it was also because it was quite cloudy and therefore everything looked very grey. So I decided to go back to the sea and just walk along the beach, but that wasn’t so easy because, with my heavy winter shoes, I always got stuck in the sand.

After a while, I decided to make my way to my hotel. And this turned out to be a bit more difficult than I thought, because Google Maps showed me paths that didn’t exist or were private paths, so it took me a while to finally check in and get to my room. There, I first rested a bit, but then I got a bad conscience at some point. I thought, now I’m in a new city, and I’m just lying in bed. But then I realized that I’ve been walking a lot that day and got up very early, so it’s totally okay to rest. This is exactly the advantage when you are traveling alone, because you can choose exactly what you want to do right now and you don’t have to adapt to anyone. Since it was already dark outside at that time, I just decided to watch the sea from my room and read my book.

The next morning I got up quite early, as my train was already going back at noon and I wanted to spend some time by the sea. After a delicious omelet and chocolate croissant for breakfast, I checked out and went first to a second-hand store. In the past, I was never really going to second-hand stores in Germany, but since there are so many in Miercurea Ciuc and I have tried them a few times, I would almost say that I prefer second-hand stores. After that, I had two hours left, and I decided to sit by the sea for the rest of the time. I read my book, breathed in the fresh air, and listened to the seagulls and soon it was time for me to go back to the train station.

Also, on the return trip, everything went without problems. I had to change trains once in Bucharest and once in Brasov. All trains were on time, and so I was tired but happy back in Miercurea Ciuc in the evening. On the last train I even met a girl my age, who lives in Miercurea Ciuc and we had a very nice conversation and she gave me tips on what to do here. When I arrived in Miercurea Ciuc, I was proud to have managed this little adventure. I have to say, however, I was not so nervous about it, which is probably because I have already spent a total of three times about 35 hours traveling by bus from Romania to Germany or vice versa. Probably, therefore, I was already a bit used to being on the road alone.

As a conclusion to my first solo trip, I can say that I really enjoyed being so independent. I could look at the things I wanted in the city, I could choose when and what I ate, and I could just do what I liked. After this positive experience I would like to travel even more alone in the future and then also for a longer period of time.

– Paula

A Walkthrough of my Journey to Organize my Greek/Cypriot Intercultural Night

As part of my Project with the European Solidarity Corps, our Hosting Organization to assigned us, among other things, the task of organizing an “Intercultural Night” about our country/countries. The Intercultural Nights consists of a presentation, which lasts for about 1h, and culminating to a Quiz Session, a Questions Session, and, very importantly, a Local-Food Session. In this blogpost, we will take a look into the different stages of preparing for my Intercultural Night.

We had a “meeting” in the beginning of our Projects, where we decided on when each person will make their presentation. During that meeting, I decided to take the available slot more-or-less in the middle of the duration of my Project. Avoiding being the first to present gave me the chance to see how others do it. Avoiding being the last to present allowed me to have less things in my plate during the end period of my Project, which is, usually, very packed with other tasks.

About 1month prior to my presentation, I was asked to create a promotional poster for my event and write a short summary to be posted in the local event magazine. The poster was done in about 1 evening and the text just took a few minutes to write.

Next, I had to actually prepare the presentation and decide on the food that I would make. As I am a great procrastinator, I, of course, didn’t start working on the presentation early-on; instead doing everything last minute. When the deadline started coming close, the pressure intensified, and it was then that I could do my best work. I had actually finished my presentation in just 2days.

Before presenting at the local county library, we had a mock/trial presentation with my interpreter and the staff of Care2Travel. The presentation was longer than the allotted duration, so I had to remove a lot of content, mainly concerning History.

Normally, we take the day off on the day of our presentations, in order to prepare everything; however, do to scheduling issues, I had to take my day off earlier and I had to also “work” on the actual day of my presentation. This made things harder for me, but everything was manageable. On the night before my presentation, I had to make the food that I wanted to serve. I had decided on making Greek Pastitsio. It took a lot of time to make, and I had a huge mess to clean-up. Regardless of the arduous task of making the Greek Pastitsio, it is always worth it, since it is a great dish, being one of my favorites; it makes a great dish to show to others the Greek cuisine.

During my presentation, everything went smoothly. The staff mentioned that they were worried that the presentation would be too short, instead; but it was just the right duration. Many people attended. The Food Session was a success, and everyone enjoyed it, with some attendees asking for seconds or even thirds.

