O testemunho da Alina

For the first time, when I saw a TV program about Portugal, I was looking at the screen for 2 hours and on that very day I felt in love with that country, particularly the Lisbon: Red Houses, the narrow streets of the streets, emotional, good and very beautiful Portuguese, the locals, enjoyed indulge in Pastel de Nata, Porto wine, Bacalhau, admiring the oldest and the visit card of Portugal of Azulejo, with wonderful warm climate, amazing beautiful beaches, 25th April Bridge through the River Teju, which  became a necessary for me to see it every day.

Each of us has ideal initiatives about a beautiful and unique country or city where you want to live and which is considered to be the most beautiful. Portugal, particularly, Lisbon, is the ideal  city for me, which I intended to visit. And when I turned 29 years old, after being informed  about EVS, and respecting,  sharing the idea of a volunteer program, I decided to find a program in a European country (mainly focused on Spain, Poland and Switzerland), and I was looking for new projects every day. You would ask me why you did not look  a project exactly in Portugal? Each time I sent a motivating letter to a country project, I always imagined that I walked through the narrow streets of Lisbon, feel the smell of river Teju, but I did not think it was possible to find a EVS project in Lisbon, to find the program, where Armenia would be included in the list of countries, that in spite of the distance, they would still choose a participant from Armenia. 

Once again, when I was searching the programs in the Facebook group, I accidentally found myself the EVS program in Lisbon, which was related to the work with children with special needs. That moment was very much like to the situation when a person who has been hungry or thirsty for a long time finally finds food and water, or when a long-awaited person finally meets his object of love :). Without delay, I opened the program. Everything was in line with the nature, conditions, the country, the city. I told myself: "Alina, you know, you  have already worked and still works with children with special needs. You have 8 years of work experience with children with different mental disorders; you dreamed of living in Lisbon, you should go". Inspired by my breath, I look at the list of countries looking for Armenia, where there was no such thing. But my desire to participate in the project was so great, so immediately I saw me in this project in Lisbon that even did not stop me, and without losing time, I wrote my motivation letter for Lisbon project. After sending my coordinates, I was sure that they would accept me, but I was not sure they would be express wiliness to give so much money to the Armenian participant, as in the case of faraway countries, the costs are grown and not all EVS promoters are ready to cover the costs. But how great was my joy and surprise, when I received a nice letter from all the contestants that I had chosen and they are ready to caver all the travel expenses. I'm going to Portugal.

And here I am here, in Lisbon, for 1.5 months, I've been working for 1.5 months  in Externato Flor do Campo , with children with different mental disorders, (Rett Syndrome, Autism, etc). I've been hearing Portuguese for 1.5 months and trying to understand and talk, which is not so easy, but it is necessary,  I have been trying to expose Portugal, Lisbon, culture and traditions, national cuisine for over 1.5 months and more so felt in love with this country and I appreciate this opportunity, which has been granted to me.

On the last day in my country, my friends arranged a goodbye party for me and many of them asked me if I could go out of my comfort zone,  can I share the room with someone else?. I should live with a different countries' and cultures' representatives, change a lot of things in myself, learn a new language, adapt to the new collective and their working methods and approaches and, finally, leave my work, children with whom I have worked for a long time and have achieved some results and managed to communicate with them. I left also my family members and friends. But since I have started to love going out of the comfort zone, I have started to like and have been not afraid of drastic changes, I have started to love developing and moving, learning new languages, getting new impressions and acquaintances, learning new techniques and approaches in professional issues, so moving to another country and working my decision was clear and justified. And now not only I regret, but also every second I enjoy Lisbon and this opportunity, every second I am getting sure, that I have made the right decision.

It was an interesting discovery for me: my workplace, the workshop itself. Almost all my colleagues  speak only Portuguese, which is very good for me to learn language very fast. The children with different special needs are very nice and I have already communicated with them. From the point of view of work, it is a little difficult for me to show and demonstrate my full potential of work and professionalism, which is related to neither   to  not knowing the language, nor knowing the children yet, and nor clear about what I have to do. But every day, I learn something new there, both colleagues and children, and me as well, work every day to be useful for them in my work and to give them something new. Hopefully, I'll success. I already work with children, they already trust me and love me. I think it's a great proof that I have made the right decision and I'm in the right place.

