After one year of long wait, the time has finally come to fly to Hungary – and I arrived in Jászberény, a city 80km east of Budapest, with two and a half suitcases and quite a lot of curiosity. I came here to teach drama workshops in English to young people, for the duration of the school year, 10 months. This EVS (European Voluntary Service) position is a wonderful professional opportunity for me, coming at a very appropriate time: after practicing theatre for a few years as a performer and director, it is time to discover how to implement my skills in education, a field I’m very curious about. I recognise that drama, and the arts in general, can be a valuable tool for people, that has the ability to flood the spirit with new energies and provide release, hence transforming emotions, moods and mindsets. Of course that I have experience working with young people, but never before have I been a drama teacher on a full-time basis. This is why I’m very excited about this year ahead (which has already started) and hoping it would be a year of discovery and gaining valuable experience.
Our theatre, Malom Film-Színház, is one of very few cultural institutions in this small city and one of very few places offering creative afternoon activities for youth. As the locals put it, “there is not much happening in Jászberény”. Nevertheless it has a generally friendly vibe, some interesting old churches, and lots of grass and trees scattered around. I’m slowly getting to know more and more nice and welcoming local people, which I find helps me make myself feel more at home. Another thing which helps me “arrive” is the Hungarian lessons we take, slowly making signs around me more intelligible and allowing me to better interact with the locals. As every person in the world has warned me, it is known to be one of the most difficult to learn existing languages – and it is indeed different to any other language I had known so far – but I’m determined!
We’ve opened the year at the theatre with great excitement – and with essential support from the staff involved, namely from our project coordinator Barnabás and our theatre technician Dáni. Me and my two colleagues (Alba, another EVS (European Voluntary Service) volunteer from Spain, and Ashlee, a paid staff member from England, who used to be an EVS volunteer last year) individually teach 13 groups in total: children (in three different age groups), teenagers and adults. Each age group has very different needs, interests and ways of interaction… how interesting is it to discover each group! The younger children, for example, around the ages of 5 and 6, are full of energy and need a fast pace to keep involved and interested. Our 10 year-old girls group has a passion for acting out imaginary stories… And the teenagers are, as expected, mostly into social status – for them it is all about each other and being in a group.
And so the journey with each group in Malom Film-Színház’s workshop space has started, and so far continues with new, interesting discoveries every week about the participants themselves, what stimulates them and how to allow them to access their imagination. To be continued.
Roni M, EVS (European Voluntary Service) volunteer
European Voluntary Service (EVS) project supported by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission.