Joe in Austria on EVS - 2010

Back in Klagenfurt after my mid-term meeting in Innsbruck, it seems hard to believe that I'm already halfway through my EVS. However the six month mark seems like a good time to stop and take stock of what has happened so far.

After a slow start I've settled into my project and now have plenty to occupy me. I work for the youth department of the regional government, which is responsible for coordinating the various strands of the Youth In Action programme on a local level - not just hosting or sending EVS volunteers but also helping to organise youth initiatives and democracy projects. They also run several of their own initiatives outside of this, such as debating and music contests. I'm mainly involved in promoting and contributing to Youth In Action, but my host organisation has also taken care to give me an insight into a wide range of work areas, as well as giving me the opportunity to run my own project - a youth exchange based on the events of the 10th of October 1920, which was an important date for the region. After the first world war, Carinthia was invaded by the forces of what would later become Yugoslavia who wished to absorb the Slovenian speaking minority living in the south of the province into their territories. The Carinthians mounted a defence, but it was only when the League of Nations stepped in that the conflict was resolved through a referendum, whereby the Slovenian-speaking areas would be able to choose whether to remain part of Austria or to be united with the rest of Slovenia and the other Balkan countries. On October 10th 1920 they voted to stay with Austria, and as a result this display of unity is commemorated locally every year.

Politically, however, this is still a sensitive topic, as tensions still persist between the Slovenian and German speaking communities. The situation is not helped by the fact that the current ruling party in the regional government is very conservative - even right-wing - in outlook. This is after all the very region where controversial politician Jörg Haider was elected to power. However it has been completely fascinating to get an insight into the political and social landscape and to be offered the opportunity to make a difference by encouraging young people to think critically about themes such as democracy, minorities and social inclusion. Personally also it should be an exciting challenge, as I have next to no experience of organising events of this kind!



All that is still in the pipeline, but even now I can look back and see how much I have learned. Although I already knew some German before I came out here, I am already speaking far more fluently than when I arrived and have made a similar improvement in terms of my listening skills too. I've been put into (and coped with!) a number of challenging situations - from spending a morning entertaining 100 ten-year-olds to giving speeches in German at EVS publicity events in front of live audiences. I've made friends from all over the world and travelled to so many interesting places. In short, I've already gained so much from my time in Austria so far, and am excited to see what else is in store!

Natalie in Serbia on EVS - 2010

Belgrade, the White City – Quite alright for me!

When I arrived in Belgrade four months ago, my first and overwhelming feeling was a huge sense of relief! After a nightmare journey involving a cancelled flight, excess baggage, a night in a Heathrow hotel, and a 6 hour delay in Vienna, I was so pleased to have finally made it to Serbia in one piece.

I’m volunteering for 12 months with Osmeh Mladih (which means ‘smile of youth’ in Serbian). Osmeh is a non-governmental voluntary youth organization based in Belgrade, which promotes youth mobility, participation and active citizenship through international projects and volunteering. At the moment I’m living and working with Aneta, an EVS volunteer from Poland, and in March we’ll be joined by Lutza from Hungary.

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia and the biggest metropolis in the western Balkans. It’s not a beautiful city by any stretch, and certainly no Paris or Barcelona, but it has a long and fascinating history, and there are lots of features that make Belgrade a really exciting place to be. Including, as any Belgrader will proudly tell you, its famed nightlife – in fact, the city was named number one party capital of the world by Lonely Planet earlier this year.

So anyway, after a couple of weeks spent sightseeing and settling into life in the (rather ironically named) ‘white city’, I was more than ready to get stuck into work at Osmeh. A big part of my EVS project is ‘English Speaking Friday’. Since December, I’ve been holding two conversation workshops every Friday for young people. The aim is not so much to teach English, but rather to provide an opportunity for people to practice speaking. We talk about all kinds of things – music, tourism, stereotypes, traditions – and I often finish the workshop feeling like I’ve learned something as well!

