The Spirit of Adventure!

Once on early Monday morning me and my friends (three other EVS volunteers of MONDO NUOVO) took a train and found ourselves in… Rimini! But not to swim in the warm waves of The Adriatic’s as you might think (it’s winter time after all). We had quite a different intention.  Finally we had our on-arrival training and spent nine unforgettable days in an intercultural company of 30 other EVS volunteers from all over Italy. What was this training about and why was it such an important experience for me? First of all, we had quite intensive and interactive schedule. Each day started with a 4-hour lesson of the Italian language with Lucia and Ezio. Afternoon sessions were mostly devoted to intercultural issues such as our own culture and interculture, cultural shock, conflict management, stereotypes and prejudices. Together with Carmine and Michele we took a trip around Italy and (Oh my God!) listened to uncountable number of dialects spoken in this tiny country. The fact that an Italian man from Milano can hardly understand another Italian man living in Sicily still leaves me speechless and confused. Ma… Va be’!  Apart from this we had serious discussions about rights and responsibilities of those involved in EVS projects, played simulation games aimed to facilitate the adaptation of volunteers to a different lifestyle. We shared our motivation to do the EVS and our experience (both positive and negative) of interpersonal communication with new people in a new reality. And you know what kind of conclusion I had in the end? Yes, we are so different. All of us have their own story behind. But even if he is from France and she is from Bulgaria and they are from Spain… we are still the same. We all have this spirit of adventure inside which brought us to Italy and let us spend this terrific week together. In addition to the official “working” time obviously we had our own unofficial program which included international singing, playing, walking and laughing… And now… I don’t have to think a lot about my weekend. I can text Marta from Prato or Marin from Pescara and we’ll enjoy our time together. That’s what EVS is about! :D

In such a great “volunteers-never-sleep” atmosphere I celebrated my humble anniversary: two months of my stay in Italy. “Let the party go on!” I said to myself. And for a couple of days I went first to Florence, then to Rome and ended up visiting Naples. Beautiful places in the glittering Christmas lights…  It was quite a trip, a bit tiring but full of awesome moments and of course worth making it again. But the best was coming back home. Yes, Lucera is my home now. I felt that I missed this place, these streets and these people. “Casa, dolce casa!” That’s what we say here in Italy! :D 

Ania