16. februára 2014

To be a volunteer




To be an EVS-volunteer for me - it's not just a type of work, it's a new life with the length in 9 months. And I want to tell about 10 the most important sides of this life.

    1. Place

The first new thing for me was the other landscape around. Instead of the usual buildings of industrial city, now every day I see the historic city with its famous castle and beautiful nature.

 
    2. Language

You are a volunteer and you want to make a good communication with different people? It means you should train your brain to change the speaking language several times in a minute.  Sometimes I have to use Russian, Slovak and English in one conversation. My lessons of Slovak language help me not to be crazy of these speaking tricks :-)
Multi language groups

    3. Community
Before coming to Slovakia I was afraid to be "an alien" between people of other country. I imagined all of them very strict and serious, and prepared myself for the worst. But it was not true! All people whom I met here were very open and ready to help me with any problem, and all team of KcA was attentive and friendly to me from the first day. I’m happy to be here!

    4. Work in KC Aktivity
  Dance with little kids.  Dance is my life! I started to dance in the early childhood and I don’t remember myself without dance. That’s why expectedly dance became the one of my favorite topic. In Ukraine I mostly danced with adult people so here I prefer to get new knowledge about kid’s dance. Now I help in dancing groups of 3-6 years old kids. I learned new technics of teaching using games, topical songs and various props.  It’s opportunity to remember my childhood and look to this experience from the other side. And these kids are so nice! Especially when they try to speak to me and tell something about their life. I can’t understand them but it’s not important – I can communicate with them without any words.

My first choreography for 3 years old kids
 Experience to be a teacher. “To teach children Russian (my mother language) - what can be easier?” – I thought when I was at home. But from the first lesson with a russian group of young people I understood the difficulty of this work. The whole hour I tried to explain how to tell this or that and why I use this form not the other one, and I start to think: “”Really, why?!” But now it’s became a habit. For every meeting we prepare some presentation or short projects about living in Slovakia or Ukraine and of course a lot of language games – the favorite part of each lesson!
 Creative workshops in Laugaricio.

 Every month together with KcA team we make in a shopping center Laugaricio a special creative program for children. It includes several workshops according to one theme and painting on faces. My first workshop has been on Halloween. I turned into the Witch and helped children make a “Witch’s house”. From the next month I started to paint on faces – it was completely new activity for me but cooperation with children brings me inspiration to create. Every month I’m looking forward for this day!
I am a Witch!


… to be continued ;-)