My Journey as a ESC Volunteer in Vinnytsia

 Working in Ukraine My colleges from Pangeya Ulitma The working day of an ESC volunteer heavily depends on one's ambition and their NGO's projects. Some volunteers may have a typical nine to five job, whereas others may work primary in the evening. For me, it's a nice mix of both where I do get a flexible work day preparing to teach and run actives at night. Some of the actives and class are composed of the following: Language and Cultural Clubs My main activity for this project is preparing weekly language and culture clubs both in English and in Dutch. With these clubs I try to build a lesson plan based on the communicative learning method and instead of testing the students for prior knowledge, I give a small lesson on a topic related to either the Netherlands or an Anglo country. From this we learn interesting facts or new vocabulary that will lead into a speaking exercise. This will allow the students to have a chance to practice speaking either Dutch or English. First...

The Sound of Silence My Trip to the Small Sleepy Village of Stina     The Eco Centre When I first arrived in Vinnytsia everything was new and exciting. The people were new, the city was new, the project were new. Even the mysterious project of Stina, the rural development project run by Pangea Ultima, was new.During my introduction week. My new colleagues would express their feelings about how they experienced Stina. For some it was a rural get away, a chance to relax and unwind from the stress of living in a city can bring. For others it was a summer camping trip. Where outdoor actives ruled the day and almost always ended with a campfire, roasted marshmallows and scary stories. The final group expressed their feelings as if a great injustice had been committed. Their words filled with horror as they recounted their version of events. So, it was with these mixed reviews in my mind. I concluded that Stina would be like living in rural NZ with the same scenery and lifestyl...

Vishenka Lake Vinnytsia How my ESC adventure was started.  After the roller-coast ride of April, May and the life shattering month of June 2020. I found myself lost and wondering what to do next. As a graduate of International Relation finding work was all ready changeling enough before COVID-19 came along and decimated my back plan of becoming an English teacher. Thankfully a good friend of my recommended ESC and to have a look if there were an interesting projects that might combined my passion for politics and my newly acquired skills in teaching. What is ESC ESC stands for European Solidarity Corps and allows young people between the ages of 18-30 to partake in projects set up NGO around Europe and surrendering regions. ESC is a sister initiative of Erasmus Plus and helps  Central Shopping Street Vinnytsia simulate mobility and intercultural corporation with and within the EU. Participants can choose from a wide variety of projects ranging from 3 months to a year. The topi...