The Last Chapter… or is it?

June 2020 -

After two months of quarantine, we returned to the almost usual routine. It feels nice, although I kinda miss those lazy chill days at home, when we were just making videos, high on sugar and baked cakes all the time.

Now that we can go out and meet friends, we have been doing that, apart from working of course. I will talk about these two things, meeting friends and working, and I will tell you how these two activities are different now. Let’s start from the latter.

Working

Because of the Coronavirus, we now work wearing facemasks and we ask our customers to do the same. It is great to see how nice and collaborative our customers are, requiring us to remind them to wear their mask or wash their hands only occasionally.

We also set as a new rule that only a limited number people should be in the shop at a given time; even this rule is often followed, except for those rare times when it seems that the whole world wants to get into Filantrópia Adománybolt all at once.

What the virus fears

However, the biggest change we introduced is our new donation checking policy. We decided that every bag of donations we receive from our customers must be kept “in quarantine” for at least 2 weeks, before being opened, and its content sold. We are basically treating bags like countries treat people, except that the quarantine facility for our bags is not some fancy hospital or hotel room, but a tiny corner in the back of our shop, where we mercilessly stack all of our waiting-to-be-opened bags.

This is a big problem, because as you can imagine, the huge stack of donations grew quickly, claiming much more than the single corner in the room that we intended, but eating up the whole room instead.

What we fear

So, at the moment, we sort of live among the bags we need to sort. Maybe we will stop accepting donations for a while. I hope we will survive.

Socializing

The second thing I want to talk about is that we are now allowed to go out and meet people, and I’ve been doing it quite a bit, recently.

The reason is that I wanted to build a social circle in Budapest since the beginning of my ESC, but I’ve been postponing it because of laziness. Moreover, who needs a social circle when you already live with such amazing people? But I digress.

Ehm... wanna have a smoke?

In the last month, I’ve been making so many friends and connections that I’m shocked at how actually easy it is. If you are like me, you also feel that going out, talking to strangers and networking is a very energy consuming and quite uncomfortable task. But although this is still true for me, I’ve also learned that as long as you keep an open and non-judgmental attitude towards people, good things “just happen”.

Also, you must resist the temptation of going home earlier than intended because "you're tired" or some other BS your mind tells you to believe.

Smiling with your eyes and listening (not just hearing) to what the person in front of you is saying is a friend-making superpower. Much more powerful than showing how cool you are. Just caring while being You, already makes you the coolest person in town.

So in the end, this has been going on under the sun (the very hot Budapest sun), and I’m quite happy about my experience here as a whole.

I changed so much and so many times that I don’t even remember who I was one year ago and I’m excited about who I will be a year from now.

Just let go and open your heart wide, I keep telling myself.

That is all for now, goodbye dear reader, thank you as always and see you in a month or so, for the real actual last final chapter… or maybe not.

Puszi,

Elia...

Oh, before I go, I'll leave down here some photos I made, I hope you like them :-)

❤️

Olvass tovább

My two cents on the world’s end

March 2020 -

Quarantine times.

Having been locked in our flat at the fifth floor for three weeks already, there’s now more than ever the need to be grounded.

And by that, I mean reminding myself the big picture of what’s going on in the world, and resisting the tendency to anxiety, finger-pointing and blaming.

The world has gone global.

We have such amazing stuff today like airplane travel, the internet and tropical fruits all year long (yeah, bananas!) but also greenhouse gas emissions, Big Tech firms getting everyone’s data online and frequent infectious diseases.

So, does this mean the world has come to an end?

No, of course it doesn’t. Yet, we got an urgent problem that needs to be solved. But before we can solve the problem, we first need to realize what the problem is.

The recent virus outbreak belongs to a class of problems that are fairly new to us as humans. A new set of global challenges that have emerged in the last century, requiring a new set of tools to be overcome.

So far in first world countries, we got quite good at solving problems within our nations. For example, if we needed more electricity, we would build a new power station, burn more fuel and get more power. If we needed more food, we would get more out of the earth and the sea.

That worked very well so far, and very far it got us, indeed. But things are changing.

Making space for agriculture through deforestation is chocking us of oxygen, important sea life (our food) is at risk of disappearing due to overfishing and the air is getting poisonous from burning so much fossil fuel.

The solutions to our old problems are creating new ones, but different ones. These belong to a new level. These cannot be solved by the same nation-wise solutions that created them, but require new solutions. Global solutions.

