An exotic element in Romania
This opportunity came at the precise moment of my life when I needed a change of air and new adventures to live. I still remember last May when I saw an advertisement in which they needed volunteers in a cultural project to promote reading. I was interested and I wrote to the Murcia association that had published it. I sent my resume and my motivation letter. They answered me the following day. They told me that they would send my information to Romania and then they would contact me. Everything was very fast, three days after an interview I was admitted into the project.
At that time I did not think about the real importance of such a decision. I only knew that I was bored of Pamplona, of my job instability and of the lack of a future in Spain. I had some savings to face my life as a volunteer and to pay some trips. However, that money was insufficient to return to Chile again, so I did not have the option of returning to my country.
My main motivation was not travelling or meeting new people, as it happens in most of these cases. My goal was to put into practice all the knowledge I acquired in 6 years of university studies in Salamanca. It is not easy for a philosopher and an expert in Spanish Literature to develop professionally. I have only been able to give private lessons and supplement this low salary with other types of jobs. I am lucky to have a father who has been working since he was 16 years old and taught me the importance of being economically independent from a young age.
In some sense, I fulfilled this objective throughout these months giving classes in two public schools and organizing the reading clubs in a library in the city. In general, I had very good students, although they were teenagers in full hormonal revolution. Some of them showed a lot of interest in learning Spanish and in my free time I gave them classes for free. However, this facet is not part of this association’s project, but it was part of my experience here thanks to the students.
Before coming to Craiova, I had an erroneous image of Romania. I thought I would find a lot of poverty, Gypsies everywhere, crime, people living in the street ... but it's not like that. It is true that this country has been in the European Union for a short time and the salaries are quite miserable for the cost of living. There is still a lot to do in this place, such as modernizing the streets, garbage collection services, animal protection projects, building motorways and a more efficient rail network, among other things.
I have had the opportunity to visit many Romanian cities and some more rural towns. The houses are usually quite spacious, with good materials and high ceilings to combat the winter snow. The historical centers are beautiful, with interesting buildings and many green areas. The landscapes are wonderful, especially in the Transylvania area. But what I like the most is the Romanian culture and the hospitality of the people. The vast majority cannot speak English (I do not have an impressive level either), but somehow they try to express themselves through gestures, and when they discover that you speak Spanish they tell you some phrases they have heard in a “telenovela”. I remember when one of my students said to me: "Hi, how are you? I'm pregnant". It was funny because he was a teenage boy. Several classmates understood his joke and began to laugh.
Another unforgettable experience has been the fact I was the exotic element. I only had that feeling last year in Istanbul inside the Blue Mosque when a group of Turkish teenagers took a series of selfies with me because I was the first Chilean person they met. This happened again in each place I have visited in Romania, either in the caravans or in the classes. I had never seen Chile as an exotic destination, but apparently in this part of the world it is. Somehow, it helped me to arouse the interest of people in my activities and allowed me be closer to them.
No doubt that my experience as a volunteer would have been much better if the association had been better managed. From my point of view, they intend to cover many projects and many volunteers, without having the capacity to do so. All this to receive all the subsidies from the European Union. I am aware that your salary depends on this money, but everything has a limit: 10 people living in the same house with a small kitchen and 2 bathrooms is too much. In addition, 8 of these people worked on the same project, therefore, there was no separation between the activity of volunteering and coexistence. During the first month this was chaotic. Many volunteers had never left their homes and it was evident when it came to cleaning or working, since they had not worked one day in their lives for anyone.
If you ask me: do you recommend EVS in Romania? I would say: Of course! And with this association? Think about it a lot! At least, until they develop a better criterion for choosing volunteers and thus, those who truly have a social vocation would not end up tired and quitting the project after one or two months, as it has happened in several cases.
That was my only bad experience. In general, Craiova I like as a city, there are many interesting museums such as the "Art Museum" or the "Oltenieni Museum", also many wonderful parks like "Parcul Nicolae Romanescu" o "Botanical Garden". And most importantly: it is an economic city to live in, you can enjoy good cocktails in the center for 3 or 4 euros!
