Report of the volunteer

About me:

My name is Hannah Kuegler; I am from Bamberg, Germany.

Why I wanted to do an EVS?

There are several reasons: First of all I did not know what to study after I passed this year’ s final exams. Second reason was that I never worked in the social sector before and with EVS I get the chance to see if I like it and whether this might be a work field for me in future or not. I would also like to mention that it is a great challenge for me to stay abroad for 1 year, learn about the country, culture, people, language, etc.

How come I came to Oradea?

I was interested in the eastern part of Europe for quite a while as I traveled a lot to the west but never much to the east. Lots of organizations offer going for example to Spain or Portugal but as I think people in the east e.g. in Romania are happier about a helping hand, I applied for going there. When I asked for going I had no idea about Oradea and I did not know anything about the link between my hometown and Oradea.

How I like it so far?

I am really impressed by the beauty of the inner city. I also enjoy meeting people in here because they are so much different than in Germany. They are more interested in what I am doing here, they are friendly and warm, and they always give you the feeling of being welcomed.

I also enjoy a lot going on trips to the countryside. The greenery and also the rural life in there seem really great to me.

What is my voluntary work about?

I am working in the BACH office (administrating and consulting office for handicapped people) which is part of the Caritas Catolica in Oradea. So far I am supposed to visit two disabled girls, play with them, take care of them. I have a lot of fun with these girls, as they are both so lovely. In the beginning it was hard for me to imagine me working with disabled children as I have no experience in this working field, but now I really enjoy visiting them as I know that they appreciate me coming to see them.

What I expect from this year?

I would like to find out a lot about the country I stay in, the people that surround me. When I’ m going to be leaving I would also like to have the impression that I actually "did" something useful in here. I also think that during this year, which I spend far away from my normal surrounding in Germany, I have the chance of getting to know myself better in some kind of way as well.