O testemunho final da Cynthia (Boutique da Cultura)

 Olà todos ! 

A week ago, I said goodbye to my office, my tutor and the amazing team of the Boutique da Cultura. We all went to eat an ice cream after work and talk about those last 9 months and having to say goodbye to everyone was a really emotional moment. 

 My journey with this association started on the 1 of November. It has been maybe the most fulfilling months of my life, full of personal growth, drinks and parties with amazing friends. I will be forever grateful for the chance I had to do my project here, in this incredible city and association. Lisbon is a lively city, every day you can find something to do. I will never forget that experience and everything it brings me: the skills I learned, all the people I met, the place I visited.

After 9 months in Lisbon, I can really say that ESC changes lives, it open your horizons, offers new perspectives of life, and created amazing memories. It’s an out-of-the-ordinary experience that I will cherish forever. 

Thanks to the Association Boutique da Cultura, I learn so much personally but also professionally. I had amazing opportunities, like going to theater and even be part of a play, doing workshop and meeting new peoples from all age. My colleague always made me feel like I was part of the team, part of the family. They made this experience so much easier and also fun and for that I wanted to say thank you. 

Now, I have had to say goodbye to some amazing friends I met along this journey: my flatmates from Casa B, my friends from SPIN or from others associations in Lisbon. It’s always sad and hard but that’s how life works. I will never forget all the moment we spend together, all the trip and all the giggle ! I hope we will have the chance to meet again someday and I can't wait to see what life brings me and to them. 


Thank you and até a próxima !

O testemunho No. 2 da Cynthia (Boutique da Cultura)

 

"Olà todos !

Already halfway through my volunteering program with Boutique da Cultura, only 3 months left and I don’t want it to end, My journey with this association started 6 months ago, in November and I already learn so much, about me, about what I love to do but also what I hate. This  experience has been so enriching so far and I hate the feeling I get when I think about the end.

Working as a volunteer with Boutique da Cultura mean having the opportunity to see some theater plays (for free) and to participate in a lot of artistic and sustainable workshop and meet a lot of different people though that. It also mean having the opportunity to try news thing such as being a ceramic trainer (I didn’t know a single thing about ceramic before started the workshop) in a psychiatric clinic. Being able to do that with 15 people with mental disease, to talk to them, to laugh with them, to see the smile and happiness on their face every time they achieve something, is an amazing experience, I always go there with a huge smile on my face and I feel so proud of them and their success.

Doing a European Solidarity Corps is so much than just doing a volunteering project ! Thanks to that experience I get to chance to live crazy adventure with some amazing people from differents countries that I met over the months : going a week trip to Madeira or on a spontaneous weekend in Algarve, having huge dinner and brunch every weeks or party, going to the beach on the weekend. Every week is different, and we never get bored ! 

But this experience came also with it’s down sometime I miss my family, sometime work can be exhausting or not really interesting but overall doing this project help me find out what I like and what I don’t and open my eyes on a lot of things ! I am very grateful to have the chance of living this experience and I can’t to see what next !

Até a próxima !"

O testemunho No. 1 da Cynthia (Boutique da Cultura)

Today is my 20th day in Lisbon.
I still can't believe I am here.

Everything has been going super well so far. All the people I’ve met (other volunteers, ex-volunteer, members of my association) are super nice and I am very excited about those next 9 months! 

First of all, let me introduce myself. Hi! My name Is Cynthia and I am a 24 years old girl half French/half Portuguese! 

I decided to apply to this project because I just graduated with a master's in culture and communication and I didn’t want to start working in a company 8 hours per day behind a desk, sad and without purpose. I wanted more, I wanted to have a meaningful experience, explore the world and meet new people so this project was perfect! 

I started my project in Boutique Da Cultura 2 weeks ago and it’s going super great! I already went to the theater twice with my organization, once here in Carnide and once in Albergaria-a-Vehla.

For now, I am currently working at the Oficina Local in Carnide with Raquel and Joan who are super nice, and we are doing a lot of stuff like candlesticks, jewelry, toys for our Christmas Market which will take place on the 5th and 12th of December in front of the Boutique Da Cultura (you have to come!)

