Little walk of life

Where to Begin! My name is Terezia and I am 25 now. I live in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. All I want right now is to share some information about a relationship with a very special person. A relationship that has started somewhere in the beginning of September 2015 in Magdeburg; a quiet and somewhat grey city in East Germany. You may think that it already is a bad, since I described the city as grey. That assumption wouldn’t be wrong at all. However, I must tell you that that is not the case. My year in Magdeburg was actually amazing! It was one of the best things that ever happened to me so far.

But how is that possible, you may ask? As you know, people do not simply fall in love with places, whether green or grey, cheap or expansive. We like places because of the people that we get to meet in these particular places. This matters the most!

In Magdeburg, I got to meet Conny, my special person who I have learned so much from. This essay is my way to give thanks to her for being there for me, and for being the person who she is.

Firstly, I had a tough beginning in Magdeburg. I often have hard time initiating contact with others even though I know that they could be fun. You can now imagine how hard it was for me! A new start in a new city, where I wasn't even able to speak the same language as the people there! I remember I was shocked for the first two months! I was unable to know or understand what was going on around me. I didn't make friends, and of course, my friends and family back home couldn’t understand the situation I was in, as most of them aren't crazy enough to ever get into similar situations. I felt helpless. I had no idea how I was going to make it. A whole year is a long period!

Then something changed. It started somewhere before Christmas. We had an inspiring conversation, and that somehow gave me hope. Then we had another one right before Christmas. I remember she said that I am a strong person. I really had no idea whether she really meant it, or just wanted to assure me. It doesn’t matter now. It was perfect timing! It was what I needed. I felt empowered that I now had someone who trusts me, and who gives me hope, and encourages me to accomplish my goals. Whether it was learning German, working, or getting involved in the project, and learning as much as possible out of it, she was there for me.

Allow me elaborate about our relationship. She was also my superior at the organization I was working for until June. So at the beginning, I wasn't trusting of her intentions towards me, but that changed quickly.

As time passed, we had a few great experiences together. She was the first person to take me out in the city. We had pizza, and then spent the evenings having great discussions. During the course of my stay there, visited second-hand shops, cooked, and went on a trip to Leipzig together with other colleagues. We also had a few great bike trips.  And all this was part of my EVS-project, it was like the part of my job. I sincerely feel that I lack the right words to describe the amount of life experience that I had gained from being in that environment and having a supervisor like her, especially due to that she gave a listening ear to my thoughts, and helped me reflect on them.

I just wanted to write this letter to let her know, and all of those who accompanied me throughout my EVS-Year in Germany, I feel that I am indepted for everything that I got. I will never forget that you, in a way, made me a better person! But in order to understand that, I had to come back home.

I am still reading Conny’s postcards on my socially awkward days, over and over, in order to have a more positive take on life. Thank You!