About my new adventure

I arrived in Wörgl in mid-June 2021 on a beautiful, sunny day. My coordinator waited at the station, showed me around and gave me all the information I needed… She did her best to make me feel good and comfortable from the beginning. Thank you, Kadri!

This place impressed me from the first moment. I really like this small town, the fresh alpine air and the view of the mountains. I enjoy that nature is so close and I can easily go hiking or cycling.
During summer I spent most of my free time outside and discovered a lot of amazing places in the area.

Möslalm – the closest mountain to my appartment, which is higher than the highest point of Hungary

My project is very varied, every day of the week is a bit different and always something new is coming. I really enjoy it! I mostly work at youth centres in Wörgl and the surrounding villages. In addition to Jugendtreffs, I help with the office, Frauencafe, Lernfreude and various events.

At Flashpoint in Kundl

During my work I met a lot of people. The smaller kids are always nice and it´s easy to impress them. They are always happy to teach me something new in German during the games. With the teenagers it is a bit harder, but as I get to know them better and as my German knowledge improves it´s getting easier and easier. Luckily my colleagues are kind and patient. They help me a lot and make the work more enjoyable.

The first weekend I spent here there was a summer party, where I met nearly everyone who is working at komm!unity. It was nice to be there, even if I struggled with the language. I studied German at high school, but I didn`t really use it for a long time. This knowledge was enough to say some words about myself and to understand them when they talked slowly without dialect. Of course the conversation was mainly in dialect and when they talked fast to each other it was impossible to understand them. Nevertheless, I tried to concentrate all the time and catch some words, phrases. It was tiring and not easy, but funny at the same time.

I could have spoken with them in English, but I decided to talk in German from the beginning because I knew this is the best way to learn. After a month one of my colleagues was surprised how much I had improved. I already felt that my passive knowledge started slowly to turn on active again.

The other volunteers are nice as well. It is always good to meet people who are in the same situation as you. During summer we had some great adventures together. We went hiking, swimming, cycling together, visited a festival above 2000 meters and so on… It was a very nice time!

During a hike in Ötztal, near the Erlanger Hütte
Volunteer meeting on the Nordkette – the Top of Innsbruck

Unfortunately most of them left already, but now new volunteers have arrived. I am sure we will soon have many memories together. I look forward to it.

All in all I really enjoy this project and I am glad to be here!

Anna Fülöp – volunteer in Wörgl, komm!unity

What a turn!

My name is Jesús, I am Spanish, and I have been a volunteer worker in Tirol.

In 2020, I decided to turn my life around – what a turn! Therefore I left Spain. Even though these were difficult times, Covid era, I thought it could be worth it. And yes, I have the Jesus of the past to thank for having made that decision despite all the difficulties.

For this reason I started looking for an association in which I could volunteer. I found one called Arche Tirol. At that time I did not know Tyrol very well, I only knew that there were many mountains, that it was very cold, and that Heidi’s house was there (more or less).

I contacted the association, who take care of people with intellectual disabilities. Just what I had trained for! I began to see photos of the area, the type of work carried out by the association with the users, and every time I was convinced more and more. I thought “if there is another quarantine, I want to spend it there”.

In the end, and after interviews and many emails, Arche gave me the go-ahead. I came here, as we say in Spain, “with one hand in front and one behind”. Not knowing German, not knowing anyone here, just traveling by plane alone, scared of turbulence.

Well, all this stuff just to say it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I have met great people, I feel like home here. I’m so good that I think I’m going to stay one more season… or two ;). Arche has hired me as a worker, and I am so happy! Spain can wait a bit.

From time to time it is good to say goodbye to your comfort zone and go out to find new experiences, to live new things, to meet new people …

Before I finish, I want to share with you the question that made me come here, and that I ask myself regularly every time I want to get out of my comfort zone but I don’t dare:

What are you going to regret, to do it, or not to do it?

Without anything else to say, I want to thank all the people who have supported me this year, who have helped me to adapt more easily to the country, the people of Arche Tirol, and especially also the people of my voluntary association, InfoEck, who have been working hard so that we all feel comfortable and warm.

Thanks for your attention, and greetings to all who are reading this!

Jesús