Ahojte!
It’s September, and it feels weird, but so good, to be back in Bratislava. I’m happy to see all the people I like here: my friends, colleagues, and to take back some habits I missed.
I also realized there are only 3.5 months left until the end of my volunteering. At the beginning, I felt a bit melancholic and stressed about what comes next, but now I feel confident. I’m in a phase of my life where I accept that everything changes, and that’s okay. It’s part of life.
A lot is going on at INEX this month! We volunteered with Naše Mesto, where I painted a fresque with two other ladies. I loved it, really, and I would love to do it again one day. First, we drew with clay and then painted over it. We volunteered in a school, painting some wood, and have been preparing for tea meetings, bookbinding workshop, social media… We also did some gardening at INEX, had a nice presentation about the YouthPath with Barbi and volunteer in a music school where we were cleaning the windows and putting nice music decorations.
There’s a lot of work at the office, but it’s hard for me to stay inside. So, I started going again to SPOZA with my friend Tereza, where we played with two autistic girls. I also returned to volunteer in BROZ farm, and I’m really happy I can volunteer there regularly. I’m learning a lot and having a great time. They even have a baby puppy, I fell in love! Since my project for next year is to learn more about environmental protection, this is a perfect start for me 😊.
Autumn arrived slowly. I had cooking moods with lots of comforting warm meals and drinks… and then it started to rain. Autumn is here. Welcome!
On Saturday the 20th, we had Potaborka, the after-workcamp season evaluation. It was such a great day. I was so happy to spend time with Gabi and Peťo, my two dear co-leaders of the Slovak camps. It was also fun to hear Pedro and Matuš share their experiences. We shared a lot, and we also did the evaluation of the Leadership Academy with other participants (I received my diploma—houhou!). We ended the day with bowling, and afterward Gabi and I spent in the city center and gossiping (not too much actually) about the Kysak workcamp. It’s funny now and really good memories.
We also had a really nice evening with the tea meeting about Afghanistan, presented by Lina. Her story really impressed me and was so inspiring. It took me a lot of energy to organize it, but everything went well, and I was really happy about it. Some of my friends even came, which made it perfect.
And, this month, I started Slovak classes every Monday and Wednesday evening with Tereza, and I must confess, I love it. We’re a group of 15 foreigners, all learning together. It feels great, and Helena, our teacher, is so kind. She even told me: “Ty si dobrá študentka, Sarah.”
Now I’m preparing for Bookbinding Workshop Version 2, and I’m really looking forward to it.
Life is good here, I’m enjoying every part of it and I want to make the best of these last months.
Take care,
Sarah