A few days ago, when once again on the way to home from work, I explained to some tourists how to go to their destination, how to be oriented in Lisbon, what to see and where to go in the subway,  and I am already able to shop in Portuguese and get a little  what they told me,  I understood, that I'm not a tourist in Portugal anymore and that I felt me at home in Lisbon.

In Lisbon, I like almost everything: endless stairs to my home, endlessly rising and descending, and getting tired of it at the end of the day, and the idea that you do not need to go to the gym in Lisbon, to be in a good sport conditions, you can walk in the city and it's enough. I like the narrow streets, where so far amazed how the people drive cars and motorcycles, the aroma of coffee that comes from every step, which is very pleasant and tasty, Pastel de Nata and the other sweets that you can see in every cafe and store, and which are so fond of locals  and now for me too. The city's trolleys, the River Teju, where I like to spend my evenings, looking at the beautiful bridge and enjoying the evening street concerts, the Portuguese language, which is hard though, but very nice for me, castles and buildings, museums and libraries, which have a rich and old history... 

In a short,  I'm in love with Lisbon and I am open and ready to the new discoveries.

O testemunho da Nives

O meu Sve já acabou há um mês e já estou a escrever da Itàlia. Os ultimos meses passaram muito depressa. O trabalho na Associaçao Salvador não faltou. Colaborei com o projeto “Banco de Ajudas Técnicas Desportivas”, que atruibui equipamentos desportivos a pessoas com deficiência motora que querem praticar desporto adaptado. Ainda, em Setembro acabámos o trabalho para a publicação do “Livro dos 15 anos da Associação Salvador”, que foi uma das primeiras coisas em que comecei a trabalhar há um ano quando cheguei em Lisboa e que finalmente nasceu alguns dias atrás!

Continuei os projetos pessoais que tinha começado: o tandem de italiano/português e o suporte psicológico a uma mulher com paralisia cerebral. Para mim foi muito gratificante ter a possibilidade de propor estas minhas ideias. Teve a possibilidade de experimentar novos desafios, como ensinar a minha língua, e de aprofundar o suporte a pessoas com deficiencia, que é um tema mais perto da minha área de formação. 

Neste momento estou a cumprir o estágio profissional para psicólogos, e acredito que a experiencia na Associação Salvador influiu muito sobre a escolha do setor. Estou integrada num centro de riabilitação para pessoas que tiveram lesões cerebrais, algumas destas não são muitos diferentes das que encontrei graças ao meu SVE. Ainda, sinto que esta experiencia deu-me uma nova energia para continuar no meu caminho de formação e trabalho. Antes de chegar em Portugal estava muito desconfiada relativamente ao meu futuro profissional, à área em que me specializar, e também às minhas competencias. Agora, pelo menos, tenho mais conhecimento do que mais gosto de fazer e que sou capaz de fazer.

Não faltaram também ocasiões para viajar em Portugal. Sobre tudo no último período do meu SVE teve o desejo e a possibilidade de explorar partes do País mais tradicionais e longe das influencias internacionais da capital. Abrimos um pequeno blog sobre os viajens em Portugal que fiz com o meu namorado (www.nonmisoorientare.altervista.org), infelizmente agora não temos muito tempo para atualizá-lo como queríamos. 

Em fim, agora que já acabei o projeto e voltei no meu País, consigo ver mais a importancia que esta experiencia teve para mim. Parece-me de ver o mundo em maneira diferente. Não foi só uma experiencia profissional num outro país, não foi só aprender uma outra língua, mas foi sobretudo uma experiência de vida. Foi conhecer um País e a sua cultura, foi conhecer pessoas diferentes, com culturas e ideias diferentes, e muito mais. E por isto agradeço imenso a Associação Spin e a Associação Salvador por ter me dado esta possibilidade. Obrigada! Já tenho muitas saudades deste lindo País.

O testemunho da Monika

Comecei o meu SVE há um mês. Vim para Lisboa depois de seis anos de ausência. Antes, naquele tempo fiz o meu Erasmus na Universidade Nova e me apaixonei profundamente pela cidade, pela sua tranquilidade e pela sensação de que, apesar de ser uma capital, parece uma vila pequena. Estou aqui de novo, esta vez como voluntária na Spin. Adoro este espaço (especialmente o azulejo com o “Principezinho que fica num dos pátios interiores da Antiga Escola do Tejo) e as pessoas que o criaram.

