2024. március 22., péntek

Alessandra here

 

Hello everyone, Alessandra here! 


Since the last blog post, a lot of events and experiences have happened. As I reflect on the past month, which have been an emotional rollercoaster, experiencing both moments of joy and challenging moods, writing this post is an opportunity to own and understand my feelings better. 


With the arrival of spring across Budapest, I'm struck by the realization that my time is here is going pretty quickly and I'm reminded to make the most of this city with only couple of months left before starting the next chapter of my journey.




Over the course of the past two months, I've had the opportunity partecipate in not just one, but two meetings with fellow volunteers from various cities and villages of Hungary. 

These gatherings, interactions and discussions were important experiences to reflect both over my projects and my overall life here in Budapest and gain a deeper perspective about the broader community I'm a part of.

These encounters have not only broadened my horizons but have also provided me with invaluable insights and inspiration that will undoubtedly shape my endeavors moving forward.


In addition to the plenty of events over the past few months, one of the best moment that was truly joyful for me was the arrival of my best friend for a visit. The arrival of a friend always comes with an air full of laughter and shared memories but the visit of my bestie is particullary  special since our friendship, which lasts since kindergarten, holds a special place in my life, so it was not just a pleasure but a important experience for me to welcome her into my world here in Budapest, sharing with her every aspect of it: not only the city itself, but also the flat and the shop (and Vilma! Of course). Since she is soon living to the distant lands of Japan, I am really grateful to have been able to share even this chapter of my life with her, yet here was also a sense of sadness in saying goodbye, knowing that it would be some time before we could be together again. 

2024. január 26., péntek

Hello everyone, Alessandra here :)


I hope all of you had a good beginning of the year and made through this really challenging month. Even if January is been such a long month (lovely weather, no?), it’s almost coming to an end and I can’t wait to be closer to spring! 



For Christmas holidays I went back in Italy (the picture on top it’s the beautiful sea of Maratea in the South of Italy!) for about ten days, and it was really nice but coming back to Budapest was better than expected! When I was home the reality of Budapest felt so distant, almost like if the last few months here were just a product of my imagination. Once I stepped out of the metro from the airport everything felt so familiar and I realized how much I have learned in the previous months. In the last few weeks I noticed that now I am able to recognize words, customers at the shop and starting again with the daily tasks made me feel like I really know this place better and I am definitely feeling more confident. 




This month me and Vilma also made a little day trip to Vienna. Such a beautiful city, elegant and classy, but it’s NOTHING compared to Budapest! This city is so alive and full of opportunities that I can’t wait to explore in the next months. 

Also, this weekend two of my friends from Italy are coming to visit me and I can’t  wait to show them my favorite spots around the city (and of course the shop)! I am really happy to share my life here in Budapest with them and hopefully the weather will be nice! 


Anyways, that’s all for this month! It’s always great to share the little but big changes as the time passes by…

See you next month :)

Alessandra

2024. január 19., péntek

Hello blog, volunteer Vilma here!


Totally crazy that we have already reached the time for my second blog post. That is the advantage of occasionally writing a blog post, because you get a chance to look back and think about everything you have experienced. This is also one of the reasons why my New Year's resolution is to keep a diary as often as I can. So that I can remember my time here.

I went home to spend the holidays at home with my family in Sweden. I really enjoyed meeting them and celebrating Christmas together, especially since this is the first time I've been away from home.



Now it is the beginning of January and I returned to Budapest a little more than a two weeks ago. This time it was a great feeling arriving in Budapest and being able to recognize places and the names of some the streets. Especially compared to when I first arrived when things definetly felt a bit confusing. 

Right now the weather in Budapest is quite bad, cold and rainy, but it is January after all. When you think about it, it's kind of silly that January is always the first month of the new year, because the weather is always so bad. However, I feel grateful that it is at least not as cold as in Sweden, where it is below freezing almost all of January. But to be honest, I'm also looking forward to some sun. Come on?! Just a little streak of light would be enough! Anyway, I hope that during my time here I get to experience slightly warmer temperatures. It feels like you can't get a fair picture of a city without seeing it in both summer and winter.

However, the advantage of January in my opinion is (as it is the first month of the year whether we like it or not) that due to the bad weather you have time to focus on making your everyday life as pleasant as possible and plan for the new year. In that sense January is a bit like a rip in time. Having said that, I have a lot to look forward to in the coming months, such as my family coming to visit me. Hopefully one of my friends will also come to visit a little later.

To conclude, I would like to say that I'm very happy to be back and I hope that you who are reading this have had a good start to the new year as well.











2023. december 5., kedd

Hello everyone, I am Alessandra, one of the new volunteers of Filantrópia Charity Shop!

My first moth here is just come to an end! In September I finished my thesis for university and I was exploring some future options because for sure I didn’t feel like starting a master’s degree right away ( a pretty common and usual thing in Italy). Anyway, a friend of mine shared her experience as ESC volunteer back in 2019, so I stated to explore projects on the portal; one day, I joined a Facebook group about ESC project, and I found the incredible world of Profilantrop! As soon as I read about this organization, the project, the shop and their mission I understood that this was the perfect project for me! I was really happy!

Now that I am here I realize how even a small decision can change the course of your life: if I didn’t randomly joined the group I would have never found this project! And who knows were I would be now! The “buttefly effect” is really crazy.




