Vlog on how I volunteered in Vukovar, Croatia by Acy Varlan

In this vlog we spent a weekend in Vukovar, Eastern Croatia. It was not my first time in Vukovar, as that I did my volunteering service there last year. I revisited the places we have been and recollected a few videos from last year.

I talked about EVS= ESC(2019) service and how to become a volunteer. I am not equipped to talk about Vukovar’s tragedy, but as a volunteer living there I heard a lot of stories during the war and observed how the city blossomed through the year, so I focused my attention on the positive parts.

Tools For Self Reliance – ESC Southampton, England

GENERAL INFORMATION:

  • Organisation: Kreisjugendwerk der AWO Karlsruhe-Stadt
  • Location: Southampton, United Kingdom
  • Deadline for application: ASAP
  • Start of project: October 2019
  • End of project: September/October 2020

PRACTICAL INFORMATION:

The volunteer will live in a five-bedroom house which is on the same site as Tools for Self Reliance. The volunteer will have their own bedroom but will share communal areas such as the kitchen, bathroom and lounge with the other ESC volunteers. There are bicycles available for the volunteers to use. The volunteer will work Monday – Friday 09.00 – 17.00 with a 30-minute tea break at 11.00 – 11.30- and one-hour lunch between 13.00 – 14.00. The allowance is £80 each week. (approx. €90).

Tools for Self Reliance is situated in Netley Marsh which is on the edge of the New Forest, approximately 11km from the main city of Southampton and 4km from Totton. For more information about Tools for Self Reliance and our work in the UK and Africa please visit www.tfsr.org .

Tools for Self Reliance is a UK based charity, established in 1980. Our mission is to contribute to poverty reduction in Africa by working with partner organisations and our supporters in the UK to empower people to build viable and sustainable livelihoods through the delivery of technical, business and life skills training and through the provision of tools for their trades.

From our headquarters in Southampton, we aim to send four to five shipments each year to our projects in Africa. We collect and refurbish hand tools, hand and electric sewing machines as well as some machinery. We raise funds in the UK to enable our partner organisations in Africa to deliver 12 months vocational, business and life skills training to the project participants. When the participants graduate from the training, they will receive a kit of tools to support them to develop a business.

We have 30 active refurbishing groups from as far afield as Aberdeen down to Devon and they support and contribute to our work in Africa. These refurbishing groups collect tools in their local area, refurbish them and either pack them in to kits or send the tools to Tools for Self Reliance headquarters in Southampton for inclusion in future kits.

The ESC volunteers will be based at the headquarters in Southampton, but they would have the opportunity to accompany the Group Support Officer on visits to some of the groups.

Tools for Self Reliance has a small staff team of six full time workers and four part time. We have around 700 volunteers in the UK, 130 of which are at Netley Marsh headquarters. They support our work in a variety of ways including tool refurbishing, giving talks to publicise our work, ebaying unsuitable tools as a fundraising initiative and attending events.

We are pleased to say that many of our daily volunteers have supported us in our work for more than 20 years.

VOLUNEER TASKS:

The principal activities will involve the volunteer supporting our charitable aims by contributing to practical tasks including learning about tools, industrial equipment and working practices in the workshop and warehouse and health and safety.

These tasks will necessitate working alongside retired people from the local community, people from other countries, and people from diverse backgrounds, occasionally young people from local schools and colleges and adults with learning difficulties. This will meet objectives regarding cultural and intergenerational diversity, understanding of learning styles, as well as gaining practical, problem solving and team working skills. The desired outcome for the volunteer will be to improve future employment, return to education and development prospects through the acquisition of skills and practical experience.

Tools for Self Reliance value the opportunity to offer as many different experiences and learning opportunities to the volunteer during their ESC project. We appreciate the flexibility to incorporate their skills and interests into their weekly activities.

