Three different people from the same country – Belgium – woke up one day and decided to join the EVS short-term volunteering programme in Kumanovo, Macedonia for one month. They didn’t know what they were in for. They even wondered where exactly in Europe this country is. And would the local people be nice to them? What if the food was awful?
In July 2012 these three people – Shana, Bjorn and Inne – met for the first time. Shana is 18 years and Bjorn 20 years, they both work as a youth workers. Inne is 26 years old and works as a social-cultural worker.
As a part of introduction week, they discovered the culture, traditions and various religions. Language classes were also a weekly thing; hard, but fun. In Probistip (a town nearby) they met the complete CID staff, a dynamic group of young people that are very dedicated and motivated to get things done!
There were of course some culture shocks; for example when Shana put sugar on her eggs because she couldn’t read the package in Macedonian or when Bjorn just kept on speaking Croatian instead of Macedonian. Or when Inne had to come to terms with the much more relaxed pace of work and life (a.k.a. last-minute meetings and projects).
But they adapted and none of the culture shocks compared to the wonderful time they had!
And those three very different people from Belgium will still be thinking back to their very hot, amazing, wonderful, unforgettable summer as an EVS-short term volunteer in Macedonia.
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