How volunteering can influence your behavior?

 Do you have a friends who lived abroad and acquired some typical characteristics of the country where he/she was in? Maybe before recollecting them you have remembered your first long-term trip to another country. And probably after that you saw some changes in your behavior, which was expressed in the communication with your friends, relatives or by initiating something.

I just remembered my friends who were living abroad with different projects of Erasmus+project, and after returning I noticed, how my friends have been changed: from being an introvert and to an extrovert, active, sociable, initiative. These changes are for personality-wise but in this topic I would like to share more about habits that you can acquire while being in another culture. And I want to share several habits, that I obtained on my behavior since I am volunteering in Germany.

In different parts of the life we are changing, or we are trying to change ourselves positively, and to acquire new and helpful things as much as possible. Of course, we don’t always succeed, there are negative or let’s say ineffective things as well, but I will share with some special habits that I had due to volunteering work.

So my routine habits

1. To separate trash

Perhaps the first thing that I like here is separating trash. In Armenia we fill all types of trash in one general sack and dump it. We didn’t invest yet some complete strategy that is why the problem is becoming more visible especially during the strong winds.

Constantly we are listening from TV, that government has a new project for separating the trash, that we need to make a new project for solving the ecological and environmental issues, that we have caused the of intense use of plastics. I didn’t imagine which kind of project we need to invest to change the people's behavior. Because it seems like a complicated process for thus countries where citizens don’t have such habits. But I just imagine, that if many students like me would have an opportunity to live in developed countries and to acquire such habits, probably we would solve some part of the problem. In any case I will try to keep my habit after returning home.

2. Maybe I will apply to make a relevant way for it in Armenia

I don’t know whether I will continue to drive a bicycle in my country or not but I would like to. I really enjoy going to work by bicycle on the morning. Maybe I will buy a bicycle in Armenia and will put up on a few square meters in our yard. Of course It’s possible to find some flowing space to driving a bicycle, but I don’t guarantee about my life.

3. How you can motivate every morning

In Berlin every morning people read books by using the time more productively and effectively. We also read books in the bus, but only when we are preparing for exams. But here you can see all people reading from younger to older. And it motivates you to read as well having an motivation during the day.

4. You have to be punctual here

Here everything loves punctuality. You can be late from the bus just 1 minute and lost it for anywhere, but in Armenia you can be late from bus 10 minutes and wait 10 minutes more. At first it was difficult to adapt with this regime, but now it became usual.

5. About the relax in Sunday

The first day when I arrived in Berlin it was Sunday. I went to buy something on the morning and I found the stores closed. I thought, that it’s holiday. After walking in several km I asked somebody, and got to know, that they don’t work in Sunday. Just imagine how that was my first impression from Germany by staying hungry all day. And because my town is a bit away from city center, I hadn’t an alternative way. At first I remembered traffic jam in store on Sunday in Armenia and just started to laugh.

But as I figured out later it’s good firstly for relaxing, without spending all day in the shops.

Now I am going to work by bicycle, I am reading books in the train, and I am arriving on time. It speaks about punctuality, efficiently and availability, that can give you volunteering.

Share in below with your habits, that you acquired due to volunteering.