April 18, marks our 1st week in Metlika, Slovenia. It is both our first time in Europe and as you would know, our Europe experience started before we even got here –way before. I would say it started for me when I first heard about the chance to come here under the EuroAsi Program. It has since then sparked a great interest and enthusiasm in me, about traveling and voluntary work. Even from that moment, my mind started to wander and think about all the possibilities of coming to a new place, meeting new people and learning new things. Perhaps, even if we did not get approved, the opportunity alone has already opened my mind in some way. But… we did and here we are.
In between all that of course, was a lot of coordination with TDM 2000 International, my fellow EVS and Job Shadowers, a lot of inquiring with embassies, a lot of researching (including weather forecasts for the next 3 months, how to pack for cold weather, etc.), to get from that point to here. Like I said, my experience and learning have already started then. I have met a lot of new people in Boracay and have gotten familiarized with what seemed to be such an inconceivable and dreadful process –applying for a Visa (as a Filipino). And with the help of TDM 2000 International and the rest from our local organization, we got approved. And oh the excitement we got, from knowing we were going to take 3 flights and some land travel half way around the world and live there for the next 3 months –it was priceless.
So, 3 flights and 4 hours of land travel later (about 30 hours of travel in all), and a lot of “I still can’t believe this is happening” speech at every…single…airport, we arrived in the town center of Metlika, where our home for the next 3 months would be. We were picked up by the organization’s past president and welcomed by the EVS coordinator and our two Indonesian counterparts. Later that evening, we met the other EVS participants from Bosnia, Greece and another EVS from Indonesia, who we will be sharing the house with. At the end of the day, upon checking our cameras, we’ve taken about 1,000 pictures in the last 30 hours alone. Haha! If that isn’t excitement, I don’t know what to call it. 😀
We then settled into our cozy room, adjusted our clocks and alarms to the new time zone, and took our much needed rest. It was then a beautiful first morning. I have always been a sucker for (cultural) diversity –there is nothing more beautiful to me than that. Starting to live here, with different nationalities in one kitchen and talking about our differences over breakfast is just one of the best treats for me. We had our orientation at the Youth Center and we were given the rest of the week to go around the town and meet the locals.
Before I knew it, I’ve met more people by the end of the week, than I have met in a whole year back home. And it’s amazing because this region, and more so, the Balkans (the majority of people in this town) is known for its/their hospitability; but you never really know what that means until you come here and you get stopped along the street and get invited to have wine and some bread at a nearby place with the locals and get fixed up a seat by the fireplace; you never really know that until you randomly get stopped over by a car and are offered a ride home –even if it were out of their way. You never really know that until you are offered to be shown around the place, or their winery, or their farms, just because. I was really overwhelmed by their warmth and genuine interest in us and in making us feel welcome simply because they are like this as a people. And to learn about this group of people and their culture this way, from first-hand experience, from being offered their home-made Rakijah and toasting in their language and being taken care of by such gentlemen who know how to take care of their women, is really to me, one of the best experiences in my life. Also, meeting all these people has really boosted my confidence and got me over my hesitations in meeting people. It has improved my conversational skills and has widened my interests. People skills, I think are the most important skill to harness as it opens a lot of doors for you.
Aside from meeting the locals, we were shown around the sights of Metlika and other nearby towns. And that, that was a whole different story. As if the beauty of the people were not enough, the wonder of the place was really pushing it. Haha! Funny, because I remember a time before I came here, when I told people I was going to Slovenia, they had this tone and facial expression when they talked about how beautiful it was –like it was exceptionally beautiful. And this tone and facial expression was consistent with everyone we talked to. And the place, let’s just say, it lived up to that. It IS exceptionally beautiful. And I say that now, that I have only seen the highway. Haha! And Metlika –my initial reaction to this place was that it resembled those made-up cities for Hollywood movies –like the buildings were made of cardboard and were only 2-dimensional. The people –few as they were, looked like the company didn’t have enough actors to play townspeople (so few people here). Even the police looked like they were in costume. It was kind of hard to believe the police had anything to do in such a small, quiet and peaceful town. But…they were real policemen. That’s how unreal and almost magical the place looked, really. I couldn’t describe it any other way.
And that sums up our first week here in Metlika, Slovenia. So much has already happened and what really excites me right now is that this is just the beginning.
Chanieli, filipino EVS volunteer in KUD PLAC, Slovenia