In our experience, the volunteers who come to Tools for Self Reliance are young people with very little or no work experience and this experience may be the first time they are in a work environment. Through their volunteering, they will learn effective communication skills and safe practices. During the day to day work preparing shipments for Africa and learning refurbishing skills with the daily volunteers there will be occasions where the volunteer will work as part of a team or on their own. Both of these situations require different skill sets. When working independently on a task, the volunteer learns to problem solve, recognise when they need to ask for guidance and seeing a task through from beginning to end. When working in a team, they will learn or enhance skills such as listening to other people’s opinions, putting forward suggestions and task planning. All of these new skills lead to an increase in confidence and self-esteem as well as job satisfaction. They are also lifelong skills which will be beneficial to the volunteer in future further education, work and social settings.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Communication in a foreign language: Improving English language skills is very often cited by young volunteers as a reason for wanting to do ESC. Increased comprehension and expression of the English language will be achieved by daily contact with the daily volunteers and staff in the organisation. Staff and daily volunteers are committed to supporting the volunteers with their English language. The sharing of colloquial language is mutually enjoyed by the ESC and daily volunteers and in our experience, the volunteers enjoy learning about the history of saying and phrases which are frequently used. This is reciprocal as the daily volunteers have reported that they enjoy learning about the ESC volunteers local language and sayings. Sharing the house with other ESC volunteers from different nationalities to their own also enables them to practice with each other and improve their conversational skills.

Cultural awareness: Tools for Self Reliance is keen to provide opportunities that lead to a better understanding of each other’s cultures and demystify cultural behaviours and attitudes and therefore avoid potential misunderstandings. Tools for Self Reliance, including its daily volunteers, places a great deal of value on working in this European framework as it enables people to see life from a wide variety of viewpoints. The project will lend the opportunity to increase the ESC and daily volunteers’ cultural competencies and develop a greater understanding of cultural diversity and of their own culture.

Personal project: The volunteer will have the opportunity to develop a personal project which will take place from around month three. This is encouraged by Tools for Self Reliance, and time during the week as well as support will be allocated. The personal project will incorporate the volunteers’ skills and interests. It will give the volunteer the opportunity to use these, practice previously acquired skills and develop new ones. It will require the volunteer to use skills such as developing realistic ideas, task planning, using your initiative and problem solving. Staff and/or daily volunteers will be available to support the projects should it be wanted or required.

 

 

Flight and Visa costs reimbursed and assistance provided

Apply by sending us your CV and Motivation letter (with the subject of your email as “ESC Southampton”) by 4th of October on advit_team@yahoo.com

 

For any questions or clarification feel free to contact us

Colours of Youth Work (An International Seminar for Sharing Practices in Youth Work)

The Slovak Civil Society Organisation “EduEra” is happy to
welcome you on our upcoming international seminar
“COLOURS OF YOUTHWORK”.

 

 

 

 

 

The Slovak Civil Society Organisation “EduEra” is looking for participants from ERASMUS+ Programme
Countries and Eastern Partnership Countries for a 6-day-lasting international seminar for sharing
practices in youth work.

The seminar is targeted at youth workers and managers in youth organisations who are interested in
sharing practices and learning from each other in order to …

.… enrich their own youth work and toolbox
… provide better services to young people
… improve the work of their organization and create more impact
… build lasting international partnerships to support each other and run activities together

The seminar will take place from November 18th to 25th of 2019 in Bardejov in eastern Slovakia.
Funding is provided by the Slovak National Agency for ERASMUS+: Youth in Action, Key Action 1,
Mobility of Youth Workers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS
We are targeting youth workers, youth leaders, community leaders, mentors, social workers, teachers,
the main criteria being that the participant be actively involved in value-based youth work in an
educational role.
Participants must be aged 18+ and be residents in the country of the nominating partner organisation.
Participants should be fluent in english, and be willing and committed to work hard (about 9 hours per
day at least). Participants should furthermore commit to carry out agreed preparatory tasks and be
willing to follow-up on the seminar via active youth work, ideally in co-operation with their
sending/partner organisation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AIM AND PROGRAMME ELEMENTS
All participants should be willing and able to share practices in youth work that can inspire the other
participants. In that sense we would like to underline that the event is not a training course, there will be
facilitators to support the participants in their sharing, but the content (= the practices) must come from
the participants.
The practices to be shared can relate to any aspect of youth work, it could be tools and approaches in how
to support and work directly with young people, how projects and activities are managed, how to cooperate with different types of stakeholders in youth work, how to create and measure impact, how to
provide information about opportunities to young people, whatever it is that you think you do well and is
worth sharing.
The participants will be chosen in a way that the contributions are as complementary and diverse as
possible and represent an inspiring portfolio of different practices in youth work tackling as many
different areas as possible.

