I consider this to be the beginning of a turning point
During this month we have had Mid term evaluation, for volunteers who are doing a long term volunteering in the middle of their project to reflect on our experiences in Romania, our motivation, the problems we have encountered and how to face the end of the project and the return home. It is interesting to have this kind of activities during the project because, on the one hand, it allows you to get in touch with volunteers living in different parts of Romania, to get to know different projects and to reflect together on our experiences. It is a pity that for Covid-19 it cannot be done in person because it loses a bit of charm in the online modality but even so it continues to be enriching.
In this month I have also had my summer vacations, so I have taken the opportunity to travel to different countries near Romania. It is fortunate to volunteer in a country close to the Balkan countries because, on the one hand, they are not the main tourist destinations so they are little known and, on the other hand, they are more affordable for volunteers.
I still have two more months left of the project and I start to think more and more about what it will be like to go back home, what to do after the project, you start to say goodbye to other volunteers with whom you have shared numerous experiences in Baia Mare since they have already finished their respective projects. I consider this to be the beginning of a turning point that every volunteer must deal with. At the beginning there is the turning point of arrival, starting the project, everything is new, the country, the people you are going to work with and the doubts about how it is going to be. Then in the middle of the stay, getting used to and having a routine, knowing more in depth the environment where you live and finally, knowing how to deal with the end and closure of this experience.
Maria Branco Bartolomeu – volunteer in the project Solidarity for a Better Future, supported by the European Solidarity Corps