After the event had finished, I felt great relief, with a “weight” being lifted off me; finally getting over with the event. It was one of the most difficult tasks that we have been assigned to do and also one that needed great care and attention, since it was a public event and it should reflect positively on the Organizations reputation.

Even though I wasn’t very eager to do this task, which required a lot of work, since I had to do it, I did it as best as I reasonably could. Due to my principles, if I do something, I want to do it well. All-in-all, this was a rough outline of my journey for this event. I hope that you have enjoyed it!

~Argyrou Minas, MBiotech

…and already it´s halftime

…and already it’s halftime. For four months, I’ve been calling my little town “home,” my accommodation “home,” and my roommates “family.” From the bottom of my heart, I can say that coming here was probably the best decision I could have made, and I still feel extremely comfortable. My roommates are my better halves, and 24/7 we spend together. Together, we’ve managed to establish a structure in this fast-paced and exciting time, always finding small routines.

A typical day involves us waking up together, usually a bit late, resulting in a slightly stressed morning without breakfast. We then hop on our frozen bikes, slide over icy streets to our office, where we first enjoy a raspberry-vanilla tea and then review our plan for the day. Hungarian lessons, development trainings, social media, and other bureaucratic tasks add variety to our primary morning duty of organizing and preparing for the After School Club. In December, we tried to come up with as many activities as possible related to Christmas. Between singing Christmas carols, sewing Santa stockings, writing letters to Santa, engaging in snowball fights, and baking and decorating Christmas cookies, I’ve grown fond of the children in the various After School Clubs, finding favorites and less favored ones.

Two major events were on the agenda in December. One of my project colleagues initiated a fundraising campaign on his blog, which was a great success. With the funds raised, we put together individual bags of toys, candies, and craft supplies as a Christmas surprise for each child in the poorest After School Club. We also purchased communal toys like a football, tennis rackets, or essential items such as a mop, other cleaning supplies, notebooks, pens, and more. When we handed each child their own little bag, tears welled up in our eyes. Especially when the daycare provider mentioned that these children had never received so many gifts in their lives, the meaningfulness of our presence here became evident once again.

The other major ongoing initiative is a climbing frame for the aforementioned children. Although there is a climbing frame in their “schoolyard,” these children are not allowed to use it during our afternoon visits because they are too poor, and their parents couldn’t afford possible damages and repairs. Having to explain to a child why one friend can use the play equipment and another cannot breaks your heart and is, in my opinion, unbearable. Therefore, our organization found an old frame from private hands, which we are gradually dismantling and transporting to rebuild it on-site, making it accessible to every child.

The weekends couldn’t be more different. Most of the time, we’re on the move, exploring various parts of Romania. For example, we went on a hike to one of the nearby mountains. After a steep climb, we stayed overnight in a small hut without electricity and running water, made friends at night, engaged in a wild snowball fight with loud techno music, and slid down the next day in fresh deep snow. Additionally, we take many short trips to various cities in the country. Amid finding a small kitten as a new roommate, sledding, baking cookies, participating in Secret Santa, karaoke, and new drinking games, sleep may occasionally take a backseat, but life is just right.

Little routines have developed, like our regular visits to our favorite bar, where my talent for table football has significantly improved. Equally regularly, we go to the stadium to support the city’s ice hockey club. It took some time, but now, equipped with a fan scarf, we have been accepted as true fans among the ultras. I’ve even had the megaphone handed to me. Apart from that, it’s the little things, like the Quiz Night organized by other volunteers every first Monday of the month, the weekly trip to the supermarket, cooking together in the evening, and the late-night conversations and laughter at the kitchen table with my new little family 🙂

The supposed structure is kindly interrupted from time to time. For instance, my roommate broke her foot, and temporarily, we moved to another accommodation for three weeks, right in the center. Leaving our home and suddenly living with eight other volunteers in a small space was quite an adjustment. The hustle and bustle in the room and the many shared evenings were nice, but it was even nicer when we could move back. Additionally, I flew home for Christmas to spend the last days of the year with my loved ones. The time in Germany was a stark contrast to my daily life here, and honestly, I missed Romania and was even happier when I returned in January. However, daily life didn’t last long because in mid-January, we had our Mid-Term Training in Bucharest. There, we met many other volunteers also in Romania. All the people there were incredibly inspiring, and many conversations, especially the evenings, are among my happiest moments since I’ve been here.

