Month: September 2018

After the project was finished, I got back in the office. This time to start working on writing my own Erasmus+ project, to apply for the October deadline.

Speaking honestly, this process might have taken me a bit longer than supposed, bearing in mind that it was the first time I was writing one.

Meanwhile, there was a very nice festival in Timisoara, called Plai. I was lucky to be there and meet one of the groups playing, Ifriqiyya Electrique, that know the president of my sending organisation, only to show how small the world is. 

During the week after, there was a big event in the Youth House with some known Romanian artists, that was really nice – even though I’m still not that familiar with Romanian music besides the most popular ones. 

Soon, some friends from Portugal are arriving to participate in a Youth Exchange here in the Youth House, and I am very excited about getting to see them again.

This week FITT hosted an Erasmus+ project in which I took part.

The project is about developing a network for youth organizations from different countries of Europe and, in these days, we worked together in order to discuss about it and “shape it”.

This was one of the training courses that gave me the most pleasure taking part in. Not only was the group amazing, but the outcomes exceeded my expectations.

It was amazing to see the group getting together in order to work on something aimed at young people and that so many can beneficiate from. For the first time, I felt like something great will come out of this, and I feel curious to see what is coming.

It was great to meet all these dedicated, smart and hardworking people, as well as getting to know their work back home. These are, for sure, the type of things that give me hope and make me want to dedicate more and more to the youth work field.

This week, from the moment since I arrived, was one of the most difficult for me. Despite being happy and glad for being here, the feeling that life also continues to exist back home sometimes is scary.

As typical Latino, I come from a big family and, what I suprisingly got to realize here, is that we are extremely closed and attached to each other.

Back home I have a niece and a nephew that are the apple to my eyes, and the idea that I’m not there to see them growing sometimes might haunt me a bit, together with the “fear” that they will not recognize me when I come back.

Of course these feelings and thoughts come and go, but I would be lying if I said that EVS is all about making friends and learning things. It is also about getting to know yourself, your limits and your fears.

For the first time I was away from home, for the first time I was separated from people with whom I lived my entire life and I cannot stop thinking how much this has impacted my experience.

I became more independent and I became stronger, just for the fact that I learned how to embrace feelings that I used to reject easily – as my family always defined me as a very cold person, until I moved here and started being so lovely to them :)).

After a few days, this down moment was gone, and I’m glad that I could count not only on my family’s support but also the support from the people that here work with me.

I couldn’t have been more cherished, and I’m very glad for that.

Timișoara is, in my opinion, a city that never stops. But behind all the culture and entertainment, there was something that caught my eye since the very first time I came here.

Unlike what I was used back home, students here seem to have a voice and, more than that, power of initiative.

There are dozens of activities made by students, for students. From concerts, to exhibitions and theaters. The students here seem to want to get active, and that fascinastes me.

During the past 10 days, a theater festival was taking place in the Youth House. The festival is aimed at high school students who belong to theatre groups, something that in Romania seems to be quite popular.

Despite the fact of not speaking Romanian as I wish to, one of my favorite things to do since I started my project is going to the theatre, which I’ve done quite often (I think I can say I went to more theater plays in these few moments than I did in Portugal for the last year).

It is an exercise for learning Romanian, and it made me realize that first, I’m good at reading body language, and second, theater is way more than what the actors are saying.

These type of events are very inspiring to me, in the sense that it makes me genuinely happy to see that there’s life among youngsters. It’s great to see how all these people have a passion and are getting together in order to show it to the rest.

Timisoara is preparing to be European Capital of Culture so, I don’t think there is a better place to look for these type of initiative.

On another topic, this week, I had the chance to interact with a Romanian public institution that I didn’t before: the hospital.

After twisting my foot in one of the dumbest possible ways, I took my chance with Romanian public health services and, what I have to say, is that Portugal has something to learn from it! Not only the service was great at every point, as it is free, totally free.

This might be trivial for some, but for me it is extremely meaningful to see that everyone has the right and opportunity to access health care when needing.

And that’s it for the week(s)!