Who I want to be

 A cardamom and lilac scented candle is burning on my table, I am listening to my favourite playlist and I think about my future. Six months of this astonishing experience are already gone and soon I will make new choices. This has never been easy for me, to be honest it scares me. But after all, aren't choices that make us adults?

A couple of weeks ago I joined the mid term training and, among the other things, they asked us to imagine ourself in three years and draw our ideas. Which results will we achieve? Which will be our new goals?
I drew a flat (because I really want to achieve independence) and a dachshund (no kidding, I love them) but the very first thing that came to my mind was: "sustainability", so I added this word too. I like to think that in 2025 my life will be more conscious, closer to nature.

About this: my mother teaching me to sew is definitely one of the goals for the next years. I am 100% sure it will be difficult for me but I really wanna learn to do something so cool with my own hands. Every day in the shop I see so many clothes with a button missing or with a broken zip but still in good conditions; it would be a very simple but important job to repair them.

I am not a creative person but in the last months I realized I am really curious about upcycling (in other words: creative recycling), especially in the fashion field. In January I saw a short Italian documentary called "Stracci"*. It talks about the wool upcycling experience of Prato, in Tuscany where the wool is recycled since 150 years by expert hands. Every day an incredible amount of clothes arrives there from all over Europe. The first step is to separate the clothes for the second hand market from those for recycling. Of the latter the wool ones are selected and the zip and the labels are removed. They also divide the clothes by colour, this allows to do new fabric without dyeing, saving a lot of pollution.
It was touching to see a knowledge so old becoming so actual and necessary, because it saves  tons and tons of textile waste from the landfills every year. I would love to know better this reality and I would also love to deepen my knowledge about examples of circular economy in Italy.

To know more: https://www.straccidoc.it/stracci-un-viaggio-nella-sostenibilita-della-moda/

On another hand I am very curious about the international cooperation world too. I got my bachelor degree in "International cooperation and development" in December 2020 but because of Covid I didn't do any internship yet. In January the call for a very interesting project with the Italian NGO "Mani tese" expired so I tried my luck and I applied for it. They have a lot of projects around the world regarding fashion sustainability but also agroecology and rural development. I will know more in the next months.
Speaking about international cooperation, in the last weeks Zsuzsa allowed me to join some online meeting with other NGOs. I think this is a good opportunity for me, to see if I am
interested in EU projects. It is too soon to say something about it, but I am grateful because this can help me understand what I like and what I don't.

I am full of inputs but also disoriented. I would like to study, but also to work and be independent. Sometimes I feel like I am "late", but other times I just choose to not think about it. It is hard to accept that I do not have control over my future but what I know is that every experience I made led me where I am now. My path has never been regular, but made me grow. When I was 19 I felt the urge to travel around the world and now I feel like I need more time. More time for the pub quizzes, for the boardgame nights, for the dinners and the walks around with my new friends. More time to think about my future and about my carnival costume. Time for planning new trips** and for friend's birthdays. More time for life to help me understand how to take the next step: choosing who I want to be.

*Rags

**Pécs I am coming!

P.S. I was dressed as a sailor, guess Sara costume if you dare!

Olvass tovább

Almost three months

I would like to tell you today that I am very happy to be here and  to enjoy this experience as I am doing now.

 I like working in the shop and getting to know our usual customers (some of them are coming every day), although what I like the most is discovering this beautiful country. 

 

For this reason, I went to Dobogókő with a friend that came to visit me from Spain. He is Charlie. This place was amazing although it was snowing, cold, windy, and dark. But of course, it was January, what was I expecting? Sun and light? 

 

Nevertheless, the company is always more important than the places that you are visiting, and I had the best visit. Moreover, we were in a nice hostel, warm and cosy, with a lot of Hungarian people. In spite of the weather, we were walking for hours in the forest, breathing fresh air, and enjoying nature. I would recommend Dobogókő if you like hiking, but please, if you want to have fun instead of getting a cold, don't go during the winter. 