Other projects I’ve been involved in over the last few months include organizing an Open Day to celebrate International Volunteers Day; a international partnership building event in Kikinda, Vojvodina; redesigning Osmeh’s website; and creative work (posters, logos) for projects and events we’ve participated in. In fact, I’m really enjoying the opportunity to be creative. This is what I wanted from my EVS – a chance to try something different and develop new skills. And volunteering at Osmeh is a world away from the office admin jobs I worked in before I came to Belgrade.

Right now we’re preparing for an international training course that Osmeh is hosting in Subotica, near the Hungarian border. It’s a busy time for us volunteers, making sure we have all the materials, paperwork and equipment ready for the start of the project. It’s been eye-opening to be part of the hosting team – and to realise exactly how much work goes on behind the scenes!

Although winter’s been cold and snowy, and life in the city (like the traffic) has slowed down for a couple of months, there’s still plenty to see and do. Every week it seems there is a new film or music festival, exhibition or theatre season. This month we have the Guitar Art Festival and the 38^th International Film Festival. For me, Belgrade’s a true capital of culture. And there aren’t many places where you can bag a seat in the National Theatre for less than 5 euros!

Spring will bring new projects (promoting EVS in high schools); partnerships (with the Media Education Centre); travel opportunities (including trips to Poland and Lithuania); as well as the mid-term EVS training in Ohrid, Macedonia, and hopefully chances to see a lot more of the Balkans region. I’m starting to wonder how I will fit everything in! Eight months left, and already I’m thinking it’s not long enough…

Liam in Spain on EVS - 2009

I've been in Barcelona for about three months. I love this city, the history, the culture, the people, the food, the music, the list, it goes on. It's one the of the reasons that I chose this project, a big reason to be honest. But I was under no illusions that it was going to be easy, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into when I applied, when I signed up.

Like any big city, Barcelona has it's problems. But unlike other cities, the place that the problems are concentrated is right in the centre, in the notorious barrio of El Raval. Barely a day goes by without the neighbourhood being on both regional and national news; Drugs. Prositution. Robberies. Violence. Unemployment. Immigrants. The homeless. The same problems any other big city has, but concentrated into a relatively small barrio which these days is constantly patrolled by the police. This is where I work.

My organisation has a huge variety of projects, most centred in and around Raval. My project works with immigrants, from 16-21/22 years old. People from Morroco, Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, the Filipines, India, Pakistan, Bolivia, Columbia, todo el mundo! We do language classes, computer classes, music classes, sports classes, etc. etc. I teach kids who can't swim how to swim. Guys that can't even send an email how to use a computer. I train our football team. And generally support the running of all of our activities. One of the most important aims of all of this, is to give these guys something to do, something constructive, just something that isn't struggling to make a living by whatever means possible. And ultimately, we guide them into work training courses to develop some skills so that they are qualified to work.

Summed up in a paragraph it sounds fairly straight forward. It's not. There are a mountain of problems thrown into this mix. Primarily, I arrived without speaking Spanish. Nor Catalan. Nor Arabic, nor Swahili, or any other language that would be of use to me here. And Í'm the only EVS volunteer in this project, and so fairly isolated. The embarassment you feel when somebody speaks to you, and not only can you not reply, but you very little idea of what they even said, is horrible. Horrible enough to motivate me into studying Spanish every spare minute of every day! Next problem, the guys can be difficult. Extremely difficult. They're in a very strange and difficult situation, and so considering this it's understadable that they can behave like that. Another issue is the massive predjudice and discrimination that they face. Consider what it must be like, to arrive in a foreign country, where you don't speak the language, you don't know anybody, you have no money, no food, no home, no job, and then even if you do manage to get a grip of the language, you do learn some skills, become qualified even, after all of this, you're still faced with blatant discrimination. These aren't bad people, regardless of how they may behave at times, regardless of how they are forced to make money to survive, they are just people. It's only the situation that's bad. Life can be hard and massively unfair. But this project is trying to do something about it, I'm trying to do something about it.

