EVS experiences. The volunteer Camila Bocca, sent by Mundus to Lisbon, tells us what her first weeks of Portuguese adventure have been like. Camila is participating in the project "Together We Can", in the CED Santa Clara, a shelter for boys and girls, managed by the Portuguese association Proatlântico thanks to the European funds of the Erasmus + program.

DECEMBER 2018

December has been a really intense month. Many different things have happened. We begin the first week of the month by attending the training on the arrival of volunteers in Almada. Almost half of the volunteers who attended were from our association and were very close to home. Even so, I had a great time because I met these other volunteers (from the association and others) and we did many different activities. To finish this amazing week we made a farewell dinner.

In the pesto of volunteering, December was almost entirely about Christmas: we made Christmas cookies, put the Christmas tree, visited the Vila de Natal, etc. On 27 and 28 we went to Areia Branca and had a very special moment, collecting seashells and visiting Peniche.

To celebrate New Year's Eve we made dinner for all the volunteers who were in Lisbon and, in reality, we had about 20! During the afternoon of 31, we cooked and said goodbye to 2018. After dinner, we went to the city center and celebrated the NEW YEAR.

NOVEMBER 2018

The beginning of November caught us dressing up for Halloween, which was a lot of fun since we were all volunteers together deciding what to wear, how to put on makeup, etc. And the rest of November did not disappoint.

At work, every day it became easier, since the boys and girls began to trust me and I noticed that they enjoy the time we spent together. This month I started organizing activities for teenagers every week, like "Cozinha", "Jogos de mesa" or "Cineforum". They liked this a lot, so I asked them to keep doing this kind of thing.

As it has rained a lot this month, we have not been able to visit as many places as I would have liked, but it has also been fun to stay at home with the rest of the volunteers to do "homemade things" together.

It has been a pleasant month and I am looking forward to knowing what awaits us in December.

OCTOBER 2018

On October 1 I arrived in Portugal. It was the first day that I had the opportunity to meet many other volunteers who were here to do different EVS programs.

This month we have been doing active Portuguese classes with our teacher Fabio to be able to introduce ourselves to this new culture, and little by little we have been learning this language, which seems easier than it really is. The rest of the days, we have been trying to discover Lisbon and its particular places, which has been really exciting and challenging.

Last week I started working at the foster home with children. We are trying to meet them and know more about what they like and what they don't. This is also a challenge due to language, but I am willing to find out!

So far, I am looking with this experience to get to know new people and learn everything I can.