a coulpe of weeks ago i was invited for a radio show to speak about the EVS experience. nothing new for most of you, but HERE IT IS, i made an ode to my evs and RmS around the minute 20:00 to 27:00
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this weekend i went to an evaluation meeting about the evs. it was really much better than i was expecting, it was really fun.
the best part was that we were around 50 ex-evs, all very interventive and full of suggestions. on sunday the national agency came to listen to our suggestions and i really got the feeling that they will do something about somethings. if someone is interested, here are my impressions: - i was so lucky with my evs, that everything went so great, that i dind't know how i would react if everything went wrong like it went with a lot of people. - i got the idea that the non-eu countries with non accredited organizations are quite tricky. a girl didn't receive any money, had to work in fish shops to get some, and the ngo wouldn't pay her way back, really bad. - a lot of volunteers went to countries in africa, like angola, mozambique, cape vert and s.tomé e prinícpe. really interesting their experiences. i learned a lot about how sometimes african countries depend way too much on voluntarism and don't develop any entrepreneurship among their inhabitants. and how living with no electricity or warm water for a year can really change your mind about our daily "luxuries". - macedonia is completely crazy country. - the main suggestions were to put more pressure on the sending organization to analyse how good the hosting organizations is; to create a sort of ranking of ngo's, like couchsurfing; to set as a rule that the volunteer should have linguistic support starting in the first month in the country, etc. but the best moments were this informal ones where we would just talk about funny things that happened, how the greeks are so slow, the macedonians so crazy, how the brazilians think the portuguese don't bathe and are all bread-makers ehhehe. really nice. finally! the pictures i considered dead are here with me!! my last night in bratislava! started with a very nice ladies dinner with my very dear ela, lenka and jarka. and since a lot of things didn't fit inside my suitcase, i had to make a burka, market, in ela's room so, jarka and lenka went home quite happy and i as well, as my suitcase would now close, after a lot of crazy malabarisms. it's really hard to close one of those, alone. and after hundreds of minutes looking for a bar where we could stay for more than half an hour, we went to one where, by coincidence, we could see this "72" book!
well...i am getting nostalgic now. after i hugged everyone, didn't cry, and went home to get everything ready. after 3 hours of sleep, johfra picked me at home, we went to viena in his car, and at the check in, the lady tells me: - 90€ please, your suitcase has 8 kilos extra. the exhibition will continue in banská bystrica at YMCA! contact me if you're interested in hosting an exhibition about the volunteers in slovakia in your space! remember we are in the european year of volunteering!
a friend of mine who will make his EVS in january of next year, asked me if i could make a kind of balance mixing my expectations, my feedback, suggestions, what i regret, etc.
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! all these last four or five posts i have written already at my home, in braga, next to the christmas tree, a television and a fireplace.
i still want to make a lot with this blog. i want to tell you about my last night, my overweight suitcase and my impressions on the evs program. i would like to make some suggestions for the future evs. i would like this to be the point where my friends could see how is it going, after i left slovakia. i started another journey! my dear colleagues in RmS had the idea of making the slovak dinner as my goodbye party! it, of course, started with a flipchart meeting in the meeting room about the order of the cooking, due to the little ammount of pans :D so they improvised a kitchen in the meeting room! this was the menu! bean soup, brydzove halusky and plácky! my friends started coming and i started getting the best gifts and getting all emo. the room was full and i was so happy for being able to see these people again, before i left! I got this beauuutiful traditional slovak scarf, hand embroidered! and i got a children's literature classic with the funniest dedicatory ever! ("you are the best spanish girl we've met!") and the food was yummy yummy yummy! and we even had vianocne punc, delish! but it was time to remove and clean my things time flies, but life goes on. it was such a great EVS, more than sad for being over, i'm just happy i made in with these people, these tasks, in this place!
jarka and yuliya invited me for a lazy sunday lunch as i was preparing my suitcase, i started picking souvenirs that might make them think of me (corny, i know). so, for jarka the "what would mcgyver do" t-shirt, and a traditional viana do castelo scarf for yuiliya! in return they offered me this lovely collage with the best moments we spent together! it really makes me smile everytime i look it, thank you so much! i wish you a great rest of EVS, or a great beggining in this new slovak life, as a "real person"!
the moments we spent together were really relaxed and funny. thank you for all your help, company, food and good mood! this was an event worthy of record, so it's never too late to mention it! two weeks ago jarka and yuliya decided it was already too long without me having iceskated before! so we went to a shopping center with an artificial ice arena and on my first step on the ice i thought... uh la la. but with help, a couple of falls, i had a lot of fun and decided i wanted to skate again! after an hour and a half of effort, juraj had a slovak dinner ready for us! a super yummy bryndzove halusky!!
finally steffie, the winner of the other'slovakia competition, got the award!!
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i don't understandnerozumiem ti means "i don't understand you" in slovak. a tradition, let's say. after not understanding anything in granada, now i don't understand anything in bratislava. Archives
May 2011
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