Page 39 - Open_the_door_to_the_world

up as a person as well: “i am now much more Open-minded, self-sufficient, evaluating the real
self-confident and open-minded. Without this value of money they learn to cope with problems on
experience, i would have stayed the same quiet their own; working under pressure, teamwork, all the
and shy person that i used to be.” soft skills that are needed are part of learning abroad;

friendships that last forever, how the other works and
eVs is a meaningful and effective way of l
earning basic life management skills: “i learned lives is very important for the youngster... a picture is
to take care of myself and the children and worth more than 10,000 words...
even some cleaning tips of portuguese grand-
mothers,” samuel proudly says and continues: an employer from belgium quoted in erasmus impact study, 2014
“i think that the most important learning out-
come was that i found the joy of learning new
things and developing myself. i am now more
curious and not afraid of talking to strangers.”
heidi elo saw a clear difference in samuel’s
presence before and after the volunteering
period: “samuel went to portugal as a young-
ster and came back as an adult.”

distance from Home led to drop-
out prevention
samuel was a first-year textile artisan student
at a vocational college, but before his eVs
period in portugal, samuel was planning to
drop out of the school. before he started his
studies, he was unemployed for one year. “i
was not sure if my field of studies was right for
me. i was suffering from lack of motivation.”

During his stay in portugal, samuel was in-
spired by the portuguese lifestyle and atmos-
phere. he found himself thinking of textile de-
sign and handicrafts, creating new ideas based
on the colours and shapes he saw around him.
samuel realized that he has an intrinsic need
for making handicrafts. “i needed the distance
from home to understand that i was going in
the right direction. now i am more confident
about my steps for the future.”

Linda Tuominen
euroguidance finland

39