Finally my conclusions!

Back to the blog! I was supposed to end my story a long time ago but..everything has gone so fast that I really didn't have time (and will!) to sit here and write. But now it's definitely the right time.

So..after we left Croatia we spent some 5 beautiful days at Magdalena's, in Austria, where we have moved to Graz, Regensburg and Vienna. We really enjoyed our "last days" together, and we enjoyed it so much that we have already planned the next stage :-)

Then, once back in my city, I started soon an internship which took me in the countryside between Padova and Vicenza so that I was away five days per week, many many hours per day! (That's the reason why I have been so lazy with the blog!)

Well, as for considering and giving my final opinion about the whole experience I must agree with my colleagues. If I knew everything we got to know step by step during our EVS I surely wouldn't have chosen that project because we were told to get the YouthPass but it turned out in the last weeks it's not possible for centralized projects like ours. Then because we had plenty of bureaucratic problems with our host organization and that affected a lot our work there.

But all in all I cannot say I have a bad memory of it. On the contrary all these problems have bound myself with Madara and Magdalena a lot, a beautiful friendship was born and has been growing little by little sometimes and very quickly during hard times!

I really loved living in Croatia as it's a beautiful country, we got to know very nice people both in the Youth Center and outside, I learnt a lot about Balkan culture(s) and stereotypes. It's been a real valuable experience and I am very happy and proud to have done it.

So, my suggestion to all the people who would like to do it or who don't know a lot about it I would say that it's really worth experiencing life in another country and getting involved in another culture. But it's necessary to get informed as much as possible, checking everything carefully and asking support to their own sending organization as lots of things are not clear enough and you can have bad surprises while you are abroad.

That's it! This is my final response and if sombody has not got it I will be more straighforward: it's an experience which must be done for ourselves as human beings since it's definitely a kind of life's school!

So goodbye everybody..I might let you know my next adventures so..keep on checking my blog every now and then! ;-)

last days of EVS..

So..the time is literally running out..2 days left and our EVS will be over..

Probably the impression somebody may have reading the first sentence is that I am quite happy to leave..well, those who have had this feeling are not totally wrong!

But let's start from the beginning..of course not the very beginning, come on!! I have been writing a lot in my blog I think! :-P

In this last week we have prepared a photo exibition with 99 pictures we have taken in all those places we have been in these 6 months! so everybody can have an idea of this experience..
At first Osijek, the first days, getting to know the city, the Youth Center and the people; then our first activities for Cnc, researches and CMS; Sarajevo, Stip..
then the big break due to resident permit's issue which didn't come alone but with lots of other little friends..called problems!

But, as everybody has seen, we didn't lose our strength, we got other ideas in order to be productive while waiting for going back to Osijek!
So we have pictures from TC in Albania, Macedonia, other activities in Austria, UK, Ukraine, Lithuania, Italy!!
I really think it's very nice to watch at all those pictures hanging in the billiard room in Cnc!
We pasted each of them on grey sheets and then each sheet bound to the next one with rope.

Finally we have done a nice PP presentation on whole our EVS which we are showing tonight at our good-bye party at Cnc.

So, as I said at the beginning, there's a reason why I feel I am quite happy to leave..and the reason is very simple. I think we have done our job here, there's nothing else at the moment we can do, just let the people think and improve for next times.

The same for us..these 6 months have been amazing! I think I cannot definitely compared them with any other experience I had until now, and likely I will have in the future.
So it's time also for us to reflect on them (even though I have already been talking on how lucky we have been as the bad luck brought us in beautiful places, let us working to different projects and get to know some special..but very special persons!).

So..should I answer now to the title of my blog?!! Probably not yet..as there is still something left here and cuz I think it's worth to let some time go by before giving the final and personal opinion.
Anyway I can say I am happy with this experience (which does not mean I fulfilled my expectations about my EVS and my staying in Croatia..)
I got to know Madara and Magdalena who I have been always feeling close to, even though we were far away from each other for some time.

I am sure we will keep in touch, as all our adventures bound us even more than if we spent 6 months only in Osijek. And I also hope we will be able to fulfill our "personal project"..which is actually starting on Sunday..when we will leave altogether in order to visit Austria!!!
Which country will be the next?!! ;-)

Last weekend

Today I have been in Osijek for one week and even though it's quite a short time we have been doing a lot altogether!

As I said in my last post we planned to go to Plitvice to visit the National Park and we did it! We left on Friday morning to go to Zagreb first in order to catch a bus for the lakes!
It was totally an adventure as we were not sure about the timetables for Plitvice and second we didn't know where to sleep..of course we checked in internet and it seemed there were lots of private accomodations but leaving Osijek without knowing where we were going to spend the night was a little bit scaring..anyway we do like adventures and we felt full of energy when we left Osijek..although it was only 8 o'clock!!!

The travel was ok and Plitvice definitely amazing!!

On the arrival day we just found accomodation, thanks to a nice and kind boy who was working at the parking reception of the National Park and then went for a walk in the little village where we were staying.
We have been very positively surprised by this young man called Mirko cuz he was very helpful with us from the very first time he saw us or, as I usually say when we travel, when he saw three foreign little chickens!!
He took us in a nice house where we found a very cosy room with a double and a single bed with very pink blankets!!

He would have been our mentor for the following hours but we hadn't still realized it!
He offerd some drinks and talked to us about his adventures as he was ones a deminer in Congo and Afghanistan. So we also had bizarre conversations in our trip to the lakes!

The day after we were ready to explore Plitvička Jezera and..what a paradise! what a sight! That is a place which really deserves to be visited! I have known about it and I have been wishing to go there for a long time as I was told it was beautiful!
So I felt so glad Madara had that great idea to spend the weekend traveling in order to visit at least one of the most popular Croatian places!

We have walked for several hours..from 9.30am to 3pm under the hot summery sun of Croatia..oh my days! it was definitely very very hot! I think I didn't touch any food as I was too busy with water, juices and coll tea!

All in all it was a great day even though half of it was then spent on the bus on the way back..:-(
We reached once again Zagreb and then we took the train for Osijek where at 1am on Sunday we were delighted with some "beautiful" Croatian music..of course we were not delighted and of course it was not beautiful..I was getting crazy with that horrible "Selma"!! Anyhow in half an hour almost I was finally lying in my bed, really really exhausted!

But the weekend was not finished yet! On Sunday we had a relaxing day at home and in the evening we went out to watch the football match..Italy vs Spain! Unfortunately everybody knows how it ended but we had a good time at the cafe' where we watch it.

And then Monday came! it was Mid-Summer day in Latvia so we tried to have a sort of Mid-Summer party for Madara here..

we bought some meat, she took from Latvia the traditional cheese with cummin and finally Magdalena and I went to the shop in order to have some candels and flowers as it is meant to be a celebration of Nature.

It was a really tasting party! Madara cooked very well and I think that even though she was a little bit homesick, she had a good time! And by the way we are planning to do it properly once we will be in Austria, in the mountains!

back in Croatia

Finally, after long queues at the bank and post office I collected all my documents for Uni and on Tuesday I was ready to come back to Osijek!

I went first to Trieste to take my visa and then to Opatija where I was supposed to meet Nenad and his Dad to go back together by car.

