Arts Lab 5.0: Olha Popova, Ukraine - Month 1

This month was… interesting. I didn’t even realize, that it passed. Firstly, I was figuring out how to live with so many people in one house and a roommate. I'm still in the process, to be honest. Who will cook? How to clean? How to get rid of annoying flies? How to go to the shop? Will we hang out together? Some of them are still questions. We all have different levels of English, sometimes it's the problem, but usually we are helping each other, so it's another way to bond. For all of the people, who will experience something like this, I want you to know: there will be arguments. I'm aware that you read it all the time, but I assume, that you think, that you will be calm and professional about this. But here is one fact that I wasn't thinking about before: you will live together. It's not like living in a dormitory, it's more like having 11 siblings. So be prepared, but don't be scared. You got this.  

We got a dog. Just a puppy, he has been with us for more than a week now, but he still doesn't have a name. He is chewing on everything he sees, so there should be one person to watch him all the time he is in the house. I assume, that you will read more about this in his "Mother of the Dog" monthly report. 

We were introduced to the clay studio. Didn't have time or energy to go there more often, but I'm gonna fix it soon. We all made our own cups. It's gonna be a good replacement for the one I bought and broke.

The first festival was just in the nearby town (I mistook it for Iași, by the way). I thought, that I would take photos or videos but on the spot, we realized that we don't have enough cameras. So me and two more volunteers went to the nearest stationary shop and bought sketchbooks and liners. We decided, that we will draw on-the-spot sketches. Later, I will digitalize them. Like all the sketches from the festivals and other activities. I surely should stop to procrastinate.

Romania is beautiful. The cuisine is also good. People are welcoming. Not without drawbacks, surely, but still. I love the calm energy here. There will be more text in my second report if I don't forget about my own diary again :)

Olha Popova is from Ukraine, and she is participating in a six-month volunteering program within Arts Lab 5.0, a project co-funded by the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps.