Asociația SUPER TINERI (ASIRYS)

Sometimes the final evaluation reports don't show us very clear what our volunteers learned during their volunteering experience in our organisation, this is the reason we go to check the extended Youthpass certificates.  Here is the learning journey in Arts Lab 3.0 of Leire.  KEY COMPETENCES Based on the EU framework for Key Competences for lifelong learning (2018). MULTILINGUAL COMPETENCE During my ESC project, the language I used the most was English. Even though I considered myself quite fluent before starting this experience, using it for nine months made me improve my English. I especially improved my spoken English. Throughout the months I spent in Romania, I learned Romanian from scratch, which was really important for me, since I saw it as a way of better understanding the place and the people I was surrounded by, who had welcomed me with open arms from the very beginning. We had Romanian lessons almost every week, but there was a lot of learning that came from interacting

It feels a little bit weird to be writing my final report more than 2 months after finishing the project. Coming home, on the plane, I wrote a thank you letter that made sense at that time. I finished writing it today. I hope it still makes sense: “I arrived in Romania 9 months ago, with 3 full suitcases and a heart full of hope and excitement. I couldn’t wait to be part of the project, to meet you, to learn your language and to get to know about your culture. The truth is, when I found out about the project, I didn’t have any expectations. I saw in it an opportunity to digest all the knowledge I got from my first year at university, to take a step away and see everything with perspective and maybe, to run away from it. Making the decision to apply for the project, may be one of the best ones I have ever made. This experience has given me more than I can put into words. It has given me the hardest and most beautiful of times and I have grown both personally and professionally. Although

Coming back from home got me feeling in a really strange way. I never felt like that. I found myself stuck between to realities, two worlds. I felt as an outsider coming back home, and I felt as an outsider when I came back here. Nevertheless, I felt really thankful that I was able to spend the Christmas time with my family and friends, to stay away from work and focus on resting and taking care of myself, which I sometimes found and still find hard to do here. In January we all worked really close for Cucuteni Alternativ project; we worked as a team. When I have been asked about how it was working on a local cultural heritage project, I said that it was a learning experience for me, in 3 different ways. First of all, being part of this project allowed me to get closer to Cucuteni culture, and Romanian history. This was really important to me as I feel we kind of owe to Romania, for being our home for the last 8 months, to learn about it. Second of all, as we finally got the chance to

The first week of December, we celebrated Basque culture at the Act House. On Friday, we projected “Dantza” by Telmo Esnal, as an introduction to Basque folklore. The next day, the girls and I prepared food for the intercultural night. That day was really beautiful for all of us. We had so much fun cooking together, in our small kitchen, the girls were really helpful and showed interest in learning about Basque gastronomy and in making the dishes as accurate as possible. We spent the whole day shopping and cooking, and we were really tired by the end of the day. After we finished cooking, we had to run to the Act House to be on time (which we weren’t, by the way). The night was just as amazing as the rest of the day. Many people showed up and we danced, ate, and even did a Basque Karaoke. We did Secret Santa together on the 19th of December. This event brought all of us together, and we needed it. It was emotional and heartwarming. It was the last time we got to see each other before t

On 11/11 I turned 22. I spent the first hours of my day making tortilla de patata for Mr. Ciobanu and his family, as we spent the morning at their place. Our visit to their place was incredibly peaceful, as always, and we had such a great time. For lunch we had tortilla and baklava, two of my favorite things to eat. I spent the afternoon at home, resting. When I came downstairs to clean the plate I used for my popcorn, I saw the local volunteers entering our house. I was so shocked. We had an amazing afternoon chatting and eating the things I had received from my family on a package that day. It felt really good to be together, and I felt really grateful. The girls and I also became the mums of two cats. They brought happiness to our home and our lives. At the beginning we were a bit worried that they would not get along. The fought for some days in a row, but after that, they started to play and take care of each other. On the 20th, some local volunteers invited me to play basketball

The month of October was a really important month for all of us, since we had our first art exhibition at the Act House, under the name of “Beautiful Fair Town”, for which we had been working for the whole previous month. This period of time was really stressful and full of hard work, but it was incredibly especial seeing the pieces come together in a shared space. Four different ways of looking at the same place that brought us together and welcomed us, the same space that with time is slowly becoming less and less unfamiliar to us. In October, almost like an attempt of giving back, the Act House was full of the pieces that we created inspired on what Târgu Frumos has given to us during these months. For me, the most interesting and enriching part of the whole process was sharing our creations with the people from the town. It was a meeting point for the outside and the inside gaze of this place. During October, we also continued working with Mr. Ciobanu, from whom we are learning to

The month of September started with a trip to Bucharest, where I had the opportunity to meet many people living a similar experience as mine. Though I did not spend so much time there, I remember it as one of the most important ones from the whole experience. It gave me some alone time to disconnect from the everyday life in Târgu Frumos and my thoughts. At the same time, I got to know a completely different place with a completely different rhythm. Coming back from Bucharest, I found out that our family had spread while I was out. Kübra, the last member of the international volunteer’s team, had arrived home just two days before. I remember hearing her voice for the first time while I was in my bedroom, trying to readjust my sleeping cycle. I thought she had the sweetest voice, and after I had the chance to meet her, I thought she was as sweet as her voice. On the 12 of September, I went to Iași with Mihaela, where we met different artists who were taking part in an artistic event on