When I am not working, I love to have a walk in the city just to explore, eat Pastel de Nata and watch the sunset (from a miradouro or the beach of course) with my flatmates who quickly became my second family! When I was on the plane and then the taxi to go to the apartment, I was a little nervous to meet them but when I arrived, I saw a sign at the door that said ‘’Welcome to Casa Bernardim” with a drawing of 4 girls, balloons and hearts.

I immediately felt reassured, and I knew that everything would be fine. For the first night, we all had dinner together and talked about everything, it seemed like we had always known each other! Now it's almost a tradition we have dinner together at least once a week to chat and laugh about everything. I really enjoy living in this house with those wonderful girls who had each other's back.


I am so grateful to be here and can't wait to meet other people and learn new things.

O testemunho do Angel No. 3 ( Boutique da Cultura)

Well, after 1 year, my project has come into an end, and it has had a lot of experiences and feelings. The first day after my project finished was kind of magic. I felt the same strange sensation that I had when I was here for my first time, and I for me this kind of things are special. For me, feelings and sensations are attached to specific moments, because this feelings are born from experiences thay you had, thoughts, and just in that specific moment. Everytime you feel something, you feel it for the first time, because maybe you have felt something similar, but in another conditions, so it's kind of different. That's why for me it was strange, because I had the same feeling of being starting a new chapter, in the same place after one year. It's not the same, but I feel it like.

In this time, I have also learnt a lot from my relations with the people, more than what people think. I've discovered from close persons a lot of things, like their way to act depending on the situation, depending with who they are, and that has surprised me with a lot of people. I've met people who has been kind of egocentric, who wants to be the center of the attention, people who interrupts (in a bad way) other people when the other is talking. People who is really false (...). Anyway, not all the people is bad, or has bad things. Not all the volunteers that I have met that have wanted to be the "star" are bad person, some of them they have a really big heart when they don't look to themselves, and that's something that I really appreciate, how a person can change that much depending on "where is she/he looking", it's something from where I have learnt a lot, it's really interesting how people minds can work. People diversity is always good and I like that people find themselves different from others, or they just have more ego, the only thing I think about it is that they should be careful, when your ego is bigger than your person, you're no one, they are just a mouth talking about themselves or trying to be funny, and before being popular or funny, I prefer to be myself, to be the person I am. It's about listening and talking, when you do one of them more than the other, you're trying to be more than you are.

I have also met incredible people this lasts months. It's true that I have lost a little bit of contact with some friends because since the summer came, I don't really want to be talking that much via phone or whatever, I'm more like the wind that blows the leaf and carry it whenever it feels. It hasn't been anything particular to anyone, it has been just my way to feel the life as we should, do things just by how you feel them, and with this I don't want to say that I didn't want to talk or meet people, I just want to say that I preferred to let the things be by their way to be rather than force anything or being taking the phone to talk, I'm a person who likes to talk face to face. Anyway, this last months I've met a lot of incredible people, more outside than inside of the volunteer circle, and it's a really huge difference for me.

Being volunteer it's hard on meeting people, and it's something that a lot of people could be like "whatt", and I mean, you can meet a lot of people, but it's a lot of people that will go back to another country after some months or 1 year, after they will start their lifes again, and they will start to lose every remember or experience. Maybe it's not like this in all cases, but in most, and we have to be realist, if you leave and people is not keeping the contact with you, in many cases they will forget about others little by little. That's why I have had friends here, and I don't want to impress anyone, just show them the way I am, the way I look, and I think that's magic. I found a group of friends who are aiming for the same as me for the next year and for me it's fantastic, because in this way I can really approach them more to the concept I have of friend, we can live new experiences but not from zero, what makes the relation that we have even stronger. With other people, I'm sure I'm not forgetting them because I have good memory and I've learnt a lot from everyone and even if I don't say it directly, I'm always gratefully by the people I've met for that. About what people thinks about me, I don't really mind, if people want to think I'm "X" or I'm "Z", for me it's the same, for me the most important thing is that who met me, knows me the way I am, I feel and I think, I'll always try to be humble and help the others, I don't feel I need to be talking about myself, and the impact that it has on my friends it's special, because I can be the way I want without caring about almost anything, and they will be the same way, or feel confident with me, adn that's what makes me be the way I am, I don't need to make jokes to make other think I'm funny, or try to be serious to look like that. I'm the way I am thanks to the people I love. Thanks Lisbon for this year, and let's see how comes this next one.

