Ani from Armenia

Barev!

I’m Ani Arakelyan from Yerevan which is the capital of Armenia. I’m 23 years old. Two years ago I graduated from the University of International Relations by the name of Anania Shirakatsy. I studied in the faculty of foreign languages. After it I graduated from the Ukrainian State University and got master degree. 

My favorite subjects always were languages and literature.  When I have a free time I like to read books, listen to music, to meet with my friends, to go to cinema or theatre. 

I like different kind of music such as  Jazz,Rock, Pop,Trance, classic etc. I have a lot of favorite writers: P. Sevak, H. Tumanyan. Shirvanzade, Dyuma, A. Pushkin, Balzac , Dickens etc.

My favorite food is lavash (Armenian bread), dolma, French fries, and spas (Armenian soup).Several years ago I was member of CYSCA (Cambridge Yerevan Sister City Association), and I went to Boston for one month. I learnt about evs (European volunteer service) from one of my friends. After with the help of my mentor we chose the project.

I have to admit I was a bit dubious at first about volunteering for a year and the decision to apply was made because I knew it would help with my career. First period was really very hard for me because of different reasons: it was hard to leave far from my family and friends but after I get use of this.

The work I do here has turned out to be as rewarding as I was hoping for and I will be very sorry to leave at the end of the year. First of all I like the project which COMPASS was realizing in Kaposvar it was quite interesting for me. Besides Hungary is situated in the central part of Europe which gives me opportunity to visit my friends who live in another European countries.

It’s already 5 months that I’m here and I’m going to stay in Kaposvar till the end of September.  The other volunteers and I are living and working together and fortunately they are so good that we become good friends.  We had evs training in Pecs. There I met all the other international volunteers who were working all around the Hungary. It’s great to see how different people from different countries, with different languages and cultures make an effort to understand each other and take part on each others’ lives.

Maybe it's something about travelling but I've found that all the EVS people I've met have been really open-minded, fun and easy to get along with even with such a mix of different cultures. I already was in Budapest, Balaton, Pecs, Venice and I’m planning to continue travelling.