The man of our international family left us for one whole week. We already had to say good by to Juan, whom has definitely left our group, but this week we also had to miss Jonathan. He made a journey to a far-away place: for one week, he exchanged Baia Mare for Skopje, Macedonia, to attend an international seminar on the state of Civic Engagement in Europe.

Four stayed behind, but were far from quiet. They celebrated a special week among girls. This ladies-week quickly lost one of its members, when Cecilia also took a break from her experience in Baia Mare. She flew to Berlin. Here she spent few days enjoying a free life with a good friend. Three amazing girls remained in Romania, and carried the project onwards; they continued the activities.

No Hate Speech and Human Rights were the main topics for the older kids. In our classes with younger children we decided to be more creative. Here, we guided the creation of a special calendar with which the children can learn the days of the week, the months and the seasons, all in the English language. We extended this activity and repeated this creative education in the orphanages, where we counted on our amazing coordinator, Alina Pop, for translations.

Support is our middle name in this adventure with YMCA. During the consultation-meetings in Somcuta and Cavnic we were the supporters. Our aim is to encourage further civic engagement. We really hope to maintain a feeling of being an active part in service of a better world. We want to take this feeling with us when our time as EVS-volunteer is finished, and we will proceed our lives, steering towards new adventures.

Our beloved coordinator Alina was the centre of attention during the consultation meetings.

Meanwhile, we can smell that the ending of this experience is coming closer and closer. We are determined to make the best out of our remaining time. After all, we still have a rough two months to go. So many great things can happen in two months! It is a shame that our dear Angelika will leave us at an earlier instance; she will start to build her future as a student in an Austrian university already in the last week of march.

But don’t worry, she will not leave before the 20th of march! If you are sad, dry your tears, you can still find her when she gives her own workshop, every Thursdays at 7pm at strada culturii 7A. Everyone should learn her traditional Austrian dances! For the ones that want to learn Italian, Cecilia will be your teacher. Don’t skip this opportunity and apply for this workshop which will take place in the same address all Tuesdays at 5 pm. Is Italian not enough for you? Do you want to learn or improve your English? Jonathan is your solution. You can find him all Tuesdays, at the same address at 3 pm. Interested in Learning the small but powerful Dutch language? You can contact him, and he will help. If you have investigated Austrian dances and Italian and English lessons and you are still unsatisfied, Barbara has a huge idea but she needs more hands. In the end of February a large event is going to take place in Baia Mare. The integration of refugees in Romania is the main topic of this occasion. This is the opportunity to talk about a problem that affects everyone. The event will be about people, about rights and about stories. If you want to be involved, either as a volunteer or as a participant, don’t hesitate to send a message to Barbara! Soon you will be able to find more details about her event on the Facebook.

We invite everyone to join our workshops. We hope to welcome large groups of Romanian and international people in our workshops. Together, we will learn new things!