 

FURTHERMORE
a participation fee of EUR 30 is to be paid in cash in Slovakia
Full participation in the programme from evening of November 18th
to morning of November 25th is mandatory to be eligible for the
reimbursement of travel and subsistence costs, you cannot arrive
later or leave earlier from/to Bardejov
Obtaining full insurance (travel risks, medical, injuries) is the
participant’s responsibility, you are in charge of arranging your own
insurance for your travel and stay in Slovakia
Pictures, videos, images taken at the course, as well as the materials
produced during the activities, can be used to document the activity
in reports or websites or social networks, or for promotional material
Providing information on special needs, does not remove the
participant’s personal responsibility for ensuring their own health and
safety.

 

Also bring your traditional meal, drinks, snacks etc for
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 🙂

 

The programme and input of the seminar is not provided by organisers, but
only pax themselves during the TOOLFAIR where participant share their
good practises, methods, tools,..

 

IMPACT, DISSEMINATION & FOLLOW UP

The participants and the partner organisations are expected to …
– disseminate and promote the project and its outcomes,
– transfer the competences developed at this training course to further youth workers and educators,
and
– ensure the wider impact of this project by implementing concrete follow-up activities and
providing opportunities with and for young people in their regions and countries.
– The conditions for travel reimbursement is to provide evidence over at least one follow-up activity that
includes at least 10 persons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
The training course will start with dinner at 19:00 of November 18th and end with breakfast on
November 25th. Thanks to funding provided by the ERASMUS+ programme through the Slovak National
Agency, during this period all costs for food, accommodation, local transport and course materials are
covered.

You are free to arrive to Slovakia some days earlier or stay some days longer, as long as the total amount
of your extra days outside of the programme activities is not more than three days. The costs of your
potential stay in Slovakia outside of the period November 18th afternoon to November 25th in the
morning have to be borne by yourself and are not covered by the organisers.

 

Following the rules of ERASMUS+, the costs of your international travel are covered up to the following
total amounts (if you prove that your travel falls into the corresponding distance band). Costs exceeding
the indicated amounts have to be borne by yourself. Here is an overview of travel grant per distance
band:

https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/programme-guide/part-b/three-keyactions/key-action-1/mobility-project-for-young-people-and-youth-workers_en  (Copy & Paste into your search bar)

 

 

The deadline for receiving your applications is September 5th.

Please send your CV & Motivation Letter to advit_team@yahoo.com

LET’S BLOG – Blog Literacy for Online Generation

LET’S BLOG
In the 21st century digital technology widens options for choosing when and how to
contribute to society. New digital citizenship platforms, where to share experiences
and support each other are springing up ever more frequently. It brings more
possibilities to become active citizen and to find more space in a given community.
In the 21st century citizenship has gone digital, giving more opportunity and choice
how we can contribute to society and make a difference to real lives all over the
world. A form of citizenship has emerged through digital storytelling and this most
popular form is blogging. Everyday more and more people become story-sharers.
They are driven by a desire to benefit society, making blogging a part of digital
citizenship. Although blogging doesn’t have a long history, it becomes everyday a
stronger online platform for individuals, businesses, social businesses.

 

WHY SHOULD WE BLOG?
Because we always have something to say
and blogs provide a place to say it and be
heard. Plus:
Blogging helps to improve writing and
argumentation skills
Blogging helps to live a more
intentional life
Blogging connects us with like-minded
people and gets our voice heard
Blogging gives the possibility to inspire
and help others
Blogging makes world a better place

WHEN & WHERE

TRENTO, ITALY
5-13 SEPTEMBER

 

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE
YOUTH EXCHANGE:
1. To raise awareness about Media Literacy and Digital Participation among
participants
2. To support participants in exploring the concept of Active Citizenship not only
in everyday life but also throughout ICT tools, namely online platforms for
blogging
3. To raise awareness of participants about role of online communication for
shaping and sharing opinions among young people
4. To increase participants’ teamwork ability as well as their strategic thinking and to
put in practice theoretical knowledge on the subject
5. To provide participants with technical tools and practical information on how
to create and develop a blog as well as to foster their digital abilities

YOUTH EXCHANGE
TOPICS
Blogging; Media Literacy; Active
Citizenship; Digital Natives; Storytelling
PARTICIPANTS
6 from each country. Total 24. 5 participants (19-27 years old) and 1 youth
leader (no age limits) from each country
DATES
6-12 September, 2019
TRAVEL DATES
5 September, 2019
13 September, 2019
MEDICAL INSURANCE
Each participant is responsible for arranging
his/her medical insurance
NOTE
The project is financed by the Erasmus+
programme, Italian National Agency

 

PLEASE READ THE INFO PACK CAREFULLY.

