Szia blog! Vilma here

Hello blog,  It feels crazy that we have now reached the time for my last blog post.

The last few months the weather has been much better than my last post. I was hoping for sun and even though the weather has been a bit unpredictable, it has been really hot some days. The city has really got a different feeling to it and the days feel longer. With the heat has also come pollen, and I have discovered that I am allergic. Although I appreciate the greenery, I appreciate less the tiredness and runny nose it brings. But with a little medicine, my problems have resolved.

Another thing that has happened is that I broke the screen of my computer. Don't ask how it happened. I hope to be able to fix this when I get back to Sweden, but right now I'm trying to see it as another opportunity to enjoy the last time a little extra. 

During easter we hade visitors from Italy!! It was nice to introduce one italian (one friend I made during my volunteering in Spain) to another (Alessandra whom you probably already know) and celebrate easter together. My friend Michela who is also abroad for university visited Budapest with some of her friends and it feelt like one big happy (italian) family. It was a especially nice since this is the first time im not spending easter with my family.

At the beginning of April, I went back to Sweden to write a test for university. This is a test that I studied for the last 3 months and it felt good when it was finally done. When I was home, I was also shocked by how foreign it felt to be back in Sweden. At the training camps we have attended with the other volunteers, we have talked about something called "reversed culture shock" and I think that was what i experienced. It was like a taste of what awaits me when I get home, but also proof that I've managed to make myself at home here in Hungary.

Although it will be fun to come home to see friends and family again, it of course also feels a little sad to leave Budapest and all the people i've met here. Right now I'm just trying to enjoy the last time I have left in Hungary and the last part of my volunteering. Most of all I am very grateful for Alessandra, who has been a great flatmate and friend during this time. Zsuzsa, and her family, for the funny stories and making us feel welcome here in Hungary. My family and my friends, new and old, for all the good memories and support. 

Olvass tovább

Hi blog!

Now I have been in Budapest for almost 5 months. Since January, time has gone insanely fast and it feels crazy that there are almost only 2 months left of the volunteering. The weather has finally improved and it is no longer dark when we close the shop to go home.

In mid-February, my family came to visit me. During their stay, they got to see both our apartment and the shop. In addition to this, we also did lots of other tourist activities such as visiting the Buda castle, seeing the city park and going to some museums. It was fun to see them again and especially fun to be able to show them the place where I spent the last 5 months. It was also the first time any of them had visited Budapest, which made it extra fun.

At the beginning of March, Alessandra and I went to our second volunteer training camp in Visegrad. The camps are mainly for volunteers to get more information about ESC but also to get in touch with other volunteers. It's always interesting to meet new people, especially when you have something in common like volunteering. It was also fun to see a new place outside of Budapest, hopefully we'll get out of town more times before our volunteer work is over. 

Finally, my sister also visited me the week after the training camp. It was nice to get some quality time together as I haven't seen her since Christmas and she is busy with university. We went to a few museums and I was able to show her a bit of Budapest's nightlife. 

Olvass tovább

Hello blog, volunteer Vilma here!

Totally crazy that we have already reached the time for my second blog post. That is the advantage of occasionally writing a blog post, because you get a chance to look back and think about everything you have experienced. This is also one of the reasons why my New Year's resolution is to keep a diary as often as I can. So that I can remember my time here.

I went home to spend the holidays at home with my family in Sweden. I really enjoyed meeting them and celebrating Christmas together, especially since this is the first time I've been away from home.

Now it is the beginning of January and I returned to Budapest a little more than a two weeks ago. This time it was a great feeling arriving in Budapest and being able to recognize places and the names of some the streets. Especially compared to when I first arrived when things definetly felt a bit confusing. 

Right now the weather in Budapest is quite bad, cold and rainy, but it is January after all. When you think about it, it's kind of silly that January is always the first month of the new year, because the weather is always so bad. However, I feel grateful that it is at least not as cold as in Sweden, where it is below freezing almost all of January. But to be honest, I'm also looking forward to some sun. Come on?! Just a little streak of light would be enough! Anyway, I hope that during my time here I get to experience slightly warmer temperatures. It feels like you can't get a fair picture of a city without seeing it in both summer and winter.

However, the advantage of January in my opinion is (as it is the first month of the year whether we like it or not) that due to the bad weather you have time to focus on making your everyday life as pleasant as possible and plan for the new year. In that sense January is a bit like a rip in time. Having said that, I have a lot to look forward to in the coming months, such as my family coming to visit me. Hopefully one of my friends will also come to visit a little later.

To conclude, I would like to say that I'm very happy to be back and I hope that you who are reading this have had a good start to the new year as well.

Olvass tovább

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.

Olvass tovább