Johanna Miia volunteering in Italy

Hello!

My name is Miia. I am friendly, open minded and I like to communicate with peopl. After graduating high school I decided to take a gap year and participate in the ESC project in Italy, where I helped people with disabilities in their every day life. This topic is close to my heart, because I do have previous experience with people with disabilities.

Why did you decide to apply for an ESC project?

I started to finish my high school and did not know what to do next. I had heard about ESC thanks to my mom and that is why I started to look into and found my project :)

What was the application process like?

I had to find a sending organisation. After that I found myself a project. I applied for it and next came the interview. They accepted me! It happened during march/april. Then I had a meetup with my sending organisation who prepared me for my upcoming project. On the 23rd of June I already went to Italy. ☺️

How was your daily life as a volunteer, which kind of tasks did you have?

We had two shifts - morning and evening. In the morning one we had to make the breakdast, help those we neeed to eat it and then clean up, which after that we went to the day centre. In the day centre I was in the ceramics group, which I really liked. After lunch we went back to the house and the people went to take a nap. Evenings were calm, we helped make food, do the laundry, clean and such. When they woke from their nap we went on walks with them outside or did some other activities. After dinner we helped to clean and then the people went to sleep - so the shift ends.

How did you find the local food, language and culture?

I had been in Italy already, so I had somewhat of an idea of the culture there. I really liked the local food - especially pasta and pizza, but it did not do good for my body (the daily eating of pasta).😅 Getting used to the language took some time, but communicating every day helped me develop faster. Getting used to the culture was interesting though... Italy's tempo in life is much more calm than mine - people take more time for their breaks and being on time is not always so strict. Although I learned to enjoy thid way of life, I also learned that I prefer the tempo a bit faster and more structured - Im just use to it.

How did this experience shape your future plans?

Positively!!! I became much more independent and confident and learned how to adapt to new and unexpected situations. I became more open - towards new people, cultures and experiences. The most important thing is that I am not afraid to work and live outside my home country. Its the opposite - this experience gave me a sense of security that I can manage well in a new environment.

Any final thoughts or advice for others considering ESC?

I definitely recommend all young people to take this one year and participate in the ESC project!!! It is a great opportunity to develop yourself, become more independent and see the world from a different perspective. It may seem scary at first, but it is actually one of the best experiences. I think it is also a good opportunity for young people, because the project is funded by the European Union, so there are no big costs.

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