We are happy to share that CVS – Bulgaria is part of the project “HOWs” under the framework of K2: Erasmus+ programme, carried out in partnership with organizations from 3 different countries – Baltic Regional Fund (Latvia), VSI “Inovatyvi karta” (Lithuania), Tudatos Ifjusagert Alapitvany (Hungary). The project was launched on 1.09.2020 and has a total duration of 19 months.

Driven by the ambition and desire to help young people acquire knowledge and practical skills on how to turn their ideas into completed successful projects and to increase their active citizenship and civic participation, together with our partners we have been preparing a diverse and rich programme with various and innovative initiatives, which will also include the creation of an interactive mobile platform with an educational and practical purpose as well a manual giving guidance to the most common problems and difficulties being faced during the process of seeing a problem-thinking of an idea-and coming with a solution.

The project is intended to directly involve more than 370 people and many more indirectly, including representatives of various non-governmental organizations/volunteers, etc.

Expect shortly more details about all the possibilities around the project and how to become part of it.

Hello Sara, will you tell us – is this your first volunteering project abroad?

Yes, it is. In Barcelona I was participating as an activist in the Amnesty International group of my university, but this is the first time I am doing a volunteering in a foreign country. Also I had lived abroad before because I did Erasmus during my third year of university. I was living in the Netherlands for 6 months and, actually, it was there where I found out about EVS. I was with some friends on a tour, we met a group of people who turned out to be EVS volunteers in Poland.

Nice and was it difficult to find a project to volunteer?

At the beginning I started looking for a project by myself. I would enter the European Solidarity Corps website and spend hours looking for projects. I remember that I was super picky, so I was like “not this one, not this one”. When I finally contacted an organization through the ESC platform, they didn’t even reply, so I started to look for more information and I saw that you actually need a sending organization from the beginning who helps you to find a project and everything is easier. Then I found out about Service Civil International Catalunya on Facebook and I saw they had some projects so I decided to contact them. A week later I had an interview, more like a meeting to see what I didn’t know, and what type of volunteer opportunities exited (there is more than ESC). In that same interview they mentioned that there was this project in Bulgaria. It looked really interesting and I had been in the Sofia before so we tried to see if I could still apply for it. My hopes weren’t high because the deadline had passed, but few days later they told me that I could send my CV and motivation letter. After a while my coordinator contacted me and we had the interview. Everything was in the last minute, so I felt very lucky and happy.

Did you have any hesitations whether to join this project or to find another one?

Actually no, because as I told you I applied for this one and I got in so I didn’t have any other project or plan in mind. I have to say that I really liked the project because it is very diverse in a sense – you have cinema, you have working with refugees, you have promotion of volunteering… and lots of activities that are in between. I was also looking for a specific approach, something that it looked like I could participate from the inside, because there are some volunteering projects that are only about being in the front line but in which you don’t take decisions at all. I wanted to be part of the decision making because I would like to work in the field of NGOs, social justice and human rights. I wanted to perceive first hands how it is to work in an organization like this, before continuing my studies.

Do you enjoy the activities you are involved in?

Yeah, I do. Of course there are always exceptions as there are a lot of different tasks, but usually you get more involved with the ones that you are more interested. I came thinking that I was more interested in the refugees’ circle, but then when they explained more each of them I felt that I was also interested in the circle about promoting volunteering.

Something that helped in that sense was that, in the beginning of the project we made a task division list and we put our names on the tasks we wanted to take part in. The tasks I’ve been more involved in have been promotion, content creation, communication, organization of events and management. Of course all of these related to the social field. It is really different the communication for company that sells yogurt, for example, than the communication for an NGO.

You are also very good in photography. I saw you at a lot of events doing the shots.

Thank you! Yes, I really like photography and I have a reflex camera which is really similar to the one of our office. So since I knew how it worked, most of the times I ended up being the photographer of the events. I really enjoy it, so I rarely get tired of taking photos. I also started to get curious about video making, so I’ve started to develop this skill a bit.

And how do you find the life in Sofia, was it difficult to adapt here in the beginning?

