I would like to tell you about times when life looked normal. People walked the streets and smiled and all shops and restaurants were open. Now it is completely different but we must survive this period and everything will return to normal. However, let’s go back in time.
At the end of normal life I was on the arrival training. I waited a long time for this moment. This is great opportunity to meet with volunteers from others organizations and exchange experiences. Our meeting took place in Braga – city in the north of Portugal. It is a climatic place but we didn’t visit thorouglhy. Most of the activities were in the hotel but there was not space for borring. Each day was field with activities from morning to night but no one felt tired and bored. There was about 30 person from various European countries and one guy from Indonesia. Everyone was open and positive.
Thie first day we had games to get to know each orther. It was a great fun. In next days we also had interesting activities. My favourite was game “conflict managment”. We were divided into groups with different tasks and we had to agree. I think we did quite well. My second favorite activity was “the projects gallery”. We made posters about our projects in Portugal and than there was a time to talk about our work. It was good way to see what other volunteers are doing.
Arrivals meeting is a great experience to meet volunteers from different countries and cultures. I could get to know the experience, problems and challenges of other volunteers. It was a great lesson that I hope to use during project and in life.
