The greatest adventures don’t require a passport

It is sometime around the middle of December. As I’m sitting in my room back home in Žilina, Slovakia after spending extra ten days past the end of my EVS project in Maribor, I find myself wondering how to write this last blog post. It will be the hardest to write – not because I would struggle to remember and put down everything important that’s happened recently, but because my feelings are difficult to put into words right now. It will be almost impossible to not get sentimental and perhaps a little pathetic, but don’t worry, the teary eyes have already dried, the goodbyes and „see-you“s have been said and the old life is coming back for me. But before that, let’s do a recap.

Of course the biggest thing I have to mention is the StopTrik festival, which I already wrote about in the October post, but I have to return to it, since it overlapped into November a bit (the good feelings about it anyway) and Ioana wrote a nice in-depth post about it, so be sure to check it out if you’re interested. I sincerely hope it will be bigger and more fun next year. And the year after that.

At the end of November, me and Nataša went together with Sara (she was sent to Ireland by Pekarna) to present EVS during an evening in the college students‘ club ŠTUK, where multiple organizations offered opportunities to work or study abroad. It wasn’t a big event, but as always, I was happy to spread the contagion of EVS enthusiasm among young people.

Other than that, the month was pretty much about slowly wrapping things up, making a goodbye party with Ioana, doing the last this and the last that, enjoying all the Christmas lights in the city and falling into that weird phase of duality, when your mind feels like it’s split into thinking about two different places at once – anyone who’s ever lived abroad knows what I’m talking about. The feeling didn’t really hit me until the very last few days in Maribor, when I had to start thinking about packing, buying just enough food to take as little of it back with me as I could, and going to work more or less without having to. The last volunteer meetings, seeing „our“ children from Brezmejni svet for the last time to take them to UGM, the last evening out with people I can now with confidence call friends. Hating goodbyes and prefering to simply disappear like I always did, I tried to avoid the sadness until the last moment and when it hit, it stayed for a while, overwhelming everything else. I could write about it in ten different ways and not be satisfied with each interpretation. Everyone has their own.

But I’m back home now and old and new challenges are waiting for me. I feel rusty and my old uncomfortable self is coming back to me – there will have to be a long, hard conversation. With experience, I’m realizing travel has become a big escape (for myself and others), and EVS was no exception. So, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s words, I encourage you to focus not only on physical journeys, but on moral and spiritual ones beforehand. And even though many things are unclear for me now, what I know for sure is that I’m going to tell everyone about EVS and what a grand adventure it can be. Ten months in that one country that’s so similar to the one I come from that it often gets mistaken for it were enough to fully convince me. I had an amazing workplace filled with warm, kind, fun people, a job – no, a mission – I found meaningful and many wonderful relationships, sights and memories. EVS will stay in my memory for a very long time. And to people in Pekarna and Maribor I say: „Se vidimo!“

„The greatest adventures don’t require a passport.“

Michal

Jesen, čas sprememb

Jesen, čas sprememb. Vreme se ohlaja, dijaki in študentje začenjajo šolanja, Pekarna Magdalenske mreže pa ponovno začenja s svojimi glavnimi aktivnostmi. Čas je, da se zresnimo – se topleje oblečemo, ponovno prevzamemo več odgovornosti, se pripravimo na trše čase. Ne želim biti mrk – še zmeraj ostaja veliko zabave v tem kar počnem in sprememba scenografije po vročem svetlem poletju je tudi dobrodošla – le vsako leto me to malo utrudi, in tudi letos ni bilo izjema.

Na začetku meseca, se je v vasi blizu Dunaja zgodil projekt, za katerega smo se začeli zanimati poleti – mobilna kuhinja, ki čaka, da jo sestavi navdušena skupina aktivistov. Ta kuhinja, naložena v dva kombija, bi naj pozimi vozila okoli meja ter nudila brezplačno toplo hrano ljudem, ki bežijo in imigrirajo v Evropo, uporabljajoč denar, ki so ga zaslužili s kuhanjem na festivalih in srečanjih aktivistov med poletjem. Sicer je nismo videli dokončane, a izkušnja je bila vseeno zanimiva.

Delo v začetku meseca, po tem, ko smo se ravnokar vrnili, ni bilo zelo razgibano, zato sem namesto tega čas zapolnil v pričakovanju na naš vmesni, polletni trening. Le ta je bil izveden v slikovitem termalnem kompleksu na Dobrni, mestecu blizu Celja. Kot na začetnem treningu je bila to zame prijetna izkušnja, tokrat še bolj kot prvič. Nekatere prostovoljce sem poznal že od prej, aktivnosti in vaje so bile bolj premišljene in utemeljene, dobil sem veliko uporabnih informacij in ker smo vsi že skoraj zaključili z našimi EVS izkušnjami, smo imeli veliko zgodb in občutkov, o katerih smo govorili. Edina slaba stran je bil rahel prehlad, ki sem ga prinesel nazaj, a je bilo celotno doživetje tega več kot vredno.

