O testemunho final do Andrea (SPEM)

What can I say, a simply crazy experience. I haven't been in Lisbon for ten days now and I already miss it, along with everything I went through during that time and the people who came into my life a bit randomly and who now have a special place in my memories. When I arrived I didn't really know what to expect, now I just want to go back in time to relive everything exactly as it was, along with all the ups and downs. 

I wouldn't change anything but the fact that it could never end. Portugal, and Lisbon in particular, is an amazing place full of wonders that welcomed me and made me feel at home, in fact now I almost feel out of place here in Italy and I miss it with a place where I feel I belong. 

During these days during my volunteering at SPEM I felt like I was part of a family and this motivated me to continue along this path. The same goes for the people I have lived with and who have left an indelible mark on me. I write these words as a stream of consciousness, still prey to my emotions, there is still so much to say that I fear I would not be able to write it all down in a month. 

But there is something I am certain of: I could not be more grateful to have had this opportunity, which made me grow a lot and also helped me rethink who I am and work on myself. In short, I would recommend this experience to anyone who wants to get out of their comfort zone or simply put themselves to the test by building a new everyday life in an environment where everything is to be discovered and which often leads one to rethink one's own inhabitants and convictions in a continuous becoming that never stops. So why not try and enjoy every second?

And here I learnt to recognise it, to feel part of something beyond my comprehension, to feel useful for someone who needed it and, above all, part of a larger reality where everyone is accepted for who they are.

After all, as someone often said, ‘Life it's a Movie’.

O testemunho No.1 do Andrea (SPEM)

Ciao! I am Andrea and I come from Italy.

I joined the ESCs to have the chance to travel and get in touch with people, cultures and realities that are new to me. In particular, I thought of coming here to Lisbon because I thought the culture, its calmness and climate were perfect for me and I wasn't wrong. 

I am really grateful to be able to confront myself every day with this reality that changes me a little and makes me reflect.Today after 3 months I feel almost at home, and every day there is a new discovery that changes my point of view. Reality is just a perspective.

O testemunho No. 1 da Almudena (SPEM)

It's very difficult to describe sometimes what we have lived in the last 3 months of our life. 

Everything changes around you: your country, your friends, your work, your hobbies, your language...

I wanted to change everything when I decided to be a volunteer. I thought it would give me adrenaline and would make me feel more alive.  Everything was true. In the last 3 months, I realized that what makes me feel really alive it's growing surrounded by great people and learning of myself in different contexts. 

Every one of the new people I have met in Lisbon has transmitted something important to me and I have felt very supported by them. They made me feel alive. When I look at the next 9 months of volunteering I feel excited about the future and grateful to be here at this time of my life. I'm in the place I want to be. That it's the best thing I could feel.

O testemunho final da Leila (SPEM)

Time flies, you have to enjoy every moment, every day.

It’s probably the advice most people give when someone is having an experience abroad, or at least out of their hometown.

I tried to apply this advice every day since I arrived in Portugal. Enjoy every little thing, can be going to work, going out with friends, a coffee under the sunlight, or just on Sunday watching movies in bed.Living abroad taught me this, taking the time to enjoy valuable moments, to take time for myself and the things that matter to me. When people give the advice of “enjoy every day”, maybe they think more about going on weekend trip or going out. And it’s true, it is part of it. But it’s also about making a place that at first, you knew nothing about, home. It’s to make all the little things that were strange or incommun to you before, habits. Lisbon now is home. 

Now, it’s habit to take tremoços with my imperial, to ask for a coffee “cheio”, to see the old men of the neighborhood meeting at the end of the afternoon and seat in plastic chairs just around the corner, to spend most of my time outside, to go listen to jam session at A70 or Arroz Estudio, to eat soup as a starter at every meal, to know some of the songs of Tony Carreira by heart, to not be afraid of the hill or not to be out of breath when you arrive on top, to see trees with flowers all year long or even just to speak Portuguese. It’s also habits to complain about the buses always being late, or about the winter without heating. But there is also things we never get use too, we are always amazed, such as the orange light of the sun that makes all the city golden, the blue sky, the beautiful landscapes, and the amazing people we meet.