It was a really nice travel, more comfortable then the one I should have done if they weren't in Istria for Nenad's operation to his knee! So many thanks to my friends who let me travel during the day! (If I was alone I should have taken the night-train to Zagreb and I would have arrived around 5.30am in Osijek..).

So, after a long travel (cuz it was very long just the same!) I reached Madara and Magdalena again in our original house in Strossmayera! It was so great to see them again! It's been something like 2 months since we said goodbye in Belgrade that horrible day I couldn't go with them to Albania..

We had a long long talk! I was very tired but I felt I need so much to talk with them..about everything! What I have been doing in these months, our travel around the Balkans and my stay in England and Lithuania..and of course our situation here in Osijek..

This time is quite different from the previous ones..last times when I went away and then I was back I felt like I had never been away but this time my feeling was completely different..I think it was because of plenty of reasons..first it's summer and the city looks more colorful and lively then in winter, second the house has changed, we miss a lot of things now cuz landlord's old parents took them for their "new" house..and third cuz lots of feelings have changed so..it's easy to perceive differences..

By the way I am glad to be back, we are planning to go to Plitvice lakes this weekend to enjoy our last days in Croatia ;-)

Pay dirt...Lithuania!

I didn't expect not writing for such long time but after Lithuania I had plenty of things to do once back in Italy..

First of all..how was Lithuania?! Beautiful! Amazing! I knew I would have liked it cuz I knew it was characterized by long and huge green fields, lots of trees and forests and I love mountainous landscapes but.. it was definitely even better than my expectations!

As soon as I landed in Kaunas I was surprised by the light! It was later then 10pm and it was still so light!!! I couldn't believe that! Of course I had studied that in the Northern countries during Summer the day lasts for more hours than in the South because of latitude but when you can see it with your own eyes it's amazing!!!

The reason why I went to Lithuania, to Vilnius mainly, was cuz MoE asked me to visit one of its new partner organizations. We got to know this organization at our last training in Macedonia, its name is Babilonas and it deals both with children and adults.

I went to Babilonas, I saw the rooms they use for their workshops and some of those they had already done in the past..

It was really intersting as they are very well-organized, with plenty of ideas and workshops.

For example they have been leading an initiative for kids in order to make them more motivated in going to school, so they invited some classes to have school lessons in their organization..and the kids loved it!!!

Well, but let's talk about this great experience my dear Max gave me! It was him to suggest me to go to Lithuania before I went back to Italy to collect my visa for Croatia..and I must say he offered me a very special present ;-)

As soon as I arrived, a friend of mine, actually the boy we got to know from Babilonas in Stip (whose name is Domas), came with a friend of his to pick me up at the airport and we strictly went to the forest where they were having a party. It was saturday night and it was very nice to participate to a typical party in the countryside with typical food and drinks! It was very similar to other parties I had in Croatia, but of course food and drinks were different and also people's humour..Lithuanians have a strange sense of humour..it took me a couple of days to understand it!! and actually there are still some people I don't completely understand..but never mind! this is part of intercultural learning! :-)

During the next days I visited Vilnius and another beautiful place called Trakai where we rent out a little rowboat to enjoy the lake and the nature all around!

I was positively impressed by the green! Vilnius is really very green even though it boasts a lot of history and monumental buildings.

I have been so lucky with the weather as I was told it had been horrible during the whole spring, raining almost everyday..but those days I have been there it was summer, around 25-27 C, sunny and windy enough not to be hot! so really really great! I also sunbathed!!

As always I cannot avoid mentioning what I have eaten!!!

As everybody knows this is one of the things I really appreciate a lot when I travel!!! hihihi! so here we go with some tasting homemade pancakes with creme and jam! It was Audrius, Domas' friend, who kindly hosted me in his house, who cooked those delicious pancakes for all of us for breakfast!!

Unfortunately, after 4 beautiful days I had to leave, to fly back to London in order to take another flight for Italy..as usual I spent the night around Europe!

This time I was at Stansted Airport..very busy in repacking my luggages in order to fit with the 15Kg Ryanair allows for check-in luggage and 10Kg for hand luggage..it was such a tough task but..I won!!! My luggage was 15.50 Kg and my hand-luggage was 9.90Kg!!!

Maybe you need me to make a premise: I was travelling with lots of stuff as I had gone to England directly from Croatia with winter clothes too, as I had been staying in Croatia since the end of January!!

Do not ask where my stuff has gone..most of it was on me!!! I was wearing something like 4 jumpers, 2 jackets, heavy earings and necklesses!! I think I looked quite ridiculous but..at least I didn't overpay!!

So here I am, updating my blog in my brother's room..

I was supposed to go back to Osijek, where Madara and Magdalena have already arrived, last Thursday but I had some problems with some documents for University..what a news!!! I am so lucky with bureaucracy I realized!!!

Anyhow, next week I ll be back for sure, so other a few days to fix these pin-pricks and I will finally see again my dear house-mates and colleagues and of course everybody over there!

Two days to go.

The Conference is over and now it's time for me to get ready to leave Coventry.

First of all, the Conference was good, interesting presentations took place. The participants from the six countries involved in the project presented a sort of summary of the workshops they have done in their countries in the previous months. I really liked the one from the Estonian guys, very well done, clear and with interesting outcomes. Actually the workshops were mainly focused on how the interviewed people perceived EU, if they feel to be European citizens, what it means for them, and so on in order to have a picture from different parts of Europe about how people feel European citizenship, if they really do feel part of Europe or it is just something abstract and detached from them and their routine.

As I was writing above, I paid particular attention to the Estonian outcomes. It seems that Estonians are suspicious about EU as they feel they are moving from a union, U.S.S.R. which they have belonged to until a few years ago to a new one. Even though they are curious about EU and everything related to it, economic, political, social issues, they feel Estonian citizens more than Europeans.

Moreover, we had a good time in the evening. We went to the restaurants I mentioned some posts ago. Tonight we will go to Nando's.

All in all everything has gone really well, I am satisfied with my job here in Coventry.

I spent a very good time with Andrijana. This week gave us the chance to spend a lot of time together; even though she had to work a lot because she is writing 6 projects for the deadline of 1st June, we had time to go around and..shopping!!;-)

Tomorrow she is leaving with Jarek, they will be staying in London at Jarek's. Then my turn will come! On Saturday morning I will leave for Lithuania!!!

I am very very excited about that! A new short adventure is going to start! ;-)

Last week in Coventry.
Today is Bank Holiday Monday so..I shouldn' be here, in the office but..I have to check something, like the right time when the first participants at the Conference are supposed to arrive in Coventry today!

So here I am to report my last weekend in Coventry (for the moment!!!).

On Friday night we had a small party to say goodbye to Max..we had a BBQ in Asha House's garden! Actually it is not a proper garden as there is no grass, but I am sure that in the future it could turn in a nice garden!

The BBQ was also not a real BBQ as we didn't have all the necessary but we tried just the same and, as long as it took too much time for the meat to be ready we started cooking in the oven and on the cook too!! All in all everything was really tasting so we had a good dinner!

Then we went out for a drink but at 1am we were already back as Max was leaving at 3.30am..

So on Saturday I was alone, I had a quiet day, doing some house-works.

I had relaxing time as I knew the day after I was going to London..the whole day! And for me, being around in a busy city like London is quite stressful..