Perhaps more calm will set in over the next few months, although I seriously doubt that with the colorful bunch around me and I don’t hope for it either…

-Gesine-

Breaking my foot in Romania, or how to be out of the game for a few weeks

I’ve always been very clumsy, full of catastrophic stories, but would I ever have imagined that one day it would cost me weeks on end to stay in bed in Romania? Never

An unfortunate accident on the stairs and I end up on a Monday morning trying to stand up but unable to put my foot on the floor. I contact the Care2Travel team: “Hi, I think I’ve twisted my ankle, I can’t walk, I won’t be able to come into the office today”. Here begins my first day at home. I tell myself it’s probably just a sprain, it will be fine, nothing dramatic, I’m waiting to hear from Kinga about a doctor’s appointment, jumping around on one foot, I’m eating Nutella in bed, the girls are calling me on facetime from the office to keep me company, the whole office has had a chance to see my foot through the video, so far it’s been pretty fun. But I’m in pain, a little too much for a sprain maybe…

Finally, at the end of the day, Peter takes me to the emergency room, and after a bit of waiting and a few X-rays, the verdict is in: a bone is broken, I’m in a cast and forbidden to put my foot on the ground for at least three weeks. By the time I get back to my apartment, I’m sitting on my bed, slowly trying to realize what’s happening. I’ve never broken a bone in my life, and now it’s happening when I’m in Romania, far from home, forcing me to put all my plans for work, outings and travel for the next few weeks on one side. I try to keep my mood up, not to overdramatize, but the next day Peter arrives to bring me my crutches, and I ask him “when am I coming back to the office?” His reply, “take a couple of days to rest, we’ll talk about it later”, makes me realize that it’s not likely to happen tomorrow, and that clearly my day for the next few weeks will consist of just one objective: to stay in bed and rest.

Living in the house in Csiksomlyo, I’m really far from everything and can’t get around, so I’m moving to central accommodation to be with the others and be downtown, so I’m less isolated. My roommate (and best friend) follows me. So began the longest but most surprising 3 weeks of my project. I have no autonomy, I have to ask for help with everything I do. I’m thirsty? “do you think someone could get me a glass of water, please?” I’m hungry? “is anyone planning to go shopping today?” The feeling of being dependent on others and more than that, of being a burden on others, is the worst thing for me. But I’m keeping my morale up, it’s just a few weeks, it’ll pass quickly, I’m with others, it could be worse, and I’m not alone . Sometimes morale is difficult, some days my motivation is at its lowest, but I’m doing my best and I’m not doing too badly. My very positive nature helps a lot. I remember one day my roommate said to me “it’s crazy, anyone in this situation would have been crying right now and you’re here ‘blah blah blah’ talking, smiling, trying to find solutions, it’s crazy”. That was the sentence I tried to keep in mind over the following weeks.

I’m lent an old wheelchair, the other volunteers can take me everywhere with them, it’s the best news I could have received, it’s old, but it works, I clean it, inflate the wheels and I’m ready to gambol on my two wheels. I know, the doctor told me to stay as still as possible, but the only thing I want to do is move. First outing with my new wheelchair, we go to the ice hockey game, terrible trip, we hadn’t seen that the brakes were on, Greta (my incredible friend), pushes me very hard to the ice rink (well for me it was okay, I had a good laugh sitting in my wheelchair), then we realize that our stupidity on the way back. I’ve been on a lot of outings in my wheelchair. Ice field hockey, restaurants, cafés, Shopping in Profi, Dabo, KFC, snow slides, the office, team building, Hungarian lessons, intercultural night at the library, I’ve even been to an after-school club or two. There are a few upsides: the other volunteers write on my cast, it can feel like a little vacation in my bed, but above all, I’ve discovered an immense sense of solidarity.

When you get past the annoying part of having to ask for help with everything, I see how everyone is there for me and helps me. I think that’s what I’ll remember most, realizing the real friendships I’ve made here and the big hearts of the people who are here with me. Looking back, I think I was almost lucky that it happened to me here, I was really well surrounded.