Pozneje v mesecu se je začel nov projekt – Brezmejni svet! Vsak teden gostimo dvajset in nekaj otrok iz Bosne, Albanije, Kosova in Makedonije, ki se še učijo slovenščine ter jim pri tem pomagamo preko iger in vaj – tako se nekaj naučiva tudi z Ioano! Takšen proces ima svoje težave saj nismo nikakršni strokovnjaki, tako da rešujemo stvari sproti, a ob koncu dneva se čutiš nagrajenega in z otroki se zmeraj bolj razumem.

In kar naenkrat je september mimo in z njim začenjam čutiti približevanje konca mojega obdobja prostovoljstva. Prevladovati začenjajo mešani občutki, nekateri znani, nekateri novi. Seveda čutim nekaj obžalovanja in panike pred iztekom zadnjih minut – kar sem pri sebi tudi pričakoval – a če potegnem črto, me ne moti, da se približuje konec. Še zmeraj pa ostaja nekaj mesecev in nameravam jih (za)napolniti do roba, kot koš jesenskega sadja!

Michal

EVS v Nemčiji

Sem Lucija in trenutno opravljam evropsko prostovoljno službo (EVS) v Nemčiji, natančneje v dnevnem varstvu zavoda IWO, v katerem večino dneva preživi več kot 200 uporabnikov, torej ljudje z motnjo v telesnem in/ali duševnem razvoju. Za prav ta projekt sem se odločila zaradi želje po nadaljevanju prostovoljnega dela malo drugače ter želje po pridobivanju izkušenj na področju dela z ljudmi, saj sem letos poleti diplomirala na FF v Mariboru iz smeri psihologija. Opazila sem, da tekom samega študija nisem pridobila dovolj praktičnih izkušenj, zato se mi je EVS zdel super priložnost za pridobitev le-teh.

Vsak dan 8 ur preživim v svoji skupini, v kateri je 9 uporabnikov. Naš vsakdanjik poteka tako, da najprej zajtrkujemo. Potem ima vsak od uporabnikov svoje aktivnosti (npr. različne terapije, delavnice). Tisti, ki ostanemo v skupini pa izdelujemo različne izdelke iz papirja, barvamo, rišemo, se pogovarjamo, poslušamo glasbo, sortiramo vijake, sestavljamo puzzle, igramo različne družabne igre, kuhamo, itd.. Potem pojemo kosilo, kateremu sledi kratka pavza. Kasneje nadaljujemo z aktivnostmi. Nekako tako torej poteka teden. Med vikendi se družim z ostalimi prostovoljci (mimogrede – živim s štirimi prostovoljci, ki prihajajo iz Francije, Afrike, Makedonije in Amerike), prav tako si tudi vsako soboto ogledam drugo mesto (npr. Ravensburg, Ulm, München, Friedrichshafen, Freiburg, itd.) Naslednji vikend je na vrsti Stuttgart. J V okviru moje nemške koordinacijske organizacije sem imela priložnost obiskati tudi evropski parlament v Strassbourgu v Franciji. Res super izkušnja.

Pred dvema tednoma sem se udeležila tudi drugega seminarja. Ta je bil organiziran s strani nemške nacionalne agencije in sicer smo teden dni preživeli v majhnem mestu nedaleč stran od Münchna, ki se imenuje Benediktbeuern. Spoznala sem veliko novih prostovoljcev, ki opravljajo svoj EVS v drugih mestih po Nemčiji. Zelo zanimivo je slišati njihove zgodbe, dogodivščine, želje in cilje. V tem tednu smo ob opravljanju različnih zanimivih aktivnosti in delavnic pridobili veliko novih informacij o EVS-u in tudi o življenju in delu v Nemčiji.

Moram priznati, da sem se v komaj treh mesecih naučila že ogromno ter pridobila veliko uporabnega znanja. Samo delo je zame zelo nagrajujoče, saj zdaj, odkar opravljam prostovoljno delo tu, na ljudi v zavodu gledam popolnoma drugače. Pravzaprav sčasoma več ne vidiš njihovih primanjkljajev, ampak vidiš česa vse so pravzaprav sposobni in kako močno željo in tudi voljo imajo po čim bolj normalnem življenju. Samo okolje, uporabniki in drugi zaposleni so zelo pozitivni, medse so me sprejeli zelo lepo in vsak dan z veseljem opravljam svoje prostovoljno delo.

Lucija Polenek

Art and propaganda – The Stop Trik International Film Festival 2016

In troubled times, it’s always a good endeavor to take some time to reflect. In politically troubled times, the reflection can be a first, necessary step towards change.
More than ever in recent history, reflecting on the mechanisms that create ideology, and on the mechanics behind why we believe and act the way we do is imperative. In this intricate, elaborate net of factors that shape our political consciousness, art occupies a special place.

