12 março 2024

O testemunho final da Jessica (Spin)


The six months flew by and now I only have a few weeks left until I go back home. I've met a lot of great people here and made some friends. I'm sure you're wondering if I speak some Portuguese and I have to admit... Not really. But I have created many unforgettable moments. 


 


What I liked the most were the moments I spent with my friends. Dinner together, going out for drinks, watching movies, picnics, drawing, talking, laughing, traveling,…


 

In November, four of us went on a girls' trip to Madeira. In December, I turned a year older and my sister came to visit me. I couldn't miss the giant waves in Nazare either. New Year's Eve here was amazing. In January, I started skating again. From February the weather got better and better and we spent four days in Algarve. I spend March enjoying the rest of the time here in Lisbon. I could go on and on, but there would be no end.

 

 

In between, I also worked a bit – we were allowed to help with preparations for various events and the hostel. I was responsible for Spin's blog. Sometimes I helped with the design of flyers and posters. On the whole, it was very relaxed. 😉



The only difficulties were in our shared apartment. It didn't always work out so well with tidying up and it can get very cold in winter. From time to time I also missed my home. But these were just temporary things! 


 

My conclusion is – I would recommend it to everyone to have this experience. I don't regret a second that I was here and hope that the friendships will remain despite the many kilometers between us.

 

Lots of love 💗

 Jessica

 

 

 

 

 

 

06 março 2024

O testemunho no. 1 do Mattia (Spin)


Hi! My name is Mattia, I’m Italian and this is my first testimony of my volunteering experience at Associacão Spin! 



The 1 st month has almost passed and so far, so good! Moving to a different country can always be scary at first. Still, everyone at Spin has been super welcoming to me and I can say in full confidence that I’m ready to prove myself and to give my best to help everyone around to do the best possible job! This can be a great chance for me to learn something new and to help other people and I want to give my best: it’s a wonderful opportunity and I don’t want to waste it.



But going back a little bit, moving to Portugal wasn’t exactly planned for me, coming from 10 months in Lithuania for my Erasmus for my master studies, I increasingly felt like I wasn’t done with living abroad and I wanted to have another experience in another country to keep challenging myself. 




I’ve only just recently learned about the ESC volunteering opportunity. The whole process of applying and getting selected for this opportunity was relatively quick, so the time to learn about Lisbon and Portugal, in general, was not that much, but still, in my short time here I already feel that this city has much to offer.



Speaking about my work at Spin, so far, my tasks include helping with translating and delivering information to Italian students who are having an internship here in Lisbon with the Erasmus + program and helping with the various projects regarding the youth exchanges and the workshops that will happen in the coming months. I’m excited to make myself useful and to learn as much as possible in the next year!




O testemunho final da Katarina (Spin)


Time really flies. I am still processing the fact that I’ve spent almost a year of my life in Lisbon.

As I came back to my hometown, I started remembering how I thought of Lisbon as some city far away and impossible for me to reach. Now I think of it as my second home. 

I am existing in a different timeline now, far away from buildings with colorful tiles, away from pasteis de nata, away from sandy beaches and big waves, and the train that would take me there now is filled with some other people. It’s fine. I know I am going to be back.

The year behind me brought a lot of amazing things: experiences, connections, adventures, learning about others, learning about self, lessons, laughter, love…

Things took a positive turn since my number 2 testimony- mostly reading my flat in Lisbon. New volunteers arrived to casa Anjos, and they finally made me feel like I am a part of an ESC project. Coming from different countries, they brought their stories, their cheerful vibes and their exciting days into our home, and I have come to appreciate their company and sharing my space with them. 

I was also skeptical about sharing my room with someone, but my fellow roomie and I get used to each other and we grew closer. We shared our stories, funny and not so funny moments, traditional and improvised snacks, dreams, hopes, goals for the future and much more. 

Towards the end of my stay, we had a swap market at Spin, which I absolutely loved, but  didn’t help at all with my packing to go home, because instead of gifting stuff away and making my luggage smaller, I found so many cool things and I had to make an extra room for them. But I am a person who gets attached to things easily, so I am happy that now I have some stuff at home that will remind me of my time as an ESC volunteer.

