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Actually, I am over now with my adventure of the EVS, after nine months spent in Spain I can say that I did not expect ever before that I will get so many experiences and knowledge from my EVS. But that exactly happened, and because of this I have become even greater desire for new experiences and knowledge. I can not imagine my further life without participation in another action of Youth in Action Programme.

My work in the EVS has strengthened my conviction that I feel good helping people, I feel good in social work and working with children and now I am sure how I will direct my studies, work and life.

A good aspect of the EVS is the independent life, household and money management, it really teaches the independence … and I became independent.

I hope that these informations though some helped you understand how the EVS looks in Fonteta. I wish you good luck and wonderful adventure with European Voluntary Service Programme!

First of all, I recommend that you derive as much as possible from the culture and tradition of Spain - so beautiful and different from others. Be sure to visit the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia – the place very modern, in contrast to the historic Old City, which also is supposed to know thoroughly. See Corrida, which all over the world is associated with Spain, and find out, how much people in Spain do not suffer it.

As for the management of money, I recommend economy, especially in the early months when saving is easier, saved money will be useful at a later time, probably for the trip.

Work, have fun and remember that you will not get second chance to participate in the European Voluntary Service Programme.

Valencia - a city in eastern Spain, is situated at the Mediterranean Sea, and from the west, surrounded by mountainous terrain. Many immigrants live here and plenty of tourists arriving, attracts them, among other things, nice weather, which is almost always sunny. Summer in Spain is hot and during the winter the temperature doesn’t go below zero, so there is no snow, but because of the location of the city by the sea, here is very high humidity, and thus, the perceptible temperature during the winter is much lower than the real.

Valencia is famous for Fallas festival, it is a cultural event lasting two weeks in the month of March, in which participate all the inhabitants of the city and not only they.

Really interesting, modern and quite new place in Valencia is the City of Arts and Sciences. The complex consists of 4 buildings: Prince Philip Museum of Science, Hemisferic, Oceanographic and the Palace of Arts.

And of course, the necessity for every visitor is the sight of the Old City of Valencia, there are places such as: Torres de Quart, Torres de Serranos, Plaza de la Virgen, Lonja de la Seda and Mercado Central, to mention just a few.

From Monday to Thursday, the children finish lessons at school at 5′00 in the afternoon and some of them come directly from school to the library. From 5′00 pm to 6′00 pm, volunteers help some of them with homework and other kids read books. The next hour is available to children, they can spend it individually or in groups. Some of them still are doing the homework, others draw or do a variety of crafts, for example: they form a plastic jewelry. Some children use the internet and anothers play different kinds of games, such as board games or ping-pong. In summer, we go out with them to the park, where we play sports games.

On Fridays, we organize paint competitions for children or we project them movies. Sometimes, in the library, we have special parties for kids, for example: because of Halloween, New Year or Book Day.

In addition to working with children, preparation and ordinary cleaning the library, I also visit the nearby Old People’s Home where together with the residents we draw, paint, create or simply play bingo.

As part of my EVS, I also teach Polish and English languages groups of adults and children. Each of these lessons is done once a week in the library and is free of charge. Another EVS volunteer teaches informatics and mathematics, also free of charge.

The workplace of the Cultural Association Friends of the Library of Fonteta is a library for children, most of the activities take place here. The library is very well equipped, here we have got a lot of books (not only for children), computers, the Internet, many educational games and board games, puzzle, the collection of animated cartoons on DVD, the projector for watching them and the things needed for drawing, painting, workshop, etc., so the kids have a lot of fun in here.

This place is a great alternative for children who have the chance to spend time creatively here, instead of making troubles on the street.

The people who work here are mostly EVS volunteers and Spanish volunteers.

I live in a block of flats. The building is located on the edge of Valencia, in the district of La Fonteta de Sant Luis. From the window of my room, I can see the train stations, the park and the highway. The apartment is on the fourth floor, unfortunately the building has no elevator. The house is well equipped and quite large, has three bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom, I live there with a roommate - another EVS volunteer.

In this part of Spain does not exist something such as central heating, so during the winter we are using electric heaters, what greatly increases the bills for electricity, but fortunately the winter in Valencia is not severe and lasts a short time. The water we heated using the gas.

