This was one
of the most interesting and fun periods during my stage in Romania.
It started by me and 3 other
volunteers from my project going to the city of Rasnov for our mid-term
evaluation.
We went a long way traveling from
Resita to Caransebesh through Bucarest and at the end reaching the place near
Brasov where we were stationed in Hotel Monterai Resort-Poiana Brasov.
I immediately fell in love with the
place since it is stationed around a beautiful natural landscape surrounded by
mountains.
The receptionist was nice and they
gave us individual rooms that were very cozy and comfortable.
We had to start with our midterm the
very next day but, because of the old bad where I was sleeping back in Resita,
I had severe lower back pain and I could not even move in the morning, which
forced me to miss the first half of the first session.
During the second half of the
session, one of the trainers visited and encouraged me to come and although all
the pain I did.
Although I had some minor
difficulties at the beginning I loved our sessions because for my luck I met so
many interesting volunteers that I have so much in common to speak with.
Also, the sessions were the best
ones from all the trainings that I had so far because the activities allowed us
to interact with each other individually way more than I ever had the chance to
do it before and speak publically, which gave me a lot of confidence that I was
lacking in my life and also the chance to interact, learn more and become
closer to the other volunteers.
On the second day, we had to choose
outdoor activities that involved exploring the city of Brasov or exploring the
nearby forests and mountains.
And of course, I've decided to go
and check out the beautiful city of Brasov with 2 more volunteers from my
project.
It was kinda late and night time was
coming but, that didn't stop us to see all the interesting places in town.
After our mid-term evaluation
finished I decided to stay a couple of days in Brasov and explore the city. I
went to stay in one of my friend's house with another volunteer and during the
days we went exploring the nearby places.
I went to see Rasnov Fortress and
Bran castle and one day we went hiking in the place called ''The7 ladder
canyon''. Every place was amazing for me and I was very happy that I had the
chance to explore such interesting places while meeting very interesting
people.
On my way to see Bran and Rasnov, I
met a very interesting artist named Adian Voinescu who took me for a free tour
in The Haunted House near Bran and made me a portrait for a present.
When I went back to Resita full of
positive energy and satisfaction from my adventure in Brasov I immediately
started with volunteering.
I continued searching for and developing
programs that included games and exercises that included teaching and using the
English language for the schools that we visit.
Meanwhile, I also went on an amazing
trip from Oravita to Anina that took place on the 8th of December which was kind
like a protest action organized by a local NGO to preserve the train line which
the government was discussing on closing it.
Schools:
The places that I've visited and the
children that I worked with most of the time were:
Primary school ''Generala2'', School
for children with special needs ''Primavara'' and Primary school ''Traian
Lalescu''.
Methods and techniques:
Primavara
I was visiting Primavara in the
mornings where we helped the special teachers and psychologists with their work
while simultaneously learning a lot of methods and techniques for children with
special needs and disabilities.
And in the evenings we played
physical games with children like hot potato and bowling.
Semenic
Kindergarten
In this kindergarten, I focused more
on teaching English words for colors animals and ect...and sentences through
fun games and lessons suitable for the students there accompanied by a lot of
energizers, exposing them to the language through the natural approach.
Traian
Lalescu
In this school, we used interactive
methods with a lot of energizers and fun games. We also always had one Romanian
volunteer with us that translated the activities from English to Romanian so
the children can comprehend them better.
Materials used:
Worksheets, color-pens, Modified
games from a copy of the book of ''Alliance100 ways to energize groups: Games
to use in workshops, meetings and the community'', various sources on the
internet.