As the time of my departure was approaching, I did my best to visit places I loved in Lisbon and around, so more than once I went to the beach just to chill and look at the waves. I also visited some places I was postponing, foolishly believing that ‘there’s enough time’. In the end, I didn’t even visit everything that was on my list, but I don’t mind - I always say that there should be something left for the next time. These trips also made me realize how much I actually grew and changed - I didn't used to go to places on my own and spend time by myself. Now that is a common thing like any other to me, and I can say that this ESC adventure I took pushed me to do some things I wouldn't do before, and for that, I am forever grateful.

In my last meeting, as I was reflecting on things I have achieved, I said: This was maybe not the experience that I wanted, but it was the one I needed. And I stand by it. So if anyone thinks about applying for ESC cares for my advice - It can never be absolutely the same as you imagine, and it shouldn't, so don't overthink it, just apply to the first program that matches your vibe, and by the end you'll realize that every challenge you encountered was worth it.

Shout out to Spin employees who always wanted to help and who always made me feel appreciated and welcome, I am thankful for giving me the opportunity to meet you all and have this experience in the first places, because without you it wouldn't be possible for me to live in Lisbon and have it made my second home.

I don't like saying goodbyes. As the day of my departure was approaching, people asked me how do I feel, am I sad, am I going to miss being there and so on...

Yes, I miss being there, I miss being around people and places. But my story is different, because I took the best of Lisbon with me, and I know I am going to be back, sooner or later.

Até a próxima!

K.


O testemunho No. 1 do Simone (JFC - Culture)

 


Lisboa waaa what a life!

Every day I wake up grateful to be here. I feel like using my time in the best way. When people ask me why I’m doing a volunteer project in a library or what I’m taking from this experience, my answer goes directly to “I’m young and I have time to work until seventy years old” and then “every day I speak Portuguese, I read whatever kind of books and I have a house in the city center of a capital full of events. What I need more”.

So, this period flew really well adding the fact the I’m living with amazing guys and even SPIN’s friends are so cool.

But what about my lifestyle: 
I used to go to work from 10 am until 6 pm, in the middle I have one hour of break, where I am lucky because with the project, I’m allowed to eat in the canteen of the kindergarten of bairro Padre Cruz school. 

 
During the morning, I study the bibliography and reorder the books from previous loan. In the afternoon, instead, I look after on children and help them on find an interesting book. Of course, sometimes can happen some activities that are different and in the future other will be more related to the public, but until now those are the majors. Fortunately, I have even the time to read books and journals in Portuguese to increase my languages skills and being more useful to the Portuguese class or relaxed when I am doing tour into the city. 


And yes, each Wednesday afternoon, we used to do an inner Portuguese class, made by ourselves, with the objective to make volunteers more comfortable with the language and let it grow by themselves. Let’s call it self-learning accompanied. 


the night, maybe I don’t have so much time for doing some activities, but I like to go to the swimming pool to relax or spending some hours with the housemates talking about frivolities.

What happens during the weekends is more entertaining, I like to visit the city as: se de Lisboa; Gulbenkian’s foundation; Mouraria’s neighborhood and casa dos Bicos. And going out to festivals or events with friends. Lisboa gives you the opportunity to enjoy the youth a lot. 

Okay these were my words about my feelings and incidents that I had and still having during my ESC experience in Lisboa whit Spin association and Natália Correia Library. 

See you soon. 

Simone 


05 março 2024

O testemunho no. 1 da Katarzyna (Spin)

I am Katarzyna and I am from Poland. I have been volunteering at SPIN for a month now. I will be here for 6 months. I decided to do this project because I wanted to experience something new in my life and live for a while abroad. I work and live with people from different countries and I really like it because we can share with each other customs and traditions. Everybody here is very friendly so It was very easy for me to make friends here. 


Lisbon is a very beautiful city. I love walking down different streets, there are many viewpoints where you can admire the view of the city and watch beautiful sunsets. I also really like Portuguese food and especially pastel de nata. The beaches near Lisbon are beautiful and the weather is really good here. It’s warm here and there are many sunny days. 


I love traveling and I already had an opportunity to spend a few days in Algarve. It was really amazing and I felt like I was on a small vacation. The weather was really good, it was sunny all the time and very warm. The beaches there are the most beautiful I have ever seen. There are plenty of cliffs and rocks with a beautiful view of the ocean. 