Todos os dias apreço a possibilidade de estar aqui. Para mim foi a última oportunidade de fazer o meu EVS porque em Outubro fiz 30 anos (os amigos da Spin fizeram-me uma torta muito saborosa). Amo as tarefas que me estão a dar, sou muito multi-task e gosto muito disso porque não gosto de monotonia na minha vida. Estou muito otimista com a minha estadia aqui. Acho que apesar de tudo o que as pessoas estão dizendo, Lisboa não mudou muito. Realmente aprecio as pessoas que moram aqui, acho que elas criam uma atmosfera única deste lugar. Também adoro o bairro Padre Cruz, antes não conhecia essa parte da cidade. O meu sítio favorito é o bar chamado “O churrasquinho” :) Também adoro os graffitis e os vizinhos do bairro, acho que são muito abertos.  Vou contar-lhes mais coisas em breve :) Até ja!  

Monika 

O testemunho da Romane

“Why the hell am I doing this, again?” I asked myself few days before taking the plane to Lisbon while trying to pack a year of stuff in a 20kg suitcase. It was still a bit sunny there in Bretagne, my cat looked at me moving all over the house without understanding what the hell was happening and my mother kept remembering me to print that damn boarding pass. It feels ages ago but it just has been two months that I left France from Lisbon, ready – as much as I could – to start my EVS. 

There are a lot of answers to this initial question. Maybe it’s because I’ve always dreamt to carry catfood in a cup for a whole day by 30°C (true story). Maybe it’s because I wish to expand my resistance to the sun. Maybe it’s because Lisbon is a cheap way to get strong legs – damn, those dear stairs! Maybe I wish to start a Youtube channel on how to survive winter without central heat. Who knows. The answers are quite infinite. But the real question was: “What do you want to do?”

I was there, I, Romane, 24 years old, on my working desk in Paris, struggling to know which EVS project I would choose. Right now, the sky could be rainy, the streets would be flat and there would be no red bridge on the horizon. Dublin or Lisbon. Bright accent or scary new language. Well-known Celtic country or brand new sunny land. I had very few time to decide, barely a day to choose which path I’d give to my life. And then, a friend asked me: “What do you want to do?” And this is what led me there. Because it wasn’t about the language, the culture, neither about that guilty feeling I’d have withdrawing my acceptation for the first offer. It was about communication or culture. And here I was. For once in my life, I took back my words, I declined the first offer even though I already accepted it and this was the first step of that life-changing experience I quite expect EVS to be. Few days after, I got a Portuguese language manual for my birthday. Because this is what I want to do: to get more involved in the cultural field and discover, learn, explore it, as much as I can.

Those past months in Lisbon have been… Incredibly fast. First there was fear. Will I get along with the other people? Will they think I am too shy? Will I be good enough, will they regret to have selected me? Thousands of new questions dancing around my head while I was just moving in my new accommodation. Until the beginning. The real beginning, this first time I met the other volunteers on the metro station at Anjos on the way to the welcome lunch. Slowly, the questions faded away. It was still there but it wasn’t my principal thought. One day you’re alone in a new country and the day after, you suddenly know around ten people. I started to feel better and the amazingness of all these new people, places, activities, overcame the fear very quickly. I started to feel at home in my new flat, I get used to switch between languages and not end up with a headache, I memorized the way to go home, I helped a Portuguese people to take the right metro and the three floors I have to walk up to my flat are almost easy now. I started bounding with people and making friends, enjoyed sharing time with all of the volunteers, got to know the dysfunctions of my home and enjoyed more and more being the night talks in the kitchen with my roommates. I had a good time at some of the last Outjazz festival in Lisbon and happily met my mentor, cursed about the hotness for the Bretonne I am, loved the atmosphere of Lisbon. I went to Cascais to enjoy a bit of the last summer time at beach, I saw Belém again, I located Bairro Alto and Baixa-Chiado, I ended up in Almendre and wondered if I really left Bretagne or if the menhirs just followed me, I got almost lost in Sintra with friends trying to not get killed by some ghosts or creatures or whatever is in those woods, I met people from countries I’d never thought I’d meet and I felt at home in another country while being in Seixal. And, most of all, I discovered Boutique da Cultura, the cultural association of Carnide I am going to work with for 12 months.

From the moment I arrived in Boutique da Cultura and met my tutor, all the people working or volunteering here, I really felt soothed. I might have not met all the Portuguese people and, of course, generalization is never an everlasting truth, but it is a fact that all the people I met through Spin or Boutique da Cultura have a kindness and a warm welcome that I hardly found elsewhere. So, even though you are miles away from your home, you are still a bit lost and keep feeling a bit lonely, you can count on the generosity of Portuguese people to relieve your anxiety. Thanks to the incredible welcome I received here, I was able to feel ready to start the EVS adventure. 