Not really… Bianca (fellow volunteer) and I arrived in the middle of July. It was very warm and we didn’t know so many people. A lot of people in general in the city they were in vacation, so it was pretty empty. In that aspect in the beginning I was like “uff”. Later when the other volunteers arrived it got better as you meet more people, you start traveling more and visiting other cities. We went to Varna, and we met some volunteers from other organizations across the country. As for the city, I had visited Sofia before in a trip and I really liked it. I don’t know exactly why, it’s different and that makes it interesting.

Was there anything challenging for you in your work, in your life?

In the middle of the project I had some family issues, I couldn’t go back to my family, it didn’t make sense just to buy a ticket, it was from one day to another, so I stayed here. It was hard, because when you are abroad sometimes it feels like you are in a parallel world, you think that back home the time doesn’t pass, but the thing is that yeah, it does and when you realize that it is a bit weird. On a personal level it was a hard moment, but I went to visit them a few weeks later so it was okay.

Do you feel that you had changed during these months?

Totally, yeah. I guess you don’t notice it so much in yourself but when I was back home some people told me that there was something different. I guess that is something that always happens when you travel or you get out of the comfort zone. You develop somehow, of course you change. I guess maybe you gain maturity and tools to work professionally. Also when you meet people from all over the world and with different backgrounds it always happens that you expand your mind more and you discover new ways to approach different subjects. I think it makes you more open in general.

What are your favourite activities during your free time?

I like trying a lot of things, I remember I tried yoga a couple times but I didn’t succeed (laughing). Then I also I tried ceramics, because I had never tried it in my life so I was really curious. I found a place that is really close to my house, it is a studio run by a woman. She taught me how to use the wheel and everything. It is really cool to experiment ceramics with your own hands. I hope I will able to go at least once again.

Have you tried something typically Bulgarian?

The food for sure: shopska salad, parlenka, sirene, liutenitza, tarator… What else… On the arrival training we had to dance the horo, but I don’t know if it counts because I didn’t dance so well, but at least I tried. We traveled a lot around Bulgaria and I guess that when you talk with local people and you spend time with them you also experience the culture. We also took classes of Bulgarian at Edno school. They taught us the language, but they also explained us some cultural things as the kukeri, the symbols for protection and Baba Marta.

What was the most interesting thing you got to know about Bulgaria?

Maybe the people. The few bulgarians that I met are pretty cool. I don’t know how to describe it exactly. In general the young people that I met have a nice sense of humour, they are friendly and easy-going, I don’t know, I like them.

What are your favourite places in Sofia?

Let me see, there is a vegetarian restaurant that we discovered that I love, Dream house. I have only been there a couple times but I like how cozy it is. And the parks, I have lots of good memories in Borisova gradina, laying on the grass with my friends. I’m sure there are more… probably a place with food or beer (laughs).

Are there any tips you would like to share with the future volunteers?

For what I have experienced and also heard from other organisations – I would say apply, do it, but first get well informed about the organization. Try to contact previous volunteers from the project. Each organization has its own way of managing itself and handling situations. Apart from the experience and the work you should have clear what are the things that they are providing, because I know that some volunteers had bad experiences with the accommodation for example. So in order to avoid it, try to become informed beforehand. But apart from that – do it, do it (smiling).

The project “Volunteering Circles” (2018-2-BG01-KA125-048262) is Co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union and Human Resource Development Center (HRDC).

Spanish cuisine is worldwide recognized and Spain is the perfect destination for gastronomy lovers. It is included within the Mediterranean cuisine and the so-called Mediterranean diet, said to be healthy and varied. 

The fact is that our cuisine converges techniques and ingredients from many different parts of the world, since it has been heavily influenced by the historical processes given in the Peninsula, as well as by the geography and the climate. It is the result of a complex history of conquests that has modified traditions and incorporated new ones. All Celts, Iberians, Tartessos, Romans, Visigoths, Berbers and Arabs brought new ingredients to current Spain, and the discovery of America also allowed us to import products that are a strong basis in our gastronomy nowadays. Actually, we owe to America three of the four recipes proposed below, since they include tomatoes and potatoes.