The Stop Trik International Film Festival 2016 tried to analyze the place that the stop motion animation holds in the propagation and idealization of political beliefs. The events gravitated around the theme of propaganda, and focused on the social and political engagement of animated art.
The festival is political in its form as well as in its content. All events are free of charge and open to the public. The Grand Prix is not awarded by a jury, but by the popular vote of the audiences. This year there was also had a jury, but it was a student one, with the aim of shaping the critical vein of its members, and to give them the opportunity of practicing the deconstruction and analysis of the animated art.

There were two competition slots, the International Stop Motion Competition, with stop motion shorts from the last two years, and the Borderlands Competition, with short films placed at the border between stop motion animation and classical animation.
The Stop Motion Agitation section featured films that served political regimes and economic powers of the 20th century, using similar techniques when promoting and idealizing socialist principles, as well as capitalistic ones.
Meshes of Despotism was a visual collection of Czech artworks that run in a loop in the small Black Box room of GT22. They all revolved around propaganda as social and political manipulation, with its either subtle or in-you-face means, in the intent of recognizing and deconstructing its techniques of psychological control.
Midnight Movies: Screed Anxiety was a collection of propagandistic independent animation, not using exclusively stop motion techniques, but held together by the somewhat dark, twisted approaches refined under the authoritarian systems of the 20th century. Worth mentioning is their unconventional projection, taking place at 00:00 in the Gustaf pub at Pekarna.
The program was enriched by side events, such as a round table on the emancipatory potential and political influence of cultural practices, and an hours-long performance by the British artist Thomas Johnson (Grafitti Anarch-imation), concerts by Nina Bulatovix and Haiku Garden, the Obsession. Perversion. Rebellion. Twisted Dreams of Central European Animation book presentation and a four days long workshop with the Serbian animator Miloš Tomić.

My personal favorites of the festival were the Mladina Proglas exhibition and three shorts that were part of the Stop Motion Agitation section, Round and round (Widgets), Ave Maria and Little 8th Route Army.

The Mladina Proglas exhibition is a collection of ads published by the Mladina magazine since 1997, ads with a satirical twist as a criticism to the contemporary society and its issues. With a large dose of wit, the posters targeted and criticized the medication craze, barbed wire fences - most likely referring to the ones guarding the boarders from refugees, showing one of the sharp edges pointed upward as if showing the middle finger, the gradual change of youth’s preferred sport activities from playing football to playing Pokemon Go, the ‘slow death’ that a lot of corporate jobs entail, and genetic modification anomalies.

Round and round (Widgets) (Jam Handy Organization/General Motors, 1939, USA) uses very simple, almost child-oriented methods to explain how the free market works, portraying it in educational, optimistic strokes.

Ave Maria (Ivan Ivanon-Vano, Vladimir Danilyevich, 1972, USSR) is a haunting short propagandistic film against the Vietnam War. It uses a very powerful combination of music (Schubert’s somber Ave Maria) and imagery to induce feelings of revulsion. Here, as well as in Little 8th Route Army, we see children used as tools for a sympathetic, strong effect: in a dystopic, post-apocalyptic scenery, a Vietnamese child offers a toy to a soldier, who, instead of being touched, turns and kills her. We’re also shown antithetical images of a peaceful church and the crude US army in it, looking as if they would prepare to attack the statue of Virgin Mary. Then we see Last-Supper-like images of a US and a Vietnamese family having dinner, the war erupting, and then brutal flashes of the US armies and officials having a loud, sumptuous dinner party, drinking, laughing and having fun. We see these images of abundance again from time to time, overlapping with scenes of destruction and suffering. At the end, an all-loving Virgin Mary holds a Vietnamese baby as her baby Jesus, shedding a tear. Watching it, you find yourself giving in to the strongly emotionally manipulative imagery, aware of it as you may be, and cannot shake the feeling of indignation and sadness.

Little 8th Route Army (You Lei, 1973, PRC) also uses music, preach-like education and children as powerful propaganda tools to glorify Maoism during the Cultural Revolution. The children are very eager to join the fight, but are skillfully and warmly directed by the army leaders towards other ways of helping the fight – gathering food. The music is always cheerful and adventurous when the Chinese are conversing and planning, and always slows down when the Japanese soldiers enter the scene. We find the trope of the little innocent child being shot here as well, this time not only to generate feelings of indignation, but also to set the basis for dignified revenge: the wounded little girl’s brother swears revenge, and, through a brave ritualistic passing into ‘adulthood’, puts his mark on the army’s victory, kills one of the Japanese generals, and is given a gun, as a symbol of his passage and heroic recognition.

A list of the winning animation can be found here: http://www.stoptrik.eu/news/2016/10/31/6th-stoptrik-iff-in-maribor-winners-and-laureates.