I got up at 7 o'clock to catch the bus at 8.15, the weather was awful, really horrible, very rainy but not like usual for England, it was literally pouring!!

So I was very upset as I was thinking what to do around London on my own like that!

Actually I had planned to meet one of my best friends I got to know last year while I was Erasmus student in Reading but when I saw the weather I was not sure anymore he came!!!

Luckily as soon as I arrived at Victoria bus station it got better and better and finally, after some misunderstanding about the place where Emanuele and I were supposed to meet, I foud him out!!!

We spent a really nice day together! We had not been meeting for almost a year as we came back from England in June 2007 and then, when he came to Padova to visit another Erasmus friend of ours in November I was in Budapest..:-(

We had a lot to talk about! Of course we have been updating each other in these months, but when you have the chance to meet somebody and talk face to face, it's easy to tell the whole story again, more detailed and with some funny story! :-P

Now I am waiting for Andrijana and Jarek to come to Coventry..and tomorrow the conference will start!!!

Busy and "sexy" times!

Here Friday came..and another week has almost come to an end..

Yesterday has been a very busy day! I prepared the folders for the Conference for every participant. I put in the Conference's programme, one Coventry's map, some leaflets about MoE, the list and description of restaurants where we are going to have our dinners at, and so on!

Actually I am very happy with those folders as they look really really nice! Sanil had a brilliant idea, he suggested to me to print a cover for each folder so that every participant has their personal folder, with their names on the top!

The cover looks very sexy (another funny word which is very common here in England..or maybe only at MoE!!) as there is the Conference's logo on the top in the middle, then on the left side the logos of the partner organizations with MoE and finally, at the bottom of the paper, a box with the participant's name and Education and Culture's Agency and YiA logos!

I think I will upload a picture of it later, so everything will be clear enough!

Moreover, at 2.30 pm I had an appointment at the Corporate Training Centre at Elm Bank, Coventry of course, where MoE made a reservation for a room where we will have our Conference. Jarek asked me to go and check the place and talk with the organizer so I went.

It was very interesting!! The place looked really good; our room is quite small, but we are not a lot of people so it will be perfect! The tables are very big so everybody will be very comfortable for sure and there is also a huge and modern projector.

Then the lady in charge of arranging the room and the meals, Nancy, took me to the restaurant where our guests will have their breakfast in the morning and where everybody will have lunch. Again it seemed to me very nice and cosy!

I really liked to go there, it was very interesting, Nancy was very helpful and kind and I felt like I had some responsibilities in that (although I told her that it's Jarek the one who will have the last word about the placement for tables and chairs!).

On the way back from Elm Bank, I stopped in the city centre as I wanted to check out if I could find a little present for a couple of friends but unfortunately there was nothing interesting and worth to buy..:-(

So I came back to MoE office and I finish what I missed. All in all I went back home around 7.30 pm but just for an hour as at 8.30 we had planned to go to the cinema to watch the preview of Indiana Jones!

Honestly that kind of movies is not my favourite, even though I like adventure and action movies, cuz they are more likely science fiction sometimes.

As I expected Indiana Jones was full of special effects, people were fighting all the times and nobody got hit or wounded almost never!! But I really enjoyed the time at the cinema anyhow!

We were five of us: Sanil, Mark, Cyprian, Max and I. We bought something to eat (something I don't usually do in Italy, but whenever I am abroad I easily get used to the most typical habits of the country where I am or of the pepole whom I am staying with!!!) and took a comfortable sit and then enjoyed Professor Jones' new adventure!

Moving to today..I am very sad!!!!! Max will leave tomorrow morning..actually I could say tonight as he is taking the bus for Heathrow Airport at 3.30 am..

He is leaving to go back for a couple of months to Poland as he is working on his final dissertation for PhD and he has some work in Poland..

I feel really sad cuz I love "working" with him! I put the word working in quotation marks as we have not been really working together in these weeks as I was helping Jarek and he was doing his own job, but, what I was meaning is that it was nice to be working in the same place! having him around, talking also some Italian sometimes!!!

So it's not a very good day today..:-(

Anyway I must last the weekend and then finally Andrijana and Jarek will arrive, the Conference will take place and I am sure I will have once again a good time! ;-)

But..but..my post today isn't done yet cuz..cuz..there's another amazing news!!!!

Soon after the end of the Conference I am leaving for Lithuania for a few days!!! I am very excited!! I was really looking forward to going and visiting Baltic countries and I didn't expect I would have had the chance right at the end of my voluntary experience here in Coventry!

Finally back from Lithuania I will fly to Italy hoping that Croatia will send me good news in the meantime.. ;-)

Working on the Conference..and eating!

Second week at MoE.

Yesterday the second week at Moe started and actually half of my staying here has almost already gone. Next week the Conference about European Citizenship will take place and then my experience in Coventry will be done..so next week will be the last :-(

I am still working with Jarek on the Conference I mentioned thousand times! I am now waiting for the last confirmations then I will print the names of all the participants and prepare the tags for everybody!

I also have to call three restaurants to make reservations..it sounds lovely!! (This is a typical English expression..I think it's so funny! Lovely! anyhow..)

We will be eating in three different places where we will have the chance to taste very different kinds of food.

We are supposed to go to Nando's which is Portuguese, Weatherspoon's which is English and finally to MYO which is Asian.

I have already been to the last one here in Coventry that Friday evening I came to England just for a few hours before I left for Macedonia..It was amazing!

I was really tired and starving as I was travelling since 8 o'clock in the morning and eating just a few things like fruit or bread, so when Max came at the bus station to pick me up and take me to the restaurant where everybody from MoE was, I got a very "delicious and tasting" surprise!!!

I cannot say I love Asian food as most of the times it's very hot and spicy. But sometimes it's really interesting to taste things you don't know at all or you cannot have very often as you don't know how to cook them or there are no places where to find them..

For example yesterday for lunch I ate Indian as Sanil decided to cook for Max and I. He cooked a delicious dish. It was made out of vegetables such as mashrooms, peppers, tomatoes, onions and something else I guess, altogether with eggs and lots of spices!!

If my Mum read what I have just written she would call me to ask me if I am fine or I am on drugs cuz I really hate onions usually and I don't even like very much eggs!! But, as people can easily understand, why not trying if it is cooked by a real Indian man?!! And actually I really loved it!! I couldn't eat something like that every day as my stomach would be burnt but..every once in a while!!!

Moving to more serious things then food :-D, I am very looking forward for the Conference to happening. On Thursday I am also supposed to go to the place where we will have the workshops and lunches to check the rooms as Jarek will not be able to come to Coventry as he is busy in London..so I will go on his behalf! :-P

Working at MoE..

Sixth day in Coventry.

It's been almost a week since I moved to UK.

After a very quiet weekend during which I tried to recharge myself (as I had been awake for several hours on my way back from Macedonia..let's say 2 days in a row again!), Monday came and I started enjoying MoE!

First of all..where am I staying at the moment? I am living with two nice young men, Cyprian from Kenya, and Mark from a lovely place not too far from Coventry whose name I cannot remember..actually I could try but I think I would be wrong with its spelling so..never mind, I will ask him later!

Cyprian is a student of Maths at Coventry University and he's having his last exam for this academic year right tomorrow; Mark is employed at MoE, he deals with interreligious dialogue since he has studied something I found really interesting: theology!

