Hey, I am Helena from Germany and I am the newest Balkan Kids volunteer. 

I arrived at the fist of august and I will stay for 7 months here in Varna.

So right now, I am the only EVS volunteer but in September there will be five more girls from Germany, Spain and Poland.

I would like to tell you a bit about me and my "Bulgarian story".

I think at first I will try to answer the most asked question: "Why did you decide to go to Bulgaria?" 

Actually my answer is not because I love the language or the culture. To be honest: I didn't knew much about this country, but I have to say that it didn't even take a month for me to begin loving it! 

My answer is: I wanted to go abroad to develop and challenge myself, to see something absolutely new and to help of course. So I started looking for EVS options, but I was a bit too late, so I nearly gave up. But due to the Facebook group: Last minute EVS I saw that they where looking for a German volunteer in Varna. After searching Varna in google I was very enthusiastic to go here (If you google Varna, you know what I mean). And when I really got accepted I just thought: "Alright, lets go to Bulgaria".

At the beginning I have to admit that I was full of fears, because this trip would be a lot of first times for me: first time traveling alone, flying alone, living alone, being so far from my home, my family and my friends. Not knowing the language or even the alphabet. 

But some days before I came here, I suddenly became calm and confident about my decision. And that's how I feel right now. I feel good, confident and calm and I am absolutely happy that I took this step out of my comfort zone and just did it!

I already got to know a lot of incredible people and kids. I feel welcomed and home. And the kids are so full of love that one just have to love them back. It's an incredible feeling, especially because I am still not able to understand the story's they are telling. But they turn on! I am still not able to ask more than "Whats your name?" "How are you?" and "How old are you?". But they don't get tired answering me there questions! And if something happens and they are sad or angry I cannot do more than just hug them. But maybe thats what they need..

All in all I am pretty good with my second hometown Varna and my EVS family.

I am looking forward to the next 6 months!

Hey everybody! My name is Annalena (19) and I’m a new Balkan Kids volunteer from Germany! Right now, I have lived and worked in beautiful Varna for one month and will stay here for eight more. I am helping at a daily center for disabled children and two foster homes as well as with German classes at a local high school.

What you should know about me? I am interested in getting to know new languages and cultures, I love acting and music, and I’m always looking forward to making new experiences of any kind.

Why EVS? Well, if you just finished high school and don’t exactly know what to do next, EVS is the perfect way to exploit money from the EU while at the same time having the chance to figure out your future. I’m kidding of course! But it is true that while the main purpose is to give something to people who need help, you also get a lot back. I feel incredibly lucky that I was born and raised under stable and safe conditions. With EVS, I want to give some of that luck back by helping others who have not been as lucky as I have been. But now, I am realizing that EVS is so much more. It is also about discovering and developing yourself, making new experiences, going on adventures and having lots of fun!

And why Bulgaria? Well, at the beginning I would have said that I came here only for the project; helping kids that need support in different ways seemed so different from what I had done before that I simply couldn’t resist trying it! And yes, you cannot believe how rewarding and warming the single smile of a child can be! Or how welcome the kids make you feel even though you cannot understand their language. They never get tired of explaining things to us with hands and feet, and in exchange we organize and plan events for them or we simply play with them and give them some love.

But now, I must admit that Bulgaria itself is worth it, too! Next to the obvious advantages of living close to the beach and trying lots of good food, above all the social aspects are making my stay here really wonderful! Every day, I meet people from all over Europe and I try things I never would have done before. We are taking Bulgarian classes, we have hitch hiked, and we did couch surfing; we went to the beach at night, had international dinners in our flat, were invited to film festivals and did lots of other fun stuff! Moreover, we are all like a big family who do not only work well together as a team, but also enjoy spending time together and exploring our different cultures and respective curse words ;)

I know I made the right decision when coming here and I am now looking forward to spending eight more incredible months here in BAPHA!