 

 

 

On the other hand, as I said before, I am enjoying working in the shop. We are receiving lots of donations (mostly clothes) and we are not able to sell everything that we receive. Because of  that, we are donating a lot of  clothes to homeless shelters. 

Since two or three weeks,  Zsuzsa’s father is coming to the shop to help us with different tasks. So we shared a task going to donate clothes to a homeless shelter. People were very nice and grateful.  

Barna was asking where we should leave the donations. Meanwhile, I was waiting outside and  there were a lot of people waiting to enter to the homeless shelter to have a warm meal. They were very happy to see the car full of clothes  and they asked me different things that I couldn’t understand (yet). However,  I was able to understand “Adomány?” (donation?) And I replied, “Igen, Igen” (Yes, yes). 

So, as you can see, I already learnt a lot of new words and a lot of new things, my parents are very proud of me and I'm eager to learn a lot more!

Above all, I am falling in love with this city. I went to Café New York and as you can see in the picture below, it’s amazing (and very expensive) so I was there only to look around and to enjoy live music.

 

Although what I like the most was Aquaworld. It is an awesome aquapark where  you can chill and have fun with your friends. It’s a perfect plan for a  Sunday.

 

 

 

Talking about having fun, Sara's birthday was one week ago. We were in a nice place having dinner and drinking pálinka (it is a strong alcoholic Hungarian beverage appreciated for its potency, flavor, and fragrance). You can imagine how the night ended. Below, I add my favorite picture with my flatmates and friends, Sara and Eleonora. Sara is 13 now. 

 

 

 And then, last week I participated in an online training course, where I met people from all around Europe who are volunteering in Hungary too. I had the opportunity to meet people living in Budapest doing the same thing  as me, and it is very heart-warming to share this experience with people who are at the same point in their life.  

I hope you enjoyed these small stories and moments from my exciting and  colorful life here in Budapest!

 Köszönöm! :)

 

Olvass tovább

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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Getting out of my comfort zone

 

Hello everyone! I am Núria, the new volunteer of  Filantrópia Charity Shop and this is my first blog post. It is a pleasure for me to be part of this project because I am learning a lot of new things and living amazing experiences that I have never had before.

On one hand, I want to tell you how I decided to come here. I finished my studies in Law and Business Management Administration in September and I was lost about what I could do during the next year. Instead of studying a Master or starting to work in my city, Lleida, I was willing to spend a year living abroad, meeting and learning from other cultures or other ways to live… so I was looking for many projects that brought me the opportunity to do what I am doing now. Eventually, I found the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) with a lot of projects in environmental issues, recycling, working with youngsters or elderly people… Therefore, I applied for Filantrópia Charity Shop, and twenty days later, I was here.

Another point worth considering is I consider myself as a brave person, active, ready for new challenges… but when you are getting out of your comfort zone you make yourself smaller and you start to have doubts about what you should do in your future. Nowadays, what is “normal” after finishing University (at least in Spain) is studying a Master to specialize in some field or starting to work in what is considered by people as a “serious” job. In my opinion, sometimes it is difficult to do what you really want instead of what you should do. Anyway, I am here (luckily).

On the other hand, I am getting used to this new challenge of learning every day something new. Moreover, what I like the most in this project is the possibility to give a second, third or fourth life to clothes, objects, shoes… avoiding consumerism. Here I realized that we don’t need to buy everything new because we can reuse it.

Furthermore, we are carrying out different activities like workshops which are an amazing idea to get to know the customers or our work team. What’s more, we are creating dog toys or scrunchies from used t-shirts, ties… so we are recycling and being creative at the same time! That’s great! I am really excited to keep going on this adventure because time is running out.

Taking everything into consideration, I feel very lucky to be part of this project because of the people that are around me. For me, the city where you are living is important (Budapest, what can I say? Awesome), the project is also important because I am going to spend eleven months, in a project that I believe in, that I think is good for the society, for the environment, etc. However, the most important thing as I have said before are the people who you are living, working with, or meeting… They spend their time with you, and I appreciate that. I am feeling like at home.  

