O testemunho no. 2 da Julia (SPIN)

 Hello, I’m Julia, and welcome to my second testimony.

I know that you had to wait for a while to see it finally, but to be completely honest, writing this was super difficult for me. I found it super hard to summarize all these experiences in just a couple of sentences. Every time I was starting writing this I was in a different mood and another big feeling in my heart that I wanted to express. 

Sometimes, I wanted to write how heartbroken I get whenever I have to say goodbye to someone too soon. At some point in my volunteering time, I turned from newcomer to one of the oldest volunteers, and that means that in the meantime a lot of people finished their projects and left Portugal(luckily some stayed also). Recovery doesn’t come this instant. After a hard period of grieving, you begin to feel happy for them- happy that they figured the next step on their path of life, but you still let yourself miss them sometimes, and hope to see them anytime soon. 

Sometimes, I wanted to write how happy I feel for taking part in my association daily life and being a volunteer, connecting with people, and discovering the strength of the volunteer community. I am really glad about this, it was something I truly wanted to do and since day one I knew that it was a good choice. 

Sometimes, how scared I am to miss a thing because time is relentless and passing fast, and you always want to get more and more out of this experience, because you know that before you notice it’s going to be over. But then what you also realize is that being chill, warm and cozy is a very pleasant part of it.

And sometimes, how blessed I feel to live in a climate with weather that allows you to spend time outdoors during wintertime. I even managed to throw my birthday party in the park in November, take on the most cycling in January, not to forget swimming in the sea on the 31st of December!. As a person coming from Poland, where none of those things are possible in this period because of the freezing cold, I really appreciate it.

All-time I wanted to write about amazing people that feel like home to me and the big city that very often feels like a small village.

About how grateful I am for all the expected and unexpected. All the cheers, laughs, meetings, festivals, gatherings, coffees, beers, dinners, random meetings on the street, breakfasts, sunsets, visits, smiles, sunrises, lunches, trips, DJ sets, jam sessions, walks, hangouts, concerts, hikes, parties, games, workshops, after dinners, street parties, dances and anything else there is, all the magic that happened and all the magic that will happen.

And for the beaches, I’m very thankful for the sea, the sun, and the beaches. And for all the love and all the hugs. I’m very thankful for way too long hugs.