My EVS in Slovenia
A Svitac local volunteer describes their EVS exchange to Vipava in Slovenia:
Sometimes it is not easy to pack up and go into the unknown. But I did it and I am not sorry.
With help of my Host organization from BiH, Svitac, I did my EVS in organization called Slovenian Philanthropy. Their headquarters is in Ljubljana, and in smaller towns in different parts of Slovenia they have their intergenerational centers. One of them is in Vipava, where I worked. Although the village is small, the geographical position is excellent. Thanks to that, I traveled a lot and saw very beautiful parts of Slovenia and neighboring countries.
An intergenerational center (Fruits of society) has a connection with primary school, secondary schools, and centers for children with special needs, with a home for the elderly and so on. So I worked a little bit everywhere. I most enjoyed working with children. I also participated in some of the projects made by other EVS volunteers, so I can say that my work was varied.
For EVS with me came also guy from Turkey, Kenan. It took us some time to adapt to living and working together.
Free time I mostly spent in a beautiful, large garden, because the house in which we lived was once a mill, so it was built on the river. We had a large number of guests, volunteers, friends, family members, CouchSurfers, etc. and everyone enjoyed, because Vipava is place for rest and relaxation.
Because of Vipava was not place with a big number of events, most weekends I spent in Ljubljana with other EVS volunteers that I met on the training. The team was very diverse, interesting and we spent a great time together. I enjoyed in listening their stories, getting to know them, and their culture, and thus creating friendships and enriching myself.
I can say that I have traveled a lot. I visited Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Austria and the summer I spent in crazy hitchhiking adventure from Hungary, via Slovenia and the Croatian coast.
What I can say is that it was a very interesting, instructive, adventurous and educational year for me. I realized that I changed little; I started getting interested in new things, more to concentrate on the future. At the beginning it was hard, I did not understand, people were sometimes strange, I could not get used to some situations, but with time everything become easier and spontaneously I adapted to surroundings, but surroundings adapted to me too.
To all young people who have a chance I definitely recommend EVS, it is an experience that you have a chance to get only one and definitely use it!
Amna Basic, EVS volunteer, Omladinska organizacija Svitac
