Mid term training

Last week the waiting was finally over and it was time for our Mid Term Training.
On Tuesday the 27.February we traveled to Vilnius to the national agency where we met the other volunteers. We had time to talk until everybody came. All together we were around 20 volunteers and the training took place in a wonderful house in Moletai. It was our new home for five days and I think everybody felt very welcoming in this lovely place. When we arrived there with the bus the sun was shining and the atmosphere was full of energy and happiness. 

During the training we talked about our projects, feelings and experiences. Moreover we were „climbing“ and played other games to trust each other blindly. For some of us it was really difficult to be not able to control everything and give „your life in other hands“. 
It was sometimes a challenge but we all enjoyed it I think.

On the first evening we had to go together in groups to create our own More. Our trainers brought a lot of second hand clothes, straw, balloons, tape, and other things with them and we could be really creative. Finally we burned our More and said goodbye not only to the winter but also to all the negative things whose stress us. From bad experiences with some people, over to bad thoughts in the daily life, up to few different problems in different projects– we burned everything what came to our mind. For me this exercise was really nice because I could say goodbye to some feelings I had, to some mistakes I made, and I got the chance to clean my head and start from new.  

My personal highlight of the training was the international dinner on the last evening. We all should cook one of our traditional foods of our country. 20 volunteers together in a small kitchen, trying to cook 8 different dishes was a mess but at the same time so funny and enjoyable. Everybody tried to help the other nation when he had nothing to do or had to wait for place to cook his dish. 

Finally we had German Potatoes salad and Wiener Schnitzel, Rumanian Chicken Rolls, Hungarian paprika soup, Serbian spicy sauce, Spanish Potatoes Tortilla, and as dessert Austrian Kaiserschmarren and French Apple Pie.
Everything smelled so tasty and delicious that we ate all even when it was far too much.

Everybody of us lived this training differently. In this training we were free to choose between different topics and activities. For me both trainings (on arrival and mid term training) were really nice. Nevertheless I enjoyed the first training a bit more because it was a bit more adventure to meet all new people and places.
Also Liudvikas associate more positive things with the on arrival training, but this maybe also because he was not 100 % healthy and had a hard week before (he had his exams in London and therefore a lot of stress).
However for some others this training was the best until now. For example Annesophie had so many nice experiences in this training about which she can tell:

Annesophie: 

"I would like to speak about two events which happened during the training. Two events which touched me because of their human dimension.

First one, it was when we walked through the lake to join our meeting with an old couple.  Actually, during one of the first on-arrival training (I was not there), a group of volunteers had a task which was to walk in the forest and find a house where people could welcome them for a tea or a coffee. An old couple welcomed them so, and they had a great moment. These nice persons asked the volunteers to send by post the group picture they took, but the volunteer who was in charge to do it lost the address…

So, our mission during this training was, with one of this volunteer, to find the couple and ask once more their address. After some adventures on the lake and a great moment to walk in the frozen forest, we met the couple. They were so happy to meet the volunteers! It was really amazing! They remembered Maxime, the French volunteer they met the first time, and they were really glad to meet others German, Hungarian and French volunteers. We had really a good time with these persons, who, in few minutes, proposed us tea, coffee, chocolate, cookies,…

The man even proposed us a concert of harmonica! During one hour, this old couple shared with us their home, their food and their hobbies. A very nice and memorable moment. 

The second moment was much crazier. We decided, with Liudvikas and Maxime, a French volunteer, to go for an evening walk on the frozen lake. After we went across the lake, it was really too dark, too windy and too sliding to continue to walk on the lake. And in additional, we were lost.

So, we decided finally to join the forest, where we found near the border of the lake, a private propriety. We decided to knock on the door, and the woman, when she saw us by the windows, was a little bit afraid. Finally, she opened her door, spoke in Lithuanian with our trainers, proposed us some cookies and drive us back on the main road with a car to clean the snow,…. This woman was a really good person… And I think, if it was an adventure for us, it was the same for her ! I think it’s not so often when she has to help three foreigners volunteers, lost on the lake, during the night…

Really, these two adventures, more or less crazy, reinforce my opinion about Lithuanian people. When I heard some volunteers who were saying that Lithuanian people are stupid, I think it’s just because these persons are not really open-minded. Because, maybe they don’t smile so much in the street, but when you need them, they always have a big heart to help you, even in the craziest situation. Of course, I didn’t wait to see that Lithuanian people are really helpful, but during this training, I really had the opportunity to confirm what I think, and especially, to show to some others volunteers that they should be more tolerant and open-minded."