 

 

 

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About healing

It's 8.45 a.m. As every morning, I have bread, jam, some walnuts and a small piece of chocolate for breakfast. And, as every morning, I found myself unconsciously scrolling my instagram profile, looking at old pictures of funny nights with friends and listening, lost in my tought, to the words of some content creator until a post catches my attention. I feel suddenly unquiet. Some photos of a spoiled nature goes with this text:

"Waste makes visible our separation from nature. This separation comes into focus along Accra’s coastline where millions of secondhand garments, the byproduct of greed made manifest in fashion’s excess, collide with an environment that cannot absorb them.
In 2011 we were running on the beach when we tripped over a shirt sleeve sticking out of the sand. That’s when we learned to watch out for clothing waste.
In 2013 we were swimming when our feet landed on a pile of clothing instead of sand. We shrieked. That’s when we stopped going to the beach for enjoyment.
In 2016 we saw jeans, spread eagle, surfing the waves as we sat down to have a beer by the sea. That’s when we realized that clothing waste was traveling.
In 2019 we met fishermen who capsized because clothing pulled down their nets. That’s when we realized that the clothing tentacles claim livelihoods.
It’s 2021 and clothing waste is embedded in the marine ecosystem. Mounds of clothing waste are settling on Accra’s beaches, sinking into the sand. Clothing tentacles travel with the tides, washing up and out with the waves. The sea spits out elastic waistbands, polyester blouses and the stretchy skeletons of skinny jeans.
This is when we understand that waste makes visible our separation from nature and this is when we heal."

I wanna learn more about it: I find out that even the streets and the nature of Acca (Ghana) are suffocated by the overproduction of clothes. It was just two days ago when Zsuzsa told me that the same thing is happening in Chile, where the Atacama desert is becoming a huge open landfill. Something suddenly comes to my mind: the image of cows grazing on piles of clothes in Africa, something that happens on a daily basis in the whole continent.

I take a deep breath and I realize that what I am doing here in Budapest is beautiful and important. Everyday in the shop we try to find a new home for goods of all type: from clothes to mugs, from toys to books. Recognizing the real value of the objects means also acknowledging dignity to those who made them, to the resources used, to those who will give them a new life.
At the same time, being surrounded by so many things is suffocating. Things are everywhere and to see them in dusty Ikea bags is discouraging and frustrating. Do we really need everything we buy? This sad view prove that we don't and make me think about the importance of every single choice.

Choices: I am here since three months now. I saw this city sun-kissed, covered in orange leaves, wet after a rainy day and now cold and windy. I fell in love with this city and with the people I met here. I identify myself in the lyrics of this Italian song which says: "in equilibrio perfetto fra tutto quello che ho perso e quello che ho scelto".*
Time flies and I am following my goals: every month I start a new book and I visit a new city. All of it enriches me and I can feel that something is changing inside me: Budapest is constantly changing under my eyes and me with her. I keep my consciousness under training, I reconnect with it. Tomorrow I am going to take a walk on Margaret Island. That is my way to heal.

* On the perfect balance between what I lost and what I chose.

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Ficánkolás Filantrópián 4. rész

Egy csomóba bogzom ezt az egy év ficánkolást, az élményeket, tanulságokat, észrevételeket, jó mélyen elraktározom, s soha nem engedem el.

Sara anyapótlását, jó tanácsait, energiáját, szépérzékét, tésztáit,  hogy beavatott a rendszerezett élet, a tervezés, végrehajtás, porszívó mánia rejtelmeibe. 

Ale barátságát, a kacagásokat, a diliségeket, énekléseket, öleléseket. A vasárnapi teraszos semmittevéseinket. A mindent elsöprő erejét, ami remélem végig kísér majd egész életemben, s mindig tudok belőle meríteni.

