Hello I’m Liana, I’m 24 years old. It had been a long time since I had decided to change my life and get out of my comfort zone, being sure that it would make me feel emotions and adventures that I had never had in my homeland.
I learned about the EVS project from my close friend Ani, who did her volunteering for one year in 2019 in Strasbourg. At this time, I was a little bit shocked about her participation because I was thinking it’s too brave to leave everything for in the hometown for a year and start a new life, new adventures. During that year, I was always in touch with her. She was explaining how it was going and I was getting more and more excited about that experience, thinking maybe one day I will try it too.
So in 2020, after graduating and spending a whole year with COVID and war, in 2021 I decided to finally go for it.
There was one question, that the association where my friend did her project was musical. Music was always my biggest passion, but it was always a matter of courage to continue with it, as I was thinking that I’m not good enough and my first profession was dancing, so I asked my friend if it’s possible to make some connection with association just too see if they will be interested to take a dancer who is also singing and playing a little bit of piano. That’s how I had my first video meeting with the association Ballade and FIOH. My first impression was great and I was sure that it’s worth it.
So, my September in 2021 started in Strasbourg. Music, dance, exchanges in Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain, in the south of France, a lot of kind people, a Christmas spent in the capital of Christmas.
Now I can surely say that it was one of the best years of my life with a lot of challenges. In any case you need to know that it’s a little bit different from just traveling, because it’s long-term, and may be there can be difficult moments of being far from Armenia, but the only thing that you need to know, it’s the fact that your sending organisation Fioh and your hosting association Ballade are always with you to help you resolve any of your problems and feel good and secure to spend one cool year of your life.