Deadline: August 13th 2019

Interested candidates are asked to send their CV and Motivation Letter (In English) to advit_team@yahoo.com with the subject “Let’s Blog”

 

Infopack-Lets-Blog

Liviu Rotaru’s ESC Adventure in Vevelstad, Norway/

This is an short article that our local Moldovan, Liviu wrote about his 1 year journey in the beautiful Vevelstad, Norway.

“I believe that one must love his or her country very much before one leaves for another place. I’ve always loved Moldova and I’ve been working with youth and developing projects here since the age of 15. After graduating high school, I desired to challenge myself even more and to test my skills in an international environment. Deciding to volunteer abroad for one year is the perfect illustration of how to be stubborn about your goal, but flexible about your methods. And because once in a lifetime experiences need to be chosen wisely, I chose Norway. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Never have I ever been afraid of moving so far North, nearby the Polar Circle. If anything, I am deeply fond of the Nordic culture. Hence, my expectations have been exceeded more and more every day. Living in a Norwegian host family has been, by far, the most powerful experience I’ve ever had. Besides, they taught me more than twelve years of school had, and talking to some young people from that small community felt like interacting with the characters from my favourite books. Vevelstad is an astonishing place and I want to believe that our service there has made it even nicer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My colleagues at the Volunteering Central and I organized the most sundry activities for the children, teenagers, immigrants and the seniors of Vevelstad: filming course, youth house, sportive competitions, laser tag, events, fairs, a gala, beach cleaning activities and a lot more. We were even invited to the European Youth Week in Brussels to retell about our achievements. It has not always been easy, of course. There have been misunderstandings, but due to them I gained a better insight of who I am and who I want to be. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After work, I had all the time in the world (especially during summer time, when the sun never sets) to explore the raw nature, wandering through the forests and on the mountain peaks. Skiing, fishing, camping, swimming, kayaking, sailing, capturing the Northern Lights – I did everything for the first time! I learned the language, I got to know the culture and I travelled to the most picturesque parts of Norway like a local. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve never thought that my heart can bear so much emotion or so much life, and now my heart is divided between to places… It is a tremendous feeling and I can only wish it to anybody who is brave enough to take such a challenge!”

 

Thank you for your amazing words Liviu.

Join us and find fulfilling adventures all across Europe.

Help, we are looking for Friends!

Right now ADVIT Moldova are offering the chance to become a local friend to one of our new and current volunteers. This is an opportunity to improve your language skills and take a chance to make in international buddy.

 

 

 

 

What is a Local Friend.
A Local Friend is a person who provides guidance and help to the volunteers as they adjust to their new chaotic life in a completely new city.
A Local Friend has the responsibility to help  the volunteers and the Local Friend should do their best to fulfill their tasks

.

 

 

Why a Local Friend is important.

  1. A new volunteer usually does not know the language and/or the city.
  2. You can be the first local friend the volunteer will ever have.
  3. You will help the volunteer acclimate and adjust to a new environment and a new culture.
  4. You can give tips on how life in this city works, not only for day to day living but also for fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What you will gain.

  1. Communication & Language skills.
  2. Opportunities to participate in Training Programmes
  3. Exposure to new cultures and perspectives.
  4. Experience in an international environment.
  5. The chance to go on ESC and Youth Exchanges yourself.

 

Benefits of the Local Friend

  1. You might make a friend whose country in the future you can visit.
  2. And your horizons will definitely broaden.

 

Interested candidates are asked to send their CV and Application (Below) to sending.advit@gmail.com with the subject “Local Friend”.

 

Local Friends Application

“Roads” Exercise

Roads Exercise

To show how the Intercultural dimension is related to the capacity of dealing with a complex and interactive situation and emotions. To develop negotiation skills, decision-making skills, to become aware of cultural/personal perception of reality.