The whole EVS experience can be a really strange one. It's a long period of time to be doing something, and so it's important that you know as much as possible about what you're going to do before you get there, to be happy with the type of work you'll do, to make sure that it's right for you. But it's just as important that you do it, that we do it. The whole EVS project is designed to promote cross-cultural learning and European cohesion, it's effectively designed to help the EU as a whole. But regardless of the political motivations behind it, it's an incredible opportunity, as the cliche goes, too good to miss. Not only is it a means of living in another country for an extended period of time, it's a means of really knowing that country, really learning the language in a way never possible at home, and above all, it's a means to do something useful, something important. I don't think you can ever really know what you're capable of until you do something that challenges you. This project is not only important for the kids that we work with, but for me too. I'm learning a language which opens up an entirely new world for me. And I'm learning things about myself, discovering what I am actually capable of. Something is happening to me, something that I need to think about for a long time. But that thing is good, it's a thing which inspires me to be better, to do more, to be more.

Alex in Latvia on EVS - 2009

Well, I’ve been here for almost a month now, and some early impressions are starting to form. As far as the weather goes, it has been more consistently cold then I was expecting, I mean before I arrived I knew it would be a cold winter, but the average temperature even now is much lower than I expected. The warm stuff I thought I was bringing for the winter is now in daily use in the autumn, we received a snapshot of what the winter would hold for us last week when there was a day of freak snow. It was blizzard-like, and served to illustrate how I may have underestimated the Latvian winter.

This, identified in October, is a very manageable situation, and already I am making enquiries into where a guy like me gets hold of more significant cold weather gear. By winter I will be kitted out and (fingers crossed) ready for anything!

As far as the living arrangements go, the first speed bumps have been hit on the road to happy families, nothing out of the ordinary or anything you wouldn’t expect from a group of under 25’s living together; people not washing dishes, not drying dishes, bathroom not being cleaned, etc.

Leaving aside these more trifling matters (I have never heard an argument that could convince me that an able-bodied person is unable to or shouldn’t have to do their own washing up) the more serious consideration was to do with shared foodstuffs, bread, pasta, etc, and where the money should come from. We decided in the end to introduce a kitty system, whereby everyone puts a set amount into a pot at the beginning of the week and from that we buy things all these little essentials that everyone uses. This should, at least keep everyone happy with regards to basic food, and hopefully head off the “Who ate my last...?” arguments which do no one any good.

And so the domicile is shaping up nicely. We have a rota for cleaning the bathroom and hallway weekly, and are managing to keep the kitchen in a reasonable state most of the time. As far as my digs go, I’ve reshuffled the furniture and am lobbying the system for a desk and chair.

As far as work goes, my job has been both varied and challenging. Most days I function as a language assistant in the English lessons run at the centre, focusing on the speaking side of things. My classes range from adults who already have good knowledge, through high school pupils who know a lot of English but lack confidence, and on class of two 10 year olds and a 7 year old. This last one was dropped on me last minute, I am on hand to fill in for Natasha when crisis arises, and it was actually much easier then I had expected. We had a good text to work from, and once I had got them laughing it all went fine. The secondary school pupils are a challenge in a different way; the text is useful but very boring, so we need to change the pace from time to time to keep people interested. I was at something of a loss about how best to do this, but fortunately for me I was helped by fellow office working volunteer, who has experience working with children in France and suggested singing; we pick a song that everyone knows (for example, “We Are The Champions”) and I write the lyrics up on the board. We talk through it, I explain words they are not sure about, and then we all sing, their nervousness quite overpowered by my enthusiastic (if somewhat tuneless) contribution. The other diversion was actually suggested by one of the students, she suggested that we prepare cards with basic words on them (car, tree, road etc) and each person has to take a card and describe the thing to the others, who guess. An amusing diversion which is actually excellent for developing both their confidence and vocabulary, which I have quite shamelessly adopted in my other classes!

The adult classes are usually small, and more advanced, requiring more intense conversation and careful correction to ensure that they are learning and improving.

The other work we do in the centre is the organisation of volunteer projects for the local population, both foreign and domestic. This can entail talking people through the EVS process, discussing potential seminars and voluntary work in our town, and organising youth projects and exchanges for young people in Europe. In practice office life is usually quite relaxed, it is only when we have a deadline for project submissions that it can get really hectic. Then we will be working late discussing what sort of projects we could run, brainstorming ideas, and then in my case either taking the ideas in bullet points and writing them up, or proofing documents written by others in English. All in all the workload is manageable, and there is more than enough to keep us busy and out of trouble.