And there was no time to loose! The Feira da Luz of Carnide was about to begin for Boutique da Cultura and with very few knowledge of Portuguese, I was already on the stand of the Incubadora da Artes, trying to memorize which word was used for “magnet” and what is a “cadeira” again and where is the “lixo”? It has been a very interesting month and it is probably the best way to get to know the environment I was working in. It helped me a lot to feel comfortable and be more peaceful about my stay here. I met all the people involved in Boutique da Cultura, I could name things in Portuguese and make a full sentence – especially the very useful “I don’t speak very well Portuguese, wait a second I am going to call someone” – and, most of all, I enjoyed my time at Feira da Luz. 

But the amazing thing with Boutique da Cultura is there is always way more to discover! I spent few time in the Livraria Solidária where secondhand books are sold at a very affordable price and my booklover heart couldn’t be more delighted. Couldn’t be, really? Actually I was wrong. I still hadn’t met the whole potential of Bento Martins. This is where Boutique da Cultura gives theatrical representation and this is where I went from being all cheered up to get really, really excited. Going back to theatre is all I dream for years and it is highly part of why this EVS project kept my attention, beside the Livraria. So when I had to help for the first time to set up the lights for a future theatre play, I was sure that I did the right choice. Books, I know. Theatre too. But not in this way. And this is the kind of things I want to go in deeper, this is why I applied for EVS. The best part was when our tutor asked us, I and my Italian EVS colleague Simone, to be part of the Christmas play. I mean, I can learn about setting up theatre play AND enjoying to be back on stage too? Of course I sign in for it! Even though the scary side note is “you will have to perform in Portuguese and, hey, French girl, you have a lot to learn”, I was highly elated. And I am still am. Being part of this theatre play is one of the best opportunity to, not only fulfill my will to reconnect with theatre, but it is also a great way to learn Portuguese, to get to know better how Boutique da Cultura works, to meet the people involved in the structure… And to feel well, simply. Actually, I was still joyfully shouting to my friends in France “I’m going to be part of a theatre play! I’m gonna do theatre again!” when another great news completed to make me sure I was at the right place. I still remember being at the Livraria Solidária with fresh bookmarks done when being asked if I was able to work on the publishing of a book. Sure, I am. This is exactly what I studied for some years and this is what I quite gave up on starting an EVS project. Guess what? I don’t have to give up on this. I am working on the publishing of a book. A whole book, made by myself – even the cover! This I could never imagine. I expected the library, I expected the technical theatre part (good things I know what I am applying for, eh), but publishing was a tiny little thing I thought I would have to let down for some time. But Boutique da Cultura gives me the opportunity to work on every single field I am interested in. And there are still so many other things that I have done being here I am not writing down! The vivid and swirling life of this place is awesome and I am sure I will keep being amazed during the months to come.

I can barely imagine that some month ago, I was having the worst experience of my life and living one of the most struggling moments I had. Working under time pressure, hierarchical, social and personal pressure, in a place where the excellence was the only thing accepted and time the most treasured thing. I remember when I was writing over and over motivation letters to EVS projects, looking almost every day at the database, following the new posts on an EVS Facebook group, waiting for answers, preparing for Skype interviews, this feeling of hope and excitement when you are selected, the disappointment when the European Commission does not accept the project, the tiredness of doing it all over again, and then once more the joy, the excitement… 

And the final happiness when you are told that yes, it is sure, you are selected and you will go. Here I am. Among all the projects I have applied for, among all the paths I could have chosen, among all the possibilities who could have occurred, I truly think that right now, right here, is the best EVS project I could have done. I find here everything I want to do, I am surrounded by lovely people, I am extremely lucky to be in such a great city, I am in the best professional environment I have ever been to and I am not scared anymore. Or maybe a little. But I mostly know that I can try. I can talk and being listened. All I have to do is making efforts on my own. And this is up to me. EVS won’t change my life if I am not working on it too. But, look: I already had small victories. I declined an offer to be here. I go make tea on my own without any anxiety on the work space – and believe me, the girl I was three years ago could never have done that. I try to push myself to go towards people. I might still don’t know if I’m good enough. But I know I feel good here, with all these people. And there is so much more to come!

