A
few days ago, while talking with a friend of mine at the Miradouro de
Santa Luzia, one of my favorite places in Lisbon, she
turned irritated and exclaimed:" Tiziano you have
been in Portugal for 20 days and you still make these mistakes:
it's Percebo not Percebisco!!" 20 days? She was right, I arrived
on 4 September and it seems like yesterday! In less than 2 days
I have known all the volunteers arrived with me including my small
but great roommate Enric from Spain. There are volunteers from every
part of Europe: Croatia, Hungary, Italy, and many from
Spain. Different people, different reasons with a great will to
do something good for themselves but especially for others.
What
I'm talking about? The European Voluntary Service program of the EU
for theinternational mobility that allows us to get to know young
people with different cultures and gain new skills and abilities
useful to our personal and professional development. I was selected
for a project promoted by the Associação Mãos do Mundo - Animation
Social and Psychosocial Support. This year there will be many
projects to be realised: visit disadvantaged people and prepare
strategies to resolve their problems and give practical
answers, cooperate with partners in the social network of
Carnide (is a zone in the municipality of Lisbon)
organizing events and entertainment during the major festivals all
through promoting new channels of communication of the Association.
In
these first days we are dealing with entertainment for children and
young people in the Feira da Luz under the coordination of our tutors
Mafalda and Marta. I'd like to take advantage of this post to thank
them for giving me this chance and believing in me.
I
obviously have fantastic collaborators, Valeria, another Italian
volunteer and my first real teacher of Portuguese language. The other
volunteer Giulio was here only for a few days but I was really
pleased to get to know him (don't worry, he's doing great: he just
left because he had a very good job opportunity back in Italy...one
of the few lucky employed …good luck!).
Do
you really believe that we only work? Naaaaaa if you want a party
every night here is possible! There are concerts every night,
festivals of all types, especially wonderful evenings
organized by volunteers. I will always remember the party of
"Bem-vindos" organized by the group of volunteers who
arrived in Lisbon several months ago. Thanks guys de Rua Cidade de
Cardiff!!
Thanks
to them I learned the most useful Portuguese words: PRONTO,
POIS, and finally my favorite FIXE!!( Please Aneta I need your
help)
Sorry
but now I have to say goodbye..I’m going to listen and feel the
Lisbon autumn!
Tiziano
O voluntariado é um
conjunto de acções de interesse social e comunitário, realizadas
de forma desinteressada por pessoas, no âmbito de projectos,
programas e outras formas de intervenção ao serviço dos
indivíduos, das famílias e da comunidade, desenvolvidos sem fins
lucrativos por entidades públicas e privadas. É uma actividade
inerente ao exercício de cidadania que se traduz numa relação
solidária para com o próximo, participando, de forma livre e
organizada, no contributo para o desenvolvimento social e combate a
problemas.
Em
comparação com o dia em que visitei Portugal pela primeira vez,
para começar o meu Erasmus, desta vez não senti um choque cultural
e linguístico, até pelo contrario, cada vez que volto a Portugal,
sinto-me bem como se estivesse na minha casa.
