Hello, everyone!
I’m really happy to have made the decision of doing a one year experience abroad and experimenting how living in a foreign country, far away from home, speaking a language that is not your mother tongue, really looks like.
First three months were the most challenging: you have to stay in a flat with four other people that you don’t know and you have to communicate with them in English all the time, but after everything started to be really fine. My flatmates are cool; my co-workers are also really nice. We had a training in November and we met many other people volunteering here in Slovenia and it was a really special experience.
The town of Škofja Loka Is really nice and picturesque, surrounded by a really green countryside and small rivers. People are nice, generous and welcoming. With the other volunteers, I traveled around Slovenia and neighboring countries (Croatia, Hungary), I assisted to local traditional festival, like Krampus in November and Kurent in February, extremely fascinating, especially from a cultural prospective, and I ate typical food. I did some experiences that I had never done before, like ice-skating and climbing, I have seen the snow again after more than ten years.
At work, thanks to the flexible conditions of the project, I had the opportunity to create workshops for the kids and the youngsters and to express myself through creativity. Working with kids is a great experience, fun and challenging at the game time, but it gives you a lot: you will express your humanity, use your empathy, and free your mind from all the negativity to melt it with the one of the kids, and this is magic. You will go back on time, awakening your inner child and realizing that it never got lost.
There are still many things that I would like to do in these remaining months. Anyway, I will share some pictures to describe these special months here!
Adijo!
Alberto.