 

Hi! We’re María and Mavi, two new Spanish volunteers from Balkan Kids. We arrived here in September and we will be in Varna for six months.

We’ve been living here for one month, so now we can talk about our feelings as EVS volunteers.

Why are we here? We finished our degree in Psychology two years ago and last year we did a Master about Psychology for children. This year we wanted to start our own business but a previous volunteer told us about Balkan Kids  because the organisation needed two Spanish girls in Varna and… Why not?

We thought that coming here was a great opportunity because the main objective in this project is to work face to face with the children. We thought that we could learn a lot from this experience and that it would be useful for our future. This was the main reason why we came here, but now we know that there are many reasons to stay.

We are acquiring new skills to communicate, because we work with people from Germany, Poland and Bulgaria. Working with the kids is so rewarding because they only need a smile to make you happy. Thanks to them we know other cultures and different ways to think and live. Moreover, Varna is a really beautiful tourist city where you can find amazing landscapes.

Like all changes, at the beginning it wasn’t easy. The most difficult challenge for us was the English language, because it was the first time that we left Spain and we had to speak in English for everything. We have experienced some bad moments and a lot of frustration. But now, when we look back we see the improvement we have achieved with the help of our colleagues from Balkan Kids.

We have five months ahead of us to keep learning and enjoying this experience and we are sure it will only be getting better.

 

Hello! My name Anais,I am 19 years old and I come from Meckenheim, Germany.

My trip to Varna was very spontaneous. I would have never thought to live in Bulgaria for 9 months. After it was clear I would participate in the project BalkanKids, I started to tell my friends that I will leave soon.A lot of reactions were questions. But the main one was "Why Bulgaria?" 

Well to answer this question, it wasn´t the country I came for... It was the project I was interested in. Now I know that the fact that the project is in Bulgaria is just one of a lot reasons to participate in the foundation. 

To be honest I did not know a lot about Bulgaria before I came. And I would have never thought that I would actually live here. But somehow this feeling of living in a new environment and getting to know new people sounded really great to me.

Furthermore I am able to work with children which is really great for me, than after my EVS longterm I will hopefully start studying at a University in Germany to become a primary teacher.

My main goal during my EVS is to take notice of every chance to make a child smile or even laugh.

Maybe it´s just a small thing for the moment but I believe later on it will really help  these children to remember us as funny people who care about them. This is one of my hopes, and I still have 8 months time realise them! :) 

 

 

 

Cześć! My name is Ania :) I’m a new Balkan Kids volunteer from Poland. Like María and Mavi, I'm spending 6 months in Varna till March. I made a break at my University and during this time I want to help and piece my life together. Bulgaria is one of the countries where you can feel at home!

Why volunteering?

I'm going to break down my barriers! I'm not fluent in English.... I want to broaden my horizons, travel, make a plan for my future and make the world a better place! Volunteering is a good opportunity for me! It is a time to focus on WHAT REALLY MATTERS!

 

Why Bulgaria?

It’s a small country with a very proud history. Bulgaria is friendly, beautiful and unfortunately one of the poorest countries in Europe. Varna accumulates many colorful, optimistic and friendly people, who are open to the world and all the diversity on Earth.

 

Balkan kids!

If you like this feeling when somebody needs you - join us! We are working with children who need attention. Most of them don't know the feeling of being the most important person for somebody. We are spending time with them by playing games, teaching English, or solving a puzzle. It's amazing when you know that someone smiles because of you. Sometimes smiling is the most beautiful reward. But it doesn't mean that sometimes we have rough going.

 

EVS is an amazing experience…

You can earn new skills and develop yourself. One of the great things is that you meet and live with people from different countries and cultures. You can learn a lot about yourself and about others. After volunteering you have a clearer idea of what you would like to do in the future. It can change your perspectives on certain things, and how you feel about what is possible and what can be achieved.

Also I have learned many new skills like chess and origami but it is just the beginning of my adventure! I like to think that when I'm gone, I'll have left this a better place. До скоро!