Ciao and Guten Tag!

My name is Simona, I´m 27 years old and I´m from Germany. After I finished my studies, I decided to do a voluntary service with the European Solidarity Corps (ESC). This is an EU programme for young people to promote a social and diverse Europe. For me, it's a great opportunity to broaden my horizons abroad and contribute to a good cause.

I think that´s important in order to become sensitive to problems and grievances in our society and way of life. For me, charity is not only a religious commandment, but rather a part of being human. Because don't we all hope for a more considerate community and social participation? However, my desire to volunteer abroad is not only motivated by my faith. I want to better understand this world and my own role in it. And I want to get to know myself and my personal limits better. In my past, I've learned that this works best when you step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself.

That's how I ended up at Caritas in Jesi, Italy. Here they support people affected by poverty. Both counseling and emotional, as well as very practical with services such as canteen, food and clothing emporium, solidarity clinic and dormitories. I chose this project because their work is so important for society. Poverty will increase in the future and more people will need help. At Caritas, I want to experience what this help can look like in practice.

My ESC adventure with Caritas in Jesi started in March and will last until the end of September. So far, I have not regretted it. From the very beginning, I felt welcome at Caritas and in Jesi. The people here are great and Jesi is a small but lovely town in the beautiful Marche. Nonetheless, being here is no walk in the park. Language barriers and the feeling of loneliness often get to me, sometimes overwhelmingly intense. But that´s part of such an adventure and I have to learn to deal with it. I'm curious, what experiences, challenges and surprises still awaits me 😁

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The subway in Jesi

It´s really a great fortune. Since I arrived in Jesi almost four months ago I ´ve had the privilege of meeting so many, interessting people. Friends, collegues, acquaintances of friends, collegues and acquaintances. If I would try to draw all these connection that link all these people, it would probably look like a subway map. Another wonderful opportunity to expand this map I got the other day. The station is called subwaylab and there I sat at lunch with two people who turned their passion into a business. Subwaylab is a small film studio in Jesi and seems itself like a caricature out of a movie. Do you know "Dawson's Creek"? This place reminds me of Dawson's room. Movie posters hang on the walls, props, movie figures, scripts, ... it´s everywhere. There's even an arcade machine in one corner. And the two (of four) founders of subwaylab , with whom I had lunch, also fit the bill: friendly, enthuastic and nerdy in a good way. One discovered his passion as a

Arrivederci and Danke!

Now the time has come. My things are packed and the room is tidy. The only thing missing is my last article here to say goodbye. To tell how this experience here was, whether my expectations were fulfilled, what was good or bad. That is really not so easy. When I think about my first day, the day I arrived, it seems like it was just a month ago. The excitement, all the unknown. How can it already be half a year ago? But then I see the many fully written pages in my travel diary and remember. Six months in Italy, in Jesi. Six months with Caritas. Six months of adventure, boredom, joy and sadness. Six months of growing friendships. Never in my life have I met so many people in a short time, never in my life have I been so much on my own. In Rivestiamo I was able to be creative, master the hustle and bustle in the kitchen together with wonderful people, drowned in clothes at Magazzino and moved furniture. I walked at sunsets and sunrises and when the sun was at its zenith. I climbed mou

THE LÄND

I had to smile when I was sitting thoughtlessly at the bus station to the Frasassi Caves, waiting for the bus, and my gaze happened to fall on this sticker. "Nett hier. Aber waren Sie schon mal in Baden-Württemberg?" In English: "Nice here. But have you ever been to Baden-Württemberg?" These stickers are part of a promotional campaign by the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany and by now they can be found all over the world (supposedly also on Mont Everest, in Chernobyl and in the Jordanian desert). They are placed by tourists who love their home state of Baden-Württemberg and are proud to be from THE LÄND. I also have a deep affection for this state, more precisely for the Ortenau region. It was my home for the last five years during my studies. Here I have met valuable people, I have made experiences, I have grown. Here I put down roots and here I was able to leave this nest. Embedded between the Black Forest and Alsace in France, it is characterized by rolli

From Europe to Jesi

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