As the 3 weeks come to an end, I’m overexcited and just want to walk. But I’m also very worried. I have to admit that I haven’t been the most careful or the most calm. I was supposed to stay in bed, and even if that’s what I did most of the time, and I really tried my best, I’ve been a little too active, going all over town, exploring (which has cost me a few falls by the way). Peter takes me to hospital, where my cast is removed. With a huge smile on my face, I went back to the accommodation. I’ve forgotten how to walk, I’m limping, I’m very slow, but I’m happy. I spend over an hour crying, tears of happiness, but I can’t stop crying. I go shopping, I don’t need anything but I want to walk, go somewhere on my own, I meet another volunteer at the store “wow amazing, I’d almost forgotten you could walk that’s great, but why are you crying?” I have no reason to give, I’m just too happy, I spend an hour limping around the store. It’s an incredible feeling. Over the next few days, I thanked everyone, moved back into my house and things gradually returned to normal. Finally, today we sometimes talk about it again, saying “it’s still crazy”, and I think back on that period like a faraway dream. I can’t believe it really happened. It’s a period that will have left its mark on my time in Romania and my volunteering. It really wasn’t easy, but I’ll always remember the good things about it, the generosity of the people around me, my ability to stay positive and, after all, a new experience.

– Candice –

Slaying the Mid-Term Evaluation

At the end of January, the After-school club team travelled to Bucharest for the mid-mission evaluation. It was a great opportunity to meet other volunteers from all over Romania, and above all to take stock of how far we’ve come, because, yes, the first half is already behind us. This evaluation is organized by the national agency and invites us to spend 4 days in Bucharest, covering accommodation, food and travel costs, 4 days during which we take part in various activities, mixing with other volunteers.
And so, one Sunday, we took the train to Bucharest. While some prefer to come during the day, others, with their alarm set at 03:00, want to get there as early as possible to enjoy the city. After a good nap on the train, we arrived at the hotel, and this first day was ideal for settling in and visiting the city before the start of the training.
Monday arrives quickly at 10:00 in our room’s group, we meet the people with whom we’ll be spending the next few days. We’re 18 volunteers, a mix of different personalities, nationalities and from different projects in different towns in Romania. And we’re accompanied by two facilitators to guide us through the evaluation process. The morning is dedicated to getting to know each other through a game and presenting our projects. After a complimentary lunch break in the hotel, the training continues, we set the rules for the group and after that, the rest of the afternoon is dedicated to a retrospective of our project so far. We’re asked to write and illustrate a “book” retracing our arrival, our journey, our history and our memories. Certainly, an easier exercise for some than others, as a large part of our group is working on an artistic project, but a great opportunity to see their talent.
Tuesday, after had a great sleep in your own hotel room and the incredible breakfast where we ate a lot of waffles with Nutella the day couldn’t start better. In our training we talked this day about challenges of our project. We were split in little groups of three people and had the chance to have good conversations where we could share our thoughts and got some good advice how to deal with the challenges. Also, we could listen to the problems together with the solutions from ether volunteers in different projects. Another topic was to speak about your motivation. We draw lines for every month to reflect how much motivated we were until now.
In the afternoon we had a list of exercises we are supposed to do in a little group. On these tasks we should work during we walk around the city. We needed to take pictures, interview people and also visit some places in Bucharest. To be honest in the end we all were frozen and needed a hot chocolate.

On Wednesday we started talking about competences. First, however, we had an exercise where several dozen cards were placed on the table and our task was to take photos of those that showed our skills. We also reflected on our present and what we want to achieve by the end of our work in Romania, again using creativity.
In conclusion, the Mid-Term Evaluation was, for the most part, a constructive and fun experience. We got to meet new people, get acquainted with the practices of other Organizations and ESC Projects. Apart from some minor setbacks and challenges, we could say that it was a success and it achieved most of the expected and prescribed goals. We also got to have a break from living with roommates and enjoy some more privacy in our single-occupant rooms; in addition to full board (meals).

Candice’s Personal Experience:
When I tell my friends that I went to Bucharest for 4 days, all expenses paid, with the chance to meet lots of other volunteers, with the only job in exchange being to take part in activities organized for my own benefit, everyone has a difficult time believing me. Although some of the activities we did and some of the topics we covered may not appeal to everyone, overall, for me it was a great opportunity to realize how far I’ve come since I’ve been in Romania, the obstacles and challenges I’ve faced, but also the progress I’m proud of. But for me, the best part of this event was the other volunteers and the people we met. Rarely in my life have I met so many people in such a short space of time. Open, friendly, fun people. Our free time was an opportunity to go out, discover the city, spend time with other volunteers, make even more friends, it was great. Bookstores, restaurants, bars, clubs, shopping malls, piercing salons… much more than we could have imagined, it was a full week. I’ve kept in touch with some of the people I met, and I really hope with all my heart to see them again.

