Sveiki! My name is Kristiāna, I am 25 years old and come from Latvia. Starting from March 2017 I do my long-term EVS here for 11 months.
At home I had several jobs like organizing different youth events, being a mentor for a disabled girl, working on non-formal education projects with children and working in research projects in my faculty.
I decided to come here to learn about eco-building, which I am especially interested in since I have studied environmental science. Here I was able to organize the eco building work camp. It gave me the chance to see both sides: the organization’s and the participant’s point of view.
I also wanted to experience living abroad. Here at the camping I enjoy the life in an international community and a totally different lifestyle than at home in general. I have the opportunity, space, time, resources and freedom of initiative to implement my own ideas. Moreover, I can involve other people and share my skills and knowledge with them.
Apart from eco-building I had the opportunity to try permaculture gardening, I was organizing children activities about nature and environment. I was also giving workshops on human impact on environment during the Youth Exchange project. Furthermore, I am participating in the daily tasks of maintaining the campsite- cleaning and cooking.
For me EVS is not only about the activities. It is also about adapting to a different living environment and taking a look on my own life from a different perspective. We cannot choose the people we live here with. So, we have to be able to make good relationships and learn not only to accept but like and appreciate the people around us for being whoever they are.