Zsuzsa tanításai, motivációja, az a rengeteg történet, amit megosztott velem mind-mind a csomóm része marad, Orsi csodás főztjével együtt.

A karanténos privát flat party-kat. Azokat a bulikat, amikor egyszer csak észreveszed, hogy haló, ki van virradva, dobjunk be egy jó pizzame-t, s menjünk haza.

A Nyugati aluljáró összes zenészét, akik reggelente arra késztetnek, hogy kivegyem a fülest és inkább őket hallgassam a következő kanyarig. Aztán visszateszem és már ezt éneklem Szabó Benedekkel ,,De olyan szépek a fák tavasszal az Andrássy úton”. Tényleg szépek, az ok ,amiért mindig a hosszabb utat választom munkába menet. Jól összecsomózom a sok ember látványát, akikkel reggelente szembe megyek, a számításaimat, hogy pontosan zöldre érjek oda a zebrához. Az összes földön talált topjoy kupakot, amik végtelenül közhelyesek, de mégis annyira jók. Azokat a pillanatokat, amikor belenézek az indiai bolt kirakatába, s meglepődök, hogy hmm, egészen jól nézel ki ma. 

Budapest fényeit, a Duna-partot, a hidakat, az eldugott sétálókat, a kedvenc helyeinket. A dilemmát minden egyes alkalommal, hogy lifttel vagy lépcsőn menjek fel az ötödikre. A szobámat a világító bigyókkal, a növénykéimmel. A menta illatú teraszunkat, a halacskás zuhanyzófüggönyt, a poszteres konyhát, a good luck-ot kívánó wc-t.

Az angol tudásomat, ami eleinte annyira gyatra volt, hogy google fordítóval nyögtem ki, hogy sorry lányok, nem igazán beszélek angolul. Ma meg már bátran mesélek, viccelődök, s végre önmagam tudok lenni ezen a nyelven is.

Hogy milyen vagány családom van. Hogy engedik a bohócukat a saját útján járni. A szeretetet, amivel mindig várnak haza, azt a biztonságot nyújtó érzést, hogy bármi történik, ők itt vannak nekem. Anya kaja csomagjait, az életmentő tanácsait, a biztatását. Apával a tülköléseinket, s azt a képességét, hogy elfogadja a bohóságaimat. Fiacska izgalmas gondolatait a világról, hogy megmutatja nekem az igazi bátorságot, kitartást. 

    Az otthoni pajtásaimat, akik nem felejtettek el, még mindig kíváncsiak rám, s bebizonyítottuk, hogy igenis működik a táv barátság. Az új barátaim nyitottságát, történeteiket, tapasztalataikat, amik formálnak engem is.

Filantrópia megmagyarázhatatlan hangulatát, az újrahasznosítás fontosságát. Az állandó vásárlóinkat, az összes hozzájuk tartozó mosollyal, kedvességgel, értetlenkedéssel, furcsasággal együtt. A kincseink hívó szavát, hogy ,,Kriszti, tiéd vagyok, vigyél haza!”. Az erőt, hogy ez ne történjen meg minden egyes alkalommal, s az örömet, amikor mégis belecsúszok a csapdába.

Az összes bénaságomat, problémát , nehézséget, amik megtanítottak, hogy bármire képes vagyok, ha igazán szeretném, s hogy mindenre van megoldás.

A ragu, rizottó, torta salata, a pizza, tökéletes tészta, és tunamayo receptet. Olasz szavakat, amik véglegesen beleégtek az agyamba.

Összecsomózom mindennel a kíváncsiságomat, a bátorságomat, amik ide vezettek, hogy megélhessem életem egyik legnagyobb kalandját. S azt a mérhetetlen nagy hálát, amit érzek az elmúlt egy év miatt. 

Ficánkolásaim közel sem értek véget. Most már ezzel a nagy gubanccal együtt vetem bele magam az újdonságokba!

