Ahoj,
My July started with a little road trip to Salka Ferrata in Slovakia with my flatmate Leo and our mentors. To our surprise, Salka Ferrata turned out to be more challenging than we anticipated, but the views and the experience were completely worth it. After taking in the stunning views, which surrounded us, we went to a nearby town called Kremnica, where we took a stroll around the city and visited a free exhibition featuring children’s artwork and paper-built monuments created by a man who seemed to be the owner of the place. He was extremely kind and appeared to be passionate about what he did, so he gave us a little guided tour. After visiting the museum, it was time for our final destination of the trip: a lake, where we spent quite a bit of time before heading back to Bratislava.
Soon after this trip, I slowly started to prepare for the upcoming workcamp, “Bring Happiness to the Social Centre,” where I was one of the “leaders”. However, before that, Leo and I went out with another ESC volunteer and her friend. It was nice to just walk around and chat.
Unfortunately, right before the start of the workcamp, I had a few personal issues that, in hindsight, had already made me feel stressed and didn’t help in addressing the unpleasant challenges we all faced during the workcamp. I feel quite sad about this overall experience because I know many things should have been different. As unfortunate as it is, I don’t have the best feelings about this camp because, in some ways, it brought back unpleasant memories that I thought were long gone and resolved. But it’s okay because all of this is in the past now and doesn’t matter. One can only think that, given the circumstances, they did the best they could at that moment, and if a similar situation arises, they can do better next time, by learning from the past.
Despite the workcamp not being the highlight of my year, I am grateful that all the participants were very empathetic, smart, and kind people with various talents, that we all got along well, and that I had a chance to see the eastern part of Slovakia, as well as the High Tatras.
After the workcamp and my day off, I visited Leo’s workcamp for the Feast of Cultures and did some creative activities like painting and drawing on a hoodie, and together with a friend walked a dog from the shelter.
Several days passed, and it was time for mid-arrival training, which took place at Smolenice Castle on the 15th of August. There, we met other ESCs and learned how they were doing in their projects. We were fewer than at the on-arrival training, but we already knew each other, so we had a lot of fun together. During our stay at Smolenice, we also visited a cave and went on a small hike. I wish this weekend had lasted longer.
After this training, I went to see another free exhibition, met two amazingly sweet girls, spent time reading books at a cafe called Next Apache, and took a trip to the Danubia Museum, which is located on the outskirts of Bratislava.
Not so long ago, together with others, I said goodbye to Leo’s mentor, Matúš, as he was going abroad for an extended period. Ah yes, and another piece of news is that now we have a kitten in my family named Toska, I can’t wait to see her when I return.
See you soon, Eve! <3