I have already asked him something about his studies as I think they are really really interesting. I do think so as I am having the chance, whenever I join a TC, to get to know people who have different religious belief and little by little I am discovering some aspects related to other religions I didn't expect! Like when I got to know my room-mate from Kosovo at my first TC in Stip..she is muslim and thanks to her I got a very instructive insight on her religion.

Moreover, we are sharing a flat, everybody has their own single room and then we share kitchen, living room and bathroom.

Asha House (that's how everybody calls it here) is just next door with MoE office so..I can get up calm and quiet every morning since I do not have to hurry cuz of the traffic or anything else!

In the office there are several people working..the ones whom I am mainly in touch with are Kath, who deals with administrative and financial issues of the organization and Sanil, who is just next to me in the office and deals with some local and international projects for MoE.

My role at the moment is to help Jarek and Max with their projects, so for instance, I am following the confirmations for the participation at the "Europe for Citizens" Conference due at the end of the month here in Coventry, or taking care of the evaluations about a PBA held in Armenia last month.

I like being here, I am experiencing something totally different from Croatia. This is a real office while at Cnc I was in a Youth Club.

Whenever I stop and I start reflecting about these last months, actually since I left Italy and all these experiences I have been doing, I am so glad I am having such a great chance to get to know so many things! And even though we have been quite unlucky with our EVS, I feel it's ok like this as..who thought I would have had the possibility to spend a month in England while I was volunteering in Croatia??? and what about the beautiful and so useful TCs I participated in in Stip?!!

Whatever happens from now further I think it won't be more surprising than what has already occured! Anyway there's always something interesting to learn, anywhere at anytime! That's my philosophy! ;-)

And that's why I have not given up yet! ;-)

Of course I must thank some people..first of all my trainers from my first TC in Stip, Andrijana let me participated once again to her training; Max and Jarek who helped me at the beginning and also right now while I am staying in Coventry; in general lots of people I got to know in these months as I had many deep talks with some new friends, which gave me enough obstinacy to go on even though I was facing lots of problems with my EVS..and of course the person who is actually responsible for all our "EVS troubles"!! Honestly I am not truly thank him as he has put our motivation very low, but at the same time because of that I found some alternatives and I got other chances..so all in all..a little and different "thanks" to him too!! ;-)

Today it's cloudy, but it's the first time since I have been in England..I also got some tan on Sunday!

What else would I ask for? There's also a nice weather in the most rainy country of Europe!!!

I am only waiting for Andrijana to join me in Coventry and then the cherry will be on the top of the cake!!! :-P

II TC in Stip..report from Coventry

I am officially in England! To be more precise I am writing from Coventry where MoE has its main office.

After a beautiful week spent once again in Stip, Macedonia for a TC, I have set in Coventry in order to help Jarek, one of my trainers I got to know at the first TC I have been to in Stip, in organizing a Conference about European Citizenship which is taking place in Coventry at the end of the month.

So..I will try to explain what happened as much clearly as I can..

After my documents from Italy arrived in Osijek I sent them to Brussels and then I was ready to leave for Macedonia, in order to join a training about Intercultural learning.

First I left Osijek to reach Zagreb where I took a flight for London..it sounds quite funny but I spent only Friday night in Coventry to meet Max, another of my trainers, get to know some people whom I would work with back from Macedonia and then, at 3.30 am on Saturday I went back to London to take another flight for Skopje!

Finally, after 2 days around Europe, I reached Stip and a beautiful week working on intercultural learning started!

At first I was a little bit worried cuz people looked quite shy and unexperienced but after a couple of days, even though the group was not like the one I found in April, we started having a very good time!

It's been an interesting chance to debunk some stereotypes..for example I got to know two interesting guys from Lithuania..we in Italy usually have the stereotype for people from the northern countries to be very cold and detached..but they weren't! I really had a great time with them and I felt like being with some of my closest Italian friends!

But the best thing in Stip, what really made the TC different was my favourite trainer ever..Max!!!! he is such a great person! he is from Poland but works and study in England. I got to know him last time I was in Macedonia and we soon got along very well! I have already talked about him some posts ago, but I cannot avoid adding some other nice things!

It was him who helped me in finding this place while I am waiting for my new resident permit for Croatia, so that I won't waste my time in Italy but I will have the chance to see how MoE works, to experience life in Coventry and help Jarek with this interesting Conference about Europe for Citizens.

So..thank you very much Max!!!!

As regards the training on a whole, as I said at the beginning, even though people were less creative and active than at the previous TC, we had interesting activities.

Starting from the Intercultural evening as usual, where anybody has the chance to get to know some unknown aspects of any country which participates in the TC but above all to taste some food! And this time I was representing Italy with some sopressa and grana cheese from Padova!

It was really nice! Although my table was still poor compared to others I was happy to have taken with me something from Italy..just in case I thought..and it worked!!!

Moreover moving to the real activities related with our TC , I really enjoyed once again going around Stip in order to fulfill some tasks while getting to know the town and its population, or when we did an interesting game called "Step forward".

In this game we got a small piece of paper where it was written who we were (for instance I was an homosexual teacher who was teaching in a Primary School). We were altogether standing in a line and we had to make a "step forward" whenever we could answer "yes" to some questions our facilitators made to us. In this way we had the chance both to experience how other people feel in our society, cuz of some formal and informal rules, prejudices and stereotypes, and also discuss this experience in two small groups at the end of the game.

I really liked it!

So all in all I had a good time. I always love to participate to this kind of activities cuz it's a way to study and get information about topics and problems we face in our life and in our society at the present time and also cuz it's a fantastic way to get to know new people and their cultures! And, believe me, it's never enough! I have been only to 4 TC and everytime they were different from one another.

I also do like to participate as I would like to become a trainer in the future..I think it's a role which could be suitable for me! (Even though when we had the chance to organize our own workshop in small groups we were quite ridiculous..ops! ok, ok, I still have a lot and a lot to learn!!!).

How things can change so suddenly...

It's been a week and something more since I came back from Padova to Osijek..
I was very happy and full of energy as I had traveled with a friend of mine who stayed at me for some days, then I knew that in a few days I was meeting Magdalena and Madara in Belgrade to take a flight for Albania and go to a TC..so all in all, I was very enthusiastic despite of our problems with the resident permit!

But as soon as I went to Cnc I got very bad news again! The resident permit was not enough maybe..Danijela informed me that Bruxelles had never received my part III and project agreement so..they still didn't know who I was!!!
great, fantastic! I was really going to cry..
Thanks to somebody's lack of responsibility I couldn't join the TC in Albania cuz I had to wait in Osijek for those documents from Italy in order to sign and send them to Bruxelles.

I am having really horrible days..a lot of stress cuz we have to wait for the Embassies to give us the new resident permit, I am still worried about my position as EVS for Bruxelles and also we don't know if we can stay in the house where we have been living since the beginning cuz the owner's old parents are moving back there..