Ioana Sileanu

Moving pictures and opened windows

It’s the end of October as I’m writing this, which means there’s one month of my EVS left. I vaguely remember having nine months to go and how different the feeling was, being on the opposite end of the scale. It makes it very easy to start wondering how short life really is. Well, I won’t make the most out of it by thinking about it, that’s for sure! This month was a bit like how a lot of stuff in life happens – nothing at all and then everything all at once.

Close to the end of September, during an evaluation visit from Movit, I was asked if I could volunteer as a photographer on an event that was about to take place in Maribor, and after I heard there would be a number of youth workers from multiple countries and an interesting topic to talk about, I told myself „Why not?“ That’s how I got a peek at the Volunteering forum. And it was exactly that – a multi-day discussion about where volunteering work in the EU (and partner countries) is now and where to take it in the future. It was fascinating to get a much bigger and more abstract scope of things that happen in the field of voluntary work, and while it made me feel very small as an individual EVS, it also made me think that my work and giving the community is all the more important, because in the end, all volunteering starts with small, everyday things.

Right after that, I had to deal with preparations for my first ever photography exhibition! It was different from how I imagined it, but the fact that it gave me neither a hard time nor any bombastic feelings is a nice sign of balance. I’m still in disbelief over how so many people wanted to be a part of what I love to make, and I left the prints in Infopeka after the exhibition for models to pick up and keep.

Just as the exhibition ended, there was another thing to focus on, and quite a big one – StopTrik, the biggest festival of stop-motion around! I agreed to photograph the whole festival (and help work on video interviews with a few organizers and participants) because I’ve never been to an event about such a specific topic, and I was sure there was some interesting stuff to be seen and made and that there were people to discover. We had the most visitors so far this year, the whole selection of films was great to watch and even though it was stressful and demanding and it hit my energy levels hard, it was well worth it and it will stay in my memory for quite some time. If you’re curious what it was like, take a look at StopTrik’s website, YouTube channel or Facebook page. 

The next blog entry may be my last one from Slovenia. November will most likely be cold, calm and „business as usual“ for me – doing graphic and photography work, helping out with workshops, meeting with volunteer groups. I’m not feeling sad that the end of this project is so close, and I’m already getting excited about how I’m going to deal with new challenges home. As the quote says: „The trouble with coming back home is that you’ve changed, but the place remains the same.“ Bring it on then!

Michal

Volunteering forum report

On the days of 10.-14. October 2016 in Maribor, an event organized by SALTO-Youth Resource centre named Volunteering forum took place, and me with Ioana were a part of it as well. The event was intended to focus on discussing and reflecting on transnational volunteering in Europe and its partner volunteering countries, inviting coordinators, youth workers and various officials from organizations dealing with transnational volunteers to take part and share their experience. During the four days, I volunteered at the event as a photographer, and on the first afternoon me and Ioana together with local volunteers from Stopinje mesta planned a walk through the city with landmarks that would be interesting for the participants (the walk was unfortunately cut very short because of bad weather, turning into a lively evening with getting-to-know conversations over coffee). Ioana also participated in a debate with people holding different positions in the volunteering field of work, which took place at the Maribor municipality, and other EVS volunteers from Maribor were invited as well to become a part of the audience during the event.

To reflect on the experience, I didn’t think it would shift my view of the volunteering experience, but it did – I realized my part in the „system“ that was bigger than I imagined, and seeing various people working in different positions in many organizations made me think how much goes into organizing and executing all the contracts and paperwork that turns into opportunities and actual output from the volunteers themselves. There were some good ideas on the table and after taking part, I now think about volunteering as a whole a bit differently and more complexely.

Michal

Exhibition report

Today is the last day of the output of my personal EVS project, an exhibition of photographs titled Odprto okno (An open window), which lasted for a week in the K18 gallery in Maribor. As I’m writing this, I have a strange feeling, which is not so strange after all (and that makes it strange). To explain the confusion, I didn’t expect my very first exhibition to happen abroad, to be a part of a different project that I enjoyed just as much, or to have it go as smoothly and non-bombastically as it did – but then again, with knowing how things in my life usually go, how did I expect anything else?

