On-Arrival Training in Rožmberk nad Vltavou

Malte Range, náš německý dobrovolník, se v polovině února zúčastnil týdenního soustředění dobrovolníků EVS v České republice. Protože zážitky ze setkání s 15 dalšími dobrovolníky z 10 různých zemí jsou dosud velmi živé, rozhodl se o ně podělit s čtenáři Adama.

Přestože se Malte učí již druhý měsíc češtinu, zatím zvládá česky spíš jednoduchou každodenní komunikaci. Pokud si tedy chcete přečíst víc o tom, co všechno dobrovolníci za ten týden zažili, o  bydlení na zámku a o výletě do renesančního Krumlova, dozvědět se, jaké měli workshopy anebo proč se Malte ocitl sám uprostřed zasněženého lesa, kde potkal stádo jelenů - tak si pro změnu musíte procvičit angličtinu vy :-)

A few “official” words to the On-Arrival Training:
“The main objective of the on-arrival training is to introduce the volunteers to the host country, preparing them for the service period and the EVS experience. On-arrival training helps the volunteers adapt to cultural and personal challenges. It allows volunteers to get to know each other and to build a network. Volunteers should also receive guidance on conflict prevention and crisis management.”

It is already two weeks ago since I have been to my EVS- On-Arrival Training from 19th-24th February in the beautiful town of Rožmberk nad Vltavou. Nevertheless, the memories are still fresh so I want to tell a bit about the great experience I have had there.

The first challenge was to find our accomodation in Rožmberk which was said to be in the castle and because of the heavy snow it was even more difficult. So I set off for the castle up the steep hill. After climbing the hill 2 times with my luggage (!) and finding a quite hidden path to the entrance which I didn’t see before I finally arrived to the castle completely puffed.

I was one of the first so I had time to arrange my room and get to know the trainers and and one more volunteer from England. Gradually, all the other volunteers arrived and from the very beginning everybody got along very well with each other. All in all, we were 16 volunteers from 10 different countries including 3 Spanish volunteers who seem to be everywhere in the Czech Republic, a Finnish girl and even a girl from Armenia plus 4 trainers.

The week has been full of different activities such as non-formal education, outdoor activities or learning about Czech people and culture and naturally not least our own EVS-projects.
Everyone was presenting his/her project and we collected all the information about the others so we wouldn’t lose contact which you will already notice in my next report.

One impressing point was the Hero’s journey, a pattern of the American scholar Joseph Campbell which we discussed about and adapted to ourselves and to our EVS- projects.
„It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization“. Go to the Hero’s Journey.

Moreover, we had a nice walk through the historical town of Rožmberk including learning some Czech and a great trip to Český Krumlov where we had time to discover everything we wanted. Of course, we have been to the castle and we also found some nice stores but after a long cold walk we finally ended up in a fantastic art café. On our last day we had open space to make our own workshops, for example Yoga offered by a volunteer from Slovakia or a Ping-Pong tournament. At last we got some practical tips for the rest of our EVS such as useful websites, contacts and the Youthpass, the final certificate of the EVS.

But the best moment of this On-Arrival just happened at a clearing deep in the snow-covered forest next to the castle. The task was to go out there and find our inner treasure in a symbolic way. So I marched through the snow deeper and deeper into the forest when I suddenly came to this clearing. There was a wooden ladder over a fence and I felt like crossing over it. As I was standing there in this big open space, from nowhere a group of deers appeared about 30 metres next to me crossing the clearing. This moment had a power impossible to express with words.

Enough of this strange stuff. All in all, it was the best time getting to know to a lot of other nice people, learning many things about EVS, other people and their languages, ourselves and having a lot of fun. Of course, I must not forget we had our own chapel bar with a billiard table in the castle where we spent a fantastic time during every evening or you could say the night.
The Kettle-Volunteer kingdom will never be forgotten!