The focus is in front of you

- October 27, 2022

New country, new responsibilities, new people, new place to call home. Sometimes you can feel alone but this week we realized that we are not the only ones with those feelings. During our On-Arrival-Training, we met seventeen people who are also doing a volunteer year with the European Solidarity Corps. To be honest, first we didn’t want to leave Luleå. But now, we are glad we did.

During our project, we are having two trainings which is our right and obligation to attend. The first one is the On-Arrival-Training at Bromma folkhögskola. Basically, the main purpose of this training is to give us a good start of our time in Sweden as a volunteer. We got an introduction about the YouthPass and worked with our own personal learning objectives. We also discussed practical questions concerning rights and responsibilities for us as a volunteer. Therefore, we stayed four days at First Hotel Brommaplan in Stockholm. Twelve hours by train once more seemed like an hour. Departure was the 16.10.22 at 21:11. Our training started with a delicious lunch. At this point, I need to add that every meal was fantastic.

On Monday, we did some team building exercises and got an introduction course about Sweden. We had been happy to get into our hotel room in the evening. The Tuesday started with a wonderful breakfast. In the hours that followed, we talked about Stockholm. We had the opportunity to see some areas of Stockholm in the afternoon. Therefore, we were split into three groups. My group explored Gamla Stan – the Old Town. I won't say much more about it because I wholeheartedly recommend you to go. Nevertheless, the word "beautiful" fits it fairly well. For dinner, we bought some food from the Saluhall. Sadly, we couldn’t sit inside but after all a good thing. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to discover Paul’s Coffee & Bistro. A small traditional Swedish restaurant with lovely employees. Highly recommended for Fika, lunch or dinner. We ended the evening with a beer and cocktail at Tilt.

If you ever travel to Sweden, keep in mind that alcohol of any kind is substantially more expensive. On Wednesday, we talked a lot about Sweden in general. We attempted to spend as much time outside as possible while the sun was out. Nevertheless, we met with the National Agency. Their role involves selecting projects to be funded, monitoring and evaluating, supporting applicants and participants and more. In the evening, me and some other volunteers visited a concert at Folkhögskola. We enjoyed our last night together. Even though we had only known each other for three days, we got along great. We seemed to have known each other for at least three weeks. Because of this, saying goodbye had been incredibly difficult on Thursday at 19:05. Fortunately, it's just a see you later. Whether we will meet up during the midterm training or on a visit.

- by Alicia Köhler