On Arrival Training

The European Solidarity Corps also includes an On Arrival Training, which is organized by the National Agency. The aim of the training is to receive information and tools that are useful for the volunteer service abroad, e. g. communication, rights and responsibilities, conflict resolution, goal setting and learning to learn, but also background knowledge about Italian culture and team building between participants.

My On Arrival Training took place in Morlupo, Rome. After 3 months, I am no longer at the beginning of my volunteer service (rather halfway), but I still learned a lot of new things in those 5 days. About my experiences so far and about my possibilities for the future. Strategies to channel my plans and make them happen. Online tools for mindmapping, teamworking, etc. I was able to visit Rome (at temperatures of 38° C 😵) and see a wonderful Italian movie ("Quo vado" - absolutely recommended).

But best of all, I met many wonderful people. Do-gooders, seekers, idealists, adventurers, dropouts, .... . Different in our motivations, backgrounds, experiences and projects, spread all over Italy and yet like-minded. Teambuilding and get-to-know-you games (yes, they really work!) broke the initial ice and brought us a bit closer. Small parties and conversations deep into the night eventually developed into friendships. We exchanged our experiences and expectations and got to know each other and ourselves better.

Once again I am grateful for the opportunities offered by the European Solidarity Corps. The On Arrival Training was almost like the volunteer project itself: in a short time I met many wonderful people, heard many stories that make me think and got many impressions that shape me. And therefore, I would like to conclude here with the wise words of Team Honolulu:

It´s not an issue, it´s a challenge
It´s not a mistake, it´s a lesson
It´s not about the goal, it´s about the journey
We are not late, we are in Italian time

😘

Comments

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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