Last summer I was an au pair in England for 3 months and it was my first experience abroad alone. I really enjoyed it because I met good people, I improved my English and I discovered myself. This period has changed a lot of things in my life and made me realize that I’m not sure about my studies in Science of Education and my desire to become a schoolteacher. So, I decided to do a gap year to think about what I wanted. I first decided to go to Stockholm as an au pair for 3 months and at the same time, I was looking for a volunteering project abroad. I wanted to be a volunteer to get involved in a project and be useful to people. I also read a lot of testimony of previous volunteers from all over the world, all of them said that it had changed their life and that if we have the idea to be a volunteer, we should just do it. So, I trusted them, and I wanted to live a unique experience.
I’m used to working with children, so I wanted to discover a new public like teenagers. This volunteering project in Lugoj with FITT met all my expectations because it’s in a youth centre and non-formal education. I’m happy to have found this project because I will have a lot to learn and to discover about people, Romanian culture and also live with international people. I hope this experience will enrich me personally and professionally.
When I arrived in Lugoj, I met the other volunteers of Lugoj who are my roommates and my coordinator. On the 1st day, we visited the Youth Centre in Lugoj, and I was surprised by how big it was. There are a lot of rooms, a garden, and also an office for the volunteers and the coordinator to work on projects for the centre. The building was refurbished last summer by some volunteers, but some rooms still need a little bit of work like putting the floor, heaters and painting in order to make it useful.
I am already excited by the idea to renovate and make these rooms good for the youth.
We also met the other volunteers from Timisoara, and it was nice to exchange about what they did because most of them have been here for a long time. All the people I’ve met since I’m in Romania, which are international volunteers, Romanian youth and staff, everyone is very friendly and funny. Everyone talks with everyone, I like the atmosphere and feel very comfortable. I can’t wait to live these 8 months in Lugoj and make the youth centre live with the other volunteers.