O testemunho do Damien

Hello, bonjour, bom dia…Lisboa. It's August 28 and I have just arrived in Lisbon, the city of seven hills. For the next 9 months Casa Anjos will be my house that I will share with 8 other volunteers. Welcome to Portugal. Lucky me  before starting this EVS adventure I will have a week to explore the city. Great opportunity to walk around to get familiar with the city, get lost (still happening now sometimes) and visit this colorful city of Sintra. 

Crescer na Maior - my hosting organization - develops several projects to intervene with the most  vulnerable populations. One of this project is "E Uma Vida" that promotes integration of the refugees into the community. What does it mean? For a period of time of 18 months - duration of the program - we will work closely with beneficiaries to support their integration : housing, social, finance, education, etc.  

How I feel? Really curious about this new unknown environment.

After 2 months trying to find my role, working with all members of the team, meeting beneficiaries of the program and going with them to appointments/institutions depending the purpose I can say one thing… Be ready to adapt to the situation and to surf on the wave. Communication is one big challenge and to be honest I was a little bit lost at the beginning… Not only with English or Portuguese, but also with Tigrinya (Eritrea), Kurdish (Irak/Syria), Arabic, etc… So far I have 3 new teachers, ready to teach me some few words in their own language.

Beside the regular follow up we do also house visits to meet people at home to see if everything is ok and to talk about the daily life. In that occasion I met an old couple very friendly and welcoming. Each time we visit them they offer us tea and cookies… They are spontaneous persons but I have to admit they really put a lot of sugar with tea (too much for me!).  More seriously I have to say that it inspires me to see that even if they have to leave their all world (family, house, job, country) they are always keep smiling. 

I can't imagine it's been allready 2 months I arrived. Times flies. Having the opportunity to watch a dolphins show, driving a van full of furniture in the city center, meeting a baby named "Cristiano" in reference to CR7, tasting kurdish bread, traveling a bit around the country… are probably my firsts unexpected situations. Looking forward to see what is next. 

O testemunho do Simone

Hello everyone! My name is Simone, I am 25 years old and I come from a small village in the north-west of Italy. Last year I graduated in Primary Education and I became a primary school teacher, soon after I started working in a school near my hometown, in short my life was going according to the plans I had set for myself years before. The problem is that I started to feel that this life was not for me, at least for now. I felt the necessity to change my habits, to grow, to extend my mind. I discovered EVS talking about this with a friend and I thought it was the right experience for me.

I remember very well the moment I discovered I was chosen for my EVS: it was about midnight and I had just returned home from an evening with friends, before going to bed I decided to open the mail and with my surprise the Spin e-mail was there, ready to be read. I remember that the only thing I wanted to do after receiving the result was screaming and jumping of joy but it was night and I tried to keep the enthusiasm in order not to wake the whole neighborhood. So I went to bed, I wrote to my best friends to tell them the good news and then I tried to sleep but I was so excited that I think I fell asleep at five in the morning!

 I arrived in Lisbon on the first of September, despite the initial enthusiasm I started almost immediately to feel strange. I felt lost, I didn’t know how to hold on, I walked around the city and the only thing I thought was that I wanted to see my home, my friends and my family. Fortunately, this feeling didn’t last long, as the days passed, the same places that I had been watching with fear began to be familiar, and what I started to love in this city is that every day I got to know something unexpected and interesting.

Another thing that certainly helped me to overcome my initial fears was the knowledge of the other volunteers and those who will live with me for the next twelve months. In my apartment we are 9 with only one bathroom, or rather a bathroom and a half, it may seem crazy like that, but for some strange reason we manage the situation very well. Sometimes this can be chaotic, but honestly I would never change my life here for something more comfortable, because after all what makes this experience special are the people that share this with you and in "Casa Anjos" I found really nice  people and with them I’m sharing thoughts, dreams, travel and above all food!

Even my job, the Boutique da Cultura association, is really a beautiful environment: all the people who are part of it have been very nice with me since the beginning and at the same time we never miss the opportunity to joke together and work with a smile. I'm really happy to work here, art, especially the performative one, is one of my great passions and working with it all day  it’s a kind of a dream for me.

After two months of EVS I can say that what I'm experiencing here is better than any idea I had before leaving, what I hope at the end of this year is not to have regrets, i really hope to be able to travel as much as possible and to discover all the beauty that this country has to offer me. Last but not least, I wish myself to find what I have been looking for some time, however, first I have to understand what it is! =)