My experience was, in the major part, about meeting people. About making myself a new home and a new “everyday” life. I’m so grateful for what I have and what i built here. Indeed, I’m staying to live in Lisbon for a bit longer, I’m not ready to leave this life behind me. With the group of volunteers (at people that we met along the way), we created an amazing group.

It’s like family and I know that I built a friendship that will last forever. We can be separated, not be living in the same country, we will never lose each other. Maybe you create an even stronger relationship because we know that “time is flying”. My experience was also about my work. Even though I arrived in the middle of the pandemic, I had the chance to be in one of the few projects where we were still working “off-line”.

I loved my experience working in SPEM. I was sad and nostalgic to leave this work where I was finally feeling part of the team and part of the project. “Finally”, because, of course, it takes time, especially with the language barriers but also just because it takes time to enter a team and to feel comfortable. I learned a lot with the team, but also with the beneficiaries and I’m truly grateful.

Maybe I’m not a volunteer anymore, but I think I will feel like being one for still a while. It was an amazing experience that changed me and pushed me to achieve personal goals and to grow in a way that I’m happy and proud with. I would recommend to anyway to do this kind of experience, and I will. I would also recommend Lisbon of course, which completely took my heart. I’m writing this lines seated in a café in Paris, I’m there to visit friends and family. But then, I will go back home.

O testemunho No. 2 da Leila (SPEM)

Today, the 6th of July 2021, it has been 36 weeks that I´m in Lisbon. 257 days, 6 168 hours.

And for all those tiny minutes, those hours, those 257 sunsets and sunrises, I'm thankful. I'm thankful to Lisbon that welcomed me in all its beauty. I´m thankful to my friends that I met here, who are now my portuguese family. I'm thankful for my work which helps me to figure out what I want in life and to focus on what matters to me. And I'm thankful to myself for the opportunity that I took by coming here.

Everyday has not been easy since January ; we had a lock-down and a hard winter. But I have to say that I can hardly remember the bad days. Their memories have been replaced by the good days. Even though the lock-down was tough, I feel that I came out of it even more motivated to do stuff, to travel, to go out, to live, to not miss another day. And I believe that I´m not the only one who reacted like this, because since the end of the lock-down our group of volunteers is even more strong and has the will to do and organize stuff. We explored Portugal, passing by Algarve for a work-away, Porto, Evora, Setubal, Alentejo, the region of Lisbon… Portugal is a beautiful country and I can't wait to continue the exploration, even if now it is again a little bit complicated. But it also forces me to discover the region of Lisbon that is already super beautiful and full of places to discover. 

Often at my work, they tell me “ You do love Portugal”, they are right. I needed this time away from France, from what I know, maybe to come back later, stronger and more aware of what I want. To express this, I want to share words that are not mine :

Mais les vrais voyageurs sont ceux-là seuls qui partent

Pour partir, coeurs légers, semblables aux ballons,

De leur fatalité jamais ils ne s’écartent,

Et sans savoir pourquoi, disent toujours : Allons !

L´appel du Large, Les fleurs du mal, Baudelaire

A traveler maybe, but a traveler who also works ! My work interests me a lot, it helps me to learn portuguese (since I have to speak it everyday there) and helps me to build my creativity by creating activities that could be beneficial to all the usuaries. Before arriving there, I was afraid to not be able to work with people with disabilities. I was afraid to not understand their needs, to not be there for them. And, of course it takes time to understand how they work, what they need and want. But everyday I learn something and I make progress. We do a lot of different activities ; manual work, games, exercises for the memory, physical exercises, cultural dynamics…

I help the animator to prepare and to lead the activities. I'm also starting to help them with the communication by creating some content for their social media, like videos and pictures. It is part of my personal project and I'm really happy to do it. I would like to film or take pictures of them where they find themselves pretty and touching, because they are !

O testemunho no. 1 da Leila (SPEM)

Olá! I’m Leïla, and I arrived in Lisboa at the end of October. 

I felt in love with the city on the first day, and I’m really happy to know that I am gonna live in this amazing city for a year. I love its atmosphere (before coming here, I was living in Paris and it’s so different !), I love being near the Atlantic Ocean, the miradouros, the little streets, the food, the blue sky, the sunset...