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Feeling lucky

I do remember the day I took the flight from Milan to come to Budapest whom I fell in love with many years ago. It’s been a year since I've been living here, and I couldn’t be happier about the fact that I don’t have to take any flight back to Italy. This year surrounded by the decadent beauty of the city, by the treasures I find in Filantrópia Charity shop, by the people I met who’ve become very close and good friends, by the bridges, by the lights, by the fun nights, by the usual 10000 steps per day, made me realize I don’t want to leave all of this behind me.

The most incredible lesson I’ve learned this year is that it’s so important to recognize how lucky we are, to live a life we choose, to meet with friends, to be able to count on people, to be able to realize that life is just amazingly beautiful. There is no more fulfilling awareness than recognizing how full of treasures life is, and that the most beautiful of all is that we are alive and have a world of possibilities around us. Around me I see people who have moved from other countries to start another life here in this city, which makes you feel free and alive, and which always surprises you. Budapest makes you fall in love with the unpredictability of life. Some time ago I was at the post office, I had to run an errand for the shop, I was waiting in line with my headphones (as always) and my weird socks (I seem to remember they were with donuts, but I'm not sure now). A lady behind me touched my shoulder and I turned around thinking she was complaining about the volume of the music, and instead seeing me dance on the spot waiting for my turn had put her in a good mood so we started talking and she told me everything about her life, which she had lived in many places including Italy, in a small village in Tuscany and I really thought that with the right attitude you can really do many things. Being born and raised in a small town that I have never liked and that I have always found too tight, the feeling of being able to seize new opportunities and see things, faces, people, dogs, cats, bars, streets, squares every day simply makes me feel full of life.

The year I spent in Filantrópia taught me that people are generous, often for no apparent reason, that this city, despite an adverse government and a system of thought that would lead you to think otherwise, is full of generous people, who give to others. At the beginning of the experience I often wondered "but why don't they sell all these things they donate?", now I have the answer: because if you decide to donate something that will be reused by another person, who you potentially do not know and you'll never know, it's something money can't buy. Donating to recycle, to give life back to an object or a dress that is no longer used, without any gain, is something that will always amaze me and that gives me hope for the future, for future generations and for the life on our planet. Although I may seem like an eternal naive and hippie, the little daily wonders really make me smile and I have learned that it's okay like this. Another thing I learned during this ESC is that working in a group and for a group tests you every day, helps you to compromise, helps you learn to say your opinion in respect of others, and it is extremely fun. I wouldn't even be able to name all the moments I laughed to tears with the girls, all the disasters I made, the faces of Kriszti, the strength of Sara, the stories of Zsuzsa. From the walk in the forest of the first weeks (first and last for me since I am extremely lazy and I am afraid of any insects), from the bath in the Danube (first and last time for me), from the Christmas lunch at Orsi's house (Orsi please invite me more often, at your house I’d gladly come back), at dinners in the hills at Zsuzsa's house (here too, food and atmosphere always excellent), to all the nights out (for aperitifs and events I am always available, who guesses where I spend my free time wins a free beer haha), up to a year later, in which we were able to create a solid, sincere relationship and with the awareness that we can count on each other. I know for sure that on August 31st I will not say goodbye to our charity shop, we will see each other a little less but I will come to find the girls and the treasures that will arrive on the island of Filantrópia. To the new volunteers I wish to learn a lot, to have fun and enjoy every moment, to bump into all the bags and corners, to meet crazy and kind people, to have the responsibility to take on a task, to ask for help, to do things with their own mind, to meet new friends, to try on a lot of clothes and get crazy dressed every day, to drink coffee all together, to gossip, to ride the new Bubi, to build muscles with all the bags to check, to experience generosity, to be curious, to experience the city to the fullest.

P.S.: just a couple of tips, when Sara says that a place is near and it could be reached by walking, guys, NEVER, believe her. Second of all, download the app of Bolt, it’s a must-have, taxis will always save you.

Ciao belli, I’m sending all of you lots of love.

Ale

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