So the situation right now is as follows: Madara and Magdalena are still in Albania..they are leaving tomorrow very early in the morning; then Madara will fly back to Latvia and Magdalena will probably go home to Austria, even though she wanted to find another solution while waiting for being allowed to come back to Osijek.
At first we thought to go to Bulgaria for a sort of join project in partnership with Cnc, but then I found another chance for myself so Magdalena was not sure with going to Bulgaria anymore.
Finally as regard myself, I succeeded in having a place for May in another partner organization with Cnc in London!
As soon as I realized we were going to stay away from Croatia for the whole May I tried to find another option instead of going back to Italy so I asked Danijela if I could apply for going to work with that organization in order to get to know something more about youth works and especially minorities, as it's the main topic people deal with in that organization (MoE - Minorities of Europe). She said ok and luckily in MoE they accepted me so..in three days I am leaving for London!!!

I hope I won't have any other bad news for the next three months at least..I cannot bear them anymore!!!

I also hope everything will be ok cuz we were so motivated with this project and now our feelings and mood are so low..

Anyway I want to be positive once again (although it's such a difficult role to play right now) and enjoy the next experiences I am going to have!

still waiting..

I am still at home..nothing new about our resident permit..
I am really anxious to know if Brussels succeded in contacting Croatian Embassies and Consolate in our countries so that they will understand the situation..


We want to come back and finish our EVS!!!

At the moment Magdalena is in Serbia, Fruska Gora, for a TC. Next week Madara and I will go to Belgrade and altogether we will fly to Tirana for another TC due in Durres..
I cannot wait for that, as I have very good memories of my last TC in Stip! But I really hope we will get to know something about our future..after Albania..what next if we cannot still enter Croatia?!

Training in Stip: what we have done

On 3rd April, at 10 o'clock in the morning, the TC about "Minorities, Integration, Inclusion - Promoting Minority Youth Empowerment in Europe" started.

As usual, the first day was mainly focused on those activities which allow participants to get to know each other and to create the right confidence to share experiences and reflections.

We made some games I had already done in Sarajevo at the on-arrival training for EVS.

One of my favourites is the one where you put all the chairs in two circles, one in the middle and the other one around the first. The chairs look at each other and every people have the chance to talk to one of the participants for a couple of minutes about a specific topic which has been decided by the trainers.

Then everybody must change sit, moving at his/her left or right side, so that everybody meets someone else. In this way you can learn something about almost everybody and it can be the right input to get curious about someone and to get to know him/her better later on, at the coffee break for example!

In the afternoon we went around the city for a sort of "treasure hunt", we were divided into groups and we had to fulfill some tasks..like to take a picture with 6 Macedonians or to do something helpful for the local community!!!

After dinner we had the Intercultural Evening, we presented our countries thanks to some traditional drinks and food.

As I was representing the CnC, I had to present Croatia!! But unluckily I didn't have a lot for people to taste since part of the food and materials remained in Magdalena's luggage when we left at the bus station..

:-(

But never mind! There was so much food (and drinks!) that people didn't miss too much the Croatian one I bet!

The next days we had the NGO fair, where we presented our organization..I was happy with my presentation of Cnc..I wrote a nice flipchart about it and then I explained everything!

Of course during the second day the real activities started! We had a PPP on migration, then some social works, other PPPs, workshops, swapping cultures initiative as a mean of social inclusion and finally projects development.

The presentation I liked more was the one about Macedonia and its minorities as it's been very clear and I had the chance to get an insight in that issue. For instance, I really didn't know about the tough and critic issue Macedonians had with Albanians..it was very interesting. We also watched a Macedonian movie in the night about that, called "Before the rain". It was quite cruel but I liked it cuz we could see how people lived in the countryside, how much they feel the differences between Muslims and Orthodoxes, and so on.

I would like to describe the whole TC in details but I really guess it's going to be too much for the readers so I think to move to the emotional side of it!

Once again this experience gave me the opportunity to get to know interesting people..but it's not only about it! I really felt the group was great! we got close to each other very easily and very quickly! It was in a way similar to the atmosphere at the CMS (and definitely the opposite of the on-arrival training in Sarajevo..) but as long as the group was even more omogeneous I felt the harmony was even stronger!

We spent lots of time (out of the TC hours) talking about our experiences in the youth field, for example I got to know an ex volunteer from Turkey, who participated in the EVS in Portugal..we shared our feelings about it and I really appreciated his advice!

I had a great time, I cannot find the right words to explain that (this is the limit of English..as it's not my mother tongue of course!)

I also met two guys form Sardinia..at first I wasn't very excited..it's always risky to meet other Italians abroad..so many times it happened that I found they were very spoiled and posh..

But this time I got a nice surprise..actually the surprise was for both sides! Mine and theirs..as they had the same fear about me!

We spent a great time together, at the traditional dinner and the night after!

I want to mention also the trainers..Andrijana from Macedonia and two crazy Polish guys from England..Max and Jarek! well done everybody!
Thanks for these beautiful days and thanks for all those funny, useful, interesting activities we did altogether!

Training in Stip: the travel

On 2nd April Magdalena and I were finally leaving Osijek to join the training about "Minorities" in Stip, Macedonia, held by P.E.L. and MoE (Macedonian and English NGOs).

After lots of changes we had decided to go by bus, first from Osijek to Belgrade, then from Belgrade to Skopje and finally to Stip.

Magdalena had come back from Austria with a big big cold, she couldn't almost speak cuz she had very low voice, anyway at 5.30 in the morning we got up to catch the bus at 7 o'clock.

But as soon as we arrived at the bus station she changed her mind.

She felt very very bad and even though she didn't want to let me go by my own, as the time was running out, I reassured her about me, being alone around the Balkans, and wished her to get well soon, finally I jumped on the bus cuz it was almost leaving!

So a new adventure was starting..actually I must admit I was a little bit worried cuz in Belgrade I knew I had to change bus station to take the second bus, but above all, I knew I had only 20 minutes to change place, money and buy the ticket in order to catch that bus which would have let me be in Skopje on time to take the last bus for Stip.

I really had to fight against time..and, as everybody knows, most of times the winner is it!

So on the way from Osijek to Belgrade I was feeling like a storm in my soul, full of different emotions: fear not to be on time, curiousity about new places I was going to pass through, excitement for the training but also suspiciousness as you can never know, before you start it, if you will find a nice working group and you will have a good time; moreover I felt angry with Magdalena's cold which didn't enable her to come with me, happy to see again some people I had already met to the CMS in Osijek, and so on!

During the first part of my travel I could pass through Vukovar, which is very closed to the border with Serbia. I was talking about it with a friend of mine in Osijek..I knew it was destroyed during the war and Magdalena, Madara and I really wanted to visit it.

I think this kind of feeling is quite strange but very common among people..why should anybody like to visit a very damaged place? There's something which takes you there, to see with your own eyes and to feel or try to feel something..

So I had the chance to see it and I really thought that I won't go there anymore, only by force when travelling to Belgrade, cuz there's nothing to see..I mean, it was very painful to see still lots of debris and destroyed buildings..I don't want to imagine the situation during the war. It was very shocking.

Then I crossed the border..now I was travelling through Serbia!

At the beginning nothing had changed, the landscape was almost the same: lots of fields all around, sometime little villages and nothing else..but when I reached the first town I realised I was not in Croatia anymore.

We stopped for a ten minute-break in Sid. What a sad place! I was really impressed. Very old and ruined houses and shops and the people were so poor. I couldn't imagine such a difference with Croatia.

