Dawid: As my time in Skopje slowly nears the end, I find myself naturally becoming more reflective about my volunteering journey. Stumbling upon the opportunity, struggling to write an application, accidentally missing the interview (thanks to my poor judgement of time zones) and arriving at the airport, all of this seems like it happened a…
Hello, I’m Noa. I come from the Bordeaux wine country in France. I am a pastry dude! After I have finished my school in French pastry, I would teach another pastry of the world. I chose Macedonia for my first long-term experience because I love watching new recipes in my job, it's my passion. I…
Dear reader, birds chirping on the trees, water rippling down the mountain, the wind is brushing through the trees and you feel the warmness of the sun shining on your face. Spring is starting and with it a new Voices edition full of inspiration and ideas. Spring for me is a time to reconnect with…
初春風 無常迅速 春終わった Hello reader, another spring is coming. I bet you are surprised to read this beyond a word document. We haven’t talked that much lately, have we? Life has been a whirlwind of ever-changing circumstances. Although it was always like this. Change is a constant. Change is never changing. Next time we will…
Hello! My name is Mailys, I'm 19 and I'm from a small town in south-west France. Before moving to Macedonia, I was studying tourism, and in my opinion the best way to discover a country is not to visit it for a week, but to live like a local. I have visited many French cities…
Cześć! My name is Dawid and I’m 23 years old. I come from southern Poland but since early childhood I have lived in the United Kingdom. In 2023, I completed my bachelor’s degree in Geography and since graduating I have taken a break from studying. I decided to join VCS because it stood out to…
Cześć! My name is Karolina and I come from Poland. I’m 19 years old. Now I’m taking a gap year after graduating high school with a literature/humanistic degree. Punk rock, mountain expeditions, folk, cats and playing with time are my thing. For me the most important thing in life is expressing myself in every way,…
Hey there! I am Lucia, but you can also call me Lucy or Lucka. I come from Nitra, a city in Slovakia. I am 24 yo and I studied Applied Ethics in Human Resources. But who am I really? If you want to get to know me, talk to me about travelling, specialty coffee, plants,…
Hello! My name is Dáša, and I come from Slovakia. Ah, it’s always at the moment you are asked to introduce yourself, that you forget everything you have ever known to be true about who you are. Nonetheless, I remember that I enjoy basic things like watching movies and series, listening to music, reading books,…
My name is Mathieu and I'm 19 years old. I'm French and I really like photography, videos and video games. When I have time, I do at least one of three things. My schooling stops with the obtaining of my baccalaureate, and directly after I have taken the decision to get out of my comfort…
Hi :) I’m Maike from Bonn in Germany. I recently graduated from high school, but before going to university to maybe study interdisciplinary science, I wanted to make new experiences, especially intercultural, interpersonal and personal ones, as well as learn things outside of school. So that’s what led me to VCS and Skopje :) As…
Hello you all! My name is Sophia and I am 18 years old. After graduating from high school this summer, I left my beautiful hometown in southwest Germany to build a new home here in the amazing city of Skopje. I am very interested in exploring everything possible about this special place in the heart…
Hello, my name is Nina. I come from the beautiful island of Aruba. I love going to the beach and hiking with my friends and family. While I enjoy spending quality time with others, I also value my alone time. I like to keep myself busy but find that some solitude is necessary. I can…
Chapter 1 Even before I finally finished packing for one year abroad (which felt like cramming a circus into a shoebox), I was already imagining what I’d write in this first report. I had been reading all the other articles from volunteers, thinking of what I’d say when it was finally my turn. Now that…
Hi, I’m Lukáš! I’m 26 years old and originally from Slovakia, though I’ve spent over six years living in the Czech Republic, where I studied at university. I have a master’s degree in Social Education and Counselling, and another in Strength and Conditioning Training. After finishing university, I volunteered in France for four months through…
Hi everyone, I am Mustafa and I am 22 years old. I am a student at the International Relations department at Ankara University in Türkiye. I came to Macedonia from a small city close to Ankara. I am still an undergraduate student at university. I found out about a volunteering program at VCS via my…
Hello! My name is Nursena. I am from Türkiye and I live in Ankara. I am 22 years old. I am studying International Relations at Ankara University, next year will be my last year. I really like my department because I like to learn historical and political facts about the world. I want to continue…
Mucho gusto! Hi! My name is Adalberto, and I'm 22 years old. I come from a small but beautiful Caribbean island called Aruba, famous for its amazing beaches and friendly people. I recently graduated from university as a social worker. For the next two months, I’ll be volunteering in Macedonia with VCS organisation through the…
Holiday privilege; is what summer vacation truly is. Not everybody has the chance to rest that long or to plan a two-week vacation on an island in Yemen or a road trip in Eastern Europe to discover the Circassians’ unique ways of life. Holiday at home; is also a luxurious option. Not for Parisians this…
I am Emre Görkem. I am 24 years old, soon to be 25. My family mostly calls me Gorki, named after the Russian author. People are always telling me that my imagination and creativity is strong, so Gorki is one of the names that I accept. I was born and raised in Ankara, the gray…