Description of the tool

In four groups distribute the description of the communities to each group (see download). Each group can ask one question after a period of reflection. Answer by reading the rules.


RULES:

This game is about building roads.You can only build roads in the territory of others with their permission. For this reason, each group will appoint a builder and a representative. The builder is the only person allowed on the land, and the representative is the only one allowed to negotiate with the other groups. None of these people can do anything without the agreement of their own population. You are allowed to change these people every 10 minutes.
For the roads to be counted, they have to satisfy 3 criteria:
They have to start from your own periphery and end in the periphery of another community
They cannot cross other roads
They have to be constructed between the indicated start and finishing time (30 minutes).
“How many roads do you have?”

After the game, the debriefing should be done around the following:
the difficulties and necessities in the intercultural learning process.
1. How did you feel?
2. How did you feel while having the role of your population?
3. Are you satisfied with the outcome of the exercise?
4. How would you describe the outcome of the exercise?
5. How would you describe the process involving the representatives?
6. Were your initial opinions about building the roads confirmed or unconfirmed when your representative turned back from meeting with another representative?
7. How did you choose the representative for your population?
8. Could you recognize any link between what happened in this game and the “real world?
9. Which are the strong and weak points of the exercise for you?
10. If you were the person proposing this method, what would you change in it?

Communities for the “Roads Exercise”

DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMUNITIES
We are a population of farmers. Our economy depends on fields. We need land for production. We need roads to reach our fields and to be able to export our products.
We are a population of traders. Our economy depends on import and export of goods. We need land for our factories, and to cultivate our goods. We need roads to be able to reach suppliers and consumers.
We are a population of oil drillers. Our economy depends on extracting oil. We need land to dig for wells, and we need roads to reach them and export the oil.
We are a population of fisherman. Our economy is based on fish exports. We need land for big family homes and to build boats. We need roads to carry our fish.

“The Island of MonoMulti” tool

THE ISLAND OF MONOMULTI (3 cultures)

Exercise in which three different cultures meet and have to co-operate.

Aims

  • to raise awareness of diversity and consequences
  • to start the discussion about how to deal with differences
  • to experience a multi-cultural situation

Time

1,5 – 2 hours (incl. evaluation)

Group size

20 – 30

Material

cartoon, scissors, glue, pencils, role cards (7 for each groups), 3 x observation questions

Instructions

The group is divided in 3 groups. Each group gets their role card and they have 25 minutes to prepare their culture as described on the role card. On all role cards is said that they should practice it very profound. After this preparation the whole group comes together.

Then, the trainer will instruct those (5 min.):

An enormous storm in this area has caused that your ship went down to the bottom of the ocean. You managed to reach this desert island. It seems also other ships wrecked because you have already noticed that groups from other  ships managed to get here.

The island is very mountainous and there seems to be only one spot where it’s possible to live. Which means that you have to live together with the other groups that reached the island. Because of the location of the island it’s not expected that help will arrive before the end of next month. So you have to survive for at least five weeks.

Food doesn’t seem to be a problem. There are lot’s of fruits growing and all kind of animals to hunt.

The first concern is to built a shelter where all people can sleep and hide in case of heavy rain and storm and which can protect you against wild animals. It’s important to do this as fast as possible because this area is known for sudden changing weather conditions. You’ll have to do it together with the other groups because there’s not enough space and material to built more then one shelter.

The material for building the shelter: cardboard, scissors, glue, rulers and pencils. The shelter must be stable and should at least be 100 cm high and 150 cm wide. It should have a roof and of course a door.

You have 25 minutes to build the shelter.

Questions for observers:

(each culture has one observer)

* How do they ‘practice’ their culture?

* Are there any differences, how people practice their role in this culture?

* Are they successful in working with the other cultures?

* What main problems do they meet in dealing with the other cultures?

Observers give feedback (max. 2-3 min.) about their personal notes to their cultural group during evaluation in the small groups.

