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Hi everyone! Angela Maria here.
It’s already been a month and a half since I’ve been here in Mrachenik…
I arrived on January 31st, these days have passed very quickly. I feel like everything I’ve done so far has helped others but especially me. I feel calmer, more confident towards others and especially when it comes to English. I learned to live simply without too many comforts and above all without particular technologies. I adapted very well to the cold and snow of Mrachenik, I was not at all used to these temperatures, it was difficult for the first few days but I had everything I needed to face the cold. For the first month here, I mostly watched and learned everything there was to do: how to post on the website, on various social media, how to chop wood with an axe, how to uproot plants, and much more. My companions patiently assisted me along the way, and even when I made a mistake, they welcomed me with a smile, calmly explaining how to do it the right way. I’ve always been very attached to nature, but I’ve never been so’ immersed in it. I am so grateful for this, for the clean air, the water from the spring, the local tranquilizer and the kindness of the people, always ready to offer their help.
In February, I was given the job of social media manager, because I was always ready to take photos during our work, to capture the moment and have a memory of it. So for about three weeks, I’ve been working on stories and social media posts, helped by Roni who does the editing.
But the big responsibilities came in early March: I’m the leader of the month!
This means being more punctual, more autonomous, more everything. I have so many tasks to follow and so many things to check at the end of the day, this makes me even more focused on work and makes me think less about my personal concerns, which are often so strong that they override everything else.
I like being the leader, even though I’m afraid of doing things the wrong way, I know that this opportunity makes me grow, become more confident and raise the bar for responsibility: I’m no longer a child, of course I’m only 21, but I have time to see the world through the eyes of a mature and adult person. I really want to do, these weeks here have encouraged me to do so much more, of course I have things to finish at home… like a degree in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation! Speaking of which, together with my companions we are learning Bulgarian, and as a language enthusiast, it can only represent a great opportunity for me. I love the idea of being able to talk to as many people as possible, of course I will never be a native speaker in all the languages I study, but for now, I just need to have a basic conversation.
Another thing I’ve learned to manage, is anxiety: I’m here, I’ll be there for 3 months, I don’t need to know what’s happening at home, or what I do once I get back. I’m also aware that I’m missing out on so many good moments with my friends in Italy, but I’m building so many memories for myself. And this should be worth more than anything else, doing, learning, discovering, just for yourself.
I have the opportunity to work on a personal project, so I tried my hand at something that others have always told me I’m very good at but I never believed in it enough: writing.
I was already pretty independent before, again there is having to shop for a whole week and manage the money myself for the whole month. I have to admit that it’s not that complicated.
Even cooking for myself was already among my habits, here I discovered new dishes and combinations of ingredients. Another habit I had was making pizza on Saturday nights, I do the same here too. I love sharing pizza with others, the only difficulty at first was letting the dough rise despite the low temperatures.
What can I say?!
I love this place, I am immensely happy for the people I found, they are all amazing. I feel so good here that even though I miss home, I don’t want to go back right away. I want to fully enjoy the time I have left here, learn more and have other experiences, to enrich myself and be able to tell so many beautiful things when I return.
Especially now that the days are definitely hot and the sun shines every day, I can enjoy even more all the activites we do during the week.
Thanks for reading! We’ll talk in just over a month for the final evaluation.
-Angela Maria
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