A weekend to remember:
This past weekend, I had an interesting journey with an on-arrival training program by NIVAM. Seven volunteers from different countries gathered together to learn, grow, and explore. Each month, the training is held in a different location to show the beauty of Slovakia. This time, we were fortunate enough to experience it in the Tatras.
The training begins:
For five days of the program, our focus was on going deeper into our volunteering journey and gaining new skills. Personally, I found the session on stress management very interesting. We were introduced to the concept of three zones: comfort, stretch, and panic that you could face during volunteering.
- Comfort Zone: This is where you feel at ease and in control, working with familiar tasks and routines, using skills you’ve already mastered. While it is a safe space, staying here too long can limit growth and potential. For many of us, it can also become monotonous after a while.
- Stretch Zone: Just outside your comfort zone lies the stretch zone. Here, you take on new challenges, learn new skills, and push yourself beyond your current capabilities. This zone might feel slightly uncomfortable or anxiety-inducing, but it is where real growth and learning occur.
- Panic Zone: Beyond the stretch zone is the panic zone. In this zone, challenges are so far beyond your current abilities that you feel overwhelmed and unable to cope. High stress levels here hinder productivity and learning.
As volunteers in a foreign country, we all experience these zones at different times. Understanding them helps us navigate our feelings more effectively.
Teamwork and planning
A highlight of the program was organizing a trip to Tatras together. We had to answer critical questions: Why are we doing this? What do we want to learn? How are we going to achieve this? Planning was easy, but the actual trip had some challenges. Some participants wanted to leave the trail early or explore on their own. In these moments, knowing our reasons for the trip helped us stay united, support each other, and strengthen our bonds.
Evenings of relaxation
After each day’s training activities, evenings were reserved for relaxation. We had the opportunity to enjoy nature, play games, and just spend time talking together. These moments were nice for building friendship and recharging for the next day’s activities.
Understanding culture shock
Another significant learning point was the concept of the culture shock iceberg. Culture shock is often described as an iceberg because only a small part of cultural differences are visible (such as language, food, and customs), while the larger, more significant aspects (values, beliefs, and thought patterns) lie below the surface. Understanding this helped us appreciate our own feelings and realize at some point it’s normal to feel overwhelmed in a new country.
Gratitude and acknowledgments
Overall, the on-arrival training was an amazing experience. A big thanks to NIVAM for organizing it, as well as our dedicated trainers, Juraj Víg and Zsuzsanna Nagy, who made this journey kind, helpful and enjoyable.
This experience not only equipped me with valuable skills and knowledge but also allowed me to create connections with volunteers all over Slovakia.
