Flashback

My journey as a volunteer might have ended but I don't really want to have a "goodbye" post! 

It'd probably start with "One of the best things I've done for myself." It says all, right? I remember in the trainings we asked ourselves: "Does a volunteer receive more than she/he gets?" My answer was yes and I can easily say that it turned out I had the right feeling about that. 

But what did I receive? Now I'm asking myself.

Well, so many good memories that I can't count, new friends (or sometimes just a few-hour talk with a person whom I found inspiring), a foreign language, freedom to travel (damn you again non european passport), self-confidence after seeing that I can actually live on my own... That dinner, that laughter, that look, that hug... All the little things count! And having some time to think what you really want to do with your life is one of the best things about doing Evs.

I remember mentioning my "big jump" survival plan at the very beginning. So this was a huge one! I'm sure that for some volunteers who have had the chance to work/study in an international environment before, volunteering abroad means no radical change. But if you're someone with fewer opportunities- means that you're living in a small town, or you don't have enough money/a job (the combination is the worst I know), all I can say is just get out of there. 

I'm not done here yet. Still learning Spanish, still figuring "my way" out... 

And last but not least, working on a small "project" of my own:) 

http://askenglishout.yolasite.com/

So.... Let's call this a flashback post!

the one with the fish that is not "going with the flow"

the one with henna

the one with the lunch at Helena's place

the one with "you never know what is expecting you in Ecocompartimos" :D

the one with my Aupair friend Sinje! miss you girl:(

the one with the cutest demonstration I've ever seen

the one with the first poster

the one with "Omg, how am I going to organise all these?"

the one with celebrating Kurban Bayramı with a bunch of strangers:D

the one with our international meetings

the one with baklavaaaaa

the one with the Halloween party

the one with "when I was Chinese..."

the one with "Just bread!!???" hahaha

the one with Thanksgiving

the one with Don Quijote

the one with "dance for no reason:)"

the one with sleeping at the airport

the one with the Belgian waffle

the one with Monet

the one with the beautiful streets of Porto

the one with the flu

the one with the birthday present

the one with LOVE

the one with our new young friends:)

Thanks for all, Ecocompartimos!

Youthpass? NO!!!

Hey y'all! 

I'll whine little bit if you excuse me:/ :/

This is the time I'm supposed to write (or finish writing) my Youthpass aka "What did this girl learn from her volunteering experience?" It's a certificate that you may need in the future while applying for jobs. Well, in theory...

To be honest I'm not so excited about that. Let's imagine that I'm mentioning this certificate during a job interview to gain some extra points, in Turkey aaaaaand most probably the person has no idea about Evs let alone Youthpass. And I'll explain it all but it'd mean nothing to her/him. Unfortunately the "culture" of volunteering in Turkey is really poor. 

Hmm you volunteered? So what? Not worth a fig! Tell me about your "real" work experience.

But that's not the point right now.

The problem is that I can't really express the things I've learned or the change I've been through so explicitly. It's not like "I've raised my stamina to 8/10 from 5/10." We're not in GTA!

Well, I've written some stuff like "She learned Spanish, she learned how to manage her time or money (lieeee)"

What am I supposed to write?? I've always hated writing an essay assignments at school. I feel the same about this. 

Here's what I've learned:

A

L

O

T

ugh....

I'm really stressed these days. I mentioned not being able to get the work permit, yet I'm still paying visits to Extranjeria<3 a thousand times a week for another reason (nothing is certain yet so I'll just keep it to myself) 

Yeah nothing is certain. I have exactly 12 days left till my flight back to Turkey. Last days... but instead of enjoying it I'm here waiting for an answer to something that I'm not even sure if I really want to do. BECAUSE THERE'S NO TIME TO THINK! 

Have at least 5 different plans at the same time whatever you call them, A or freaking B. Life is full of surprises. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

If you go swimming for example, bring along marshmallows too. Either you can treat yourself while sunbathing or roast them over a campfire in the middle of the pool in the case that aliens are that thirsty to drink the pool's soul up. 

Being a Non-EU citizen in Spain...

...means that the officers in "Extranjeria" think they have the right to scold you and treat you like dirt.

Unfortunately, lately I've been going to Extranjeria in Toledo to get information about the work permit process. I've found a job but apparently it's not possible for non-EU citizens to get the permit.

The requirements are crazy!! First I've been told that the institution that authorizes the work permit are going to search for a "better" candidate which means you're most probably going to be replaced by a lucky bastard who is from an EU country and be left empty handed after all the effort you've put in (like wtf!? I'm the one who got accepted!) And then (exactly, today) a really really rude and miserable woman (whose life is probably as miserable as herself. This much hate towards someone who just asks something in a nice way can't be explained in another way.) told me that "You have to have a close family member who has residency in Spain." 

Well, the rest is...

"Ask Rajoy!!" (after the question about the irrelevance of having a family member with getting a job)

"I've told you! Don't ask me the same things all over again!"

"Then go to Germany!" 

"You can't make a phone call inside. Get out!"

You should've seen her "Go back to your pathetic country, lady!" look on her face when I told her that Turkey is not in the European Union. (She asked me because she had no idea)

Now I'm going to see if I can make a complaint about these officials, somehow. I know it wouldn't change anything but I can't just sit here and do nothing. It isn't the first time that I've been treated by them like that. 

in conclusion/Turkish,

"Lütfen, al ülkeni başına çal ulan!!" 

Porto-Lisbon trip 2

Hello again! I'd like to continue with the second part of my trip. 

After a 3-hour train ride, I was in Lisbon, ready to search for my hostel and then meet one of my friends from Illescas, Esteban. He had already been there for days and explored the city, so he was going to be my guide! Well, we found out we were going to be in Lisbon at the same time like a week before the trip :) It was a nice coincidence

No need to say that I practiced Spanish a lot! thanks to him

On my first day, we wandered around and looked for a place to view the whole city at sunset and got lost a lot haha

the very first photo in Lisbon

the streets were decorated for some fiesta

no idea what this is! something religious:P

one of the "miradores"

The next day, I attended this free walking tour that I found very boring because of our historian guide (sorry not sorry) And then met Esteban to go to Belem. You need to take either train or tram, there's no metro line that takes you there. I liked the idea of (a lovely and old) tram ride, anyway! This part of the city was so quiet, and cold. But definitely worth seeing. Once you sit in front of the Belem Tower and watch the sunset with the cool summer breeze on your face, you forget you're tired or hungry or you've got 99 problems like everyone else:p

they are called pastel de nata portuguesa. so yummy! not so sweet, not so creamy. meant for me:)

i really wanted to visit this museum but we were late:( 

officially we have lovelocks in 3 different countries now! :)

such a luxury! these people all in white were dining right in front of the Belem Tower. can't express my jealousy level -_- 

and the tower of Belem

I spent my last day at Sintra, with my lovely Brazilian friend, Thais whom I met at the hostel. Before she asked me if I would join her or not, I had no idea about this beautiful place (quite ignorant, eh?). I'm glad that I've seen it before leaving Lisbon. It's very very far from the centre and once you get there you need to take a bus to reach the park and the palace. I wasn't expecting to see a big tourist population but apparently it's a popular spot (which is cold and far as hell). 

On our way back, tiredness haunted our young bodies:p So, I returned to the hostel just to grab my bag and without wasting time headed to Porto to take my flight. 

Pena Palace

paradise

Although I liked Porto better, I think it's not fair to compare those two to each other. They're both lovely in their own way. Just pay a visit and you decide!