When it was first mentioned by my coordinator, Nataša, sometime in late spring, I didn’t really think much of it, going with the notion that I would first see if I can get the material I would need for an exhibition, and the whole concept somehow seemed unreal to me, which was my mixed creative self-esteem and naturally doubtful personality speaking together. But now that I look back, I’m pleasantly surprised at how many people were interested and open with contributing to what became a selection of portraits hanging in the gallery (and more photoshoots still keep happening). It feels like an accomplisment to be able to gain a certain trust from people and return it with a result that they enjoy so much they allow me to display it publicly. The material part of it – that the gallery isn’t world-famous, that the prints aren’t as big as living room carpets, that what I create doesn’t attract masses and doesn’t inspire dozens of people – it’s all relevant and I wish it was more successful in that way, of course, but what took place and made a difference is the connection I made with young people here, showed them that I appreciate them and their vulnerability with which they stepped in front of my camera, and that, even just a little bit, changed their perception of themselves. Recently I read a thought that I’ve seen come true over and over again: „The more I’m photographed, the more photogenic I feel.“ Truly, the big thing everyone dreams about, whatever it is, doesn’t happen all at once – and it’s a good thing, because we could probably not handle it if it did – but instead it comes in small bits of effort and lessons learned daily. It proved itself to me over and over both at home and now even abroad. It was an unsual experience of giving back to the community – nothing greatly important was built, no grand act of charity organized, nobody had their life turned around – I do little pieces of each at work helping the local volunteers, and I don’t think it’s up to me to do that for people in the first place, they should make the big change themselves. Instead I merely wish to show what I see and appreciate in people, the simplicity, ordinarity and similarity that makes us both identical and different and worthy of importance. Going abroad and continuing with my craft only proved to me that this notion to create portraits for people stays the same regardless of where I am.

Michal

Summer time (and the livin’ is easy)

The summer passed and the autumn is mid-way now. When I think back, I can’t believe how fast the time has passed.

Maribor is quite a quiet place during the summer. After the Lent festival, when there’s music all over, people crowd the streets and color the nights, a quiet and deserted-like atmosphere starts to settle in. I was just walking down the street from my house to the center, and there was no car on the road and almost no person on the street. I’ve heard about this ‘phenomenon’ from people here before, they even have a name for it – polenta, which both means the carb-mushy food, and a word game that would translate to something like ‘after Lent’.

Since people are mostly gone vacationing, there are not so many activities at my organization either. So the summer was mostly a time to travel, read, watch films and see friends. I’ve visited Brno (Czech Republic) and I’ve stayed there for a while, with my sister that lives there. It is a lively, beautiful city, with an impressive number of activities for the summer. They say the city is kind of empty since the students leave, but far from it. There’s people everywhere, and they seem to really enjoy watching films in both their outside, summer cinemas, and their inside ones, spend time on the sidewalks drinking beer, go to the parks, concerts, pools, and above all, to the many colorful terraces.

Two friends of mine then visited me in Maribor, and I took them to the places I thought to be relevant, or at least that were relevant to me during my stay here so far: Pekarna, Postna street, the little wine terrace on the river side in The Water Tower, the Jewish Square, GT22 and the Central Park. While being on the terrace drinking wine, we were lucky to have an event happen around us – a wine tasting, with poetry reading and live music. We got a little tipsy from the selection of wine that kept coming, so we went to my place to start on coffee.

After two and a half days in Maribor, we all went to the Croatian sea side, to Krk. We stayed in a huge camping place, which was actually really nice, clean and organized. It had the feel of a small town community to it.

In September we went, with some people from my organization, to a mobile-kitchen camp in Austria. We spent almost a week with workshops, vegan cooking and building a mobile kitchen that is going to travel around the spots where refugees are blocked, and cook for them. We got along great, we were equal, respectful and open, and I can say it was one of the best groups of activists I found myself among.

Now I’m back to work, and there is quite a bit to do: we’ve started a workshop/activities series with migrant children called Brezmeni Svet (World without Borders), the Theater of the Oppresses workshops are back, the zine meetings and activities have restarted, and some more projects are to follow.

Right now I’m attending and helping with the StopTrik film festival, and I hope to get some good material to do some writing about it.

I have a very poignant feeling of leaving, of this being the end of my stay here, but I guess I’ll come back with more on that next month.

Ioana

A pallette

Autumn, a time of change. Weather’s getting colder, pupils and students are starting school, Pekarna Magdalenske mreže is resuming its main activities. It’s the time to get more serious – about dressing warmer, about having more responsibilities again, about preparing for tougher times. I don’t wish to be gloomy – it’s still a lot of fun doing what I do, and the change in scenery after a hot bright summer is also welcome – it’s just that it wears on me a little every year, and this one was no exception.

At the start of the month a project we became interested in in summer was taking place in a village near Vienna – a mobile kitchen waiting to be put together by an enthusiastic group of activists. This kitchen loaded into two vans is supposed to drive around the borders in winter, providing free warm food for people fleeing and immigrating into Europe, using money earned by cooking at festivals and activist meetups in summer. We didn’t get to see it finished, but it was an interesting experience nevertheless.

The beginning of the month wasn’t very eventful at work after coming back just yet, so I filled it with excitement for our midterm training instead. It was set in a picturesque spa complex in Dobrna, a town close to Celje. As with the arrival training, it was a pleasant experience for me, this time even more so. Some of the volunteers I knew from before, the activities and excersises were more reflective and grounded, there was a lot of useful information, and since all of us had most of our EVS experiences done, there were plenty of stories and feelings to talk about. The only downside was a slight cold I brought back, but it was well worth it.