So, what else? Well, I am still in quest of a guitar; this is proving a challenge because Rezekne is a very small town, with only one music shop. This obviously makes it something of a seller’s market, and so when I was in at the weekend the bloke in the shop, an incredibly nice man whose one flaw, it would seem, was the somewhat inflexible position he took to his massively overpriced instruments. I (in my very limited Latvian) tried to explain that I was a volunteer, that my funds were limited. Although he agreed that volunteers are generally a good thing, he was unable to get the price down as much as I wanted. We fenced a while longer, in an incredibly good humoured way, and in the end I left, promising to be back in November when I had more ready cash. He warned that all could be different by then, and the time for action was NOW, but I cheerfully resisted.

I left the shop feeling, despite the failure of my mission, very good. This had been, I realised, the first time I had actually communicated in a jovial fashion with a Latvian stranger.

My Serbian Adventure - by Barney Smith - 2009

My Serbian Adventure
by Barney Smith

As I reflect now on my summer experiences, my memories are tinged with sadness. Days after my return from Serbia, I visited my grandfather in hospital. Although frail, he had lost none of his enthusiasm for life or his fascination for the world. Despite the trauma he and my grandmother had been through a year before at the loss of their daughter, my mother, from cancer, he had lost none of his determination or his incorrigible sense of optimism. As I write this article a week after his death, I find it hard to believe that I will never again be able to listen to his sound advice, that I will never again be able to sit and reflect with him about his experiences of life. It is to my grandfather, an inspiration to me in so many ways, that I dedicate my recollections of summer 2009.

**********

(In the picture: Barney with the group of international volunteers)

The Serbian border guard could hardly conceal his amazement. “You’re going to Belgrade? But where’s your car?” I could scarcely blame him for being surprised. There I was, a British citizen with a Kuwaiti residency stamp in my passport, crossing from Romania on foot, carrying a huge rucksack, speaking to the guard in Russian, hoping it was close enough to Serbian to make myself understood. Fortunately it was. “Welcome to Serbia,” he said cheerfully in English, as he stamped my passport. I was on my way.
I had chosen Serbia's fourth largest city, Kragujevac, as my destination for my latest international volunteer project this summer. Although I had been to the former Yugoslavia before – my travels had taken me to Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia – this was to be my first visit to Serbia and I was intrigued by the prospect of visiting a country as yet untouched by mass tourism. Fascinated for as long as I can remember by eastern European culture and history, I had taken the opportunity to make a brief stopover in one of the EU’s newest member states. On a rainy Wednesday morning in mid-July I had found myself on a Wizz Air flight from Luton to the Romanian city of Timişoara, famous as the birthplace of the revolution which would topple dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu and lead to his execution by firing squad on Christmas Day 1989. By the time I had finished sight-seeing the next day, my options for direct onward travel had been limited, so I had taken the train to the border town of Stamora-Moraviţa. From there, in the absence of any public transport, my only option had been to walk across the border.

Now safely in Serbian territory I took a taxi to the border town of Vršac and travelled by bus to Belgrade. After a night in a city centre hostel, I took one of the many buses heading south. By chance I found myself sitting next to one of my fellow volunteers; as we approached our destination we wondered, with some trepidation but also much excitement, what experiences awaited us. On arrival in what was to be our home town for the next two weeks, we met up with the other volunteers, as well as the group leaders, Kosta and Vlada, and Alex, who represented the local volunteer organisation, Viktorija. We walked to the site of our project, the 21 October Elementary School, named after the notorious date in 1941 when thousands of the city’s residents were murdered by the Nazis. This was also to be our accommodation and home for the next two weeks.