But how can we cooperate globally as a species, when we are still so divided, fragmented and often at war with each other?

Truthfully, I don’t know, but I discovered at least one ingredient that we must put in our cauldron to brew the magic world-saving Elixir.

And that is: Awareness.

This is such great news because this ingredient is not hidden but accessible to everyone. However, Awareness is very squishy and slips through the fingers all the time.

“But Awareness of what?” you might ask “And how is this woo-woo Awareness thing going to help me solving real world problems?”

Let me answer with a short story.

There was once a Tree with many leaves but most of them were not aware that they were part of the tree itself but, instead, they believed they were simply individual Leaf-people.

Many Leaf-people fought with each other for getting more Sunlight, or to get any at all. Many indeed, were simply Light-starving to death.

To better survive in the big race for Sunlight, some Leaf-leaders started gathering followers by saying that the real cause for the scarcity of Sunlight, was another group of Leaves that was stealing it from them.

This other group also elected their Leafder, who was demonizing the foreigner leaves by saying the same thing to its own followers, who were every day more afraid and more desperate for Light.

After several years of wars, most leaves had fallen and only a handful of selfish ones remained, taking all the light for themselves, more than they could use, and leaving the bare minimum for the remaining, powerless ones.

At the same time, the Tree was slowly dying because it did not have enough nutrients, as most of the extra Light that those clueless dictators and their greedy Leaf-friends were getting, was going wasted in luxuries and could not be converted into nutrients.

About this story, I’d like to point out that, at the beginning and from each group of leaves’ perspective, slaying the neighboring group was a fairly effective short term solution for getting more Sunlight, but after some time that very same solution were now endangering them all, as the whole Tree was dying because of that.

Now, what do you think is the best chance of salvation for the Leaf-people, at this point?

You’re right, they should first become aware of being part of the Tree.

Not just individual leaves but the Tree itself.

After all, how could they change their behavior before this realization?

Human beings are not leaves on a tree, we’re far more complex than that, but I believe there are similarities between the Leaf-people world and ours.

We too must become aware of the inextricable net that connects us all to each other, and that we can no longer have the luxury of seeing other people as totally separate from us.

A lot of good stuff has been done so far and we need to keep going in the right direction.

We need less walls, less blaming and less selfishness in favor of more relationships, cooperation and kindness to one another.

This way, we’ll have a far better chance of saving our world, which is the same to say as saving ourselves.

Olvass tovább

The Folk, the Funny and the Fondue

February 2020 -

It is cold, then it’s warm.
It is rainy, then it’s sunny.
Some days, all of it at the same time.

But much happened this month, besides the wild weather.
Speaking of which, I have to tell you about Carnival first.

Yes, because every year Filantrópia organizes a Carnival costume party. Also in Italy, my country, it is common for people to dress up and go around the city in these days of the year, and although I don’t always dress up myself, this time I was glad to because we were organizing the event.

We decided to host our party in Pótkulcs, one of the oldest ruin pub in Budapest, that we knew very well, since we visited it several times before for after-work beer(s). The party even featured a best-costume contest with a price for the winner, so we had to work hard to create our costumes. Only items from our shop had to be used, of course.

But to be honest, the desire to win the price was not the top reason for the hard work (don't get me wrong, it was a fantastic price; it’s just that nobody needed a tool to make homemade fondue at that moment). We worked hard simply to make a good job.

Choosing my costume was hard though.

First, I wanted to be Filantrópia, the charity shop itself; I quickly threw that idea in the trash. Then, I thought of Forrest Gump, then a hippie, then a tennis player, then Bill Lumbergh from Office Space...

Eventually, I found an old straw hat in the back of the shop with which I built the ultimate Carnival costume.

Behold!

Who was I? I don’t really know, but I like to think I was a rice farmer, or someone from the east, anyway. I even had a wooden basket roped to my back…

Ok, ok. It was not the best costume ever, and my feet seriously froze off that night, but it was funny to share the hat with each other, as we went dancing in the club afterwards. (Yes, I had a spare pair of shoes, I didn't go clubbing with flip flops).

Speaking of best costumes, did you wonder who won the contest? 

The Red Riding Hood family!

Nailed it. That’s how you win a fondue.

Another interesting event of this month was discovering Legényes, a traditional dance from Transylvania.

It happened by accident. I was out one night with a friend, when a couple of women told us to go in the pub next to ours, because someone was making folk music.
As we arrived, a band started playing with violins and contrabass, whereas a series of men took turns dancing solo in front of the stage, accompanied by the cheering of the surrounding people.

The dance was performed by rhythmically beating the heels on the floor and slapping the hands on the shoes and thighs, generating a lively clapping sound that blended perfectly with the music. Naturally, it was all improvised in the moment.

The Legényes

Afterwards, more men and women joined in a ballroom dance where many dancing couples were smiling, singing, and swirling like spinning tops.

It was super.

In conclusion, I’d like to end by sharing something on how I feel, as I often do.

So, how do I feel?

I feel calm, at least calmer than 5 months ago.
I feel wiser, as I understand more about the world, via new experiences and books.

I feel more confident, just a bit, in my ability to thrive in this complex society.

And since my priority is to discover a way in which I can use my gifts, talents and passions to contribute to a better humanity and ecology, I feel happy to be here because I'm making great progress.

I care less about looking cool or what other people think, and I feel more impatient to embark in the heroic journey of life. A life of service. A life well spent. At least for me.

As always, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.

See you soon!

Elia.

Olvass tovább

How to Be a Zen-Volunteer

January 2020 -

OH. MY. GOD!! 5 months have gone already!

It feels like yesterday that I arrived here but, at the same time, it feels like I’ve been here all my life. Also, today’s my birthday!

Happy Birthday tooo Meee, Happy Bir…

Oh, hey! Hello dear reader, I didn’t realize you were here! I was having a little party back there :D

But anyways, I’m very happy to see you and, since you came, let me tell you what happened in Filantrópia Adománybolt, during this first, cold, Hungarian January of 2020.

Olvass tovább

Breaking Out of Routine

November/December 2019 -

It feels like we got into a familiar pleasant routine, with the work at the shop. The culture shock phase is almost gone, and I feel a sense of comfort and being at home.
This sense of belonging is so strong that during the Christmas holidays, after spending quality time with family and friends back in my country, I started feeling nostalgic for my other family, the Budapesti family.

Oh, and by the way, now that I’m writing this, I just got back from Italy and it feels nice to be here with them once again. Besides, New Year’s Eve is at the door and I can already hear the sounds of the city through my bedroom window, warming up and getting ready to party.

It’s getting crazy out there, but don’t hold your breath, because at Filantrópia we get our share of excitement and parties too. No monkey business.

Ordinary day at Filantrópia

We break out routine all the time.

“How?” You ask?

Good question! Let me tell you.

Every month we host events at the shop, for our customers and friends. These come in the form of anniversaries, Christmas parties or just good-old plain parties (‘cause sorry, Santa, we can’t wait for You to have fun) and every time we meticulously prepare food and drinks and we set up music and do-it-yourself workshops for the participant to join in.

It is satisfying to see people relax and learn in such a cozy environment we created for them.

"If you want to smile, make others smile!"

Besides, with all the creations coming from our workshops, we had the

opportunity to be part of the Christmas market in a cozy coffee bar and English book store called Massolit Bookstore & Café. (I know, right? Books AND Coffee?! Why didn’t we think of this??)
It felt nice to see our inventions being loved and bought by other people.
It was also the first time experiencing what it means to be on the selling side of a market stand.

It will be harder to smug at street vendors from now on…


Another activity that breaks us out of routine is creating social media posts, with humorous pictures and texts to engage our subscribers and notify them about weekly offers and promotions.
Although it’s cool to pose in hilarious creative pictures, it’s not always easy to come up with funny stuff in such a short time.

Luckily the girls are remarkably good at this so I’m happy to say that I’m learning the skill from the tops (brown-nosing via blog post: done 😉) .

High-tech drone selfie

So, in the end, we have our day-to-day routine, but we don’t get bored because we always have something challenging and new to deal with, which is, after all, the end purpose this Erasmus+ adventure: to experience new things and grow.

I send you all my love and I hope to see you soon!
Elia.

Olvass tovább

Filantrópia: an “Island of Gratitude"

Filantrópián nagyon fontos számunkra, hogy legyenek ifjú, önkéntes segítők, akik 1-1 évet nálunk 'szolgálnak'. Többször írtunk erről, az Európai Unió által támogatott programról, ami az elmúlt évek során több névváltoztatáson is átesett, volt EVS, Erasmus+ és most épp ESC, ami az Európai Szoldiaritási Testületet jelenti. Elia Olaszországból érkezett hozzánk szeptemberben, egy évre, és most sikerült kikönyörögni belőle az első blogbejegyzését. Angolul olvashattok arról, hogy hogyan telt az élete az elmúlt 4 hónapban Filantrópia kis szigetén!