Gesine’s Personal Experience:
In our project we already talked a lot about reflection and motivation so some of the topics wasn’t new and just a repetition. But, in general, this trip was incredible, and I am really thankful for that. Especially for meeting so many new people. Every person that I have met is very inspiring and I learned a lot from their opinions and perspectives. I had the chance to share a lot of my thoughts and experiences and also could bear and learn a lot from all the other volunteers and so many other projects here in Romania. It’s so interesting how different are all the ESC projects but how similar and open minded are all the volunteers from all over the world who have at the same time a great time here. I loved being surround with so many lovely people and really enjoyed our talks. These days count to my favorites since l am here and I am so glad to get new motivations and much inspiration. Hopefully I meet some of them again.

Hubert’s Personal Experience:
Influence on others, helping others, ability to write effectively, implementing ideas. These are my strengths. These are not all the ones I photographed, but I think these four were the most accurate about me. Just before our three days ended and closed, we tried to draw random lines with our eyes closed and create what we saw from it. At first glance, I saw a boundary line and the possibility of creating a certain personification of human emotions, where these boundaries may be visible, but they often mix with each other and within a few moments we are able to feel an internal contradiction several times. During these three days I felt like I had released my spirit. As if I felt the wind, the nice, warm one I like to feel when walking among the streetlights in the summer. Like I’ve externalized a lot, and I did not expect that.

Minas’ Personal Experience:
This paragraph will describe Argyrou Minas’ experience, written by him. Argyrou Minas, I, is a bit older than the rest of the volunteers, at 28 years old, and, also, has completed his Master’s Degree (Integrated) in Biotechnology and Agriculture/Agronomy, while living abroad for 10 years, which, it could be said that, in combination with his nihilistic philosophy, has changed his attitude and reactions towards situations to be more varied and disinterested from that of most other Volunteers. While it was definitely a fun experience, with food covered and single-occupant accommodation in the capital of Romania, Bucharest, I would say that, for me, it wasn’t very useful as a method of self-reflection, and I could even consider it a non-very-prudent way of money. I especially liked, though, the second day, and, particularly, the session about the “Challenges”, during which we were split into groups and had to talk with others. I liked that specific session because it gave me the opportunity to get a different perspective on my challenger, while, also, letting me get more acquainted with the challenges faced by others.

~Candice, Gesine, Hubert, and Minas

A little bit of Lublin

Volunteers working in Miercurea-Ciuc have various other projects to complete in addition to teaching English. For the whole November I have been preparing a presentation about Lublin for the so-called Intercultural Night. Volunteers can present their country or region/city at the local library and that’s what I was doing at the end of November. I was very excited to organize this event. My mother sent me a lot of sweets from Poland from Pszczółka – a sweet factory in Lublin. I also baked some onion cakes, which I managed to make only the third time. A lot of locals came to the place, but also my volunteer friends who cheered me on from the front row. I also had a great interpreter on site who translated what I was saying from English to Hungarian.

What did I prepare in my presentation? At the very beginning, I told a little about the city’s location and size. Then I told about important events in its history – the Union of Lublin, the Lublin Government, Majdanek and the Lublin July. Later, I talked about the most important city events: “City of Poetry”, “Open City”, “Jagiellonian Fair”, “Karnawał Sztukmistrzów” and my favorite “Night of Culture”. I added my best photos to the presentation. Then there was a break for a Polish lesson, where I gave ten words, from the simplest to the most difficult. The word “bezwzględny” (ruthless) that caused the most problems for my guests was level 7. When I told them how to pronounce this word, the room burst into laughter. The Polish language is really difficult. Afterwards, I told a little about everyday life and showed my photos of the city, including the Lublin goats and my favorite, LuCeK, whom I described as my homie. There was a lot of laughter, which made me very happy.

At the very end, I read a fragment of “Poem about the City of Lublin” in Polish, along with a translation into English and Hungarian. Before the refreshments, I asked the guests how many counties there are in Poland, and the answer closest to the truth received a package of fudge as a reward. Everyone loves fudge and I’m not surprised.
At the very end, during the refreshments, I played “At the cinema, in Lublin – love me” and talked a little with people. It was amazing and I was glad that I presented my beloved city in the best possible light.