O testemunho de Angel No. 2 ((Boutique da Cultura)

People say that 6 months pass fast, almost flying, but to be honest, for me this months have been a lot of time and good moments, I'd say that I remember every single day that I have passed here because everyday is different, in feelings, in experiences, in attitude, so they let us know a little bit of ourselves and from the others.

I have liked a lot all this time that I've passed here, because this time has been usefull to learn about tons of things. I've had the opportunity to learn Portuguese to the point that if I need to go out, I don't need to speak English anymore. I've learnt from the local people and how they are from my experience in the volunteering, by my bosses, colleges and the people we are in contact with, they way to be and to act, with me and with the others. Specially, I've learnt a lot from my boss because he's a deep person and I think we share a lot of values. One of the best moments that I can get here is to talk with him because I know that everytalk will be interesting because we both are deep even if we normaly look stupidly funny or like prankers.

My experience with other volunteers has been also really nice. When you're out of your house, you don't know how will it be, but here I feel like we have formed a family beetwen us, with a close relation with most of us. Everyone is different, so that's perfect for learning by each other. I know that if someone needs funny moments, we'll have them, and also relax or support moments. I really like the group we've formed.

In general, I feel like this is gonna finish soon, but I still have to pass a lot of good, sad, beautiful or melancholics moments, because life is like this, but I'm open and ready for them, because this was one of my aims here, to know more about the life, about the people, about feelings, to know more about me.

O Testemunho da Maria No. 2 (Boutique da Cultura)

Hi there again! María, from Spain, volunteer at Boutique da Cultura. This is my second testimony after 6 months, time flies blabla...! Things have changed a lot for the better during this period. Living abroad to me is always like this, sometimes things go very smoothly, sometimes you start wondering why the hell are you here and what is your purpose in life. Luckily, if you are patient enough, you may find your path again. Or not. I did at least this time.

Part of the process of being a volunteer is getting to know the place where you work and try to find the place where you can help them best so you feel useful (which makes you feel happy and connected with people). After the first three months I got to know Boutique’s family enough to understand their needs and feel that I could be needed in a more audiovisual area, so I have started helping a lot with my knowledge in photography and video editing. 

Right know Ángel and me are involved in many different audiovisual projects that will help Boutique to reach a bigger audience, to spread the amazing work they do and connect with the community. This projects are not only useful for them, but also serves me as a way to get to know better the people that work here and having the chance to talk with them individually, which you dont usually have the chance for in a regular day.

Attached to this text you may find a series of photos I took during the opening of a new space curated by Boutique da Cultura: Oficina Local, a public space focused on the recycling of materials and the formation of the community with creative workshops. Also you can find me, drinking Porto. Saúde! 

O testemunho do Angel

It's always interesting to change you're life completely to start a new chapter in it. I was a little bit afraid of being alone, but since the first day I arrived, I felt covered by people, also volunteers. Also in the Spin Association and Boutique Da Cultura the first they I went with them.

The first day I was in Boutique was perfect, they were like a family and they have this atmosphere there. I know I was new there and in that moment I wasn't part of them, but they accepted me very well. Even having to speak other language without many idea, but they have been patient and that has helped me a lot to learn from them and now I can hold one conversation! People here who doesn't know me are like: wow, your Portuguese it's really good for your 2 months here!

For the creativity, it's always the best option to stay in this kind of atmospheres because a good, familiar, with kind people, helps to develop more this. I find it perfect because I want to grow as a person and as an artist, because I'm surrounded by art and artist with good heart. I really feel so lucky to be there with them, sometimes I don't realize where I am because it's so perfect. I want and for sure, I will learn a lot for this year.

People, experiences, the atmosphere, everything is new for me and I think that I can take advantage of everything to reach my goal. This year here starts in a good way, I really want to see how does it continue!

O testemunho da Romane

If you ever had this little voice telling you to go away, don’t shut it down. I think I’ve had it my whole life, almost. As much as I am unconfident, I was sure of one thing: I wanted to go away. I couldn’t stand growing and staying in that same small town. Sometimes I wondered who the hell I thought I was to have such hopes and pretention. As if a shy girl like me, coming from a city that small, could do such thing. Really, who the hell did I thought I was? Well. Let me tell you this: do not listen to your own voice trying to put you down and fly away. Give it a chance, trust you, and set you free.

