Chapter 2: Life continues in Slovenia
Živjooooo,
Time is going by so fast now and I only have 3 months left before I have to say goodbye to my life here in Slovenia. I am already getting emotional just thinking about the goodbyes. Currently I am social distancing myself due to the Corona virus pandemic, so I thought let’s write a blog and give you an update about my life here in Lucija.
Mid-term evaluation
At the end of January, I had my mid-term evaluation in Velenje. This evaluation is part of my ESC. Together with 16 other volunteers from all of Slovenia, we spent four days having different sessions. We talked about our experiences, the good and the bad. What our future plans were, how to apply for jobs etc. We also did different team building activities and took a field trip to the mines. Hearing the stories about the mines in Velenje was really interesting. However, I did find it scary when we went down into a mine with this small elevator in complete darkness. The best thing about this mid-term evaluation was meeting new people and having fun with them. We spent the evenings playing different games, singing karaoke and just laughing the whole time.
Pust!
I celebrated my first carnival here J! Back home, carnival is usually celebrated just in the south and not really in my city. So, when I heard about the carnival tradition in Ptuj, I had to go there with my friends. The city was beautifully decorated and me and my friend were walking through the streets with this unicorn thing on our heads. I loved seeing the parade, especially the kurenti and hearing the sounds that they made. Carnival was also celebrated in Epicenter of course. We all wore something funny and ate vegan krofi. I was happy to find a vegan version, so I could taste them. They were good!
Lentekriebels
One of my favourite Dutch words is ‘lentekriebels’. This is a feeling that you can have when you feel that the Spring is coming. The days are getting longer, the air smells different, the birds are singing, and the flowers are starting to bloom. It is such a happy feeling! The first time that I felt the ‘lentekriebels’ here was in February. I was in the bus coming back home from Planet Koper. I did some shopping (which always makes a person happy anyways haha) and I saw this beautiful sunset. I felt the lentekriebels and it made me so happy. A week later I went to Val Rosandra with Martina, Simon and Jakob. Simon said it was going to be an easy hike. Well, I struggled! The thing is, is that The Netherlands is so flat that even going up a hill is a hike for me haha. But thankfully I had Martina with me who pushed me to continue. We had a lovely day which we ended with eating burgers and fries together.
I also celebrated my birthday here (turned 29!). It was on the 13th of March, a day after the Epicenter closed due to the Coronavirus. It was a strange day, but I was really happy to have my Slovenian family celebrating it with me. I got a chocolate cake and presents. Hvala lepa J! I hope that this pandemic will be over soon so that we can all see and enjoy each other’s company again.
Cao,
Lyasmin Boukich, ESC volunteer at Mladinski EPI center Piran
Chapter 1: Life in Slovenia
Dober dan!
(first words that I’ve learned here)
Let’s start by introducing myself. I am Lyasmin, 28 years old and a Moroccan/Dutch from The Netherlands. I have been living here in Lucija since the beginning of September and so far it has been really nice. Previously I was working in a lab of a pharmaceutical company as an analytical developer. However, I wanted to experience another work field hence the EVS/ESC at Mladinski Epicenter Piran.
And what an adventure it has been so far. I had no experience at all working with children. I remember my first week so vividly. I was just sitting at the table contemplating my decision about this EVS/ESC. Nejc was the first kid that started talking to me and taught me my first Slovenian words. Then Brigita and Marta arrived and they talked about k-pop. Thankfully I knew some things about this music genre thanks to my sisters. So all those hours listening to them were not for nothing haha. The only thing that I was afraid of was that I wouldn’t have any connections with the children. But I can now say that I am getting there. I notice that the kids are used to having me at the Epicenter. They start random conversations and ask me to play cards with them. Beforehand I didn’t know that many card games but now I love to play Enka, Dobble and Set. And I am also making progress. I can tell the kids to be quiet and they listen (okay, not always) and I am getting better in the card games :).
After two months, I can also say that Lucija feels like home. I realized this when I was in Venice and after three days I couldn’t wait to be home and away from the tourists (how I am going to survive the summer here haha?). Adjusting to life here has been easy. Everything had been sorted out for me when I arrived. Martina even helped me out with taking my heavy suitcase 4 stairs up (thank you!). My favorite thing to do here was going for a walk to see the sunset and taking a hundred pictures of it of course. And I always ended my walk with a gelato. As it is too cold for that now, I go and have a tea at a kavarna. The days go by so fast now and the longer I am here the more I enjoy my time in Lucija.
Lyasmin Boukich, ESC volunteer at Mladinski EPI center Piran
Prevod tega zapisa v slovenščino lahko prebere na portalu mlad.si: https://www.mlad.si/blog/zivljenje-v-sloveniji-skozi-oci-prostovoljke-iz-nizozemske/