EVS Stories: After EVS by Sarah P.

Now it’s been a little over a week since I came back to Austria and I’m struggling a bit to find words to describe how I’ve experienced this time.

Leaving Romania and all the amazing people I met there was really hard for me, but I was looking forward to seeing my friends and family again, so that was the good part about returning. I came back and somehow I felt like I never left. Which is good because it means everything is good between me and my friends, but also strange, because all of my EVS feels a little like a dream to me, even though I can see how much it changed me.

Now I’m faced with a challenge that is very difficult for me. All my “Plans for after EVS” start in September, and I have some more ideas, but if they become plans, they would start in June. If you’ve known me in Romania, you know how often I said the phrase “I need something to do, or I’ll go crazy!”.

And this is exactly my situation right now: What will I do until June? Sure, I can go for walks, do Yoga, take care of my hobbies, meet friends in the evenings, and all these things, but I already miss having something purposeful to do.

So right now, my biggest challenge is not going crazy.

It’s a difficult situation for me, but I don’t want this blog to be negative, because really, I consider myself lucky. I had an incredible EVS, and I am extremely thankful to all the people I met, for all the lessons I learned. I will make the most of my time here, experience everything Vienna has in store for. A couple of days ago I had a lovely experience when I went to a Japanese garden and found a traditional red-white Mărțișor ribbon tied to one of the trees. It reminded me that just because my EVS is over, it doesn’t mean the memories and lifestyle changes don’t stay with me.

And maybe volunteering is the solution to my “I have nothing to do”-crisis.

Sarahs project ended in 31.03.2018. Her activities, as part of the ”INforEVS project”, were to inform youngsters in Baia Mare and the surrounding areas about mobilities financed by the European Commission trough the Erasmus Plus Program.