I am very excited for the next months here and what else will happen! 


O testemunho No. 1 do Riccardo (ANFR - Bola p'ra frente)


Volunteering for the ESC was an opportunity that I was extremely excited to take. Having the possibility to travel while doing experience helping a community is an incredibile chance, and I was very enthusiastic to do it. 

I decided to come in Lisboa because I have a background in sport and the project I am taking part with the Associação Nacional Futebol the Rua (ANFR) is using sport as a mean to bring positive values in a disadvantage community. I felt that in this project I could have been an active part with my knowledge and experience. I have never been in Lisboa or Portugal before, so I didn't have many expectations about the environment I would end up living.

After the first month here I am really happy about my decision. The project I am taking part is as I expected, the association is an incredibly important resource for the community of the area they are working. It is, before anything else, a gathering place for many teenagers who enjoy to spend time in a positive and safe environment. The sport activities are the main ones to catch the attention of the youths, and their enthusiasm is extremely high during these activities. 

As I expected I can be an active part in this project. Even though in this first period I have a marginal role because I don't speak Portuguese yet, I am very motivating to learn the language and build strong connections in the community. 

I didn't have expectations regarding the city and now I am so positively surprised. Lisboa has an incredible cool atmosphere, with a lot of cultural and artistic events happening every week. From the first impression, it looks like a city that really values human beings, with many opportunities to share and develop interests. 

I am very happy about the decision to come here, I am enjoying this experience and I am excited for the next months I will spend in Lisboa.




20 fevereiro 2024

O testemunho final da Hanna (Spin)

 



We are at the end of our journey my friend, we did amazing things;
We saw so much;
We made those connections that actually matter in our lives;
Adventure has come to an end, and I'm ready to move on to the next chapter of my life. 
This sounds like a goodbye, and unfortunately this time, it is. I still have time to spend with you, let me tell you about my last months, what I did and what I know.

 
My last months in Portugal have been cold, rainy, as even the office got slower, as a bear in hibernation, what saved us from this sleepy mood? Spin gave us volunteers a chance to do something new, to change up our routines, a training course called “Active hope”. How can I describe the training course to you? You gather with all your co-volunteers and the whole day you can speak from your heart, get in touch with your emotions and see how you can change up your thinking patterns, in this world full of negativity and problems. Through a month of interactive sessions, learning new techniques, viewing the world through the glasses of gratitude, they gave us tools to build the best version of ourselves. It brought us, volunteers, closer to each other and made us realize how different or even how similar our views of the world are.


Even the strongest soldiers and hard-workers need a break, so did I. Madeira was magical, with its warm weather and stunning landscapes. It was already November, and I could walk around in shorts and swim in warm ocean waters - was it a dream or a reality? 


Seeing the mountains of Pico do Arieiro, growing an obsession with geckos and lizards and swimming in natural pools filled me with happiness and energy. I knew that these moments would sustain me in the challenges that lay ahead. 


It was my first Christmas without snow, I felt immense homesickness, but once the sunlight in the middle of December hit me I thought, okay, I could get used to this. I still believe that Christmas without snow is not really authentic, but spending it with people you love and care about is all that matters.


It was also my first time coordinating an event. With the help of my co-volunteers and staff, we made an event to promote sustainability, recycling, reusing and building connections. It was time for Swap Market! It was as easy as it sounded, bring stuff, swap for something new… well new for you. As my departure came closer and closer, I found a problem - I have too much stuff, and instead of just throwing it away or giving it to charity, I thought why not make it into something different and host an event.
Since the first swap market was successful, we also gave a chance for neighborhood kids to take part of it. So we implemented it at Bola p´re frente. And needless to say, it brought happiness and excitement to children and teenagers (And I got the chance to give some of my heavy baggage away).


I still have two weeks of my volunteering, And I still feel like I haven't seen everything, so As I am speaking to you my dear reader, I am preparing for Porto, seeing Lisbon's breathtaking beaches one last time, swimming in the salty ocean waters and spending time with my closest friends. All I have to add is to thank you for being with me during this crazy journey, and I will always carry you in my heart Lisbon.
Hanna is out.