Hello!
My name is Adela and I come from Sweden. I am going to tell you a little bit about one of my favourite travels I have done while volunteering with the European Solidarity Corps. I am currently volunteering on an anti-bullying project called Boomerang - what goes around comes around, based in Sighisoara, Romania.I have been here for exactly ten months now on the day I am writingthis post.
I have always enjoyed travelling very much ever since I was a kid. I think it came from my grandma because she would often speak of her journeys to me, how nice they had been and how much she was looking forward to going travelling again. This awoke a curious flame in me that is still burning to this day. So naturally, when coming to Romania, I was eager to explorethe country.
I really recommend you go travelling when you are volunteering with ESC. Thereis more to travelling than just exploring the country. It is something deeper because it gives you the chance to connect to your surroundings, your thoughts and also to the people you have around on your journey. If you are going with other fellowvolunteers, then this will be an excellent opportunity to get to know them better.
What I also like about travelling is that it is a way for me to break my routine. During your ESC, just as during your job or your studies or whatever you are up to, you will eventually fall into a routine. This is normaland the feelingsregarding this can be very different dependingon who you are. Even though I enjoy havingmy routine, I start feelingthe need to break it after some time. It gives me energy. One of the moments when I feel the most alive is when I am travelling. I simply love it.
So I have been thinkingback on my journeys here in Romania.I have had a lot of good ones. However, everyone has those moments that stand out a little bit extra. One of those,for me, is a trip I made when I had not even been in Romaniafor one monthyet. It was August, and I was seated in a rented car with four of my newly made friends. One girl from Estonia, one girl from Denmark and two boys from Spain.We were going off on a one-day trip to the famous road in Romania, Transfagarashan. However, this was not the only thing we were going to see. Already in the car started the adventure of Romania. You just have to look out the window and you will see the beautiful nature and blurry people living their life through your car window. We put the music high and we sang all together in the car, it was a nice sunny day. Sunny days equals the need to drink water which later on equals stoppingthe car for a pee break. I remember this pee
break vividly.The minute I stepped out of the car to pee I sank down with my feet in some mysterious brown water and my new white shoes were wet for the rest of the day. But, you know, I had quite cute socks. The next stop on our journey was Balea Waterfall. If you have the opportunity to go therethen I really recommend it. I had never seen such a high and beautiful waterfall before. You have to climb a little bit to get to the top but it was reallyworth it. We had our lunch sitting by the waterfall in the sun. After this, we continued driving to Transfagarashan. It is a road in Romania that has a lot of turns, so driving there feels a little bit like sitting on a rollercoaster. After some time, we stopped the car and sat down in the grass to admire the view of the road. It was at this moment that I realized how the shape of Transfagarashan can be compared to curly fries.
There was a long traffic line all the way to the top, cars standing completely still. So we decided to leave the car at the side of the road and walk the rest of the way up. It was a good decision, going up Transfagarashan on foot. While walking we could really admire all kinds of views, like mountains, the sky - and let’s just say that some couple had gotten quite bored of waiting in their car.
On the top of Transfagarashan, you will see Balea Lake. I have seen a lot of lakes but this one is trulyspecial. The weatherwas perfect and the lake was so blue.
We jumpedonto a small piece of land on the lake (I didn’tfall into the water this time but I felt like a mermaid) and we stood there for some time, speaking aboutthings I no longer remember but that I am sure had some importance at this given moment.
After our moments of contemplation, me and Javi, one of the guys from Spain,decided to go on a zipline. It was fast and funny.I had never gone on a ziplinebefore. I recommend this as an energizer for future facilitators.
As my mum sometimes says - time runs by fast when you are having fun. It was time to drive back home, to Sighisoara. The driving time was delayed a little bit because of a traffic jam. Not any kind of trafic jam, oh no, a specialday requires a special trafic jam - cows! They were walkingin front of our car for quite a long time, and there was nothing to do but to listento the music from their bells. Ding dong, ding dong. But, you know, it is always nice after a long day full of good emotions to just lean back, take a moment to relax and observe the butts of cows.
You might wonder what it is exactly that makes this trip such a good one, and honestly,I am not sure. It was just such a nice day, seeing and trying thingsI had never seen or done before. I had a feeling that we were all united, close, even though we had only known each other for just some time. I was finally in Romania,and it was even betterthan I thought it would be. Maybe I was wrong earlier, travelling doesn’t make me feel alive. I am alive all the time, enjoyingmy life as an ESC volunteer. But travelling makes me see things in a new light, it makes me appreciate what I have and it reminds me of how grateful I am for being here,in Romania, Sighisoara, volunteering, and living.