About one month ago we went, my colleague and me, to spend four days in the Hungarian Countryside to fulfill our duty/ or enjoy our right as an EVS Volunteer to have an EVS Club at our arrival, or close to.
Travel is paid (Except if you ask for a discount being under 26. In this case you will not be able to get a ‘samla’ (Invoice) and so your host organization will not be able to get your money back… Administration is always the best to create surrealistic and unimaginable rules in every country… I knew it but it’s still surprising me sometimes.) And nice because generally your first EVS Club is also your first occasion to travel around the country. For us it was. Nothing too complicated for me! Matthias speaks ‘magyarul’ (Hungarian) and there are loads of trains getting everywhere in Hungary (Even to Mártély and you can try to ask someone in Budapest if he knows it but don’t have too much expectations for a positive answer.). Sure those trains take more time than a brand new TGV (French high speed train) but they are nicer (As you can see on the pictures below.), generally more comfortable and less packed with people and even sometimes newer! And over all taking time to go somewhere IS something good… Yes, I swear it you should try.
Speaking about the place, Mártély, it's beautiful, close to the Tissza, calm and full of storks. Once again pictures can speak better than me.
So, what about the meeting in itself? I guess you already have an idea about what it was… Lot of speaking about intercultural learning, about EVS etc… Nothing really exciting in itself. Even less exciting because it’s was not new and some of the information we get this day have already been provided to some of us on the pre-departure meeting. I also was surprised to find in this meeting people that have already done the first one and who, consequently had been much more time in Hungary and must have been told the same things already twice!
Ok, I am French, I am complaining you must not be surprised. But what is (maybe) surprising is that I can recognize it was despite of those criticizable facts and maybe sometimes thanks to it this was a nice experience! Much different from the pre-departure meeting. Full of different people, from different countries, doing different things as a volunteer and in life in general, speaking different languages (some of them did not speak English which was good to try to promote the use of Hungarian in Hungary even between foreigners!)
Well all in all it’s worth it… Really! I felt like I was going back to Budapest even more aware that I have still load of things and people to do and to discover and that I could maybe some day be able to speak a comprehensible Hungarian!
Cultural day. Visit to Hódmezövásárhely's Emlé Pont
Cultural Day. EVS volunteers visit Szeged
Mártély
EVS volunteers at work!