September/October 2019

Imagine.

You’re sitting alone in your studio in Italy, after 1 month of painful unemployment because you just quit the most comfortable 9 to 5 job in the history of dead ends.

You are a 27 years old guy, scrolling the internet hoping to find the purpose of your life in your underwear, when suddenly you stumble upon a webpage titled “The Island of Recycling 2.0”.

It offers you to leave your current house, move all your belongings somewhere and go live in Budapest, working as volunteer in a Charity Shop, with people you don’t know, for 1 year.

Departure scheduled in… 14 days.


What do you do?

I will tell you what happens if you select “Yes, go for it”.

I will share with you the victories and setbacks of these first 2 months of volunteering at Filantrópia Charity Shop and how this experience is turning me into a better, more caring and loving human being.

I will share this with an open heart, because I wish to inspire you, if you are pondering a similar decision in your life, or to enlighten you, if you're just curious about the cool stuff happening behind the curtains of an Erasmus+ Project… or a Charity Shop.

In either case, brace yourself dear friend, ‘cause it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Let's begin.

Before I even signed up for this experience, I never worked outside of an office desk, let alone a busy popular store in the middle of a new country.

I didn’t know what hardships awaited me nor what kind of people I would have met but I was still very excited about spending a whole year living in Budapest.

I was all in for an epic adventure! Boo-yah!

But “Be careful what you wish for!” I would tell myself, if I could go back in time and sit next to me on the plane, because the first unexpected plot twist stroke me right from the start.

The plane I was on was delayed, and so I missed the last shuttle bus linking the Budapest airport to the city, where I was supposed to meet with my future roommates and colleagues.

So here I am, with no internet connection, jumping from bus to bus at 3 in the night, carrying two suitcases, a backpack and a very fun Russian tourist I just met at the airport (she was walking, I was only carrying the suitcases) who, for some spooky coincidence, was also lost and headed right next to my hosting house, where I was going.

After some more disoriented wandering in the empty suburbs and many hysterical phone calls in which my roommates and I were trying to figure out where I was and how to get home, I finally found them at 5 am, waiting for me in the street, wearing pajamas and yeah… under a very unforgiving last minute heavy rain!

Sheesh! That was quite a start considering that two hours later, I was heading to my first day of work.

My work consisted in helping to run of one of the most popular Charity Shop in Budapest, called Filantrópia Adománybolt, and I must tell you, I learned the hard lesson right away:

Running a Charity Shop is a tricky business!

As a team, we must simultaneously coordinate “front-end tasks” like operating the cash register and helping the buying customers, with “back-end tasks” like storing and sorting the abundant goods we receive as donations because, well, it’s a charity shop.

At the beginning, I wasn’t speaking a single word of Hungarian, so I spent most of my time in the back of the shop, while Zsuzsa, Beci and Sara (my team-mates) were taking care of the communicative tasks.

Anyways, it wasn’t long until I was encouraged to spend some time behind the counter, as soon as I learned some essential “behind the counter” Hungarian, like how to tell prices and expressions like: “Ennyi lesz?” (Is that all?) or “Mennyibe kerül?” (How much is it?).

But honestly, not knowing the language almost at all, I swear, I was literally praying:

“Please God, let nobody enter the shop right now”

And when, of course, they did I was like:

“PLEASE God, don’t let them ask me any questions”.

When your prayers go unanswered

So scary!!

But of course, as with every frightening thing, after some weeks and with the loving support of my team, I was able to get over the fear and be a decent cashier, making just a few mistakes here and there (but SHHH… I didn’t tell you that).

I also started to enjoy the once-scary-but-now-just-goofy interactions with the Hungarian customers.

As a matter of fact, they all turned out to be very understanding and friendly with me, everybody in his/her own way, and relationships formed between us, a kind that does not require much spoken language, I guess.

But anyways, learning the skill to be a cashier in Hungary, overcoming the fear of language barrier, was my first big challenge here in Budapest, and it surely reminded me how life is much more fun without fear.

I’m greatly grateful for this.

So, in conclusion, that was my first impact with Hungary and the people of Filantrópia, which really is an “Island of Recycling” but that really deserves an “Island of Gratitude” for all the good impact it is having on the world and on myself.

