It’s almost 7 months since the day I arrived in London, I can’t believe it. It seems only like yesterday that I was packing my bag, saying goodbye to my family and my friends, and saying goodbye to Italy. But on the other hand it seems like I’ve been here for a life time, it seems like I know this city and the people who live here for years, thanks to the lovely welcome that this city gave me.
I arrived in London on July the 28th, in the afternoon, a day that I will never forget. My dream was coming true! I was going to live in the city that I liked the most, and I was going there to do one of the things that I enjoy the most: a twelve months European volunteer project; I would meet people and help people, participate in volunteering events, work in a team and so many other things.
I arrived in London full of expectation, full of desire to learn new things and to meet new people. But I arrived in London also after a catastrophic flight. My flight was delayed due to bad weather, so after about 8 hours in the airport and two hours on the plane I arrived in London completely exhausted and disoriented. You can imagine my happiness when I reached the arrivals area and read my name on a sign. My European Voluntary Service mentor was there to pick me up and bring me to my new home. In that moment I felt relaxed, I was finally there and everything would be fine.
Indeed, despite some language issues which meant I didn’t immediately understand everything that was said, I was so excited about my new beginning, that in a few weeks I had completely settled down, both at work and in my personal life. I found a lovely house in Twickenham, which I share with two other flatmates. I quickly found new friends through my flatmates, the courses that I have started and the people I work with. I had been warned that Londoners are cold, and to expect terrible food and weather. In fact I’ve found London to be more beautiful, more exiting, rich and full of life and opportunities than I could have expected.
What surprised me the most was the organisation I have been placed in – Hammersmith and Fulham Volunteer Centre. I found the atmosphere was friendly; the colleagues are gentle, nice, and always ready to help you. My supervisor and my mentor support me in every step I take. I found a close, united team with which is a pleasure to work with. For the first four months I worked with the youth team, which worked with young people between 16 and 25 years old. I’m now working with the Core team which works with adults to find them volunteering placements in local community organisations.
My project fits perfectly in this department; the name of my project is ‘A Creative Journey towards Planning and Managing Complex Social Cultural Events’ and has as its focus the intercultural differences between my own country of Italy and my hosting country, England.
This is only the beginning. It will amaze you to know how many things I accomplished in this months. Also the amount of things that I have learned and the people that I have met is mind boggling.
In seven months I have achieved a lot of personal goals, but not without difficulties. I found problems with language in terms of communication, I found hard to relate sometimes to other young people, and I had difficulties with the new culture and traditions in London. With time I have overcome these obstacles so that after six months I can say that I feel I have found a new home, a new country and a new life.
I arrived in London on July the 28th, in the afternoon, a day that I will never forget. My dream was coming true! I was going to live in the city that I liked the most, and I was going there to do one of the things that I enjoy the most: a twelve months European volunteer project; I would meet people and help people, participate in volunteering events, work in a team and so many other things.
I arrived in London full of expectation, full of desire to learn new things and to meet new people. But I arrived in London also after a catastrophic flight. My flight was delayed due to bad weather, so after about 8 hours in the airport and two hours on the plane I arrived in London completely exhausted and disoriented. You can imagine my happiness when I reached the arrivals area and read my name on a sign. My European Voluntary Service mentor was there to pick me up and bring me to my new home. In that moment I felt relaxed, I was finally there and everything would be fine.
Indeed, despite some language issues which meant I didn’t immediately understand everything that was said, I was so excited about my new beginning, that in a few weeks I had completely settled down, both at work and in my personal life. I found a lovely house in Twickenham, which I share with two other flatmates. I quickly found new friends through my flatmates, the courses that I have started and the people I work with. I had been warned that Londoners are cold, and to expect terrible food and weather. In fact I’ve found London to be more beautiful, more exiting, rich and full of life and opportunities than I could have expected.
What surprised me the most was the organisation I have been placed in – Hammersmith and Fulham Volunteer Centre. I found the atmosphere was friendly; the colleagues are gentle, nice, and always ready to help you. My supervisor and my mentor support me in every step I take. I found a close, united team with which is a pleasure to work with. For the first four months I worked with the youth team, which worked with young people between 16 and 25 years old. I’m now working with the Core team which works with adults to find them volunteering placements in local community organisations.
My project fits perfectly in this department; the name of my project is ‘A Creative Journey towards Planning and Managing Complex Social Cultural Events’ and has as its focus the intercultural differences between my own country of Italy and my hosting country, England.
This is only the beginning. It will amaze you to know how many things I accomplished in this months. Also the amount of things that I have learned and the people that I have met is mind boggling.
In seven months I have achieved a lot of personal goals, but not without difficulties. I found problems with language in terms of communication, I found hard to relate sometimes to other young people, and I had difficulties with the new culture and traditions in London. With time I have overcome these obstacles so that after six months I can say that I feel I have found a new home, a new country and a new life.