Reflections on my EVS experience with Solas Project

I still can’t quite believe that I’ll be leaving in a few days and that my time here in Solas Project has come to an end. It feels like only yesterday that I started my EVS in Dublin and I must say I’m so glad I chose to do the European Voluntary Service! During my time here, I met many interesting people from all over the world, made some really good friends, and enjoyed living in the Irish capital city. I learned more about the Irish way of doing things, which is a lot more laid-back compared to what I was used to in Germany and that’s one of the things I’ll definitely take home with me. Another thing I’ll probably keep doing is drinking black tea in the mornings and/or afternoons (which is funny because before I came here I hated black tea).

I really enjoyed the work with the children in the Senior Afterschool Club and I feel sad about leaving now after finally having built such a good relationship with the 15 children in Club. To be honest, it took me a few months to actually gain their trust and to build that relationship with them and now that they opened up to me I actually don’t want to leave. Of course, I want to see my family and friends in Germany again, but at the same time I feel like Dublin has become my second home and I definitely feel sad about leaving here. Now that I think back about my whole year here, there were so many new and interesting experiences that I still can’t believe everything happened in “only” one year.

A big thanks to all the staff in Solas Project who were very helpful during my whole time here, who helped me adjust into living in a new country and helped me settle in the workplace and environment here. I’ll miss you and I hope to see you guys next year!

- Sandra