The language barrier, my experience

September 2023, I arrive in Csíkszereda, English level: 20%, Hungarian level: 0%. I arrive, mingle with the other volunteers and realize that their level of English, for the most part, is much higher than mine, I panic. I realize it’s going to be more difficult than I’d imagined. My first problem was communicating with the others, integrating into the group. Not easy when it takes me 5 minutes to formulate a sentence. This first stage was difficult, but quick, because motivated by the desire to create links with the other volunteers, I worked intensely on my English and progressed very fast, which is why I owe a big thank you to the other volunteers, who just by their personalities made me want to learn as fast as possible to be able to exchange with them.

However, this first victory was without imagining what awaited me later in school.

The first days in school start at the end of September. I was ready for the challenge of working with children with whom you don’t speak the same language, but in reality it’s something else.

This presented me with a double challenge: firstly, most of them don’t speak English, only Hungarian, and secondly, I realized that my level of English was sometimes not much better than theirs. This last challenge was easy for me to manage, because I rapidly realized that I didn’t need to pretend to them that my English was perfect. When I don’t know a word of vocabulary, I ask another volunteer or look up the translation and learn at the same time as they do, without shame, and that doesn’t mean I lose any credibility (they always call me “English teacher”, which is a pretty good sign).

But of course, no matter how good my English is, the biggest difficulty is that I don’t speak Hungarian. It’s a real challenge to work with children with whom, most of the time, you can barely exchange a word. Even asking them to write their name, to go into the classroom or to cut out a sheet of paper is much more difficult than I’d imagined, and how could I possibly explain an activity to them? After a few weeks, the first distinction became clear: while some of the children had a level of English close to zero and couldn’t understand, others simply didn’t want to try.

So after a few more or less disastrous sessions at first, we started to adapt. First of all, for the first few weeks we started by giving up (or at least saving for later) all games that were too complicated to explain or that demanded their attention for too long. We concentrated on games that were easy to explain, easy to understand and that they liked, so that these hours spent together became a pleasure for them as well as for us, because otherwise it’s not productive either for them or for us. This also facilitated the creation of links and the installation of mutual trust gradually, because the more they enjoy the sessions, the more they’ll be inclined to try and participate in future sessions, and the easier it will be for us to introduce more and more complex activities. So a first stage of creating connections was necessary, because we now know each other better and we can really start to see progress after a few months.

Example of a worksheet explaining
the activity

So what are the concrete ways we use today to communicate with them? The first tool Care2Travel gives us is Hungarian lessons. To be honest, I’m not the most involved of all in learning Hungarian, so I’m not going to be able to explain a complete game in Hungarian tomorrow, but at least it allows me to say a few simple words to them. Secondly, preparation before the activity is very important. If you’re planning a big activity or something complex, make sure you give them the best chance of understanding what you’re doing. Make examples for the crafts to show them what they have to do, or prepare an explanatory sheet in English/Hungarian to make sure they understand the instructions. Or thirdly, although I don’t really like it, as a last resort in case of immediate need, google translation can be your friend.

A final resource, which for me is the best, is the children themselves, because if you’re lucky, in some groups a few children (often the older ones, but not always) have a good level of English. Sometimes just enough to communicate without too many problems, sometimes even better than mine. Firstly, it’s very useful for helping each other, as they can act as translators for the younger children and those for whom English is more difficult, to explain games to them, or even to help us understand why that little boy has been crying for 5 minutes. But as well as being useful, it’s a real pleasure to be able to create links, get to know each other, joke around, have interesting conversations – it’s pretty great.

To sum up, I’d like to say that the best tools for overcoming the language barrier are good preparation, perseverance and, above all, patience. But you’ll see that there’s nothing more satisfying than to see that your hard work is bearing fruit and that you’re able to connect better and better with them.

– Candice –

Milestone

Hello.

In the following, I will tell you about my intercultural evening. I was working on it between the two holidays. I didn’t know what I was going to present, because it’s boring for the people here to talk about what they already know about the local Hungarian culture. I tried to look for interesting things with more or less success. Then in the new year, I started looking again for what I could present. In the meantime, I had to shorten the history, because I wrote about it at great length and I couldn’t really select what was really important to present to my fellow volunteers from abroad.

After a lot of searching, I came to the conclusion to present our traditions, Transylvanian gastronomy, and some interesting facts about Transylvania besides the history.

