It has been exactly 4 months minus two days since I came in Prague to take on my EVS adventure. It has been more than a year since I applied for this position at YEE. I still remember the great pleasure I felt when I got notified that I am selected to be one of the two EVS volunteers. I also remember the excitement I felt when I came face to face with the fact that I'm leaving my country and everything that is a part of my daily life (especially my comfort zone). Still, even though I felt the eagerness and anticipation, I knew that it is not 100% easy to give up your "previous life" and start something brand new from scratch.

In order for the sailing to be as smooth as possible, for me it was important to prepare myself in every way possible along with the help of YEE and my sending organisation YouthCan. Some countries even organise a pre-departure training. To put it briefly, the pre‐departure training's purpose is to make future EVS volunteers reflect on their stay in the foreign country, to enable the volunteer to handle his/her obstacles and challenges, and to reflect on the EVS as learning process. It is a good event that furthermore prepares participants to deal with the culture shock that goes hand in hand with this totally new world of EVS. Often times, the National Agency will also invite former or current EVS volunteers to share thein personal experience.

Case in point, during the past Saturday, I was a guest at this year's Czech National Agency EVS pre-departure training here in Prague. Specifically, I attended the part of the training where the trainees were given a chance to hear how the theory works in practice in my case, by listening to my presentation and by having a Q&A session.

As I stated in the title, this was really an experience where I get to share my experience and possibly even help people who are still having doubts about what to expect when it comes to their EVS. Of course, every volunteering position is unique, but still, it was good to pass my "insider information" to these people who are soon stepping into my shoes, more or less. In addition, this was also an unintentional way for me to reflect about the past 'four months minus two days' and to compare what has changed in and around me during this period. There are some things that I realised, but that will be a part of my next blog post, where I am planning to dwelve more on my so far EVS journey. Stay tuned...

I can summarize that this was a new experience for me (of course) that presented many possibilities, including the chance to practice my public speaking skills and the opportunity to be among more than twenty Czech people in the same place at the same time. Last but not least, I will use this opportunity to thank the Czech National Agency for organising this learning platform and for inviting me to be a part of it.

Until next time,
Vladimir