Hello everyone, I am Alessandra, one of the new volunteers of Filantrópia Charity Shop!

My first moth here is just come to an end! In September I finished my thesis for university and I was exploring some future options because for sure I didn’t feel like starting a master’s degree right away ( a pretty common and usual thing in Italy). Anyway, a friend of mine shared her experience as ESC volunteer back in 2019, so I stated to explore projects on the portal; one day, I joined a Facebook group about ESC project, and I found the incredible world of Profilantrop! As soon as I read about this organization, the project, the shop and their mission I understood that this was the perfect project for me! I was really happy!

Now that I am here I realize how even a small decision can change the course of your life: if I didn’t randomly joined the group I would have never found this project! And who knows were I would be now! The “buttefly effect” is really crazy.

I am really grateful to be here now because since I arrived I felt so welcomed and at home thank to the sweet and kind Giuliana, former volunteer and my roommate, and to Zsuzsa, who gave me the opportunity to be here and start this new adventure, she welcomed us with her family and shared a beautiful experience with us tradition, such as preparing zakuszka.

I can’t wait to spend the next six months here exploring Budapest!

See you next month :)

 Alessandra

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Hi, My name is Vilma and I am one of the new volunteers at the Filantrópia Charity Shop!

Since this is my first blog post, I thought I'd start by giving you a short background on myself and how I started volunteering.


This spring I graduated from high school in a small town in Sweden where Iv'e lived basically all my life. In high school I studied social and behavioral science and I also volunteered as part of the Red Cross Youth Association since the beginning of 2023. I have always been interested in people and personal development and had always considered the possibility of volunteering abroad as a way to combine both of these interests. So I decided to take what is called a "gap year" or basically a year off from doing anything school related to dive deeper into the world of volunteering.

I spent the summer at home, and in the beginning of September I went to Spain to participate in a team volunteering project that I found through the European Solidarity Corps. Together, I and the other volunteers painted a mural at a local hospital. I learned so much from this experience, even if the project was barely a month long. Both from all the interesting people I met but also about what it's like to live with other people in shared space and to do everything as a team. I knew that I wanted to continue volunteering when I got home, but this time I wanted to try a longer project. As if by chance, I scrolled past an ad on Facebook about the Filantrópia charity shop and not long after that the plane ticket to Budapest was booked.

Now I've been here a month and the strange thing is that I can hardly describe what I've done since then. Of course, I've also met a lot of nice and interesting people here, participated in workshops, been to some Christmas markets, went sightseeing and for the first time in my life bought my own washing detergent. Crazy right?!! It's been a lot of new impressions to say the least and I think it's only now that I can actually go to the grocery store without feeling overwhelmed by all the sounds, people and a completely foreign language. Important to mention is that I have had amazing help along the way from my flatmates who gave me the warmest welcome, Zsuzsa and Betsy from the store and my friends and family in Sweden who have supported me since day one.

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Röviden és velősen, de főleg könnyesen. Viszlát Filantrópia

Kedves Olvasók,

Az én munkásságom is a végére ért Filantrópia szigetén. Őszintén, hihetetlen, milyen gyorsan elrepült ez az év! 

Emlékszem, az első Budapesti napomon Beci várt az önkéntes rezidencia előtt:)) aki nem csak akkor segített nekem, amikor ideadta a lakás kulcsot és megmutatta hogyan nyílik a lift és hogy természetesen mindig le kell küldeni, hanem háborút szítunk a szomszédok között (ez egy nagyon trükkös lift volt), hanem az itt töltött hónapjaim minden pillanatában. Mindig ott volt a felvigyázó keze a háttérben és terelgetett az élet útján. Köszi Beci:)))

Vegyes érzelmekkel vágtam bele ebbe az évbe annó, de felűlmúlta az elképzeléseimet! Persze számítottam egyre meg másra, de ennyi szép emlékre és csodálatos emberre nem. Kezdhetem Núriával, aki anyukám helyett anyukám volt itt Budapesten, abban a néhány együtt töltött hónapban, majd később Irene, akivel egy nagyon vad és eseménydús évet bonyolítottunk le. Sírás, nevetés, mérgelődés, minden is volt, de így volt szép és igazi. 

Ez az egy év alatt mindent is csináltam!      

 Láttam a pápát:)))

Filantrópia Adománybolt születésnapot ünnepeltem.

 Hajóláda Műhelyt tartottam, meeeg farsangot ünnepeltünk.

