Smile and the world smiles with you!

Hello! My name is Eliza, I'm 26 years old, I'm from Russia, and now I'm a volunteer in Italy.

I'd like to tell about my motivation to be a volunteer. Ok, why did I decide to become an EUsolidaritycorps volunteer? Well, I always wanted to be a volunteer in Russia, but I never had enough time. I studied and worked at the same time, because I never wanted to depend on anyone. But now being here, in Italy, I realized that nothing is impossible, if you really want it.

I always liked helping people, and this feeling, when you realize you've done something good for another person, makes me really happy. In Russia we say: “Beauty will save the world”, but I believe that only kindness can save our world. So that's why I decided to become a volunteer. To do something good and useful not only for myself or my family, but for the whole society. And I think that if each of us starts doing something useful for our society, there will be no more problems in the world.

And now, maybe, you have the questions “Why Europe? Why Italy?” Well, I always wanted to travel, meet new people, learn about a new culture and a new language and this project gives a great opportunity to achieve all these goals. I really liked Italy and the Italian language, and since childhood I listened to Italian songs and watched Italian movies with my family. And then I found out about this project, I sent my application without any doubt, because I was sure it was my destiny. Yes, sometimes I believe in fate. And here I am!

And I expect to get a new experience, learn the Italian language, find myself, and understand what happiness means to me. And I think that everyone, who's in search of himself or his happiness, should participate in this kind of project.

My participation in the project started just 3 weeks ago, but I've already felt some changes in myself. For example, I never liked talking about my thoughts or feelings. But now I try to be more open, because participation in this kind of project means not only getting new knowledge or experience, but also sharing your thoughts and ideas with other people.

And the difference that I saw immediatelly after my arrival is that people are smiling around me on the streets. In Russia we never smile for no reason. And this is not because we are angry or bad people. No! We just believe that smiling for no reason means that you are crazy or very stupid. And in Italy, for example, a smile is just a sign of friendliness. I like this, so now I try to smile more often.

I don't know what will happen to me in the next 10 months, but I'm sure it'll be an unforgetable experience in my life!