Volunteering Stories: Freezing Fiesta – by Marie B.

  • 2 February 2022
  • Posted by: Team for Youth Association
  • Category: Volunteering Stories
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Bonjour, Bonsoir! I am Marie, coming from a small city in France. I am 24 years old, a super curious person passionate about History.

After being lock-up for six years in my University, and succeeding with my Master’s degree in history, I feel the need to escape from my life in France. And what better change in the landscape than Romania? So here I am in Baia Mare, to help with the Cultural Fiesta project.

When I first saw the project proposal on the website of the European Solidarity Corps, I knew that Cultural Fiesta will be for me a way to acquire a professional experience for my future life.

Cultural Fiesta and my few months in Romania, also allow me to discover a new culture and a new way of living, but above all it makes me learn to live in a community (with the positive and the negative aspects coming with it!).

My everyday life in Baia Mare came with happiness and disillusions, but learning about them make me grow even more. However, my biggest challenge in this country is the harsh winter. Never in my life, I have experienced such cold temperatures. All my life I thought that I was more of a winter person, but this volunteering opportunity make me question myself, and now I can only dream of summer! I also learned that my moods are bonded with the weather here. I am feeling gloomy when the night is setting in the middle of the afternoon and the temperatures are freezing. However, I am still a kid when the snow is falling, and I can just enjoy it.

This experience in Baia Mare for the Cultural Fiesta project is a way for me to understand what I want and what I didn’t in my life. Choosing to volunteer in this country was not an easy choice, but I am happy to discover new people and new places. And I know that after winter, the spring will bloom and with it, a new set of happiness and experiences.

The volunteer is hosted by Team for Youth Association in the Cultural Fiesta project , on a 5 months European Solidarity Corps project in Baia Mare. The project is funded by the EU through the European Commission. The content of this testimonial does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. The responsibility for the information and views expressed in the article rests entirely with the author.