Everyone has a different background story with EVS. I’m part of the people who looked for a long time for a project. There could have been many, many other roads I would have taken, but I ended up here, in Lisbon. When my project started, I quickly switched from “why the hell am I doing this, again?” to “This is where I was supposed to be.” And after one year, I can tell I am still sure of it. Between everything, everywhere I could have been, this was the best.

I chose to volunteer at Boutique da Cultura in order to immerse myself in the cultural field and learn more about it. I’ve learnt much more than that. It was the perfect place. I’ve helped set up a stage and I played a librarian surrounded by strange magical animals in an enchanted world for two months. I’ve been managing a book store with my colleagues and I published a book, from the proofreading to the cover. I’ve been on festivals to sell the artists’ creation of Boutique and I learnt how to design a logo. I discovered a lot of things and had fun all the way. But what made this project truly amazing was the community of Boutique da Cultura. I have never seen such a tight and close group of people in any workplace or even association. Thanks to all the people there, the Incubadora de Artes is a place of joy and faith, where people support and help each other. I know that Boutique da Cultura is one unique place and I will never find a workplace like this. The trust and the kindness I received through all the year is one thing I will never forget. For this, muito obrigada a Boutique da Cultura.

Besides the project, EVS is a crazy, busy, incredible journey. I thought my life was busy in Paris, well, it was nothing to be compared to EVS life! First of all, travelling to Lisbon was not the last trip. My first adventure was when I crossed the river and went to Almada, I never thought I’d take a boat this year but soon it became almost a habit to visit my friends over there. I explored the coast of this side, I’ve been to Costa da Caparica, Seixal, Setubal, Troia, Praia da Figueirinha. I will miss a lot this part of Portugal where I’ve spent most of my summer. The beaches in this country are always breathtaking and one of my best memory takes place in Ferragudo, near Portimão, when I was lying on the sand, in front of the sea in a cave, watching the sunset. It was a calm and simple moment but it’s still there in me. Peaceful is one adjective that can apply to many of my most incredible experiences here. EVS gave me so many moments of serenity I will treasure. But it was also a lot of fun! Porto, Madeira and Figueira da Foz were incredible places I had the chance to visit and just thinking of it brings back all the cheerful moments I shared there with volunteers. EVS gives you the opportunity to travel more than you can think and really, never hesitate and go, those moments of freedom and joy are the ones that will remain.

Taking the boat was one surprising thing, but it was something I knew. However, what made this year this awesome was also all the little and new things I experienced in the daily life. Doing theatre in Portuguese on 10,5cm heels was certainly one of the most striking thing I lived at the beginning but it was far from being the last! I learnt how to surf and this was some of my childhood dream, coming from the seaside. The times I spent at Costa da Caparica are by far some of the best, it’s that magical place where you go and everything is fine because all that matter is you, living, in that very moment – which is a feeling I actually felt a lot during EVS. Very often, it happened with music, was it when I tried to play handpan surrounded by nature on the terrace of friends or when I’ve been for the first time to a real music festival, from day to night, ending up lying in front of the beach (again, yeah, EVS in Lisbon will always lead you to beaches). I also discovered the Portuguese-Brazilian music – and even weird international funny bands. Music events in Lisbon are countless and going to jam session became just a classic Wednesday night, as well as Outjazz festival on Sundays. On most unusual things, I scented a very surprising cinnamon tree and admired an incredible tree that was, I swear, gold. I've seen storks flying for the first time in my life – and it was beautiful – and I heard for the first time as well the birdsong of the peacock – it was not that beautiful. I spent nights trying to figure out some silly tricky games learnt during trainings – and now I got it, it’s my turn to trick people with it too, sorry.

I learnt Portuguese, mixed it with Italian, but I also discovered Armenian, memorized bad words in Dutch, tried to say few sentences in Polish and even learnt some things in some rare languages I will never use again in my life. I shared dinners and cooking recipes, tried new food from different countries. I have been in the mud, watching Portuguese people taking out some crustacean with the help of salt. I danced and I drew and I can swear I don’t know how to do any of these, but still I enjoyed it, and this is a first. All these little things, altogether, fulfilled my year. At the moment it might not have seen special but now I left, I remember all of it and it’s what made this EVS life a life of great new experiences and the most rich, intense and joyful year of my life so far. Some of it became soon part of my habits and made Lisbon a home for me and a place I’ll never forget. I never felt this alive than in this crazy year.

