Author: Alperen Bayram

This is the story of the three musketeers, namely Armando, Fatih, and Alperen, or Alpi, as known by many. We three met in Timisoara, Romania, a month and a half after the first of us, Alpi, came here. When we first met we did not know what we might have encountered and undergo altogether. After bounding up on a surface level, we also got to know and observe each other at the working place. We also realised that we got each other’s back during the challenging atmosphere that we went through altogether after some time of bonding.

Our volunteering time here included working with young people, contacting and communicating with locals and learning the authentic, local cultural elements. Looking at the months we had together here in Romania; we see that we acquired a lot; the culture, the language, working methods, communication style, and overall, working as a team.

On the other hand, our experience does not only encompass the socio-cultural aspects. Before our time in Romania, all of us had not lived in a country abroad for a long time, experiencing the live-on-your-own situation before. Therefore, taking care of yourself, cooking, shopping, and basically being a fully-fledged adult was one of the best things we, the three musketeers, have had as a teaching experience and something we would be grateful for ESC and Romania.

Finally, for the young people out there thinking about being a volunteer for the ESC program, having an experience abroad, and impacting the communities in need all over Europe, we suggest and encourage you to go on and do it, and let the experience make you a better you for your future!

With all fun and respect.

The Three Musketeers

I was ready for an adventure, but didn’t know where to start!

Having graduated from the university during the times of pandemic and spending quite a lot of time staying home, I was a bit hesitant to go on an adventure that I had decided on during my university years. My dream was to go abroad after my graduation, travel more, learn new cultures, and if possible, learn new languages. Due to the hesitation, I delayed my dreams and started working at a start-up in Istanbul as a new graduate, trying to learn new things and increase my professional experience. However, unfortunately, the pandemic kicked in again and I had to work from home, communicating with people only through digital means, continuing my isolation as a person who feels actualized when in contact with people face to face and get things done together. During the period I was working, one night, I thought to myself “I had dreams, and I might sacrifice on traveling and maybe getting in contact with a lot of people, but that doesn’t stop me from going abroad, learn the cultures I was wondering and the languages”. The next day, I found myself in front of the computer, searching for volunteering projects abroad on European Youth Portal.

Having spent time abroad during my university studies, mostly thanks to training courses and youth exchanges of the Erasmus+ program, I had an idea about the countries I`d like to go to and spend a year full of learning and adventures. Prioritizing the countries, the projects available, and my interest in volunteering, I started applying to projects, and after a couple of rejections, there it was, an invitation mail for an interview, from FITT Timisoara. Since I was interested in going to Romania and have heard a lot about the beautiful Timisoara together with the amazing things FITT achieved in Timisoara and Romania, I immediately accepted the invitation. During the interview, I succeeded to express my experience in youth work and my motivation to take part in the project “Youth Centres Up2” project. After a couple of days, I was accepted. After a couple of days, I received the wonderful news, I was accepted to take part in this wonderful adventure!

The next steps were easy, but a bit boring, since I needed a visa to be able to take part in the project. But in the end, writing this first article of mine for FITT on my desk at the office of FITT in Timisoara, I managed to survive the bureaucratic obstacles of the 21^st century and started my wonderful adventure for a year, excitedly waiting for the summer to come and start off with the activities with over 100 young people from all over Europe.

Stay tuned for the upcoming news and to hear about my time in Timisoara and FITT!