I am really grateful to be here now because since I arrived I felt so welcomed and at home thank to the sweet and kind Giuliana, former volunteer and my roommate, and to Zsuzsa, who gave me the opportunity to be here and start this new adventure, she welcomed us with her family and shared a beautiful experience with us tradition, such as preparing zakuszka.




I can’t wait to spend the next six months here exploring Budapest!

See you next month :)

 Alessandra





Hi, My name is Vilma and I am one of the new volunteers at the Filantrópia Charity Shop!




Since this is my first blog post, I thought I'd start by giving you a short background on myself and how I started volunteering.


This spring I graduated from high school in a small town in Sweden where Iv'e lived basically all my life. In high school I studied social and behavioral science and I also volunteered as part of the Red Cross Youth Association since the beginning of 2023. I have always been interested in people and personal development and had always considered the possibility of volunteering abroad as a way to combine both of these interests. So I decided to take what is called a "gap year" or basically a year off from doing anything school related to dive deeper into the world of volunteering.




I spent the summer at home, and in the beginning of September I went to Spain to participate in a team volunteering project that I found through the European Solidarity Corps. Together, I and the other volunteers painted a mural at a local hospital. I learned so much from this experience, even if the project was barely a month long. Both from all the interesting people I met but also about what it's like to live with other people in shared space and to do everything as a team. I knew that I wanted to continue volunteering when I got home, but this time I wanted to try a longer project. As if by chance, I scrolled past an ad on Facebook about the Filantrópia charity shop and not long after that the plane ticket to Budapest was booked.


Now I've been here a month and the strange thing is that I can hardly describe what I've done since then. Of course, I've also met a lot of nice and interesting people here, participated in workshops, been to some Christmas markets, went sightseeing and for the first time in my life bought my own washing detergent. Crazy right?!! It's been a lot of new impressions to say the least and I think it's only now that I can actually go to the grocery store without feeling overwhelmed by all the sounds, people and a completely foreign language. Important to mention is that I have had amazing help along the way from my flatmates who gave me the warmest welcome, Zsuzsa and Betsy from the store and my friends and family in Sweden who have supported me since day one.


2023. szeptember 28., csütörtök

Röviden és velősen, de főleg könnyesen. Viszlát Filantrópia



Kedves Olvasók,

Az én munkásságom is a végére ért Filantrópia szigetén. Őszintén, hihetetlen, milyen gyorsan elrepült ez az év! 

Emlékszem, az első Budapesti napomon Beci várt az önkéntes rezidencia előtt:)) aki nem csak akkor segített nekem, amikor ideadta a lakás kulcsot és megmutatta hogyan nyílik a lift és hogy természetesen mindig le kell küldeni, hanem háborút szítunk a szomszédok között (ez egy nagyon trükkös lift volt), hanem az itt töltött hónapjaim minden pillanatában. Mindig ott volt a felvigyázó keze a háttérben és terelgetett az élet útján. Köszi Beci:)))

Vegyes érzelmekkel vágtam bele ebbe az évbe annó, de felűlmúlta az elképzeléseimet! Persze számítottam egyre meg másra, de ennyi szép emlékre és csodálatos emberre nem. Kezdhetem Núriával, aki anyukám helyett anyukám volt itt Budapesten, abban a néhány együtt töltött hónapban, majd később Irene, akivel egy nagyon vad és eseménydús évet bonyolítottunk le. Sírás, nevetés, mérgelődés, minden is volt, de így volt szép és igazi. 

Ez az egy év alatt mindent is csináltam!      

 Láttam a pápát:)))

Filantrópia Adománybolt születésnapot ünnepeltem.

 Hajóláda Műhelyt tartottam, meeeg farsangot ünnepeltünk.

Hazautak hétfőnként a Morriból.

 Növényeket gyűjtöttem, majd aztán el is ültettem őket.

Nagyon sokat lomtalanítottam, erre Irene haragudott is:))

Sünis zokni meg növények.

Itt rájöttem, hogy mennyire kicsi vagyok.

Kilátások a teraszról.

Múzeumba jártunk. 

Sokat jártam a Citadellához.

Fashion show.

Megnéztem III. Károly koronázását (szörnyű volt. hosszú és unalmas, meg szerintem nem volt elég csilli-villi sem)


Botanikus kertet varázsoltam a rezidenciából.

Csomagokat vadásztam a Westendben Irenevel. 

Vacsorákat szervetünk a barátaimmal. 

Mindezek mellett nem csak emlékeket, hanem tapasztalatot is gyűjtöttem. Megtanultam, hogy a kedvesség és jószándék előbb vagy utóbb mindig megtérül az életben, ha ez nem lenne magától értendő. Ha tudunk adni, mindig kell és soha ne ítélkezzünk emberek és helyzetek fölött. Legyen az egy kedves szó, egy szelet kenyér, egy ölelés, akár egy pulcsi amit már amúgy sem hordasz. Soha nem tudhatod, hogy a másik személy min megy keresztül az életben épp. Mindezért köszönet Zsuzsának és a Filantrópia Adományboltnak!

Röviden, megnőtt a hajam, de méginkább megnőttem én is (nem szó szerint, annak már semmi esélye), mint ember ennek az évnek hála!

Köszönöm mindenkinek!

Millió puszi, Móni💖