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It was a magical Tuesday, November 5, 2019, and the clock hands struck exactly 2:37 AM – a time when most people transform into their favorite heroes, dreaming of unicorns or donut castles. Some stick to “classic” dreams, falling into a rabbit hole and trying to soften the fall with their feet in the air, a fall that never actually happens. While they turn to their other side, hoping for an end to the terrifying thought of what awaits them at the bottom, I am sitting at the airport in Vienna. Since half of my life is packed in the suitcases next to me, it's hard to close my eyes and try to immerse myself in my own thoughts, even for a moment, even though my eyelids are bound by relentless fatigue. By seven o'clock, I will be sitting on a plane heading to my transit destination – Madrid, from where I will continue to the final destination called beautiful and unique Menorca. The island that is the first in all of Spain to experience the sunrise. And why am I flying there? The story somehow began to write itself when I decided to undertake a project within the European Solidarity Corps, before I decisively and irreversibly enter the world of regularly employed people. Anyway, to some extent, I think I attracted this offer myself. Already while studying for my final master's exams, I told myself that as soon as I finished, I would simply move to an island and try to find lost inner peace. You surely know that when I said these words, I didn't really believe it myself (after all, getting to an island isn't as easy in practice as it is to say it with full lungs), but one thing led to another, and after successfully interviewing for a volunteer position, serving as an English language teacher through non-formal education for children aged 3 to 15, how could I say no? Languages have been my passion since childhood, and the newest addition to my list was Spanish. It's interesting that some doors open without unnecessary pushing. As they say, what is meant to be, will be. I believe that fate sent me to this magical place for some reason (which I, of course, do not yet know). What will the whole year on the island bring me? That is a question we will answer together in a year.

But let's take it slower. Many of you have undoubtedly seen the term or abbreviation ESC – European Solidarity Corps, or in our language, European Solidarity Corps. To start simply: it is an opportunity for young people aged 17 (you can register at 17, but you can only travel for a project after turning 18) to 30 to spend up to 12 months abroad participating in projects in various areas – assistance in preventing natural disasters or projects focused on recovery after a natural disaster; addressing social problems occurring within communities; projects focused on migration: assistance in asylum seeker centers or other aspects of working with migrants, and many others… In the past, young people participated in the European Voluntary Service (EVS), which was part of the Erasmus+ program. However, since the end of 2018, ESC has become the main initiative providing volunteering for young people.

A certain difference between the previously functioning EVS and the current ESC is the fact that the European Solidarity Corps is an INDEPENDENT PROGRAM with ITS OWN BUDGET, while EVS was part of Erasmus+. As the name EVS already resonated at first glance that its main content was voluntary activity, with ESC, activities have expanded to include projects in the field of solidarity. In summary, in addition to voluntary activities and solidarity projects, you can undertake an internship or get a job within the ESC.

One of the main goals of projects organized under the auspices of the ESC is the benefit of the community and ultimately all people in Europe. There are volunteer and work projects of the European Solidarity Corps (but we will save this topic for next time). If someone has previously completed long-term voluntary activity (lasting more than 2 months) funded by the European Voluntary Service, they are not eligible to complete another long-term voluntary activity funded by the European Solidarity Corps! However, such a person can participate in other activities of the corps, such as internships, jobs, solidarity projects, and volunteer teams (volunteer activities for up to 40 people in high-priority areas). At the end of the project, the volunteer receives a certificate from the European Solidarity Corps, which confirms their participation in the given activity, known as Youthpass.

So that I don't overwhelm you with an enormous amount of facts right from the start, we'll have to save more information for next time.

You can certainly look forward to experiences and daily activities, which I will try my best to describe to you.

¡Hasta pronto!

The project is financially supported by the European Solidarity Corps program.