Longing for more - First impressions in Bulgaria

Zdraveĭte!

I am Luca, a German volunteer who is doing two months of voluntary service in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, at the "Active Bulgarian Society" (ABS for short) on behalf of Visioneers e.V.. Two weeks have passed since I started my journey - time for a reflection...

I arrived in Blagoevgrad, my new home for the next two months, with high expectations and great anticipation. Having just arrived, I was immediately able to make the acquaintance of my new roommates, who are already like family to me. I would never have thought that people from such different countries and cultures could get along so well. In addition, we all speak English with each other, which is not even the second language for some here.

After my first few days on the job, I quickly realized that it's up to you to get the most out of your volunteer service. Every volunteer has the chance to plan his or her own projects, promote them via Facebook and Instagram, and then carry them out together with the other volunteers and young people from the city. This also creates the opportunity to meet new people outside of the volunteer service.

Of course, the absolute highlight for me was my trip to Istanbul. Due to the good location of Bulgaria, it is possible to make many great trips to other countries such as Turkey or Greece. There are also wonderful cities in Bulgaria, I was told by the other volunteers, and I am already looking forward to seeing as much of the country as possible. I hope that the next few weeks will be just as exciting and thrilling as my early days and that I will have many more great adventures!