It was a bit frustrating for me at first to get so little information about Transylvania on the internet, but then I managed. I worked a lot on my text, as it was too long in the end (17 pages), and I had to write it in both English and Hungarian, but I got a lot of help from Rita, who helped me with the English text, as she reviewed it before my presentation and corrected my mistakes. Like the others, I was not given a translator, so I had to speak both languages. I don’t need to tell you how nervous I was about this. I am nervous in front of a big audience anyway and I secretly hoped that not many people would come and see me. It put a little extra pressure on me as I have never done a performance like this where I have to speak two languages.

The next big question for me was what local food to prepare for the participants to taste after my presentation, as I love to cook and bake, but I am very lazy to do it, so I asked a couple of people for advice on what local food is quick to prepare.

Thursday came and I simply didn’t have breakfast that morning, as I practiced my text before going to the office (I hadn’t had much time to practice my text before that, as there was an exam session at university and I had to study, which I did well, as I passed all my subjects). Then, back at the office, I presented my presentation again to the office staff and they suggested a few changes, which I then implemented at the accommodation and practiced my speech of course.

Then I went to the library around 4 o’clock and everyone was helpful, we tried everything. Then the people started pouring in and I got scared, but luckily there weren’t as many as usual. I started my speech, but sometimes I was probably a bit too quiet as I was quite nervous to get my words right. After it was all over I finally got some air and drank some water as I was pretty thirsty after 1 hour of talking. I was glad it was over and done with, but I didn’t feel free yet and didn’t feel like the speech was good, but everybody said othervise.

As you can see I was excited about the intercultural evening, but everything turned out fine. See you in the next blog post.

-Nóra-

Mid-Term Evaluation

SUNDAY, 21.01.2024

Hello everyone, unbelievable, but more than half of my time in my project is now over, and so it was time for me to go to the Mid-Term Evaluation. This time the Mid-Term Evaluation took place in Bucharest, and seven of us ESC Volunteers went there. Many of the volunteers left early in the morning, but Alex and I decided to take the train at around noon. In Brasov, we had to wait for our second train to Bucharest because it was 45 minutes late, but apart from that, everything went smoothly. When we arrived in Bucharest, it was already dark, and when we walked to the hotel, I admired the lights of the city. I was really impressed, because I come from a very small village and I am not used to this surrounding. There, however, a small problem occurred because the roads were quite icy and you had to be very careful not to fall. To be honest, in the evening at the hotel, my mood dropped a bit because I was having a cold at that time, so physically, I was not feeling that good and I think that’s why I also got homesick, because I was not in my normal surrounding in Miercurea-Ciuc, but instead in a hotel room alone in Bucharest. So I just spent the evening relaxing in my hotel room and talking to my parents and my best friend on the phone.

MONDAY, 22.01.2024

That morning, the uncomfortable feeling of Sunday night was still there, but soon I was distracted by the Mid-Term Evaluation. I have to explain that six of us volunteers were accommodated in another hotel for logistical reasons. After the very tasty breakfast, we went on foot to the hotel where the Mid-Term Evaluation took place. Here again, the roads were very slippery, and this condition should continue until Thursday, but I can proudly say that I have not fallen down a single time. Monday morning, I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know any of the people in my group. After I walked the six floors to our seminar room for the first time (but certainly not the last time, because the elevator was always occupied), I met the other volunteers and our trainers Iuliana and Tolea for the first time. My group consisted of 16 volunteers from Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Georgia, Romania, Turkey, Egypt and Azerbaijan. I was also one of the youngest members of our group, because most of them were already 25 years old or older, but my worries soon disappeared, as everyone was very nice.

Then we started with the Mission (Im)possible. We got a sheet of paper with 18 tasks, and we had to solve as many of them in 1,5 hours as possible. I’m not going to lie, but in the first few minutes, it was a bit chaotic. Few of us knew each other, and it took us some time to figure out how we function as a team. In the end, however, we managed to solve all the tasks.

After the first short break, we discussed the results and watched the videos we created to present our projects. After the 1.5 hour lunch break, there was a creative task. We had an hour to create a poster. On this one, we should answer six questions that they told us before. This was one of my favorite activities. The time we had for this task went by so quickly, and it helped me a lot to reflect on the last few months and to organize the thoughts in my head. After the last short break, our topic was well-being. We talked about spiritual, emotional, physical, and social well-being and exchanged tips on how to take care of our wellbeing.

