Four Southern Europeans in Drenthe... not quite Amsterdam.

Hi there! I'm Irene, one of the "new" volunteers at Cherry. Yes, I use the quotation marks because it's my first time writing for this blog, but I've actually been here since March. So... not that new, let's say. Anyway, I'm here today because I want to share my experience as a volunteer in the Netherlands. Well, not jus as a volunteer, but also as a Southern European person living in a completely different country and environment. Some people might say this comes a bit late: why didn't I write from the beginning? Honestly, I ask myself the same thing. But sometimes life just happens: adapting, trainings, preparing workshops, organizing schedules, traveling, moving out and in... With all of that going on, it was difficult to find the time. Still, we're here now (basically, I ran out of excuses and couldn't postpone it any longer) - just kidding!

I think it's only fair to start this journey by introducing myself, and maybe sharing a few memories from the first months of the project, so you can get an idea of what this experience has been like so far. As I already mentioned, my name is Irene. I didn't know this before, but my name is actually quite common in the Netherlands. It is pronounced a little differently, but honestly, that makes everything easier. Being a brunette with brown eyes and tanned skin is already exotic enough here, so having a familiar name softens the cultural shock a bit, I guess. I come from Spain - Barcelona - or, as many people here immediately think: paella! Sagrada Familia! toros! siesta! Luckily, during our first month here, we had the chance to do a cultural workshop and share our countries from a different perspective. To be fair, I also thought the Netherlands was all about bikes, rain, cheese and tulips, so no hard feelings there. I studied Journalism, so I love communicating, especially through writing. So apologies in advance if I ramble too much here.

If you follow Cherry on Instagram and subscribe to the newsletter (and if not, you’re seriously missing out — go do it!!), you probably already know that I’m here with three other volunteers: Francesco, Iorgos and Aurora. We've already lived through a lot together, and at this point we feel more like siblings than friends. I guess that’s what happens when you bring four Southern Europeans to the Dutch countryside. Everyone has their own particularities, and I’ve realised that a huge part of this experience is simply learning how to live together while sharing both our differences and similarities.

The first month wasn't easy, I'm not going to lie. Of course, we all arrived with Amsterdam in mind: the international atmosphere, the openness, the nightlife... But I'm sorry to be the one bringing the news: Amsterdam is nothing like the rest of the Netherlands. Especially when you end up in Drenthe, probably the calmest province in the country. Here, life moves at a different pace. First tea or coffee. Then everything else. And if you come from Barcelona, trust me, you really notice the difference.

At the beginning, everything was about adjusting expectations, meeting new people, learning a few survival words in Dutch and slowly building a life in Emmen. The first weeks were difficult, but little by little everything started falling into place, and we created our own small routine here. It's funny because back in Barcelona I used to hate that work - "routine" - and everything it represented. But when everything around you is new, routine suddenly becomes comforting.

Our second month here was much more about enjoying ourselves. We travelled. I, for example, visited Utrecht and some nearby cities. It was my first real solo trip, which felt like a big challenge. Imagine going out to eat completely alone for the first time. Okay, maybe it doesn't sound that groundbreaking, but I felt pretty proud of myself afterwards. I think we’re all experiencing many “first times” here, and being able to share them together makes everything even more special. We also had our first training, where we met many other volunteers, and we ended up having a really great week together.

Anyway, this experience is teaching us a lot, and I'm not just talking about skills to add to our Youthpass. I mean the kind of lessons that stay with you: learning how to react to unfamiliar situations, how you deal with problems, and how to build a life from scratch in a completely new place.

Let's see what the next months bring. I'll keep updating you here, of course.

See you:)