EVS Stories: Returning home (III) – by Rosa L.

My EVS ended this November. I moved back to Vienna from Baia Mare. Things are the same as I left them. I do not think I changed a lot in those eight months, and neither did my home country. Now I have memories of Romania, learned a few new things and got a certificate that may be useful when applying for a job.

My service was great fun, I met many new people and enjoyed myself in this small town. Living in a big city is still more exciting, so I am glad I came back. I liked my project, but I feel I could have learned more if I had just put more effort into it. I do not regret taking part in this project: This way, I learned that Romania and Austria are not as different as I thought.

Staying abroad was not entirely new for me (I still miss Brussels), but I have never been away from home for that long, even though I used all of my free days to go to Austria and visit my loved ones. Now I am not allowed to do an EVS again, because you can only do a long-term service once in your life. There are still plenty of options if I wish to escape my home country again. I signed up for Solidarity Corps to see if there are placements I am interested in, or I could study in a different country, or if I am lucky even get a job there.

Speaking of luck, when I came back home, something private happened that changed my life for the better. Now I am looking forward to my next stay abroad, knowing I will not be alone this time.

Rosa (Austria) is hosted in Baia Mare by Team for Youth Association, in the “IN4EVS” project, an European Voluntary Service financed by the European Commission through the Erasmus Plus Program.