This experience begins with a crazy energy charge.
I desired to do a project with the European Solidarity Corps since it was called European Voluntary Service, but the first real possibility materialized before the outbreak of the pandemic, when I was selected for a project that then I decided to give up because it seemed more supportive and empathetic to be close and operating within my local community in Trieste and Muggia (Italy) where I’m from.
At the end of 2021 the news of having been selected for the "Organic Life Ideas in Action" project in Maribor and Jarenina (Slovenia), overwhelmed me with enthusiasm and pride: finally I could combine European volunteering with rural life, which for some years I wanted to discover more deeply.
Below you can find the collage of my first month in the ESC experience in Slovenia: a conglomerate of photos, keywords, quotes from my diary and creativity with which I wanted to express myself not to forget the highlights. It is an introspective creation of a month that I spent immersed in myself & among new people with serenity and sometimes challenge both to which I tried to give maximum space, welcoming what came with open arms.
See you next month! :3
Sofishino

Hey, hey!
I am Vicky, we have just arrived to Slovenia and I will show you the some of the most interesting things to me in here:

See u soon,
 
Vicky

On February 27th, 2022, I’m leaving home to go abroad alone for the first time. 20 hours long bus ride sounds like an adventure before the real adventure. I thought it would be really long to be 20 hours seating on a bus seat, not moving, only listening to music, looking at the scenery around.

The first transfer took place in Germany, in Salzburg more specifically. I didn’t have much time to go around the city, especially considering the three full bags that I had to carry around with me so I decided to wait at the train station for a few hours. It can sound a bit boring to wait for hours alone but it actually was not that bad. I even realized something during these few hours: NEVER EAT A CROISSANT WHEN YOU’RE NOT IN FRANCE, IT’S NOT GOOD!

When the second bus arrived at the bus station, the driver got off of the bus to help everyone put their luggage in the trunk and check the tickets and IDs. When he came to me, I showed him my ticket and my European COVID passport. He looked at me and asked: “Housewife?”. Why the heck is this guy asking me if I have a housewife? I answered that I do not have a housewife and then he told me “No housewife, no bus.” I have to say I was a bit lost. So I asked him to repeat the question and it turned out that what the man wanted was actually my ID. Yes, I know I should have guessed that housewife was my ID but come on, I’m no good at guessing!

When I finally arrived in Maribor at 5 in the morning, it took me less than 15 minutes before I met someone for the first time in Slovenia. Who could have guessed that at 5:00 am at Maribor train station I would meet a Romanian guy, talking to me in English because he wanted to go back to Romania but didn’t know how?

A couple of hours later, Maja came to the train station and that was the real start of my adventure in Slovenia. And as I’m writing this article in June, I can say that I had never imagined that this adventure would be far beyond my expectations.

See you on the next adventure
Thomas