There’s so much more that I want to tell you, so stay tuned and I’ll see you on the next post!

…or who knows, maybe we’ll meet in person when you come visit us!


Arrivederci,
Elia.

Olvass tovább

Giuliana és a magyarok

Giuliana bejegyzéséből kiderül, hogy miért szimpatikusak a magyarok a számára és mi közünk a kókuszdióhoz. Decemberi első havazás és hóember építés, januári filozofálás, angolul, dióhéjban Erasmus+ önkéntesünk második bejegyzése.

December

I don't know if Santa is real,  but if he is I know where  all the old present are brought, to Filantropia Charity Shop, and who has to find them a place? This girl over here, sometimes I just feel like an elf.

Nevertheless, It was a nice month, the city was full of “bipolar snow”  because you can see every three hours how it gets melt again. Even though I made my first snowman named Manolo, sadly he was murdered by a random human. 

I received from my boss my first Santa's chocolate for the Szent Mikulás  day, I felt like a kid again, also  Ági the sweetest girl that help us in the shop bringing us chocolates and Christmas cards, I've  realized that Hungarians like to give chocolates for any reason, I like to believe even during funerals.

Other of the things I really like about this association are the events, every month we find a reason to celebrate  something and  every two weeks I find an excuse to bake a cake, for example this month we have  the Christmas party.

January

Why Hungarians are szimpatikus:

The first person that thinks the Hungarian population is not nice are Hungarians. Every time I said that people in  this county has treating me really well I receive a lot of bad faces and sometimes they offered me psychological help.

I know what you are  thinking  but I'm not crazy, not that much. Yes, they are serious, bad dancers, silent, quiet,  and sometimes  unfriendly, but must at all when you said “I don't speak Hungarian” yes I've been received compliments like “get out from my country” “why you don't speak Hungarian” “kurva” and more romantic things but that is just a little tiny percent of the population.

Instead I've met with really nice people, like our neighbors, persons in supermarket lines, lovely woman who bring us cookies to the shop, all of them answered me with a smile when I told them that I don't speak Hungarian, Tami who brings sweetness to our lives, Ádám the guy from the books, Julia who  laughs  and just makes our day, Orsi who always has a vegan story to tell, Gyöngyi my mentor who wants me to save the world and use washable straws or my boss who teaches me that doesn't matter how crazy a person is you have to give it a chance. 

I got to this conclusion during a dinner with my not Hungarian friends, we realized that one big part of the population is like a peach, soft, nice and sweet, easy to eat until you get to the seed, and face a personality change, Hungarians work differently: they are like coconuts difficult to open but when you break the shell you get a coconut oil. 

In conclusion, people it's people doesn't matter where they from or which language they speak, they can be good or bad, peaches or coconuts, not more than this. 

Olvass tovább

Giulianas adventures in Filantrópia

Nálunk hagyomány, hogy az Erasmus+ önkéntesek blogot vezetnek az önkéntes szolgálatuk alatt, ami több célt is szolgál, az egyik, hogy tudatosan, reflexszíven vegyenek részt a tanulási folyamatban, másrészt jó visszajelzés a számunkra is, ráadásul néha kifejezetten jókat nevetünk az önkénteseink megállapításain. Giuliana fél éve érkezett hozzánk Olaszországból, ahová néhány hónappal korábban Venezuelából települt át. Összetett identitása van, családja egyik része olasz, másik része szír, ő Venezuelában született és nevelkedett, önmagát olaszként határozza meg, az európia létet és mindennapokat nálunk tanulja, tapasztalja. (Ezek az infók fontosak ahhoz, hogy például érteni lehessen Giuliana félelmeit.) Eddigi élményeit foglalta össze angolul, amit két részletben fogunk megosztani veletek, fogadjátok szeretettel!

September 

 My first month in Budapest was amazingly scary, I felt part of a Hitchcock thriller, sincerely I didn't know what to expect about this adventure. 

I was pretty sure about the project, I fell in love with it in the very moment I read the description, but after being accepted a lot of things changed: being a volunteer has positive and negative aspects, requires skills and taking responsibilities. 

At the beginning it felt a bit uncomfortable to being welcome by strangers. The first thought that I have was "I'm gonna end in the Chinese black market without a kidney". But the people that I thought would have kill me, ended to be really kind and, if you are reading my blog I'm glad to let you know that I still have my kidney. 

