If you’re thinking about joining the European Solidarity Corps, you’ve probably already imagined the exciting parts: travelling, meeting people from all over Europe, discovering a new culture and having an experience you’ll never forget.
(And yes — all of that can happen.)
But there are also a few things I wish someone had told me before I started my ESC.
1. It’s not a holiday
You will travel, meet new people and have amazing experiences, but you’ll also have responsibilities, schedules, tasks and normal working days.
2. The beginning might feel strange
You can be incredibly excited and, at the same time, think:
“What am I doing here?”
That’s completely normal.
Moving to a new country, meeting new people and starting a completely different routine can be overwhelming. Feeling lost at the beginning doesn’t mean you made the wrong decision.
3. You will miss home
Even if you’re having the best time of your life, you might still miss your family, your friends, your favourite places or simply your normal routine.
And that’s okay.
You can be happy where you are and still miss home.
4. Not everyone you meet will become your best friend
One of the most exciting things about an ESC is meeting people from different countries and backgrounds.
But you won’t connect with everyone — and you don’t have to.
Some people will become really important to you, some will simply be part of your journey, and some might disappear from your life after the project. That’s part of it.
5. You will leave your comfort zone
A lot.
Speaking another language, making friends from scratch, travelling alone, dealing with unexpected situations or simply figuring things out without your usual support system can be scary.
But little by little, you realise:
“Wait… I can actually do this.”
And that feeling is pretty amazing.
6. Not every day will be amazing !
Some days will be incredible.
Other days will be boring, lonely, stressful or simply… normal.
And that’s okay.
You don’t have to make every day an adventure. Sometimes the best thing you can do is stay home, cook something, watch a movie and do absolutely nothing.
7. You might learn more about yourself than you expected
Before starting my ESC, I thought mostly about what I could contribute to the project.
But living abroad also teaches you a lot about yourself: your strengths, your weaknesses, what you need, what you value and what you want from life.
8. Your language skills don’t have to be perfect
You will make mistakes.
Probably a lot of them.
You’ll forget words, use the wrong expression and sometimes have absolutely no idea what someone is saying.
But that’s how you learn.
You don’t need to speak perfectly. You just need to be brave enough to try.
9. You don’t have to make the most of every single second
There can be a lot of pressure to “make the most of your ESC.”
Travel every weekend. Meet new people. Go everywhere. Try everything.
But you don’t have to.
Sometimes making the most of your experience means creating a routine, finding your favourite café, going for a walk or having a quiet evening at home.
You’re allowed to feel at home in your new home.
10. You will probably come back a little different 🌱
Maybe you won’t notice it straight away.
But after spending months away from everything familiar, meeting different people, experiencing another culture and figuring things out on your own, something changes.
You grow.
You become more independent. You learn what matters to you. You discover things about yourself that you might never have discovered by staying in the same place.
And maybe the hardest part will be leaving.
To sum up, a little message to my pre-ESC self. If I could talk to myself the day before leaving, I would tell myself:
Don’t try to control everything !!!!!
There will be amazing days and difficult ones. You will miss home. You will make mistakes. You will meet people who will become really important to you. You will have moments when you wonder what you’re doing there.
But you will also have moments when you stop and think:
“I can’t believe this is my life right now.”
So take it slowly.
Don’t worry about having the perfect ESC.
Just be there, experience it, make mistakes, meet people, learn and let yourself change.
You only get to live this experience once. ❤️
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JESI, 2026. |
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