3 novembre 2011

First Steps in Lucera...


Hello everyone!
         I am Nejdet, one of the four EVS volunteers of  “APS Mondo Nuovo” for “A Solidarity Shelter” project. Four main tasks we as volunteers have here are: work with immigrants and refugees, work in  the intercultural center, “Youth in Action” programme activities and we also attend an Italian language course.
         I arrived in Lucera fourteen days ago.  Fourteen days are not enough to get a whole picture of the city but because Lucera is a small town, I think I can scratch a few lines about the place. First, there is not much information and photos  about Lucera on websites compared to other cities. I had no idea about where Lucera is, and what the relationship between Foggia and Lucera is, unfortunately websites did not satisfy me. One month ago I thought that Lucera is just a village, no cars, no high apartment buildings, no trains, no computers, no internet connection. İ was mistaken. Let me share with you my first impressions about Lucera. It is an interesting small town with a non-round circle road which divides the city in two parts: the old and the new. The New city is out of circle. It has new apartments and wide roads in comparison to the inside of the circle.
        The inside circle is quite different. It’s like a different reality, with narrow stone roads, old but still beautiful buildings, churches and magnificent cathedral. Walking the roads of the in-circle feels like travel through the centuries. And I have that travel everyday.
        We attended a three-days-per-week Italian language course. I think Antonio is a very good, cheerful and hardworking mentor and the only man who can revive his dying volunteers with an electroshock! And I want to thank him for welcoming us and helping and facilitating the process. We, the volunteers and the immigrants, attend the lessons together so we can directly communicate with them. It is one of the most important things for the success of  our project.
        I also had a chance to meet people who work in other projects of APS Mondo Nuovo. We’ve already made friends with local volunteers of Lucera who come from 4 different countries. And I am sure we will meet a lot of people of Lucera during the period.
        Actually, all that I’ve said are just some impressions that I got. The most important point for me now is to be a volunteer. I’ve got a chance to attend a lot of training courses, gain new skills, can travel everywhere, I can meet a lot of friends, I can improve my foreign language while being a volunteer. And EVS gives the opportunity to do all these things at the same time! EVS is the most entertaining, easiest, and the most logical way to do what I’ve mentioned above.
         There are a lot of organisations hosting projects like ours, and each has its own process of selection of volunteers. Sometimes it takes a long time. But it’s worth trying to have this experience, to meet new people, to live in a nother country. I want to thank  “Mondo Nuovo” for preparing this project, thank the Italian National Agency for approving the project, thank Francesco Ieluzzi for coordinating it and, of course, thank Antonio Salvati again!

Ciao a tutti!!!

di Nejdet TARHAN
Volontario SVE progetto "A Solidarity Shelter"

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