You have probably heard that Spanish meal schedules are a bit crazy, and I have to confirm it. Breakfast hours vary depending on the wake-up hour, but lunch, consisting of one or two courses plus dessert, is usually from 2 to 4 pm, and dinner from 9 to 11 pm. It is common to have some snacks in between, and we love food so much that we can even have appetizers right before lunch or dinner in the form of tapas (tiny rations). In our culture it is also common to have meals, especially lunch, followed by sobremesa, tabletalk that can last hours.

Even though there are a lot of variety among regions, most Spanish recipes include some sort of animal or animal-derived product, no matter if meat, fish, eggs. We also use a lot of vegetables to combine with them or just to eat as a main dish or side dish. In this case, since the writer is vegetarian, the proposals are meat-free.

Our trio of cold soups (perfect for spring and summer!)

Salmorejo: a delicious thick cream

Ingredients for six: 1kg of tomatoes; 200 gr loaf of bread (the proportion of bread can vary depending on the water that tomatoes have and how consistent the crumb is); 150 ml extra virgin olive oil; 1 garlic clove; salt to taste.

Instructions: Wash the tomatoes, crush them, and pass them through a fine strainer. In a bowl, place the bread and cover it with the tomato puree, leaving it to soak for about ten minutes. Incorporate the garlic and crash with a mixer or Thermomix. Add the extra virgin olive oil to achieve the perfect emulsion and a thick and creamy result. Whip again until the salmorejo is uniform, with a nice orange color and compact enough to bear on its surface the traditional tripping pieces: Serrano ham and hard-boiled egg.

Gazpacho: in every family there is an infallible recipe

Ingredients for six: 1 kg pear tomato; 1 Italian green pepper; 1 cucumber; 2 cloves of garlic; 50 ml extra virgin olive oil; 50 gr loaf of hard bread; 250 ml water; 5 g salt; 30 ml sherry vinegar. Some people also use onion or red pepper.

Instructions: Chop all the solid ingredients and add the liquids, crushing everything in the glass blender. It is not necessary to peel because everything is passed through the fine strainer. Put in the fridge a couple of hours before consuming (never add ice!)

Ajoblanco: no two ajoblanco alike

Ingredients for 1L: 100 gr. unroasted almond; 2 cloves of garlic; 1L fresh water; 150 gr. of breadcrumb; 100 ml. extra virgin olive oil; 30 ml. white wine vinegar; a pinch of salt.

Instructions: Soak the bread if it is hard so that the crumb softens. Remove from the scab and reserve it. Meanwhile, boil a pot with water. When it boils, put the almonds in a strainer and give a couple of blanches with a ladle: pour two or three tablespoons of boiling water over it. Chill for a few minutes and peel them. The traditional way of making ajoblanco is to crush the garlic and almonds in a mortar, but it can be done with a mixer. Add the crumb, oil and vinegar and beat. Add water and chill in the fridge.

Perfect ending: the incomparable Spanish omelette

Ingredients for four: 700 gr potatoes; 300 gr onion; 6 eggs; salt; olive oil

Instructions: Peel the onion and cut into julienne strips. Put in a frying pan over very low heat, cook very slowly, stirring occasionally so that it is poached. Meanwhile, peel and cut the potatoes into thin slices, uniform in size. Leave in water for 15 minutes and warm up a pan with abundant olive oil. Add the potatoes and fry (you can choose to confit them, cooking slowly over low heat, or brown them over high heat). Remove the potatoes and drain in a large bowl. Drain the onion when it is done, and put on the potatoes. Beat the eggs and add to the bowl, stirring with a fork so that the three ingredients are mixed well. Curdle omelette in a pan with a tablespoon of oil for about three or four minutes and turn (with the help of a flat plate).

That’s all! I hope you enjoy these delights that are so cheap and easy to make!

Author: Beatriz Cintaz Cantarero, volunteer in the project “Volunteering circles”

The project “Volunteering Circles” (2018-2-BG01-KA125-048262) is Co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union and Human Resource Development Center (HRDC).