Fonteta is one of the districts of Valencia, is like a small town in a big city. There are plenty of shops: bakeries, greengroceries, supermarket, electrical shop, chemist, newsagent, tobacconist’s, etc. To all of them can walk in a few minutes, so the shopping is not any problem. However, we must pay attention that in Spain “siesta” is valid, so almost everything is closed in the afternoons. There are also a lot of restaurants, bars, banks, pharmacies, hairdressers and medical clinic.

Calling to Poland, I use the “Locutorio”, which is located near my apartment house, international calls are really cheap there. In “Locutorio” can also use the Internet but EVS volunteers use computers in the library where they work. The library, the church and the park are located in the center of Fontata.

In the distance about twenty minutes walking, there is a shopping center with many shops, restaurants and large supermarket. Near this center is located the City of Arts and Sciences - a must for every visitor of Valencia.

And if I want to go to the center of Valencia, I take the bus number 7, which arrives in every thirteen minutes, the trip takes about twenty minutes. Can also take advantage of the train, the trip takes about five minutes, but waiting for the train is much longer than for the bus.

The people in the neighbourhood are mostly immigrants, so it is a very intercultural area. They have a middle-low economic level. I like them a lot, they are very friendly and nice. I think, the neighbourhood is quite safe place.

Youth in Action is the Programme the European Union has set up for young people. It aims to inspire a sense of active European citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union’s future. It promotes mobility within and beyond the European Union’s borders, non-formal learning and intercultural dialogue, and encourages the inclusion of all young people, regardless of their educational, social and cultural background. Youth in Action is a programme for all young people aged between 13 and 30 years.

The Youth in Action Programme is composed of five operational Actions:

Action 1 - Youth for Europe

Action 2 - European Voluntary Service

Action 3 - Youth in the World

Action 4 - Youth Support Systems

Action 5 - Support for European cooperation in the youth field.

Youth in Action is a programme elaborated on years from 2007 to 2013.

The European Voluntary Service Project is Action 2. of Youth in Action Programe. EVS enables young people, in the age from 16. to 30., to carry out voluntary service for up to 12 months in a country other than their country of residence. It fosters solidarity among young people and is a true “learning service”. Beyond benefiting local communities, volunteers learn new skills and languages, and discover other cultures.

The aim of the European Voluntary Service is to develop solidarity and promote active citizenship and mutual understanding among young people. Non-formal learning principles and practice are reflected throughout the project.

An EVS project has three phases, the first one is planning and preparation, the second one: implementation of the activity, and the third is evaluation.

An EVS project can focus on a variety of themes and areas of intervention, such as culture, youth, sports, social care, cultural heritage, arts, civil protection, environment, development cooperation, etc. High-risk interventions in immediate post-crisis situations, for example: humanitarian aid, immediate disaster relief, etc., are excluded.

Participants do not have to know the native language of the country to whom they go, unless this is a requirement of the host organization, and what is important, they receive money for living expenses.

My home country is Poland. It is one of the largest countries in Eastern Europe, comparable in terms of area with Italy or Germany. Its population is estimated at approximately 39 million. In May 2004 Poland joined the European Union.

Poland lies in the temperate climate zone, in the north is confined by Baltic Sea and in the south by the Tatra Mountains. It is a country with well-established system of democratic government, with a rich history, great cultural heritage and beautiful landscapes, flora and fauna.

During the trip to Poland can not overpass Warsaw - the capital city of Poland and Cracow, Gdansk, Czestochowa, Auschwitz or the Tatra Mountains, and I also strongly encourage you to visit Lodz, an important city for me, one of the largest, located in the center of the country.

Tourists take great delight in seeing beautifully refurbished tenements and residential structures of great factory magnates – the real gems of Art Nouveau and eclecticism – as well as museum collections and unrivalled nineteenth-century industrial architecture. No trip to Lodz is complete without a stroll down Piotrkowska Street, the city’s pride and joy. Public institutions, banks and stores, restaurants, pubs, discos, antique shops, art galleries and cinemas are centred around this main promenade.

What is more, Lodz is an important economic, commercial, cultural, scientific,  educational  and health services centre that can boast both a long-standing tradition and recent achievements.

Lodz is widely known for the world-famous events held here: the Ballet Meetings in Lodz, Camerimage – the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, Explorers Festival, Alexander Tansman International Competition of Musical Personalities and “Golden Thread” – the Contest for Fashion Designers, to mention just a few.

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