What’s it like to go away from your daily routine and volunteer in Serbia? Read Sofia’s story 💚
What’s it like to go away from your daily routine and volunteer in Serbia? Read Sofia’s story 💚
Sofia is from Italy and has long been dedicated to working with refugees and immigrants. At 32, however, she felt it was time to break out of her routine—just under a year ago, she decided to leave her old life behind and set off for a year abroad in search of new experiences. So she joined ADRA’s international humanitarian volunteer program under European Solidarity Corps. And now we get a glimpse into her year spent in Serbia. 💚👇
My year in Belgrade is coming to an end, and the moment of leaving is a bittersweet one, filled with gratitude for what has been and the inevitable weight of letting go. It is also a time for reflection and evaluation, as all endings tend to bring with them.
Looking back, I see a year in which I learned, day by day, to feel part of another place. Some things came naturally, while others required time, patience, and commitment; and for others still, I am learning to accept what it means to be a foreigner in another land.
I realize how paradoxical this year has been. On one hand, it was relaxing: I slowed down the fast pace of my life in Milan and stepped away from work responsibilities to dedicate a year to myself and to new learning for my career. I had time to build new friendships, explore new cultures, take care of myself, read, travel, study a new foreign language and practice others, and nurture my passions.
On the other hand, it was incredibly intense: speaking another language from morning to night, learning yet another one, seeking and building new friendships and relationships while staying connected with family and lifelong friends; organizing trips, integrating into a new office with new colleagues and responsibilities, attending various trainings, and exploring the field of social project design.
What do I take with me now? I take the experience of being a foreigner in another country — something deeply meaningful to me, as I work with immigrants in Italy. I take improved English and some Serbian, the skills I have developed, and the experience I gained in project writing. I take the richness of having worked with people from different countries, the memories of summer evenings watching sunsets, of winter Sundays spent cooking Italian or Serbian dishes together, and the experiences of travelers from all over the world — or simply travelers in life — whose paths crossed mine for a moment or for a year. I take with me a version of myself that is more in touch with my deepest desires and changed in other ways too.
What do I leave here? First, I hope I have left behind good memories for the people I crossed paths with — some for a brief moment, others for a whole year. As a professional, I brought my perspective, my commitment, and my willingness to learn, with the hope that this has been — and can continue to be — valuable for those who hosted me. Because it is precisely these simple yet meaningful encounters that, in a time of global tensions, can become small seeds of peace.
The Humanitarian Volunteering for Solidarity Activities project (No. 101140258) runs from February 1, 2024, to January 31, 2027, and is co-financed by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed in this text are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the grant provider (the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency). Neither the European Union nor the grant provider are responsible for them.
