Ciao a tutti!
I’m Eva from France, took a gap year from my graphic design studies because I needed to get away from the daily pressure of studying, take the time to explore and challenge myself. ESC was the best way to find out.
Coming from a big city and used to being and doing things on my own, joining Beyond Borders in Orta Nova was a real challenge for me. But with willing, we can overcome any challenge and that’s what I did.
I arrived on March 18 for two months and was welcomed by warmed and smiling people, but most of them left two days later for a youth exchange in Martinique. Meanwhile, I had time to get used to living with five people and discover Misericordia and Caritas, where I prepared meals for people in need. Working in the kitchen with Brigitta and Maria from Caritas was very enjoyable, as they bring sunshine into your heart.
When the team from Martinique came back (Rocco, Maria, Carmine, and the amazing quartet), I was delighted to finally meet them at a dinner party in Kyathos, Salvatore’s little paradise. Over the next few days, we organized and prepared for the first youth exchange in Kyathos for a group of young Bulgarians with whom we worked in the fields.
Before starting the next youth exchange, we had a week to relax, so I took the opportunity to travel and explore the country. I fell in love with Italy. The week was amazing, but too long. I missed my roommates and the Beyond Borders team. After that week, I felt recharged and ready for the next youth exchange in Brittoli.
I spent ten days in the kitchen cooking for fifty people with Ali and Valeria, il duo arrabbiato. I really started learning Italian with them, and even though it was exhausting, I learned and laughed a lot with them.
After Brittoli, I was supposed to return to France, but of course I wasn’t ready. I felt like something was missing and that my work with Beyond Borders wasn’t fully done. I had to contribute something more. So I extended my ESC by a month and it was the best decision I could have made.
The last month was the most rewarding. While everyone else had gone to Calabria for another youth exchange, Lily, Vincenzo, and I stayed in Orta Nova with Sebastiano. We hosted a group of young French people, and it was an opportunity for me to put into practice what I had learned during previous youth exchanges — managing a group of people and leading games and workshops. It was the biggest responsibility I could have had, and I’m very proud to have done it.
The end of the third and final month was more fun and relaxing. Ten days in Kyathos, this little paradise, where I finally could participate to a youth exchange as a volunteer, led by the amazing quartet of Gabriele G, Gabriele R, Lorenzo, and Vincenzo, the president of GeoVibeLab. I couldn’t have wished for a better conclusion to my project.
These three months have been the most fulfilling. I feel like I’ve grown ten years older in three months. I was afraid of the unknown, of speaking a language other than my own, of living, being, and doing things with other people, and now I can’t imagine continuing my life any other way than what I’ve experienced with Beyond Borders. I am leaving with a lot of hope, ambition, and determination.
Grazie mille to my Beyond Borders family, as crazy as they are wonderful, who made me feel like home and gave me the opportunity to have an amazing human experience.
Ci vediamo presto!
