Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Tugba on EVS in the UK - 2012

"Before I came here I heard about England; there are red phone boxes at every corner , double deckers are all around, nobody go outside without an umbrella , people drink tea at 17.00"


I am 29 years old and from Turkey. I have been in Brighton in England for over 7 months.There is a cliche among EVS volunteers which is ''Time flies when you are doing EVS.'' First I have to tell you this cliche is very true , yeah it really flies!

Here I work for YMCA which is a charity organisation for community and young people. Mostly I join the sport sessions to support youth workers, recently I satrted to run my own sessions as well. The variety of social activities is really wide here.So I gain many experiences in different areas. Actually this is the biggest important thing about EVS, you cannot even imagine how many new different experiences you could have and how much they teach you during your EVS. As an example , I was an extravagant person before and I never managed to o
rganise spending my money wisely. But here, I have learnt how to use my money effectively. So even the factors you might consider as difficulty (like EVS Money is limited) can teach you a lot.

I want to mention about my time in England a bit more. We all know there are some stereotypes about cultures , nations and countries. Before I came here I heard about England; there are red phone boxes at every corner , double deckers are all around, nobody go outside without an umbrella , people drink tea at 17.00 and English people are a bit cold and formal... I cannot say telephone boxes, double deckers disappointed me but it made me suprised how friendly and welcoming English people are, the opposite of their grey and cold weather. EVS gives you the opportunity to experience it on your self.



And of course the main purpose of EVS...
Yes, working as a volunte
er gives you the sense of fulfilment and real satisfaction as you would not expect. Especially I felt in this way when I worked with kids with special needs. It is so easy to approach them, you can even communicate with them by eye contact and it sometimes tells much more than verbal communication. This is an experience which you have to have it on your own to comprehend what it really means.

I can tell you even more about my own EVS experience and elaborate it, but it would be boring. I hope you will enjoy your own EVS experience.