A year full of surprises– Liza’s experiences
I think the best part of being a volunteer is that you can never know what’s going to happen.
Long story short: in this 9 months in France I was traveling a lot, making new friends from all over the world, getting know myself from multiple perspectives, learning French (and some slangs in English too) and expressing myself on it, learning about new skills, cultures, countries, and last, but not least having a lot of FUN!
There were some things I struggled with at the beginning but honestly, looking back to the first 2 months I can only remember the good parts. For example visiting dozens of towns in France or in Europe with my volunteer friends or alone. Learning a lot about the importance of non-formal education by participating in 4 seminars. Having a lot of ‘soirées’ with my international friends in Briançon and sharing a lot about our cultures, foods and having fun every time. Learning a lot of French slang, about the educational system by working in a high school, how the French people protest, about their culture, their attitudes, foods and a lot more.
I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to try myself as a youth leader in a youth exchange in Spain where I represented France. During this unbelievable exchange we were totally disconnected from our phones and with the co-planning method we were responsible for the activities we made. I can tell you, it was awesome!
This was definitely a lifelong experience, probably I’ll realize loads of impacts later too. I really hope that by reading my short story, the people who are open to these kinds of opportunities will get the courage to make it happen too.
Trust me, it’s definitely worth it!☺️
Bisous,
Liza
P.S: Huge thanks to everyone who was by my side in these 9 months, especially to my friends, my tutrice, my mentor and my associations from Hungary: Phiren Amenca and from France: Hors Pistes.
Liza has been a Phiren Amenca volunteer form Hungary, in a European Solidarity Corps volunteering project coordinated by Hors Pistes in France.