i will try to make some bullet points organizing these ideas and hoping they can help some eager volunteer out there!
Before
- i don’t know if i am example – or if my procedures are the perfect example of what i shouldn’t have done – but i only contacted my sending organization when i was sure i was going to be accepted for a project. The choice of a project is the most important of all EVS, if it sucks, your EVS will suck, so, my suggestions are:
1) don’t expect the sending organization (SO from now on) to do the searching work, look for project and write e-mails to know if these ngo’s are still open for volunteers.
2) your first e-mails or communication are really important. if they are quick replying and answer all your questions, you are probably dealing with a responsible and professional NGO. This can be an important factor as well...make sure the communication is in average english. The person you are writing to, will probably be your coordinator, that is, the person who will manage your EVS so you will need to communicate somehow!
3) once you think you have chosen your project, contact a sending organization. it's important that you participate in the pre departure training! there you get to know other volunteers and a lot about your rights.
4) the SO gets some amount of money out of the EVS program. speak with them for it is up to them how this money is spent...however, this money is theirs because of you. some SO give some money for the EVS to buy dictionaries, maps and books about the city they are going to. mention the subject, and maybe the reaction will be positive.
5) please make sure your AXA insurance is activated before you leave. this is really important, annoy everyone you need to annoy – it could be your SO or the coordinating organization – but go to the new country with it! as a very last resort, do it yourself, don’t let any bureaucracy compromise your health.
6) please check if all your documents are on time. at some point I was looking at my passport and the time was over already. If I wanted to go to some countries out of the EU, it would be a problem!
as far as my personal experience goes, I got into this project dealing solely with the coordinator. we exchanged a lot of e-mails and she was always very fast and kind replying. I didn’t find a lot of support from the SO but I don’t really know what could be done. this means I didn’t miss it. I could use some money for the dictionary I had to buy, but it was my SO option not to finance these materials.
During
1) open yourself. you will be introduced to a new way of working, a new team, a new workplace!
2) in RmS they did something I found really useful during my first week there. each person working there introduced herself /himself, told me about their projects and responsibilities in RmS. This way I got to learn who was who, and with whom should I speak according to the subject.
3) another thing they did, that surprised me a lot, but that I found very honest and fair, was that in my first day they presented me the entire budget they got from the EVS program. together, we spoke about all the money they received and how they divided it. we spoke very openly about it and we “closed it together”
4) the cherry on top of RmS delicious cake was the openness to my personal project. while speaking about the budget, they mentioned they were going to give me a part of it, for me to spend as I would like, as long as I made a project for the promotion of the EVS program in slovakia. this, i tell you, is the best you can have as an EVS volunteer. here you are independent, have the resources to make what you like to do. just try to have as hard as you can! it is a right you have!
5) make sure you have language support. ideally, it should be a professional teaching you, but it is common to be some friend of a friend or some person who just happens to be good at teaching foreigners.if you don’t have anyone teaching you or you feel this person is not teaching you anything, seriously: make some noise. in my mid-term training there was this girl who had nothing that the NGO mentioned in the activity agreement. she fought for everything, and she got everything she was promised. you just need to be assertive when things go wrong.
6) when things go wrong, there is a hierarchy of complaints. i mean...try to solve it locally, if not, there is always the National Agency that is there to help you. if there is any flagrant mistake, the national agency should be aware of it.
7) my organizations had an activity agreement organized by months and 3 areas of work. we discussed it right at the beginning. you should have one done right at the beginning of the EVS. this way you get to know about your tasks for the whole year.
8) i had weekly meeting with my coordinator. I found them really useful for each monday i knew what i had to do during the next week. it was as well a moment of relaxed conversation where i could tell her how things were going and if i missed anything. if you could have this, it would be great. if your NGO didn’t think about it, try to propose it yourself!
9) don’t save money. I know some EVS volunteers make the project to save some money. first of all, I don’t think this is possible, second, it’s silly. my money finished exactly in the end of the month, and I am not a big spender. I cooked every evening and took the extra food for lunch in the office. I bought a dress and a jacket. I drank a lot of beers but most of all: I travelled and explored as much as I could. I don’t regret a bit.
10) visit the other EVS. It is very funny to see how different can the EVS projects be, It is as well very enriching.
Almost in the end “what could I have done better?”
1) i regret not having been to Krakow. i went to a lot a lot of places, both on my own as with the projects. this is the only thing I regret not having done!
2) thinking about it, I wish I did not spend so much time alone. If you get a flatmate, it will be nice. although I enjoy my silence and space, in the end of my EVS, when the days were shorter and darker, I was getting tired of not having anyone to talk to.
3) because it’s such a great opportunity, I wish I could have done a youth exchange or some training. I mean, I didn’t miss travelling, but it would be a nice opportunity to go to some different places – I got crazy with Georgia and Armenia, for example! I wish I can go there someday!
4) i regret not having hitchhiked in slovakia. all my friends did it and I didn’t. It is not that common in portugal and I was always fearful about it.
i hope some could find these hints useful, vel'a stastie!