I felt like being in the '40s or around there.

I went to the toilet at the bus station..I skip what I found there cuz it wouldn't be very nice..but trust me, I am very adaptable, I don't usually care about toilets, meaning that if I need it I just don't look around and go! But this time I was very surprised for the lack of infrastructures..Of course I didn't expect to find the toilets you can have at the service areas on the high-way! But I didn't even think they had neither a sort of rope to flush the toilet (and this is the maximum I can tell you about it!)

Anyhow, I was very sorry for them, for people who live in such horrible conditions..(even though the worst had still to come).

Finally, after almost 4 hours, I reached Belgrade and, as I explained above, I had to start my race against time!

Luckily everything has gone fine! I met a nice young man who worked for the security at the bus station. He was very happy to help me (and he was the only one I met who could speak English!) so I took the chance!

At 11.20 the second part of my long long travel started.

This time the bus was very old and the sits were so narrow and close to each other! But I had a lot to do for distracting myself!! I took with me lots of magazines and a book, and of course I had my mp3 to listen to some music..

I decided to take the book..it's an Italian writer's..actually he is not a writer, he is an Italian vj, Fabio Volo. The book is about a reflection the protagonist makes on himself. He is almost 30 years old and he is the typical "Peter Pan", he doesn't want to grow up, become responsible, make strong choices such as to accept a new job, which would compell him to be busier and more responsible, to start a serious relationship in order to make a family and so on. It's written in a very funny way and all the things he says are really true, typical from these new generations of youngsters or young people who don't want to set, who feel chronically searching for something..

I almost read the whole book on my way to Skopje and I finished it on the way back, in Belgrade, while waiting for the bus for Osijek..

During the long journey to Skopje I also had the chance to practice my Croatian as I got to know a boy from Serbia who couldn't speak a lot of English so I mixed English with all I knew in Croatian/Serbian.

It took nearly 8 hours to arrive at the border with Macedonia. Actually all the things I took with me in order not to be bored wouldn't been enough but for Serbia really gripped my attention when we went through some towns/villages..

As I said before I was very impressed about the poverty all around..I didn't expect it was such a poor country. I had the impression it's even poorer than Bosnia..

I have been very glad to have this opportunity, to go across the Balkans cuz it's been very interesting. I thought these countries were more or less the same..but I can definitely say that that was a sterotype I had in my mind! Croatia is different from Serbia and Serbia from Bosnia and Macedonia!

I think it would have been a big pity to miss all of that for going by plane..

In fact, soon after we crossed the border with Macedonia, the lanscape changed once again. I felt like being in Greece this time..ok, buildings in Greece are different but the flora and the general landscape really reminded me of Greece, the Peloponnesus part.

The time was going fast and in the afternoon I realized I wouldn't be on time in Skopje for the last bus to Stip..sooooooooo..what could I do? I wrote an sms to Andrijana, one of the trainers, asking for someone to pick me up cuz I would arrive around 20-20.30.

Luckily she managed for me to call a taxi, so once in Skopje I found a nice and kind driver who took me to Stip.

The last part of the journey was the most comfortable one, I must admit it! I was finally relaxed in the car, the driver even offered me a cigarette and we also had a nice talk, again in English mixed to Croatian/Serbian/Macedonian as, just for you to know, they are almost the same!!!

It took 1 hour to arrive in Stip, but again I had a good chance to see the interland. It was dark of course, but I could see we were on the mountains, the sky was black but full of bright stars..what a magic! I must say that in the Balkans I am enjoying beautiful skies in the night! It's so dark that you can easily watch the stars and of course they look bigger and closer than in the sky above a city like Padova..

Around 21.30 I was finally at the Hotel Izgrev, I left my luggages in my room and went to get to know some of the participants at the training..

I was very tired, travelling since 7 in the morning with just a few and fast breaks, so I decided to go for a shower and then to bed..unaware of the beautiful days I was going to spend at the training in the beautiful country of Macedonia!

unexpected..

Twelfth week.
I have just checked the calendar to see how many weeks I have not been updating the blog for..actually 2 weeks..not too bad, even though now it's time to put it right.
I need to make a brief intro before I start telling people what is going on at the present time, but also what happened last week!

First of all I want to surprise you..I am in Italy again! but this time I am not as happy as last time when I came back for Easter.
Unluckily we are having huge problems with some bureaucratic issues..namely our resident permit in Croatia. Everything has happened so fast that in two days, since I was back from Macedonia, the three of us had already gone back to our own countries to try to fix this problem, which is really jeopardizing our EVS!

So now I'm sitting in my room, at home, and going to write about these two past weeks from a workspace I would never imagine..it's quite sad somehow..even though I cannot hide I am glad to see my family and some friends once again. But I really miss Madara and Magdalena and it's such a strong feeling as I didn't know when I would have met them again until yesterday afternoon when I got some positive news from Osijek, from Damjan and Danijela at CnC.

So now that everybody can have an idea of the situation which we are in, I will start my job.
The training in Macedonia, due in Stip, really deserves an accurate description for plenty of reasons..starting from the travel I made to reach the place and ending to the final evaluation and the "instantaneous" follow up the training is having!

Monday, 31st

Eleventh week.
The last weekend of March has been really amazing! The weather was really good, warm and sunny, so that I had the chance to enjoy a lot a nice walk along Drava on Saturday and a typical Croatian party in the countryside yesterday.

I have been near Valpovo, at one of my friends' house, for his birthday. We had a great time drinking lots of "bijelo vino" and "crno vino" and eating top round pig like people usually do in this kind of reunions in the Balkans!
The weather was great as I said, so that we played volleyball in Danijel's garden and I got a good tan at the end of the day! ;-)

Unluckily I had some troubles during the day in order to fix and finish to arrange the travel to Macedonia..I had to call Jelena, then Damjan and finally Magdalena, then again Damjan and Magdalena..finally at 4pm I decided to take a break and wait for "Charlie" to give me the solution of all this mess!
I didn't expect such a problem with this travel even though I would bet something was going wrong..actually I prefer to arrange and finish everything at least a week before I have to travel cuz I am very anxious and this kind of situations are very uncomfortable for me!!! But it was not possible for some reasons so here it came: search for the right timetables in order to satisfy everybody's needs..
But now everything's ok, I have already thanked and said sorry to my "Saint"..

I am very looking forward to going to Macedonia now..to see if we are really able to reach it!!!!

Tenth week.
This week has been shorter than the previous ones cuz of Easter Monday and then cuz I spent time with my parents, so Friday came as quickly as to shut and open your eyes!

