Back to the roots

Hi everyone! I’m Julianna Höfler, I’m 18 years old and I’m an EVS (European Voluntary Service) – Volunteer in Debrecen, Hungary!

Though I’ve been born, raised up, living, and making my A-Levels in Germany, I don’t have a German citizenship. That’s the reason why:
A child, that has been born after 1st January 2000, whose parents are both foreigners, is German under these conditions:
...if one of its parents has a lawful residence in the moment when the child is born for at least eight years
...and if the parent has an open-ended right of residence at this time.
Regarding that I was born in 1996, this law doesn’t affect me. Children born after 2000, have the possibility to acquire an additional German citizenship. So I will do it after coming back, because I actually feel more German than Hungarian. Plus, it’s easier when you deal with official, bureaucratic issues.

So what do you need to know about this blog? I’ve never wrote a blog, but a diary, so I think it’s gonna be almost the same, maybe I just leave out the intimate details ;). After 6 weeks of my life in Hungary has passed, I really had the wish to write. First, I don’t want to forget what is happening here in this unique time of my young and (more or less) free life. Second, I really had the desire to reflect and think about my experiences, the people in my surrounding and me. And the third reason is that it’s really annoying and energy-robbing (Does this word exist? Well, from now on it does) that I have to tell every week at least 15 curious people how I am and what I’m doing. So from now on, if anybody asks me how things go in Debrecen-City, I will send this person this web-page (Hello, person with whom I did this two minutes ago, here you can read in detail how I am! These lines are all dedicated just to you. Ye, I’m so big-hearted, I know :o))

Let’s just answer one of your favourite questions:
Why did you want to do an EVS?

There are many different reasons. Most of my friends decided to travel around the world or doing voluntary work abroad. Regarding that I had no idea what to study, dependent me imitated them ;): Furthermore, I really wanted to take a break so badly of 12 years suffering of going to school.

In what kind of project do you participate? And why Hungary?

This was even an interesting question for me, and also one of the favourite questions from my family, friends and people I get to know. So read it carefully, because I won’t repeat myself (Not knowing that the next day I had to do so...).  Let’s do a little flashback. This is what happened before coming here:

When you have been given an assurance from your sending organisation, this is what happens next: Instead of offering you all possible project that may suit you, your sending organisation sends you one project after another. When you have a negative answer or you don’t want to participate in the project, another project will be sent to you. So for poor little Julianna, this issue is more stress provoking: “I dunno if I should write an application to that one...I like it, but not that much, and maybe there is a more perfect one...” Finally, she chose a youth association at KÖZ-Pont ifjúsági egyesület, because this association doesn’t focuses on only one project. She can not only teach german, but also go in different kind of social institutions and creating her own projects as well. That’s why she thinks that she can develop herself in a diverse way.

Unfortunately, she not just needed to decide in what project, but in what country to participate.
Hungary was the last country - after Deutschland and Österreich - she wanted to participate.
First, having Hungarian roots (almost her whole family lives in Hungary. Her parents immigrated to Germany in april 12nd 1990.), she already knew the culture, the language and the people there.
Second, she didn’t enjoy it that much to stay in Hungary more than one week. She really likes her family, but after one week family reunions, parents’ friends reunions and no internet, life gets really boring (Actually, in an interesting, diverse and dynamic world like this, boredom is just her fault...).
And the third reason is a result out of the second, which is also a result of the third. One of the most frustrating things in life is not being able to express oneself in a proper way. So by the time, she more and more tried to avoid any Hungarian conversation. By implication, life in Hungary gets boring.

But this summer in Hungary, she noticed something:

She liked the Hungarian people. She liked that they care about tradition. She liked that they are so hospitable and obliging. Well, and she also like their “easier” way of life and easier thinking. They think less perfectionist about their way of life, she felt that they try not to complicate things.

She liked the Hungarian language. It’s really difficult, but beautiful in her eyes. Juli wanted to express herself in this language. After all, Hungary was one half of her personality. Her family was her second part of her life, next to her friends. Her parents, especially her mother, had been struggling to teach her this language up to that point, and now she didn’t want to speak it?

So yeah, that’s the story how I landed here, in Debrecen, the 2nd largest city and the cutural heart in Hungary, . From now on, I’m writing about my experiences in my 5 months of EVS work. Enjoy!