Hazautak hétfőnként a Morriból.

 Növényeket gyűjtöttem, majd aztán el is ültettem őket.

Nagyon sokat lomtalanítottam, erre Irene haragudott is:))

Sünis zokni meg növények.

Itt rájöttem, hogy mennyire kicsi vagyok.

Kilátások a teraszról.

Múzeumba jártunk. 

Sokat jártam a Citadellához.

Fashion show.

Megnéztem III. Károly koronázását (szörnyű volt. hosszú és unalmas, meg szerintem nem volt elég csilli-villi sem)

Botanikus kertet varázsoltam a rezidenciából.

Csomagokat vadásztam a Westendben Irenevel. 

Vacsorákat szervetünk a barátaimmal. 

Mindezek mellett nem csak emlékeket, hanem tapasztalatot is gyűjtöttem. Megtanultam, hogy a kedvesség és jószándék előbb vagy utóbb mindig megtérül az életben, ha ez nem lenne magától értendő. Ha tudunk adni, mindig kell és soha ne ítélkezzünk emberek és helyzetek fölött. Legyen az egy kedves szó, egy szelet kenyér, egy ölelés, akár egy pulcsi amit már amúgy sem hordasz. Soha nem tudhatod, hogy a másik személy min megy keresztül az életben épp. Mindezért köszönet Zsuzsának és a Filantrópia Adományboltnak!

Röviden, megnőtt a hajam, de méginkább megnőttem én is (nem szó szerint, annak már semmi esélye), mint ember ennek az évnek hála!

Köszönöm mindenkinek!

Millió puszi, Móni💖

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Heartfelt thanks

Köszönöm has been one of the first Hungarian words I learned. It simply means "thank you".

I soon discovered that in an informal context you can use the word "köszi" instead. I really like that the Hungarian language has very long words but also shorter, friendly versions of the same one. It makes me think this is a funny language but, despite this, learning Hungarian is harder than I thought.

After four months in the shop I am able to understand and answer very simple questions, I can buy myself fruits and vegetables at the local market because I know numbers, if I step on someone's feet on the metro I know how to say that I am sorry. Sara says that I should be happy because I already learned a lot of words but I think these are not enough and that's why I often cannot understand what is going on around me.

Why is that important to me? After all, as a Hungarian guy told me, this is a language that I am not going to use again after this year. But still I cannot help to be fascinated by a language whose origins are so distant in time and space and that shares nothing with all the other European languages. Maybe, it is just that I would love to know Hungarian better in order to feel a bit like home in here.

Luckily, my will to learn more about Budapest and Hungary is bigger that anything else. During a week in the shop I discover day by day something new about the rude tenderness of Hungarian people; on the other hand, the weekends are my chances to go around, filling my eyes with the beauty of this country. Approx. once a month friends or my boyfriend comes to Budapest to visit me: there is no better opportunity to explore new places. So far I liked the Vegan Sunday Market and the local artisan market at Turbina, the Robert Capa contemporary photography center and Memento park, where a lot of statues from the communism dictatorship era found a home. And still: the Hungarian National Gallery and Budapest History Museum, Normafa and Margaret Island.

(Hungarian National Gallery)

(Zugliget chairlift - Normafa)

(Turbina - Vajdahunyad u. 4) 

I love Budapest but sometimes I think that I am just living in an international, cosmopolitan bubble. And Hungary is a lot more than this: in Hungary there are small cities like Nagymaros where Saturday markets are still like they used to be, and where you can ask which is the best tea for you from an old woman who speaks, like you, a bit of English and a bit of Hungarian.

In Hungary there are winemaking regions such as Eger, where it is easy to spend a happy afternoon with your friends just moving from one winery to another.
There are cities full of culture as Szentendre, and cities full of history like Visegrád or Esztergom.
I actually visited Esztergom today and I really loved it. I found a quietness and a light that moved my heart. I promised myself to come back again in the  summer just to sit and look again at the city from the  Our Lady of Sorrow Chapel on the Szent Tamás hill.

(Nagymaros)

(Eger - Valley of the beautiful woman)

(The Visegrad castle through the clouds)

(Esztergom)

I feel blessed because I had the opportunity to see and do everything I mentioned so köszönöm Hungary, because you welcomed and accepted me.

Köszönöm to all those who are in this with me.
Köszönöm to who told me you don't have to hurry in life.
Köszönöm to you, who spent your time reading my tangled thoughts.

P.S. Happy New Year!! :)

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