Evaluation

Culture groups – 15-30 minutes

  • How did you feel during the simulation?
  • What do you think about the construction-process?
  • Were there moments where you felt insecure or not respected?
  • What do you think are the characteristics of the other cultures?
  • 3-4 minutes feedback from observers

Deroling in plenary – 5 minutes

– bring back their symbols and any short comments to put in the middle

Plenary – 25-30 minutes

  • Can you see a link between this simulation and reality?
  • What can we learn from this simulation? – put results on flip chart
  • optional: focus on facts, feelings, interpretations

COLDONIA

In your culture ‘intelligence’ and ‘hard working’ are the central issues. Other cultures consider you as ‘cold’. But you see yourself as a very successful and wealthy country, mainly because of your very effective way of working.

You don’t discuss feelings, you like intellectual debates on logical arguments. Showing your feelings is considered childish. Self-control is seen as an important quality.

Religion totally disappeared in your country and is considered as ‘stupid’ and ‘a waste of time’.

You greet other people by looking in their eyes. Freedom of space is very important in Coldonia. That’s why you never touch people while greeting or communicating and you don’t like to be touched. Touching other people is only used as an invitation for sexual intercourse, which in Coldonia has little moral implications and is mostly done as a relaxing and physical exercise.

Your body language reflects your culture. You only use small gestures, your back is straight and you stay always calm.

It’s very normal in Coldonia to interrupt another person whenever you feel the need to do that.

An important characteristic of Coldonians is that they are very willing and see it as their task to teach and train other cultures in order to help them to become as efficient and as successful as you are. Whenever you have the opportunity to teach other cultures you do it.

Coldonia is famous for building big oil-platforms and huge bridges.

Because your behavior is natural to you, you cannot explain it to strangers.

Now you have 15 minutes to prepare yourself in your own group. Practice the behavior! Also make sure that there is one thing that shows in your appearance that you are from the same country. (e.g. the way you dress, the way you do your hair etc.) It’s very important to practice well because you will need it in the follow-up

TURTELINA

In Turtelina ‘friendship’ and ‘taking care of each other’ are important values. Turtelinians show their feelings all the time and personal feelings are always the central issue in communication. Your face and your gestures show how you feel. You always touch each other. When you talk to someone you hold his or her ear. You stand close to the other. A distance more then 30 cm is considered as rude.  When you greet somebody you put his or her hand on your heart. Any reference to sex is taboo and considered offending.

Time is very important in Turtelina. You are never in a hurry. You like to take your time. When you work together you first want to be sure that the atmosphere is good. So you ask the others all the time how they feel and you inform them about your feelings.

Interrupting people when they are speaking is considered impolite. You wait till they have finished their story. When people interrupt you, you feel rejected and you react very emotionally.   

Turtelina is well known for their round shaped colorful buildings. Houses are always built in round shapes because this reflects friendship and harmony.

Because your behavior is natural to you, you cannot explain it to strangers.

Now you have 15 minutes to prepare yourself in your own group. Practice the behavior! Also make sure that there is one thing that shows in your appearance that you are from the same country. (e.g. the way you dress, the way you do your hair etc.) It’s very important to practice well because you will need it in the follow-up

SMILIA

In Smilia  ‘politeness’ and ‘friendship and harmony’ are the most important values.  You don’t like conflicts; you consider arguments as impolite behavior. That’s why you don’t know the word ‘no’. Even when you don’t agree you say ‘yes’. You always smile at people, also when you don’t like their attitude.

When you are working together and somebody asks you to do something you don’t want to do, you say ‘yes’ but you always find a way not to do it.

Smilia is a very religious country. In daily life this means that you pray often. Every five minutes you stop whatever you do to come together to worship your gods. You do that by sitting together  and whistling.

The Smilians greet each other by rubbing each other’s legs. While speaking to each other your feet or legs are always in touch with the other ones feet or legs. You don’t touch each other up from the waist; it’s for example not allowed to touch shoulders, heads, hands or arms.

You have very strict rules towards tools and materials. Cardboard and scissors are male and cannot be used by women. Rulers and pencils are female and cannot be used by men. Glue can be used by both sexes.

Smilia is famous for its paintings and interior decorations.

Because your behavior is natural to you, you cannot explain it to strangers.

Now you have 15 minutes to prepare yourself in your own group. Practice the behavior! Also make sure there is one thing that shows in your appearance that you are from the same country. (e.g. the way you dress, the way you do your hair etc.) It’s very important to practice well because you will need it in the follow-up.