Later during the month a new project started – Brezmejni svet (Borderless world)! Every week we host twenty-something children from Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia who are still learning Slovene and we help them by playing games and doing exercises – and me and Ioana learn something as well! It has its difficulties and we’re not experts at it, so we’re solving things on the go, but at the end of the day, it’s rewarding and the children are slowly growing on me.

Just like that, September is over, and with it, I feel the end of my volunteering period approaching. Mixed feelings are starting to take place, some of them familiar, some new. Of course there are some regrets and last-minute panic as well – which I expected from myself – yet overall I don’t mind it coming to and end. But there are still a few months to go, and I’m planning to fill them to the edge, like a basket of autumn fruit!

Michal

Vacation! (Or „počitnice“, as Slovenians say)

A time after Lent Festival when everyone leaves the city (ok, I’m exaggerating a bit) - students go home, families go on holidays to the seaside... even Pekarna Magdalenske mreže felt a bit emptier, not just because of days off people took, but also no young people visiting for activities, no events, and therefore next to no work for me and Ioana. This meant a lot of free time, but I already had something prepared for myself at the start of July – being a volunteer at the Floating Castle festival, a small ethno/folk festival held yearly for the past few years on Grad Snežnik in Loška dolina. I have found out about the opportunity from another EVS and I had no idea what was waiting for me, but I started to like volunteering and I said why not, it’s an experience. And it sure was! I ended up actually having fun, met tons of interesting people, had some great conversations and enjoyed performances and music I would probably never look for myself.

After coming back, I led a light painting workshop, since I wanted to organize something fun and free in the field of creating photos that’s easy to learn and has a lot of potential. And we had a good amount of people, I may end up making another one during the school year! Soon after, another adventure was waiting for me – a trip to Croatia to visit a friend with her group, who had a small boat in a marina on Dugi otok, an island near Zadar. It was my first time sailing on a ferry and sleeping on a boat, but I thankfully discovered that sea sickness didn’t pick me and between swimming in the sea, being lazy and exploring the island I was just fine.

Before and after being in Croatia I started hosting couchsurfers, and it was a lovely experience while it lasted – I had only cool and nice people coming in, being thankful for everything and having things to share. The only mistake I made was not asking the owner of our flat beforehand and even though she said she doesn’t want people sleeping over, she wasn’t angry about it, so she let me off easily. That’s my piece of advice for you – don’t be afraid to try new things, but better ask and be sure, especially if something you’re using is not yours! (I feel like I sound like a grandpa saying this.) Especially couchsurfing is absolutely wonderful and free, and your hosts are locals who can show you the place you come to, it’s the perfect way for people doing EVS and want to travel.

It is now close to September. It’s still very warm outside and sun is shining most of the time, yet yellow-brown leaves are starting to rustle under my feet, the days are slowly getting shorter again and even when new people are coming, some familiar ones are leaving. Milica, one of the other EVS in the city has left last week to go home to Beograd, but she promised to send a letter and I hope to see her again. Even when I know saying goodbye to people you’ve grown to like and spend time with sucks, over the years I’ve started to accept it as not such a bad thing. The world seems more friendly when you have people you know all around it.

Michal Čerňanský

Posnetek kreativne delavnice “Puppet show” 2015

Cécile Bondon je v naši ogranizaciji opravljala 11 mesecev Evropsko prostovoljno službo v okviru projekta (R)evolucioniraj se! / Do the (r)evolution! Projekt je bil zasnovan tako, da s pomočjo neformalnega in priložnostnega učenja prispeva k razvoju kakovostnih aktivnosti mladih na področju umetnosti, ustvarjalnosti in družbene angažiranosti.

V času prostovoljskega dela je Cécile pripravila in izvedla mnogo kreativnih ter poučnih delavnic s področja ilustracij in umetnosti. Ena izmed teh delavnic je bila kreativna delavnica Puppet show. Delavnica je bila namenjena otrokom, njihovim staršem in vsem, ki so se želeli preizkusiti v kreativnosti. Na delavnici so mladi udeleženci spoznali različne tehnike izdelave lutk s pomočjo recikliranih materialov. Rezultat delavnice niso bile samo papirnate lutke, ampak video posnetek dogajanja, ki si ga lahko ogledate tukaj.

