Arts Lab Report: Volunteering in Eastern Europe

It was really interesting this month for me, I learned more about Eastern Europe culture, about the way of living, how they are thinking and relate to other people.  I have tried to adapt my behavior to the society where I am living now (Romania), to understand the rules and I have also tried to talk with as many people possible to find out what are the common topics of conversation here.  Now it is much clearer for me how cultures relate to each other, why there is peace between some and why there is war among others, each culture has its historical reason. And everyone carry the culture in their ideas and their behaviors. Thanks to this I have learned to accept others who are different from me, and I am aware I am different as well and I want to make this culture part of me.

So far, I was amazed about the number of similarities that exist between my country Peru and the Romanian culture. The typical clothing, the music and the way they solve things.

The second week we started to record a song about the Coronavirus, we recorded our voices and we put on the music. And then with Hanul, we made a video-clip. The song was a complete success and most importantly we feel good about our creation. I also connected my painting practices and started doing music projects online with other friends.

The third week we started to carry out an Erasmus project about art for the following year, we spent a lot of time on it and I think we managed to do a good job.  We are all excited with the idea of making a festival next year and we think about how we can present the project. I managed to be in touch with some local artists and I hope to see them soon. 

The last week of April I think it was quite important for me because I learned a lot about myself and what I really want for myself. I thank my colleagues and hosting organisation for these lessons and I hope to continue acquiring knowledge to be better.

Written by Omar Franco 

Omar is European volunteer for 8 months, in Arts Lab 2.0 project,  funded by European Solidarity Corps, with the support of European Union.