Being a volunteer can be odd. You are
not a tourist, yet not a local. You are passing by but at the same time you get
really involved. After some time, most of those struggles seem funny. They make
good memories and valuable lessons, they make this all more precious and ours.
Most of testimonies look
the same. To sum up – it was great, I learned a lot, made good friends and
traveled everywhere! I loved it and can recommend long term volunteering to
anyone!
The list of struggles could be
endless. Mine would start with nr 1 - „communication”. Pushing the doors that
were supposed to be pulled (who would though that puxe is pull...),
google translating at doctors visits, actually google-translating almost
everything, saying tá bem to all of the things that you did not
understood hoping that was just an irrelevant small talk…
But that’s not only that. Even if you
understand the language, and are able to fully express your ideas, you can not
be sure that you will be understood. Finding a common ground it’s a challenge.
Even despite cultural differences. Sometimes it creates funny
misunderstandings, but other times, it just makes you frustrated.
The second place on my list would be
„boredom”. Firstly when I realized that doing volunteering I will have more
free time I just thought about traveling, meeting friends and learning new
things… I expected only sunny days, full of exciting challenges at work and
adventures. Well, it was not only that. Sometimes it felt that I am doing
nothing and I am just wasting my time. There were days when I felt like it’s
just not for me, that being somewhere for one year it’s too much and not enough
at the same time.
The last one for me it’s a „failure”.
Creating events, workshops that no one is interested, doing things that won’t
change a thing, accidentally killing my cherry tomato plant or making the worst
(almost raw and uneatable) cake in the world. There are so many things that I
have failed that it could be list on its own...
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