I chose volunteering in Lithuania because I wanted to be part of a program like this one, working with youngsters and learning from them and the community. I studied History bachelor degree and one of my main goals was to becoming a history teacher in the future. So that’s why I wanted to be in a high school or a gymnasium working with pupils and students and learning from them.I have two reasons for why did I choose volunteering. The first one is because I like so much the concept about sharing different cultures and identities. I truly think that is a perfect way to improve our knowledge and culture, increasing some skills as empathy or trying to see other people’s perspective. The second reason is that the concept of volunteering means that you do the volunteer because it’s something you believe in. So if somebody do a volunteer he wouldn’t do it because of the money or something like that; the main reason should be that you truly enjoy what you are doing and believe that it’s important for the community and society somehow.
I decided to come to Marijampole because I wanted to live and learn from a Baltic country; I never had the opportunity of learning about this culture neither traveling nor studying it so that’s why. I refused two other options of volunteering in Brussels and Belfast because I knew these countries and their cultures more or less and I wanted to have a new a completely different experience. Marijampole is different from every town I met before. I come from Madrid, a really big and noisy people with five million people living there; so, I’m enjoying how quite and relax this city is, enjoying time with nature, with myself, learning and improving every day in subjects that I’m really interested in as photography or history of film. I feel that I’m not wasting my time but spending in the best way.
I didn’t have many expectations because I didn’t know much about this country and its culture. I’m enjoying the way how Lithuanians live by now. I had expectations about volunteering but I need to wait until the sanitary situation becomes stable again.