Cécile:
"This was my second workshop for children in my life. This experience was great, first I tried to make everything okay and easy to make, before the workshop I prepared patterns to make the children cut out the puppets if they didn't know how to draw the shapes. I tried to learn since the last experience in art kamp, few months ago and to improve it, so I bought more materials, I did the patterns, I improved the little cardboard theatre to make it prettier. But even now I still have some improvements, the way they had to fix the thread was too difficult. So it was great to try and to know how to do better next time. And I think and hope the children appreciated it! I like the way they personalized their puppets, and played with the little theatre. And hopefully I got a lot of help to translate the instructions and make the puppets. Full Dobro.:)"

Mid-way reflections

This month I have entered the second half of my EVS at Pekarna Magdalenske Mreze and of my staying here, in Maribor. I believe this is a good time for some looking back and some introspection. I’m a pretty self-reflective person, so naturally I’ve been analyzing my reactions, my feelings and my growth along the way. I am 30, and as I was saying, quite introspective, so I know myself quite a bit by now. However, one of the best things about my stay here is that I got to observe myself in some new situations, and got to learn a bit more about who I am, what I can, what I can’t and how I react to certain things that I was less exposed to in the past. I am pretty familiar now with Maribor, it somehow feels like home and sometimes I forget to appreciate the novelty and the chance I have in front of me. But at times I walk on the streets and I remember that I am in this new place, far from what I know and what I am deeply comfortable with, far from my coziness, my great group of friends and network of support, far from my secure job and projects, and far from the ever-changing, yet so familiar lovely city.

Photo by Alina Sileanu

This starting-all-over experience was one of the reasons I wanted to do an EVS. For a teenager or a twenty-something person, a (good) EVS can bring possibilities to travel low-cost, loads of fun, the excitement of meeting new cultures, making new friends etc. These matter to me as well, but much less. I wanted to see myself doing the sort of work that I like as a main ‘job’. I wanted the possibility of hands-on practice in theater. I wanted to break the pattern of home coziness. I wanted a change. And I wanted to see myself building a good living situation for myself again. And in part, I’ve managed to do that.

Photo by Nataša Usar

The novelty of a place and of people and everything that comes with it fades away after a while, and you are left with the normal, daily life. My organization is very well connected, it has a lot of ‘friend-organisations’ and a network of followers and friends, so I got to meet quite a lot of people here. I was also interested in some activities and people outside of this network, so I expended my acquaintances a bit more. Some of these people I really like and love to have around me, some I don’t particularly care for. Just like everywhere else. In the 2nd and maybe 3rd month though, it became a bit alienating – I would have people around that I could work and hang out with, but it was just that – hanging out. Talking about the same things and keeping the conversation to the shallow level of ‘visitors to a new country’. I missed not as much my friends, as having friends, having a deeper connection and a meaningful, soul-warming conversation. I care a lot about having friends and sharing my life with them. And as much as I enjoyed the new people here – and I did, a lot of them are exactly my type of people – I felt alone at a certain point. And this was a good chance for reflection. What constitutes a connection? How come the time by myself is very important and refreshing when I know I can always call someone and ask them out, and so grim when I know I probably can’t? How important and deep does failing seem when you know you’re living just a ‘temporary life’? How much can you really prove yourself to yourself when you still have a net of safety of someone ready to take care of you? Would things really be different without the language barrier? These are not compulsive ideas that just ran through my mind, but voluntary, directed questions meant to make me understand my existence better.

Photo by Alina Sileanu

I realized I can live without my friends. I realized it is hard to live without friends. I realized, once more, that the public speaking fright is lessening more and more with each voluntary exposure, but it will never completely go away. I realized that that’s completely fine. I realized that work and everything around you becomes much better when you have friends and someone you like to share things with. I realized, once more, the big difference between people who lived their lives independently and took care of themselves from an early age, and people who always have someone to look after them. I realized I can enjoy working with kids. I realized I can work and spend time with teenagers and take them and their view point seriously. I realized that art and creation do not require a genius invention, but they’re always going to be a new form of the old. I realized that it’s your choice to present your creation as something completely special or as a wanna-be product, and that people take your word for it. And I realized other things that I won’t mention here.

Photo by Michal Čerňanský

I’ve made friends and have tightened connections meanwhile, and it makes sense that everything takes time. I have written, acted, participated at festivals, worked with kids, worked with teenagers, had great conversations, had boring conversations. There wasn’t a moment when I was really unhappy here, because I realized that my ups-and –downs were completely normal, and that it takes time to set the ground for a new day-to-day. But yes, it can be hard for a while. And definitely, you need to do things for yourself. And unfortunately I’ve heard quite a number of stories about shitty EVS experiences at shitty organizations. I think it’s pretty important to really research the place and especially the organization that you want to join. And if possible, to contact one of their ex-EVSs and ask about their experience.
I’ve seen today that my organization has launched the open call for the new EVSs that will come starting February. I thought it was quite a good match with my reflecting time. For anyone reading this, I truly recommend trying to become a part of my organization. They are nice, fair, respectful and trustful. You can join activist, artistic, social, political, child-related, creative projects of all sorts. You can suggest your own, and you’re encouraged to do so. The city is pretty small and not a lot of events are in English, but the people speak English and you can make things happen if you want to. And I’m open for questions :).

Ioana

Warmer and warmer

Wow, these two months started and ended in a very busy way for me, but each from a different end. Let me explain.