I’m a volunteer in SPEM, Sociedade Portuguesa de Sclerosis Múltipla, so basically I’m working with disabled people and my missions are to organize and lead activities with them during the day. I really like it, it is really interesting because I get to know new people, their story, but also their disease and how to work with it, how to help them on their daily life routine, and how to make them happy with activities that they would like. And also, really important, their language (which they are really happy to teach me, cause I wasn’t speaking a word of Portuguese before coming here). My motivation for the project was the fact that I will work with people and for them. And that is exactly what this association is about !

But the life as a volunteer isn’t just about work, it is also about meeting new people, making new friends and discover the city. I didn’t know that we were so many volunteers here in Lisbon, and it was a really good surprise when I discovered it. Even with the pandemic, we are still lucky enough to be able to see each other ! 

It’s been only two months, but I already feel like home !  

O testemunho No. 3 da Ana (SPEM)

 

It is hard to believe my year of ESC just finished! What an amazing experience it has been! 

ESC life… getting out of your comfort zone, meeting new people and doing plans you have never even thought about, discovering a new city, a new country and a new culture, challenging yourself to learn a language and getting used to a different way of living that I would recommend to anyone.

I really believe I ended up in the perfect project for me, SPEM (Sociedade Portuguesa  de Esclerose Múltipla) has felt my portuguese family all these months. So much love and fun, so many laughs, (pre-covid) hugs, unforgettable moments and so much learning… It has been hard sometimes but the strong people I met there taught me that facing challenges and hard times with a positive attitude really makes a difference, and as I said before, I think I always finished my days in SPEM with a smile in my face thanks to them. Tenho tantas saudades de vocês!

During this year, I also made friends for life, I will never forget all the adventures and crazy moments I have lived with other volunteers (and many more to come soon!). It would definitely not have been the same without them. I miss you so much guys!

Long story short, "it was what it was: IMPRESSIVE". 

Muito obrigada e até já Lisboa!

 

O testemunho da Ana No. 2 (SPEM Sociedade Portuguesa de Esclerose Múltipla)

This experience is just getting better as time goes by. I feel very integrated in my organisation and I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to get to know better the people I work with. I am getting to know more about their lifes, the challenges they have everyday and their strength to face them. And besides that we are sharing fun and unforgettable moments. I have also started doing some workshops in portuguese, which seemed impossible when I started!

About Lisbon… it's amazing the experiences this city has to offer! I have been in theatres, escape rooms, so many gigs and art exhibitions!

And as the weather is getting better we have also been able to discover breathtaking places in nature! And what I value the most... is the people I am sharing this experience with! I am really looking foward to have more adventures together!

O testemunho da Eva No. 3 (SPEM Sociedade Portuguesa de Esclerose Múltipla)

It seems unbelieveble that this journey it's over. It's said that times flies; my experience could be a prove of that. 9 months have passed and at the same time, they have been like ages. Every week was so intense that anybody would say it was a month. So many moments, emotions, details, tastes, can not be packed in just 7 days. 

Days were longer than 24 hours. EVS lifestyle requieres that.  You have to be ready for a new challenge, new plans, new views of what life does look like, new people, new ideas. At the point you start to feel comfortable with those different things and you're looking for others, you're developing yourself. 

I feel completely different now from when I came for the first time here, and I'm grateful for that. I was very lucky to be in a such stimulating environment. First of all, I would like to thank my hosting organisation, a Sociedade Portuguesa de Esclerose Múltipla (SPEM). Working with them has shown me how important love and attention is. When life gets harder, just positive and good attitude can make the difference and push you to overcome the difficulties. Colaborating with them made me more independent, sociable and happy.

Actually who I learnt the most from it was my friends. We became a huge family where you could have fun, speak about deep topics, reflect about life, just hang out after a hard day or find that refugee that sometimes we need we are down.

Last but not least, I want to thank my coordinating organisation as well, SPIN. They really were all the time available to help and support us. When you come for the very first time to your new country, they're already there to show and explain you everything. And you know that whenever you need it, you can call and count on them.

 Thank you again to everybody that make my experience not good but amazing, life-changing and magic.