Unica Radio Raccontiamo la città che cambia
In this episode of the LIVE project podcast, we talk to Julie, one of our volunteers. She has recently finished her stay in Cagliari and is now back in her home country, Germany. During the last seven months, Julie takes with her many unforgettable lessons and experiences for life, which she shares with us in this podcast.
Julie decided to take a gap year after high school to volunteer with the European Solidarity Corps. She chose to apply for the LIVE project in Cagliari because she was interested in Human Rights issues. Also, the was attracted by the idea of volunteering in Italy.
Some time ago, Julie also lived in Argentina, so it has not been difficult for her to adapt to another culture. She tells us that although Italy is very different from Germany, living in Cagliari has not been a big culture shock for her. However, she highlights some characteristic aspects of Italian culture such as the mentality, the hand gestures and the custom of no cappuccino after 12 o’clock.
However, living abroad is not always easy. Julie admits that the beginning of her stay in Italy was a bit difficult at times and she had to face some challenges. However, she managed to overcome all these difficulties thanks to her resilience and the help of her friends.
After these months of volunteering, Julie has acquired many new professional skills such as how to use digital tools, knowledge of journalism, how to lead workshops, etc. Nevertheless, she has also grown as a person as she assures that she has gained more confidence and self-knowledge after these seven months. In addition, as well as a greater awareness of the different cultures and nationalities of the people around her during this experience.
Why she recommends volunteering
Finally, Julie encourages anyone to volunteer, both for the social impact it generates and for personal growth. She also suggests that living abroad is not for everyone and may be stressful for some people, but for those who are genuinely interested in living in another country and are open to new changes and learning, it is certainly a worthwhile decision.
If you are interested in other volunteering stories, listen to previous episodes of our podcast!