After the performances of Martina Kartelo, a Guestroom Maribor artist in residence during the end of April, we had to start preparing for Festival prostovoljstva happening in Slovenia, so also in Maribor. In the end, I felt pretty satisfied with how well the graphic materials turned out together with the video I made. I also managed to quickly jump to Ljubljana in the meantime to be a human library together with a handful of other EVS volunteers and met some new wonderful people who I hope to see again someday. Me, Ioana and Nataša also prepared a short game afternoon on topics of diversity, solidarity and prejudice that we did with a class of gifted children – it was so much fun! Those children made me feel a bit old. I was also invited by the Stopinje mesta group to photograph places in and around Maribor for their website to help travelers and tourists find interesting and new places to see, eat and experience – it’s a bigger project which will take some time, but I’m excited for it.

June started with me attending a trip to Sežana, a village close to the Italian border, organized by an animal rights group named simply Za živali! (For animals!) It was a chance to hang out in nature a little bit, see just how influenced by Italy the architecture is at the border, and also visit the house of a Slovenian poet Srečko Kosovel, who was concerned with animal rights and died very young.

After a few days of break, we started preparing the final pre-vacation picnic for all Infopeka volunteers – we wrapped books, added handmade badges and diplomas and had a lovely afternoon outside serving fruit and snacks and playing games. During the next week I managed to quickly jump to Italy to visit a friend – because of problems with transportation I could only stay for a day, but it was completely worth it, despite the crazy heat, mosquito bites and tiredness. I couldn’t have wished for a better first bigger trip while in Slovenia.

 

And of course, at the end of the month, the biggest festival in Maribor, Lent festival, happened! I’m personally not a concert or festival person, but I enjoyed walking around and seeing the buzz of everything – and, since I live right across Lent and Drava, I had free music to listen to during most evenings. We did a workshop for children in the city park using the sensory theatre technique (which Ioana told us about) and created a fairytale about children losing their eyesight (basically being blindfolded) through a curse and taking a journey to get it back using Nataša’s brilliant storytelling, different sounds and smells and guiding the children around and solving simple puzzles. It was hard to attract the first few, but after that, everybody was curious and wanted to try it. It was exhausting, but a lot of fun and even the next day I’ve heard people telling us that the children told them about how great it was.

So, summer is here, and so is vacation. And just like everybody, I’m shouting „this summer is going to be the best!“

Michal

Živa in Zagreb

Outward Bound Croatia je neprofitna izobraževalna organizacija, ki je članica svetovno znanih šol Outward Bound International.  Na kratko,  gre za izkustvena učenja skozi pustolovske aktivnosti v naravi. Gre za avanturo, ki se ukvarja z neznanim, se sooča z izzivi, ki se raztezajo čez meje posameznika, prilagodljivost, celovitost, sočutje, integracijo, sposobnost in dobro delovanje z drugimi.  Ponuja učenje, ki vključuje srce, um in telo na način, ki traja vse življenje. Vse to po najbolj spektakularnih področjih na Hrvaškem – gozdovi, gore, reke, jezera in morje. Ciljne skupine so organizirani srednje - šolski razredi, študenti, odrasli skupine in ostali zainteresirani posamezniki . Programi vključujejo treking, orientacijo v divjini, plezanje, abseiling (spuščanje po vrvi), večdnevne pohode, jamarstvo, kajaking, potapljanje, gradnja zavetja in spanje na prostem, gradnja splava, gorsko kolesarjenje, timske iniciative, timsko reševanje problemov, itd.

Organizacija je zelo aktivna tudi na področju pridobivanja Erasmus Plus programov, ki vključujejo Youth Exchanges, Training Courses in EVS program. V aprilu sem bila udeležena »Back to the roots« prvega Youth Exchang - a , kjer je bila glavna tematika spoznavanje rastlin in začimb v prelepem okolišu Žužemberg in športna aktivnost. Pri teh izmenjavah je še več priložnosti, da v prihodnje sodelujem pri pridobivanju, pisanju, organiziranju in izpeljavi teh projektov na internacionalnem nivoju. Letos jih bo še posebej veliko izvedeno v jesenskem času.  Delo EVS prostovoljcev zajema 50 % v pisarni v Zagrebu in 50% v naravi, kot pomoč inštruktorjem na programih.

Po natanko treh mesecih EVS izkušnje, sem že dobila priložnost prestopiti mejo svojih sposobnosti in se uspešno soočiti z novimi osebnimi izzivi. Izzivi so predstavljali predvsem tiste manjše življenjske korake, ki ob koncu dneva pomenijo veliko. Strah se nadomesti z radovednostjo in napravljene napake se spreobrnejo v dragocene izkušnje. Hkrati spoznaš, kako lepo je deliti svoje pomanjkljivosti z drugimi, ki ti pomagajo na tvoji poti in s pomočjo katerih tudi osebnostno zrasteš. Če se vse to odvija v naravnem okolju, je toliko lepše.

Živa