TUESDAY, 23.01.2024

Tuesday started with a talk about motivation. We got to know the Human Motivation Theory by McClelland which states that every person has one of three main driving motivators: the need for achievement, affiliation, or power.

After that, we also did a very useful task in which we had to draw a graph of how our motivation has changed in the past months and which highs and lows there have been. Everyone had a minute to present their results, and it was very interesting to see the highs and lows of the other volunteers. After the short break, our topic was challenges. Everyone has written on a piece of paper their challenges and some solutions. After that, we shaped the notes into small balls and had a snowball fight. During this, we laughed a lot. Everyone had a snowball in their hand at the end. On this paper were the challenges of the other people, and we were able to give advice to the other person. After that, we had a snowball fight again, and in the end, everyone had to find their own piece of paper.

After lunch, we had a slightly different program. It was called Walk and Talk. We were given various tasks that we had to solve in the city. For example, photos of special buildings, interviews with locals, etc. It was a great opportunity to see something of Bucharest, and at the same time, share our own experiences. To be honest, it was a bit difficult to bring a group of 12 people into the city center. We took the metro, but already at the first stop, half of us got off wrong, and the rest continued. So we can say it was an adventure to come to the city. In spite of everything, the day was quite exhausting, so I only watched a movie at the hotel in the evening.

WEDNESDAY, 24.01.2024

On Wednesday morning, we first talked about the tasks of the walk and talk, which were mostly successful, even if we did not solve all the tasks. Our next topic was the Youthpass and the key competences. In small groups, we have always been given two competences and should present them in a role play. After a short break, we talked about our options after the ESC. It was clear to most of them that they wanted to work or travel after the ESC, as many of them had already completed their studies. I was then one of the few or the only one who plans to start their studies after volunteering. Nevertheless, it was very interesting to hear about the ideas of the other volunteers. The last afternoon was very calm, as a few volunteers held workshops on different topics. I took part in an origami workshop and a craft workshop and I had a lot of fun. In the evening, we only reflected on the past few days and gave feedback.

THURSDAY, 25.01.2024

On Thursday morning, Alex and I had to get up early because our train left Bucharest at half past eight. After a very tasty breakfast, we called a Bolt to go back to the train station. At that point, we were very nervous because we almost missed our train since we were stuck in traffic with the Bolt. In the end, however, we reached the train on time and could go back relaxed. Although I was very happy to be back in Miercurea Ciuc with the other volunteers, it has been a few nice and helpful days in Bucharest. The other volunteers and the trainers were very nice, I was able to think intensively about the past four months and took many new ideas with me.

– Paula

Christmas in Romania.

I have had the opportunity to spend this Christmas in Romania and dedicate it to traveling and exploring a little bit of the country and the Christmas traditions here. It has been my first Christmas away from my home and my family, so at times it has been difficult not to share these moments with the people with whom I usually share them. Despite this, it has been a good Christmas in which I have learned a lot about the cultural differences and traditions between Romania and Spain.

An example of a difference with my home country is that in Romania families who have pigs slaughter them that day and use their meat to put on the Christmas meal table along with polenta (a typical Romanian meal made with potato).

On the other hand, on New Year’s Eve in Spain we usually eat twelve grapes to welcome the year. We eat them in unison of 12 strokes. As it is the first time I spend these dates outside my country, I was not aware that this is a Spanish tradition and that in many other countries it is not done, something that I have discovered this year. Instead, people in Romania often dress up as bears, goats, or make costumes by hand to go through the streets jumping, dancing, and ringing bells.

Another thing I’ve discovered is that there aren’t three wise men here who come to bring you gifts on the night of January 5th. Instead, they have sfantul nicolae, who comes on December 5th and in order for her to leave you gifts you have to clean your shoes and leave them clean at the door.

As I mentioned before, I have been able to travel quite a bit around the country since I have had the opportunity to rent a car. I’ve traveled the north mostly. Among the places I have visited, I would highlight the transfăgărășan road, because even though it was closed, the environment that surrounds it is beautiful. In addition, the turda salt mine and the apuseni natural park were some of the things I liked the most. As for the cities, I can say that the city that I liked the most in Romania so far is Cluj-Napoca. All in all, I’m glad I made the decision to spend Christmas here and explore Romania more deeply!

-África