Arts Lab 5.0: Sena Yavuz, Turkey - Month 4

Ups, I’m here again. I’m still not aware of the months that we spent all together in Romania. I feel like we are still in the beginning and there is a lot to go. But anyway, it is better to focus on the moment and enjoy it. 

When it comes to the things that happened this month, I should say that it happened a lot! We started the month with an intense day. We visited the Jewish museum in Iași and got informed more about the Jewish people and the Holocaust. I should confess that the things that I learned there really touched me. After having this sad experience we went to the celebration of minorities event which changed our mood. We met with a lot of Rroma people and watched their amazing performances. We also did a short performance on the stage about our countries, which was fun. While all of these things were happening, we also gave an interview to the national TV. So we continue to gain fame across the Iaşi :’) 

At the end of the day, we went to a dance school documented some artists, and got some workshops from different fields. I chose bachata, which was a dance always been in my mind. Even though it was pretty short, I enjoyed it a lot. 

During this month, we went to three different caravans on the topic of Cucuteni. The first one was in Sineşti, in which we had a nice day. In an organized, clean, cute school, we were blessed with tasty traditional Romanian food. Also, in this school, I met with Mihai, who was the best translator so far. He made this experience so much better with the little dance breaks and nice conversations which I enjoyed. The second caravan was in Vaslui, a city that we drove 2 hours. It was a day that came out a prophecy-themed movie, full of fogs that we did not see anything. The last one took place in Ceplenița, where we tried the best wine in Romania.

Before the Christmas holiday, we started our art residency at the JEMOM in the Moldova school where we worked with visually impaired students. I faced different types of problems, which were a bit hard for me to deal with emotionally. But in the end, I managed to cope with them, which gave me a lot of lessons and made me stronger. I should say that it was one of the most unforgettable memories that I had in my life. 

Then, we decided to make the Secret Santa as Arts Lab 5.0. This is an activity that I love a lot, as a person enjoying buying and packing gifts for the people that I love! In the end, I gave a lot, and I received a lot, both physically and emotionally. 

After that, a lot of people started to go to their countries to visit their families, so we decided to travel. We went to Cluj Napoca and Sibiu and spent 6 days in total. It was a pretty relaxing vacation we did not have any rush or any pressure on our shoulders, which made me enjoy the moment. Since it was my first time abroad in the time of Christmas, I was pretty excited about the markets, colorful ferret wheels, carousels, giant Christmas trees, concerts, and everything related to it. In the end, I discovered two amazing cities with different vibes. But I should say that Sibiu was the place where I fell in love and felt like a middle-aged princess. I’m sure that I will always remember these 6 days with a big smile on my face. 

When we turned back to our realities, to Târgu Frumos, the whole town was white, which was adorable. Under this snow, I had to face one of the hardest breaking points in my life, in the quietest way from the out, and in the loudest way from the inside. In addition to all of the responsibilities that I have, now I have to heal myself too. During these days that I was totally confused about a lot of things in life, we had some remarkable moments all together, like German night, Moroccan night, the birthday of Raphaelle and Violeta, in which I had a nice time. While all of these things happening, somehow Haşmet was always with me. I found him on my lap almost every time that I was feeling bad. This reminded me one more time why I am that attached to the animals.

Sena Hanım Yavuz is from Turkey, 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.