My experience with the European Solidarity Corps Programme

Hello! I can describe myself as me, myself, and Ajš. I like to use this phrase because it represents my differences. I can evaluate every situation from different perspectives. In general, I try to show my interest in various ways.  I graduated in International Relations and the most important thing which I learned from my study field; be multidisciplinary! If you can learn how you collaborate your ideas and your abilities you can do everything you want. You should have no doubt that something good will come out of it, especially if they come from different areas and come together. I try to move like that.

I'm just a person who is trying to make the best use of my time, my youth, and this idea opens my horizons. If I had to choose three things to define me, I would choose photography, environmentalism, and gender equality.  I have a strange obsession with visuals and aesthetics, which causes me to see a different photographic frames everywhere. Besides that, questioning my life on the basis of environmentalism and gender equality makes what I do more meaningful for me.

I am deeply interested in analog photography because it has its own process.  You need to be careful before you take a picture, you need to know every detail of photography because it can be burned. Also, you can't see the result directly. You need to learn to wait, I think it made me aware of the process. When I learned to enjoy the process I learned how I can change my comfort zone. It helped me stop worrying about the result.

My ESC journey started like that, I wanted to expand my comfort zone. Combining this with volunteering, which is the best way I know how, and coming together with different cultures, which has always been a curiosity for me, this program was inevitable for me. When I came to Zabok, I felt peaceful. It was my first step to a new part of my life. It was a quiet town and the people were friendly. I came at Christmas time and it was my first Christmas. Zabok gave me a special welcome in every way. I must say that I am in love with the nature of this country!

When you come with this program, mostly you need to share your place with your roommate/s. That's not that hard for me. Cultural diversity, different backgrounds, and different perspectives are always instructive and developmental. We should be open to this. On the other hand, living with someone requires a sense of responsibility, which is as important as anything else.

About the work, It's really great for me to work with my organization. I feel comfortable at the office, especially with fresh coffee! My responsibility for digital creativity; includes design and social media management. Most of my time is spent coming up with ideas for the youth magazine I edit, finding new ways to involve different people, and creating an interactive space.

Having said that, I have to say that there are good things as well as challenging things. Every time I really share something with people in a completely different country is unforgettable for me. On the other hand, it is also difficult not to be able to fulfil some of the things we are used to and therefore expect because of cultural differences. Nevertheless, it is instructive and empowering to be aware of this.

All of this process learned me an important thing about myself: I can't run away from some realities. To tell the truth, I supposed like If I go somewhere else, like really different, I can run away some problems in my life. But It's not true. Sometimes you need to change, not your surroundings.

I could say to people who are interested being volunteering in a different country; If you can be aware of yourself, your situation and the country in which you will be volunteering everything will be better and you will have unforgettable moments!

 

Author: Aysenur Kursun

 

Updated on Τετάρτη, 07/06/2023