ESC midterm seminar; flowers, food and people!

For the first time for my travels I used the 9 EUR ticket, which worked perfectly with 5 changes until the last train was late. However, the organizers helped me to find alternatives and reach the seminar location safe and sound. The welcome at the house, where we would be living for 5 days, was warm and happy, and I was feeling that I was going to have a very good time.

NaturKultur e.V., the organization responsible for the midterm seminar, was the best in every sense of the word. All the participants had a warm welcome, comfortable accommodation, high level of organization and management. But all this was combined with very friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

I cannot tell in every detail what we were doing and learning all those 5 days, as the text will get too long, cause I want to speak about every small detail I experienced during this seminar. So I am going to tell about my highlights.

Und los! One of the main highlights of the seminar was food. There was a special team from Croatia, which was responsible for cooking. They were doing it wonderfully and we were tasting love in every dish we were served those days.

The time spent and the information exchanged during the seminar was important and very helpful. The representative from Jugend fur Europa, the German National Agency, did her best to answer all the questions and guide the participants as much as possible. During one of the workshops I made a presentation about Solaris FZU, the German organization in Chemnitz I am a volunteer at, expressing my admiration and gratefulness to Solaris, which makes my life as a volunteer in Germany fulfilled and complete. I spoke also about my personal experience with the Cigna, the health insurance which provides service to the European Solidarity Corps volunteers. Based on my experience with Cigna, I can confidently mention that it is the best health insurance for the volunteers in different countries, as you get professional and quick service. As I was having really complicated health issues soon after my arrival in Germany, I think I couldn’t continue my ESC volunteering if not Cigna health insurance as well as the team of Solaris, which supported me and helped to overcome all the difficulties. If you want to know more about my experience or you have questions, you can contact me personally, I would be happy to share my story and help if it is possible.

The participants were also guided in their decisions about the future after the ESC service. We were presented various platforms and options in case some of us want to stay in Germany after the volunteering and continue their life here.

The seminar was a good balance between must-have activities, free time and open space for skill sharing. On the last day of the seminar we carried out a local action to contribute to the local community. Personally I was involved in the constriction of the flower bed, where we later planted vegetables and plants. I have never done such activity in my life and it felt very responsible and exciting.

And the people, the most important part of any meeting or initiative! The organizers, the participants from more than 5 countries; thanks to them I had one of the best weeks in my life with unforgettable conversations, walks, experiences. Bremen midterm seminar will always stay in my memory as one of those special events, which make you feel and appreciate the life more!

Thanks everybody for making this for me and reading my article!