EVS Mid-term Training in Izmir

As a couple of months ago we had on arrival training, on March it was the turn of mid term training which took place in the warm Izmir. It was a pleasure to see again all the EVS volunteers I met in Istanbul and update each other about our projects and future plans.

The mid term training is a bit shorter than on arrival one and basically cover topics such as how to evaluate your EVS experience, fill the youthpass, communication empathy and since you are closer to the end of EVS it also includes a personal action plan.

We met on the first day in the evening and we had a welcome and team building activity. The next day was about the different type of learning process such as visual, body, verbal, social and logical. This activity allows us to clarify what and how we learned during our EVS. We discuss in little groups about it, sharing information with each others. Finally, trainers gave some tips about how to write the youthpass, which was useful for me because I'm going to write it soon.

In the afternoon we had a cultural visit to the ancient city of Ephesus and the lovely Sirince. It was a pleasant sunny day, discovering the beauty of Turkey.

The last day of the meeting was quite full, first of all we had a session about communication which helped us to understand why is it difficult to communicate with people who has a different perspective than us. After this, I think the most useful topic was took into account. Trainers help us to evaluate our EVS, starting from the expectations we had before coming and ending with the learning outcomes. The confrontation with other volunteers was key strategic in this point, it allows me to clarify my ideas and find out that I did more than what I expect.

Finally, EVS is not for life, it will finish soon for me and it is important to be aware about future opportunities. We were asked to think about our future goals in life, to make a SWOT analysis of our situation and then to connect goals and swot analysis in order to create an action plan. It was quite difficult to think about it because on paper to plan your life looks easier, but again to speak with others volunteers is helpful, because they are young people as you who are sharing the same experience and doubts about the future.

I think I appreciate the mid-term training more than on arrival, maybe because it was on the right period for me and it help to tie all together what happened during my EVS. I'm very hopeful for the future, still I'm not sure if I will continue in this field but in case, I know lots of people who are interested in cooperation.