A JOURNEY OF GROWTH - FROM SPAIN TO BULGARIA
”Moja izkušnja z ESC se je začela s kratkoročnim projektom (mladinska izmenjava) v Iscarju v Španiji. Tam sem spoznala, da v takšnih dejavnostih zelo uživam in da bi rada še naprej sodelovala v programih izmenjav ali kratkoročnih projektih. Na srečo so takoj po moji vrnitvi iz Španije potrebovali prostovoljko za dolgoročni projekt v Art Centru Karnolsky v Bolgariji in o tem nisem razmišljala, saj sem želela le potovati in nadaljevati »projektno« pot.
Tako sem konec junijaprispela v Bolgarijo. Zelo sem bil hvaležna, da sem imela nekaj dni časa, da sem se namestila, saj je bilo prilagajanja precej veliko – verjetno sem bila najdlje stran od doma kot kadarkoli prej in sprva mi je bilo precej težko. Čeprav mi je velika razlika v cenah v primerjavi s Slovenijo v bistvu omogočila, da sem lahko precej zapravila, sem precej hitro ugotovila, da je bilo vse to povezano s stanjem gospodarstva. Tako je bilo v bistvu vse za polovico cenejše kot v Sloveniji, vendar so tudi plače nižje. To je bilo največje spoznanje, ki sem ga imela, in potem sem se lažje navadila na spremembe.
Once I had settled in, I went to the »P. R. Slaveikov« school almost every day and worked with our coordinator on activities in the school with the children and elsewhere. The other volunteers (there were 4 of us) focussed on giving lessons with the children, e.g. music lessons, dance and drawing lessons. Originally, I started talking to the students in order to run a photography club as an assistant. However, as I spent more and more time working behind the scenes of the projects for ESC, Erasmus+ and others, I realised that I really enjoyed the work and started to learn how to write projects, what basic knowledge you need, etc.
During my stay I helped design logos, flyers and other promotional material for projects and other
needs, which I really enjoyed as graphic design is my forte. I also took part in a number of trainings in
Bulgaria which broadened my knowledge about different topics and working
z otroki – to je spodbudilo moje zanimanje za lastno poklicno pot.
I took part in festivals organised by my host organisation, where I learned how to organise events, where and how everything can go wrong and, most importantly, got to know the feeling when everything runs smoothly.
Throughout my stay, I toyed with the idea of staying in Bulgaria to study and continue my work, and that's exactly what I am doing now. The paperwork is a chaotic mess, but I am glad that Bulgaria has joined the Schengen area, because that means less paperwork for me.
Now, with about 12 days left in the project, I am working on getting all my documents done, translated and sorted. I have decided to sign an employment contract with my host organisation and will continue to work with them on festivals and projects like that. I have also started writing my own projects, which I know is a lot more work when you write it yourself, but it will pay off as I continue to learn and develop as a person.
I have also decided to start studying here. As I have already mentioned, working with children and training like this has sparked my interest and I am going to study social pedagogy. Admittedly, the difference between here and Slovenia is that it's a four-year degree programme, but that at least consolidates my stay here.
As for why young people should choose to take part in such projects – I believe that this way we can learn more about the world and the communities around us, which develops our own personality and makes us grow as people. Part of being human is working together and helping each other – this can give us the tools we need to improve our own communities at home. You do not have to stay, of course, but for a year, two or even just six months, you will be a different person with new perspectives on everything in your life.''
– Teja Alovič
English 
Slovenian