As most of you know, ever since April, YEE's latest addition to its office team for a whole year are the two new EVS volunteers: Judit and me, Vladimir. You already know what EVS is (if not click here) but now I'm going to write about an aspect that is a part of every volunteer's service, and that is the on-arrival training.

EVS volunteers have several trainings related to their volunteering period: pre-departure, on-arrival, mid-term training and final evaluation. By definition, the on-arrival training is a several-day event designed to help the new volunteers get acquainted with the new host country, its culture and language. In addition, the training helps the volunteer prepare for the service and to learn more about how to expand his/ her skills. Last but not least, the on-arrival is the perfect networking opportunity for meeting fellow volunteers from all over Europe.

Me and Judit participated in the on-arrival training for EVS volunteers in the Czech Republic from 18 to 23 of April in Olšina. It was a 5-day program, attended by 24 young people who are currently doing their volunteering all over Czech Republic.

The training was held in Olšina, at the national park Šumava, in South Bohemia. The place was perfect for such event, since in an unusual way it offered the participants a sense of togetherness, while being isolated from the rest of the world (closest town being 6km away). Along with the beautiful lake embracing the area, another positive aspect was that the volunteers were placed in houses for four people. Therefore, due to this, we created among ourselves a family-like life environment. I should also mention the prospect of being offered non-formal education learning, the type of education where you can learn in the fun and more practical way. Thus, the trainers from the get go urged us to be the teachers among ourselves.

Yet, as in life, not everything can go as smoothly, so that is why we were "blessed" with rain every day, sometimes raining more than a day without stopping. Even though the sight and the sound were somewhat depressing, and the thought of going out intimidating, this still had a rather positive effect because it made people stay in one place, and not go out and disperse.

Speaking of the organization, I must acknowledge the perfect job the trainers did when it comes to the planning of everyday's activities. The activities were various and not only were they tailored to offer something to everyone, but they were also a perfect opportunity for every volunteer to bring something else to the table. We had the inevitable Czech classes that were useful for the attendees, and even for myself, because they made me realize I am not as good as I thought I was, and that I must try harder. Other benefiting activities were the two types of workshops. During the first type, the trainers offered interactive lectures on various topics, such as: Czech history, politics, traditions etc. Due to the type of work I do at YEE, the first workshop I attended was the environment one, during which I learned more about Czech nature, environmental practices, laws and education for raising awareness. Because of this workshop, I got more familiar with the world I live in currently and the relation between this world and the work I do at YEE. The other type of workshop was entirely and independently carried out by some of the volunteers. Therefore, I learned a lot about organizing trainings, different methods of working with children, and even advices how to eat more healthy.

Every night, after the (rice and potatoes) dinner, we organized our own activities, since, as the trainers said, we were our own teachers. One night we played Werewolf (in a nutshell, a game where participants should lie and eliminate each other). Other night we used the hotel's trampoline. Some brave people even went swimming in the lake while it was raining. Most of the time we had music nights in the seminar room, provided by our Italian DJ. In a word – the fun was a great way to end a day full of productive activities.Another thing that the training provided was a visit to the closest populated place, the town of Horní Planá. This was a lovely opportunity to check out the surroundings and the local community, and to visit a supermarket after 4 days, where people bought food, gum and drinks (I'm talking about water, of course). For me, the biggest "aha moment" from this trip was the realization that I can walk 12km without getting too tired, which encouraged me to be more active in future.

I guess I should wrap this up, even though I have much more to talk about.

As a conclusion, I would just like to point out again the importance of this event for every EVS volunteer. The on-arrival training not only equips the volunteers with necessary and practical information about the world of EVS, but it also connects them with each other. As a result, when 24 people come together in the same place at the same time, a learning experience is inevitable to happen. For me, the most exciting aspect that occurred during the training was the intercultural learning, where a person can learn that cultural differences are not obstacles that put barriers between people, but on the contrary, they are a perfect opportunity for bringing people together. It is especially enriching to witness this in person. In this case, the experience was even more attractive since I spent several days with people who are in the same boat, so to speak. At the same time, most of them are doing different types of work and they have different EVS experiences. So, you have some who are active in the area of environment, some are working with children, some are doing sports as their volunteering activity. Simultaneously, these people create bonds that last longer than the duration of the training. Like for example, the volunteers from Prague went for a beer the day after their return. Also, next weekend I'm planning to go to Ivancice to visit some of the on-arrival people and I can't wait to have visitors in my current home in the Czech capital.

That being so, I will remember this on-arrival training as a very positive experience and an important aspect of my EVS adventure, and that is why I'm looking forward to the September mid-term training, after which I am certain that I will have a lot more to share on this blog.

Vladimir