Next week Magadalena and I are leaving for Stip, Macedonia, for a training course about "Migration, Integration, Inclusion promoting minority youth empowerment in Europe". We are very enthusiastic but in these last few days we had some problems in arranging our travel. We were supposed to go by plane from Belgrade but it seems English National Agency doesn't want to allow us to travel that way..Magdalena doesn't give up cuz she has problems with her back and it's not comfortable for her to travel more than 4 hours by bus and I support her as it's also an issue of principle..they have a certain amount of money from Brussels for us..why do they not want us to use all of them? But mainly, why do they avoid to explain what the matter is?
So we are keeping on working on that..;-)

Yesterday we experienced something totally new for all of us..something quite scary..
It happened at first late in the morning..I had already gone to the Cnc while Magdalena was still at home, finishing the photo album for her nephew, whose baptism will be this Sunday, and Madara was at the swimming pool with her boyfriend. I was talking with Damjan and we heard a strong noise, like plonk. The very first time I didn't pay attention to that..then the second one came and I thought somebody had shut vigorously a gate or the door of a garage..
Then another one..what the hell was happening?? Finally Magdalena arrived and she said she heard the same noise but it was not only noise, there were also vibrations..like when there is an heartquake somewhere not too far from were you are and you feel something is moving..
and so Damjan told us that maybe operators were detonating mines not too far from Osijek.
He explained to us that they clean up areas where mines had been left during the war, they collect those mines they find and finally they get rid of them by making them detonating in a huge hole on the ground..what an impressive sound has been!

We were also walking to the supermarket when we heard that..I jumped on Magdalena's shoulders as I didn't expect that so loud! and then again at home..windows were shaking so much and then I went to the bathroom and also the towels were moving whenever the detonation occured.
I thought about how horrible it was during the war when people heard that every day, more than those of yesterday and louder.
It's something that really impresses me as I was used to listen to some speeches about wars from my grandad and granma and I cannot immagine that people of my same age had experienced that too. And of course I didn't have any idea of the sound of a bomb or granate and yesterday we heard something similar to that (as we cannot compare it to what our friends heard 15 years ago here).

After Easter..

Here I am!!! back from Italy for Easter..
I went to Padova to visit my family and my friends last week and I came back on Tuesday. I stayed at home only five days but I felt like I have never been there as soon as I was here in Osijek again..strange feelings..
I think it's due to the fact that I was in Padova during holidays..so many people around, lots of things to do, so the time has gone really quickly and I didn't realize that! But on the other side I had the chance to spend some time with my parents and my brother, whom I really miss now..and some of my dearest friends! Of course I had a great time...but I was happy to come back here too, as I feel my home now is here as I have something to do here and not in Padova! it's quite strange but I felt like going on holiday to my real home! :-)

I left on Wednesday afternoon from Osijek to be in Zagreb in the evening and take the night train for Venice. I was a little bit worried cuz I was going to travel on my own the whole night, form 23.30 to 7 in the morning of the next day..I don't know why I felt worried..I am usually not chicken for these kind of adventures, I usually walk around in my city in the evening on my own even though it's quite well known it's not the best thing a girl could do, as we have a lot of problems with criminals and lawbreakers, and I also travelled a lot by myself to other countries even in the night, sleeping at the airports and so on..anyway I guess it was cuz I talked with wrong people..actually my parents!!! of course parents are always more worried than "normal" people!!!

Anyhow, the travel was great! I had the chance first to relax for a couple of hours in Zagreb with Matija, a boy we met at CMS, as he took me to a nice pub where we had a very interesting talk about my very near future..namely what I would like to do after EVS is over..
then I took the train and luckily there were only a few people, I found a nice sit and I tried to sleep..of course I couldn't for plenty of reasons! first of all sometimes I cannot sleep even in my bed..let's say sleep has never been one of my best friend; second at first it was quite cold, but I had a blanket with me so it was no problem! but at 3 am the temperature went up to, I guess, 30 degrees, and everybody on the train was going to melt! but that was I good chance to get to know some people!! you know, when people are in the same bad conditions, or they find each other in the same difficult situation, they try to help each other..in Italian we say: "union makes strenght"..ok it's literally translated but I think you can understand what I mean!!!
So all in all, even though I didn't sleep a lot (only one hour and a half out of seven by travelling!) I enjoyed that!

On the way back the travel was defenitely more relaxing.. as my parents went with me by car and they also spend two days here! I really appreciated it, I was so happy they were able to see what I am doing, where I am living, who my new friends are and so on! and I saw they were happy too, although they looked quite sad this morning when we said goodbye..don't woory my dear "old boys", I will be back!

We had a great time in Osijek! I took them to Tvrđa and Drava..my dad really loved Drava like I do! he took a lot and a lot of pictures!! he behaved like a child who is enthusiastic to see something for the first time! but nothing new for me! I knew he has a child-heart!
and they ha also the chance to go to Valpovo and meet again my friends Ivan and Nenad and this time even Nenad's family!!!
it was really amazing! we youngsters were speaking in English and translating for our parents! I cannot explain how funny it was!! Nenad's parents couldn't speak English while my parents could a little bit..I was trying to speak Croatian too with Nenad's mum and dad so a very funny atmosphere came up! But the most interesting thing was when our two dads wetn watvhing football match together.. even though we were not there translating for them they were able to communicate while talking their mother tongue..ahahah!! really great!

I really want to thank my parents cuz I know they had fun but I also understand this crazy mix of cultures is demanding somehow when you are not used to that! so..thank you for taking me to Osijek and sharing with me something of this beautiful experience I am having at this time of my life!

Eight week.
Today I am in a very good mood as I had a very nice weekend so I feel very positive and active!
Last week has ended in a great way! We got a surprising Karaoke party here at the Youth Center!!!
Before we left for Sarajevo we expressed the wish for having a party when we were back and..on Friday we got it!
It's been a real fun, we have sang for hours both in Croatian and in English!
I apologize by now for how we sang..oh my God, I really had the impression we were so out-of-tune!!! Actually I bet we are..:-P

But it's been nice cuz we all created I good atmosphere, on one side very relaxed, as everybody felt comfortable (although at the beginning some of us were embarrassed of singing through the microphone!) but also very festive on the other, as we were so loud and laughing all the time at our voice's sound!

Then saturday came and we got up very very early in the morning cuz Madara had to leave for Copenhagen. We wanted to go with her to the bus station to say goodbye as this month we won't see each other for some days..in fact she is coming back to Osijek on 20th this week and I am leaving for Italy the day before so I will see her again next week. Then Magadalena will leave first for Novi Sad and then for Austria..

Saturday afternoon was so sunny and warm that we went out for a walk along Drava and around the center, we also had a rest on the benches just in front of the river..what a peacefulness!

Finally sunday..and we have started missing our dear housemate Madara!
I had a big headache so I have been almost the all day long lying in bed or hanging around the flat, trying to forget about it..

But today is another story!
"the sun is shining and the weather is sweet.." (Bob Marley)
And another reason why I feel so good today is also because in 3 days I will be back in Padova!!! It's so exciting as I am looking forward to meet my family and my friends again! :-D

Like a real "Osiječka"!

Finally I sit down! Today I can say I kept fit :-)
Starting in the morning with cleaning the Youth Center, before I wrote an article about CMS for Templar Networks Magazine and following with a "round trip" here in Osijek! Luckily I ate a lot at lunch!! :-P
My long walk trough the city wasn't meaningless actually..my parents are coming to Osijek to visit me after Easter for a couple of days so I am seeking a nice place for them where to sleep!
I asked for some suggestions to Damjan and Danijela and then my search has started..first I went to the farest hotel they told me, which is not really far, something like 20 minutes walking. It has been an interesting experience for me cuz I visited another part of the city, I think it was the east side..but I am not sure..

