That's how my journey began.

I’m not really sure how it all started, but from one day to the next, this mission was offered to me, and suddenly I found myself here in Georgia — far, very far from my hometown, from my sweet France 🇫🇷

I’m Vincent, 23 years old, and always ready for adventure.🏔️ So when I was told about this opportunity to come to Rustavi, I didn’t even hesitate — I just said yes. No secret-agent-level organization, no minute-by-minute planning — just me, my enthusiasm, and a hastily packed bag the size of my entire wardrobe (I basically threw everything into my suitcase and sat on it until it closed). It could have worried a lot of people… but not me. 🤷‍♂️ And honestly, my recklessness led me straight to a wonderful place.

Everything went incredibly well. As soon as I arrived, I realized that Georgians 🇬🇪 have a natural talent for hospitality: warm, smiling, always ready to help you — even when you’re not entirely sure what you’re doing here yourself.

And then there are the street animals. Cats, dogs… all more adorable than the last. If one of them decides to follow you, congratulations, you instantly have a new best friend. At this rate, I might end up starting a canine fan club. 🦮 🐈

My integration at the scoutcenter went so smoothly that it felt like I’d always lived here. At the apartment, the vibe is so good that sometimes I wonder if I accidentally signed up for a cooking show. We cook together, we try new recipes, we sometimes… heroically fail new recipes (special shoutout to our temperamental oven and our head chef Oriane), but above all, we share amazing moments.

Oriane The Cheffe (the one with a hat)

One of her dishes

We’ve already had the chance to travel all the way to Armenia… by hitchhiking! And thanks to the kindness of people, we crossed the border like royalty. I think some drivers were even more motivated than we were to show us their country.

Since it’s winter, there’s a bit less work at the scout center, but the motivation is still here. The atmosphere, the good vibes, and the daily laughs are more than enough to warm even the coldest days.

In short, leaving on a whim was probably the best idea I’ve had in a long time. And the adventure is only just beginning!

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MOVING TO GEORGIA: MY FIRST EXPERIENCES!

Moving to Georgia: my first experiences! At the start of September I moved to Georgia to volunteer at the International Scout Center in Rustavi for 6 months. In this blog I will tell you more about why I decided to volunteer in Georgia, about how I prepared myself to move abroad, about my expectations and about my experiences of the first weeks. Who am I and why did I decide to volunteer abroad? Why did I decide to move to Georgia? I am Renée and I am 25 years old. I am from the Netherlands and there I lived in a small city called Leiden. The few past years I was studying Education and Child studies there. In my bachelors I did an exchange semester and lived for 6 months in the city Tartu in Estonia. This was a really nice experience and after I came back to the Netherlands I decided that at some point I wanted to live abroad again. So when I graduated university last year I knew what I did not want: a stressful job in the Netherlands. I explored different possibilities, for exam...

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CHAPTER 1

Once upon a time there lived five gnomes. They each lived a different life in a different place for a different amount of time. However, the thing they had in common was an unexplainable urge to add a new plot to their autobiographies, to put their for-centuries-collected skills and knowledge to a good use and go to a land far far away. They packed their biggest tiny backpacks, said farewell to their gnome families and forest fairy friends, each jumped on the back of a seagull and flew into an unfamiliar direction. This is where their stories intertwine. Turns out all the seagulls were going the same way; they dropped all the gnomes at the same place – a magical castle surrounded by forests and hills. The castle was home for many, no matter big or small, young or old, beginner or advanced, from this planet or another. All the residents of the castle warmly welcomed the gnomes with open arms and open hearts. The castle was a place where a helpful hand was given first and questions ask...

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This article is more a train of thoughts about my volunteering experience and what it means to me than a story about reel experiences. I wanted to share it in the hope that other volunteers can relate. Those reflections started when I took over the instagram page. I am now in charge of posting about our workshops, keeping you updated about our activities and making weekly and monthly recaps. To give myself ideas, I went to see the archived posts and I got lost in what the previous teams of volunteers posted. I felt so strange. I realised that this place, where I work, eat and sleep everyday, was used by people in the same situation as me before. They walked in the same streets, shopped in the same grocery stores and discovered the same Rustavi as foreigners. Maybe the children I am meeting during my workshops knew those other volunteers, and it’s more than probable that they will me...

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