I participated in an incredible volunteering mission in Latvia more particularly in Adazi in a private school with a very particular philosophy called Waldorf. During these 7 months spent within this mission, I had the opportunity to learn multiple skills, particularly in the field of teaching, but also to undertake and animate promotion presentations in various fields. When I arrived in October 2020 I was assigned to kindergarten I then had the opportunity to familiarize myself with Latvian but also the environment totally different from the one I was used to in France having never worked in a school or nursery school. It was a bit confusing at the beginning to get to make myself understood with the children but also to find my place in the teaching staff and as a volunteer not knowing exactly what to do and how to do it. However after a few weeks I managed to find my bearings and I was able to set up workshops with the children.
In addition, before the health situation worsened, I was able to assist the English teacher when my level of English had sufficiently improved and this for the classes from 5th to 7th it was a very enriching experience and I discovered a passion for teaching languages. Then from February, things accelerated with more awareness-raising projects outside of school. Starting with a presentation to the Riga Institute of Culture in order to present the French administrative system as well as the presentation of my region to students. Then in March I made an online presentation of the education system and finally in April with Alina the other Austrian volunteer of the project in collaboration with a local organization we made an online presentation of promotion of international mobility and in particular of the body European solidarity.These different experiences have therefore enabled me to improve my skills in organizing online events or simply to communicate in a language other than my mother tongue in order to share my knowledge.
As for my integration in the country and in the school: it was a little difficult at the beginning not speaking the language and not understanding all the customs of the country sometimes the Latvians do not appreciate that the foreigners do not speak Latvian and see this as a lack of integration effort. But after a few months I managed to get my bearings and I got used to the Latvian mentality and even made some local friends here besides of course the other volunteers I met during various events organized by the host organizations. .
Thanks to this project I was able to open up to a different culture and this despite rather unusual and restrictive conditions due to Covid, I also discovered landscapes that I had never seen before such as beaches under the snow or totally frozen lakes where people ice skates or fish. I also faced extreme weather with -24 ° in February how could I forget that.To sum up, this experience is very enriching from a personal and professional point of view. She taught me a lot about myself and what I was capable of doing. Thanks to this I acquired new skills in non-formal education and improved my English and opened up to other languages and cultures such as Latvian or Russian.
Projekts ir finansēts par Eiropas komisijas līdzekļiem