I went through the periphery of Osijek, I saw lots of houses, like single houses and also apartment buildings, small shops like newsstand and minimarket, but not really minimarket..actually they looked like old fashion shops were you could buy only some kind of foodstuff (milk, bread, eggs, flour..let's say basic foodstuff!)..it's been like being in a book!
Then I spoke some Croatian!! I really like to try even though I don't know a lot..actually I know some basic grammar rules but..just a very few words so..it's definitely ridiculous to have a conversation but..I keep on trying!
So, I was searching for the street where my first target was and I asked some information to a man, he would be around 60 so he couldn't speak English my dears!!! That's the proof we communicated in another language!!!

Then on the way back I decided to test myself again and I went to a couple of hairdresser's shops..crazy choice you might think but..not at all!! I am planning to go to the hairdresser so I am checking the average price..and it's really unbelievable..for a haircut here they charge you around 40-50 Kn!!!!! Which is something like 5-7 euros!! So I really want to try!!!
Everybody laughs when I say I want to go to the hairdresser cuz they guess there's a reason why it's so cheap..how will I look like after the haircut?! But come on people! let's try! Hair can be longer again so..I book my haircut! Next week on Tuesday at 3 pm!!! I am very excited..it's gonna be a lot of fun as soon as I will have to explain to the girl how I would like her to cut my hair..:-D

Finally I went back to the center to check other hotels and I found out the one which makes my case! It's very close to my apartment and to the center too..actually it's in between these two places. I went in, I asked for information and the owner seemed very helpful and nice..he also tried to speak some Italian!

Finally here I am now..ready for my parents to call me..I hope..and for the weekend to begin! ;-)

Thoughts...

Another week has almost come to the end and of course I have other interesting news to add!
On Tuesday we had our meeting with Danijela, we spoke about the On-arrival training and our future activities. And it's just about those that I really have to say something!

Some friends of mine usually tell me: "Federica, you are always around, we cannot bet where you are cuz you cannot stay in the same place for more than a month..almost!!!"..it seems to be like something I cannot avoid..travels follow me..that's not me who seek for them..:-P
Why? well, if some people said we had a busy February or a very hasty March..I would like to know how they are going to define our next April...

We got to know that... we can go to Macedonia and Albania for sure!
We will have at first a training in Macedonia from 2-8 April, than we will probably move to Serbia, Fruška Gora, and finally to Albania.
I guess we will be fed up with travelling after this EVS, even though it's something I would never say! But never mind, the stake is too high to think about stress!
This is defenitely a great opportunity for us to broaden our knowledge (for our future job..finger crossed!) on interesting topics such as multiculturalism, intercultural environments, integration, migration and moreover European awareness, democratic citizenship and so on! But also a great chance to experience different methods of teaching and learning.

Although my experience in such trainings is still very little, now I can say something more than last month, when I wrote while I was waiting for the CMS to start and for me to participate to my first training.
What is amazing for me is the philosophy of non-formal education. The methods used by the trainers to let participants learn lots of things in a few days. Everybody has the chance to speak, express himself, put on the table his own ideas and on the other side listen to other peers or people with more experience.
At the CMS I felt completely bombed by thousands of information and what I did was to put them on one side..I couldn't think about them during those days..too many new things at the same time!! My concern was to miss this chance, not to be able to take advantage of all those precious information cuz I was not sure to be able to keep up with the training programme.
But I was wrong! Soon after the end of the training I revised everything and I realized that I had added new pieces to my "puzzle".
And this is the incredible power of non-formal education: you act bodily, by speaking, drawing, listening to, sharing opinions and experience and at the end you have really absorbed all of that! But not only in your brain! Something you have truly and deeply lived is something you will hold for your whole life as your "personal cultural knowledge"..and that's the huge difference with standard methods!

So many many thanks to those people who are giving us these valuable chances and allowing us to make these unique experiences! :-)

SARAJEVO and EVS on-arrival training

Seventh week.
And now we are back again, but this time we are back from Bosnia.
We had our On-Arrival Training last week in Sarajevo. My cold is still with me (as I bet before we left!) but now I got used to it..and the most important thing is that it didn't jeopardize my training!

Well, it's been a very full week: left on Monday afternoon, after almost 7 hours travelling by train, we reached Sarajevo. We thought we would take tram n.4 as we were told but..no tram for Illidža after 6 pm so..we had to take the taxi, but luckily it was very cheap and the driver has been very nice with us! Once we arrived at the hotel we really had an incredible and wonderful surprise..the hotel had unbelievable rooms!! huge beds, marvellous bathroom and very good meals!!!!
I have never been in such a hotel in my life!!! I was really happy..I felt like a business woman..:-)

Then on Tuesday the training really started. We have done lots of activities, but everything was focused on our feelings, motivation and expectations on EVS.
The group of people was quite big, we were 43 people with the trainers.. We got to know people from lots of countries such as France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium and so on..and with my pleasure there were other 3 Italians so I had the chance to speak in Italian this time!!! Sometimes I missed speaking my mother tongue as here I only hear from my family twice a week!

Those people were nice and friendly but I soon noticed a huge difference with the people I met at the CMS, making friendships and getting to know each other has been much demanding. At first I was very upset but after a couple of days the things changed and I explained by myself the main reason: I think people from CMS are really used to this kind of events and they have really much experience and self-confidence in introducing themselves so it's very easy to get to know each other. On the contrary the boys and the girls we met were like us, people who like to travel, get to know other people and other cultures but who have still a lot to learn.. But the trainers were really great! They suggested lots of activities which compelled all of us to come into contact with each other!
I really appreciated it and actually I am very happy with myself cuz I saw that this time it's been easier "to break the ice" at the beginning!
We had to do lots of activities in which we had to open ourselves to the others, talking about our first days in our host-organizations, how we are feeling, how leaving with other people (from other countries) is, and then to assess, evaluate every single sensation.
Sometimes it's been ripetitive but surely very useful to understand ourselves and how to deal with future challanges or difficulties.

We have worked from Tuesday to Friday and even if it's really impossible to write everything we did I cannot avoid to refer some tasks. My favourite activities were when we drew an "alien" were we had to put our feelings at work, our fears, how we feel at home (in our hosting countries of course!), our future expectations. I liked writing these things and then compare them with other people.
Then another interesting situation was when we had to choose three people whom we hadn't have the chance to talk with yet. One of those three people was a Portuguese girl from Madeira, Mafalda. I had a nice talk with her and we found out we are very similar!
I would write for hours about what we did but I aknowledge it's impossible and when I am very satisfied my good feelings and emotions don't really help me..I feel like a flood: too many things to say and all of them coming out at the same time, so I get confused!!! But it's a positive thing on another point of view..it means the things went really well!

Finally I need to talk about the city! What a wonderful city is Sarajevo!! I really want to come back as soon as possible! The snow, which started pouring on Tuesday (and never stopped!), didn't let us enjoy too much the city but never mind, we were really stuck in the hotel and we had only Thursday afternoon and evening for visit it. Luckily it didn't snow that time and we had the chance to have a glimpse of its beautiful historic center. But everything went perfectly cuz Jelena was with us, she has been a perfect touristc guide!

And then Saturday morning came..we had to get up at 5.30 am to take the train at 07.14. We called our reliable taxi, the same driver we had when we arrived on Monday, really nice guy (I guess I have a crush with him..ehm..ehm..!!!) and we waited about half an hour at the train station. Then we left..but I hope not for a long time!!