Mostly, EVS is crazy thanks to all the incredible people you meet. First of all, I never met that many people in my life! And the more people you meet… The smallest the world becomes, actually. Especially in Lisbon. You meet someone out of nowhere and you can be sure you’re somehow connected to that volunteer with other volunteers. It’s a funny thing that, always, always happen. I met volunteers out of EVS groups and discovered that they were friends with that other person I just met two days ago and who’s also a friend of a friend of mine. You can even meet people connected to people you know in your home country and that is absolutely mind blowing but… Almost normal in EVS, I might say. All this craziness of people can be overwhelming at the beginning but soon these people become your circle and you find your place. It’s where you belong. I was afraid of not meeting anyone I would go along with but one thing I learnt during this year is that you always find your people. Don’t fear that. No matter where you go, even if that’s just one or two people, you will find someone to get along with. I met many amazing people there and all the fantastic stories we shared are such an inspiration. Might have it been just one night of talking, some of the experiences I heard will grow on me and I’ve learnt a lot through it. I am so grateful for all the kindness, the energy, laughs, experiences I shared and had there with everyone I met. I am more confident to meet people and it gave me an inestimable faith. So, to every people I met here, thank you so, so much. You made this year incredibly special and it gives me the strength to go further. Hopefully, we’ll meet again.

So, don’t fear to go. If there’s one thing you must fear when going abroad, it’s to go back, that’s the real struggle. But for now, if there’s ever this little voice whispering to you to fly away, listen to it. I swear it’s that one life experience you’ve been waiting for.

O testemunho do Simone

How is it possible to resume a year of your life in a few lines? Surely it is something impossible, especially for someone like me who isn’t very good with words. The only thing I can say is that it was a FULL year, full of people who from complete strangers became friends, full of trips, full of experiences and shared stories and why not, full of food too!

I wanted this experience so bad, I remember that living all my life in this small village in Italy made me stuck in this comfort zone that was making me feeling ok but at the same time a bit unsatisfied and after my University graduation the only thing that I had in my mind was finding a way to leave my city and to experience around the world, that’s how I came across Spin and Boutique da Cultura. I took this gap year to reflect on myself and to understand what I really want to do in my life, which direction I have to take and after all this time my conclusion is that I still don’t know, but honestly is fine like this! This EVS taught me that is ok if at the age of 26 years old you are still not sure about your place in the world; good things take time and sometimes you have only to enjoy the road that takes you to them. This year I also experienced that is true that life can be unpredictable: personally I never thought to find myself on a stage acting in portuguese dressed as a green sheep, to hitchike in the middle of the Azores and end up in a rally competition, to eat pasta taken from a big plastic bottle in the darkness of fancy beach in Algarve (long story!) or even to find friends that now I consider for life.

I also never thought that I would end up to live in “Casa Anjos”, at the beginning you could not be superimpressed about this place, you could think is messy and too crowded (9 people and 2 bathrooms, just to be clear) but after some weeks I felt that this crazy flat was my home, because at the end what makes you feel at home are the people and there I met the most important people of my EVS. All of the time that we passed together will be forever a sweet memory in me, in particular when we danced the soundtrack of “High School Musical” in our livingroom, yeah that was great!

During this year I did my volunteer job in Boutique da Cultura and in this final moment of reflection I realize that I was lucky to finish there. This colorful group of people made me feel part of the team from the first moment and they never made me feel uncomfortable, despite the fact that I was speaking very little portuguese. Working in Boutique also allowed me to experiment different types of work, making this experience more dynamic: in fact, this year I found myself selling books and handicrafts in some fairs, I managed a solidary bookshop with my colleagues and I acted in a theatre play impersonating a green talking sheep.

In conclusion I want to give this suggestion to those who are unsure about the choice right now but have the desire to leave everything and get involved in these experience: go! Just do it! I know that often what keeps us at home is fear, the fear of not being ready, the fear of not being enough to be able to do everything alone and plus abroad. What I can say is that often these fears are imaginary and that probably a person will never be completely ready to leave their home for something unknown, but this is the price and at the same time the beauty of the game. Because in the end the unknown can cause anxiety, but if you take the risk it can also be what changes your life forever.

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 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! =)