One of the most intriguing aspects of international volunteer projects is the variety of backgrounds and nationalities of the volunteers. The other participants came from Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Ukraine and the USA; although the official camp language was English, I had ample opportunities to practise my French, Russian and basic Spanish, as well as learn some Serbian words and phrases. The volunteers included students of a variety of subjects, as well as a beautician, a speech therapist, a judge's assistant and a university professor. We spent the first weekend exploring the town, settling into our new accommodation, getting to know our fellow volunteers with the help of games, and organising a rota for cleaning, preparing breakfast and cooking dinner. The variety of countries represented at the project resulted in us sampling a wide range of national dishes from different parts of the world. Lunches were to be provided by the local student cafeteria, a treat given the quality and quantity on offer. Our visits in the town included the grammar school, the aquarium, the weapons museum, and the Museum of Genocide, dedicated to the memory of the victims of the 1941 massacre. We found that the city had a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere and that we were made to feel very welcome both by the local volunteers and activists and by the people of Kragujevac.

(In the picture:Volunteers on local transport)

Having adjusted to our new surroundings and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, we were ready and eager on Monday morning to start work. The aim of our international volunteer project was to renovate the outside of the school. This involved painting over graffiti and working to improve and beautify the grounds; we set to work picking up litter, trimming the hedge and cutting the grass. Once this was complete we were ready to begin painting; this was our main job to which we devoted most of the two-week placement. By the end of the project, we could take great satisfaction in the results of everyone’s hard work; those countless hours of working our way around the outside of the school with our rollers and brushes had paid off. We felt that with the start of the new school year, which was just weeks away, the staff and students would once again be able to take pride in the appearance of their establishment and enjoy a more pleasant learning environment.

(In the picture: group of volunteers taking a walk together)

During the project, because of our early-morning start to the working day, we were able to make the most of the late afternoon and the evening to enjoy our new surroundings, as well as to benefit from the very diverse Serbian traditions, culture and entertainment. Our activities included an evening barbecue, paintball, bathing in a nearby lake, swimming in the town's open-air pool and jogging. We decided to work through the second weekend in order to enjoy our free days at the end of the project, with the work behind us. Together with activists from Viktorija, we hired a coach and travelled south to the northern border of Kosovo. En route we stopped at Kraljevo, an important transit town to the south, where we enjoyed strolling in the sunshine and sipping the ever-popular (with me anyway!) Turkish coffee; we also visited the Žiča Monastery, famous as the first seat of the Serbian Archbishopric. We were to spend the night in a youth hostel, owned by the municipality of Kragujevac, in Kopaonik National Park; as the sun set over the Balkans we took the opportunity to explore the beautiful surroundings. After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast, we climbed the peak of Pančićev Vrh, more than 2000 metres above sea level, for a panoramic view into Kosovo. It was hard to believe that, just a few years earlier, this tranquil setting had provided the backdrop for the horrors of some of Europe’s worst ethnic strife since the Second World War. Kosovo’s recent declaration of independence was bitterly contested by most of the Serbs we met, many of whom blamed the NATO airstrikes on Serbian targets in 1999 for accelerating the province’s moves towards self-determination. As we returned to Kragujevac, we enjoyed spectacular views of the mountains as well as the Ibar River, which the road followed for much of the route; our journey also included a visit to the Studenica Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Back in the 21 October Elementary School, our work complete and our two-week project sadly behind us, it was time to pack our bags and go our own separate ways; for me this involved an enjoyable few days visiting the Serbian capital, Belgrade, as well as Novi Sad, dubbed the ‘Gibraltar of the Danube’, and Subotica, Serbia’s gateway to Hungary.

Back in my adopted home, Kuwait, where I teach French at one of the Gulf state’s British schools, I find myself in a setting which could not be more different. The rivers and mountains of the Balkans have been replaced by the palm trees and the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula; hills and rolling countryside by dust and sand; church spires by minarets; the sound of the disco by the call to prayer; the da and ne of Serbian by the na'am and la of Arabic; pubs and clubs by coffee houses and the diwaniya; the latest Western fashions by traditional Arab clothing. It is this diversity which for me makes world travel in general, and international volunteer projects in particular, so fascinating and so rewarding, and why I look forward with so much enthusiasm to my future travels.

email: barney.smith@gmx.at
SR21-09 Kragujevac was hosted by Young Researchers of Serbia – Voluntary Service of Serbia from 17/07/09 to 31/07/09.

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