ADVIT Moldova experience report by: EVS volunteer Ronja Wӧstheinrich, Germany

It’s incredible how fast time can pass by. Especially when you are doing something as great and exciting as an EVS in Moldova. So when I got the invitation to my mid-term training I couldn’t believe that I am already halfway through my stay here. But it is true and thus I took part in the mid-term training in May in Lalova, Moldova. During these three days we talked a lot about our so far experiences, problems we had encountered, our learning process, goals for the second half of our stay and even plans for the time after the EVS.

It was funny to see how we all mentioned the same things when asked what keeps annoying us about Moldova. Unfriendly shop assistants, packed mini busses, Moldovan slowliness and the „dress code“ were amongst the most frequent answers. Though we all have our very individual experience we soon noticed that many of us were facing similar challenges such as difficulties with finding one’s place at work. Therefore it was quite inspiring and helpful to share ideas and find solutions together. Beside the sessions we also had a lot of fun playing games, and energizers. We explored the village, ate a lot of very tasty traditional Moldovan food, went to a honey tasting and visited the monastery of Saharna. All in all it was a nice and instructive training.

Only after the mid-term training I realized how much I have achieved during the past three month; I am well integrated at my project, I learned to speak Romanian, I found a lot of friends and I even begin to adapt some of the Moldovan habits. I know that in three month I will have to leave and when I come to think about it makes me quite sad. But the happiness of having found a new home definitely outweighs this and I am looking forward to the coming months.