One of my other fear was the Hungarian language. The Hungarian is not easy to understand nether to learn; I already have a lot of problems trying to learn it. But is funny to see everybody laughing when I said something completely wrong. I work in a charity shop in Budapest, my work is awesome we receive donations of any kind from clothes to alive snails, so yes, you can find everything in that little tiny store, also because every two minutes you can hear somebody screaming from the door "donation!". 

My coworkers have differents types of abilities, as understanding each other without speaking the same language, dealing with Hungarian clients not knowing how to speak hungarian, or challenging "Newton's law" creating mountains of clothes up to the sky. 

So yes, in this month my volunteering prepared me to hundred of things and teach me thousands more such as there are Hitchcock movies with happy endings and not everybody in this world wants to steal a kidney from you. 

October 

Somebody stole my cell phone. 

In October I learn to be more careful, be more patient and keep calm when a Hungarian Policeman tells you that your cell phone "is neither expensive or new enough" to complain about it. 

In other news, I had the chance to meet the other volunteers of Hungary. The training was a mix between long hours of games, evaluation of ourself and our works and getting you know each other's. 

At the beginning it was really awkward being there with a lot of strangers, but it was nice knowing people that decide to take the same path as you and with that the same problems. 

One of the things we found on a common ground with the other volunteers was that sometimes our ideas are not completely being listened by our association, in other particular cases strange coworkers, bosses that doesn't believe in us or just treat us like mere employees. 

Nevertheless, those unknown faces ended to be really nice, the training helped us and gave us lessons and in the end of the week we were running all over Budapest performing every task we have been assigned to, dancing Hungarian folk dance and toasting with palinka in the night. 

November 

My job in the shop varies, from taking new donations, organizing the clothes, cleaning, preventing Sara (my coworker) from play Bastille ones again, writing and correcting the board three times a day because I still think that Kedd (Tuesday) is with double E, taking pictures during every event of the store and of course about every new object, which we are receiving every five minutes, also but not less important defending my right of playing for the umpteenth time "All I want for Christmas it's you" 

We received all kinds of donations, normally if the bags are big people call us first and ask for permission. Sometimes we wait for few bags and instead we received a camion full of two meters tall boxes... that boxes were taller than me! That time we didn't even know what to do, we could communicate with the driver just with hands signs, we decided to take just four boxes and we sent back the others. The worst decision ever! :They were full of art and customers got crazy and wanted to buy all of them and we still crying and regretting that we've sent back the other ten boxes. 

On a beautiful morning I was in the middle of a pretty romantic moment with a slice of pizza when my boss called me upset asking were I was because it was 10:50 and the shop would of been opened in five minutes, Advice for myself: Kedd it's Tuesday not Wednesday. It was 

the first time I saw my boss upset and I didn't blame her, I spent the rest of the day telling her that I was sorry even if she already forgave me. 

In other news I traveled to Belgrade with other volunteers from Hungary, even do we spent twelve hours sitting in a bus with a bunch of strange, drunk and hippie people, a Serbian policeman shouted at me without any reason, we almost lost the return bus and I woke up the next day with my boss phone call asking me "are you alive?" It was a really interesting and fun adventure that I will never regret. 

Olvass tovább

Erasmus+ önkéntesünk megkésve bár, de törve nem - beszámol élményeiről

Angol nyelvű és megkésett tartalom következik! Önkénteseinknek blog bejegyzéseket is kell készíteniük, ami a napi munka mellett gyakran késik, ezért most egy közel fél éves időszak összefoglalója következik. Visszatekinteni is jó arra a sok mindenre, ami ebben a fél évben történt. Fogadjátok szeretettel! (*aki nem ért angolul, szóljon és elmeséljük magyarul is, bár a fotók önmagukért beszélnek :) )

November

The winter has come and also the snow has arrived in Budapest. The city reflects perfectly the Christmas atmosphere thanks to the scent of mulled wine and cinnamon, the cracking of roast chestnuts and the Christmas lights that decorate the bare trees of Andrássy út.

The last month has been fundamental for my personal growth, both internal and external. 

Thanks to the EVS on-arrival meeting and training, I could have crossed the other volunteers paths and I could have seen how deep they immerse themselves in this experience. 

I could meet youngsters from different motherlands, I could observe different personal stories and above all I could perceive extraordinary values that every volunteer embodies. 

Comparing with them motivations, aims and already achieved goals I could have examine in depth the consciousness of myself, of my strong points and qualities and of my weak spots as well.

Can't wait to continue this great journey!

December-January-February

December arrived as soon as a lot of new tasks and new challenges.

First of all, we realized some Christmas gifts for the kids of the Mikulásgyár Színpad charitable trust.

Then we focused our attention on the realization of new workshops: choosing some old pictures, we created works of art by using buttons, oil paint, newspaper cuttings and cotton and woolen yarn in some creative ways.

And how could I not mention the Filantrópia Farsang, the association's carnival party, in which even Audrey Hepburn, Frida Kahlo, Prince, Che Guevara and the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland took part.

The party was also mentioned by the Hungarian blog WeLoveBudapest which contributed in raising the number of customers and social followers.

During the last few months I've immersed myself more and more in the Hungarian culture and thanks to the Hungarian lessons I attend, I am able to understand the deeper meaning, both literally and metaphorically, of this amazing heritage.

Szia és szép hétvégét! Ciao e buon fine settimana!

March-April

Spring is the season of flowers, colors and joy and we definitely felt it and showed it through the last two workshops.

March started with a necklace workshop during which we taught how to make jewelry from cotton T-shirts.

Despite the long preparations of colorful strings, the procedure is very easy and the result is absolutely amazing.

During April we organized a carpet workshop: by using the same strings of cotton that we used for the necklaces, we showed how to create a soft and comfortable carpet for home (they are very colorful and nagyon különleges!).

April was also the month of the Mid Term Training and the location was the beautiful city of Visegrad.

Thanks to this event I could see how much I've grown up during the last six months and how much I learned from the people that surround me.

Now the summer is close and also the end of my journey... but I decided that I got too many positive feelings and teachings from this city to just leave it behind me, so I will look for a place to stay here and keep learning about life.

May

May was a very special month for Filantrópia Adománybolt: on the 25th we celebrated the Adományboltok Éjszakája that is the night during which the charity shops of the city center are open until midnight.

It was a great success: A lot of customers visited the shop and joined the workshops: the theme of the night was GICCS (kitsch) so we taught how to create kitsch and crazy bags out of leopard, striped and colorful prints.

I personally cooked pizza with the help of visitors and the special assistance of Ágika, a volunteer who is affected by Down syndrome.

During the evening, on the street, there was also an amazing concert, conducted by the famous Zsolt Barna Mester.

That night we took some beautiful pictures that were lately published on our fashion magazine, on the summer edition... and actually the summer is coming and a totally new adventure is waiting for me... wish me good luck!

July

During the month of July I had the chance to live an amazing experience in Spain: I traveled to Barcelona and I spent six days in the beautiful Can Bordoi, in Llinars del Vallès, surrounded by the most intense nature I've ever seen.

I took part to the Youth ChangeMakers Training with other 12 inspiring participants who come from Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Turkey, England and, of course, Hungary. 
During the training we learned about ecological sustainability, community resiliency, economical sovereignty and personal agency and, thanks to our strong motivation, we learned about ways to become more effective agents of change. 
We studied in a general way how to mobilize and rise up the critical mass in order to achieve a social and ecological change and then we applied these rules to our personal projects, a different one for every participant.
We learned that actions and so operational goals are not always the leverage points and that we should start from the roots, so the paradigms and the mental models which stuck people and their minds.
We moved through the scale of complexity of feelings, the vicious cycle/triangle of aggressor-saver-victim and the importance of no violent communication. All of them are useful tools that we can use in our work place but also in our daily life.

Then we dealt with themes as power and privilege to state the difference between competent authority and prestigious authority, in order to learn how to use both of them to promote equality and not differences.
I really like the idea of the human being seen as an organizational tree in which the roots are the values, the trunk symbolizes the skills and the capacities, the branches are the resources and the fruits are the outcomes; we are powerful all together as a forest, but we don't forget about our individuality and our peculiarities.

Thanks to the training I could focus on my personal project in Filantrópia Adománybolt and learn how to change, in some small way, values toward ideas of waste production and consumption, how to create a community place that exists beyond social and economical rules and how to build an intercultural space where people coming from different background are able to meet, share, learn and have fun.

It was interesting to realize how much the smallest action could be useful, when it comes from a deeper vision of the whole system: and now I know that when I recycle a single t-shirt and I create a new shopping bag I'm doing more and more than what I thought before.

Olvass tovább