Why did you decide to volunteer abroad with Projects Abroad in Romania?
Alyssa: I had never been out of the country before college, and after I went on an alternative break trip my sophomore year, I caught the travel bug. Having a double major and a job as an RA made it a little difficult to go abroad during the year, so I decided that summer was the time for me. I was never really interested in taking classes abroad (I do enough of that at school!), but I really liked the idea of doing a long-term volunteer project.
My college had a study abroad fair in the fall and I picked up the Projects Abroad brochure because it had big titles saying, "Intern, volunteer". The fact that it talked about medical placements also really caught my eye, as I was thinking I wanted to go into the health profession. I spent hours that night looking through the book at the different countries that Projects Abroad went to and started folding down pages that described strong programs in physical therapy. I called the NYC office the next day and explained that I wanted to spend two months abroad working with a physical therapist who works with children. I was worried because I had no physical therapy education, but they assured me that many places would want my help. They told me, after making a few calls to all over the world, that Romania seemed to have the best placement for me. I fell in love with it as she explained it over the phone, and from that day forward, all I wanted to do was go to Romania. It's a beautiful place!
Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer:
Alyssa: I stayed with a host mom and dad very close to my placement. I had a roommate almost the whole time I was there. My first roommate was a friend from home that also did a Projects Abroad placement for a month. After she left, a new volunteer from France moved in.
Every morning I would get up around 9:15. After getting ready for my day and eating some food that my host mom left out, I would walk about 5 minutes to the Hospice where I did my placement. Some days, I would start in the children's center, where kids who were staying at the hospice that week as well as other children would come for a kid of "camp" day. We would take them outside to the park if the weather was nice, as many of the children are wheelchair bound and don't get to go outside much. We would do crafts and play games and play on the computer. The kids were great, and I was surprised at how easy communicating with them was, even though I didn't know any Romanian.
The rest of my day would be spent shadowing the PT. We would work with the kids staying at the hospice mostly, but sometimes moms with disabled babies and preschoolers would come in for treatment. I got to help with exercises and really feel the patients: their stiffness, their disconnected joints, their crooked spines. Anda, the PT, was great about explaining the childrens' disabilities to me. I would work until 2pm or 3pm depending on the day, then I'd go to the Projects Abroad office. It was our afternoon meeting spot, so a lot of the volunteers would be there and we'd catch up on our days, help the teaching and care volunteers make example crafts for their next days lesson, and check in with our supervisors. I'd normally head home about 4:30pm.
I was lucky to have internet at my host parents so I would normally use the time before dinner to check in with my parents and friends back in the States, watch TV online with my roommate, or work on my graduate school applications. Our host mom would bring us dinner around 7pm or so, and it was always delicious and way more food than I could actually consume. At night, all the volunteers would meet up in town for drinks or dessert or karaoke. We all had the weekends off, so we normally would go on daytrips to other cities, visit castles, hike mountains, and explore our surroundings. The great part of summer was there were always other volunteers to hang out with.
How has this experience helped you grow personally and professionally?
Alyssa: Being a Physical Therapy volunteer made me absolutely sure that this was what I wanted to do in my future. Having the opportunity to talk to other PT students from other countries who were also there volunteering was also a really eye opening experience, and I feel like I have a worldly view of my future profession. I was so excited about PT while I was in Romania that I actually did about 90% of my application for physical therapy school while I was there, complete with a personal statement all about my experience and edited with help from the journalism volunteers. During interviews for graduate schools, I received a lot of praise for seeking out this experience and many of the professionals I talked to wanted to know what PT is like abroad, as most of the profession does not get to see what their peers in other countries do. I think this experience really made me stand out in such a competitive applicant pool.
Personally, being on my own in Romania for two months (a place where I didn't know anything about the language or my surroundings) allowed me gain a lot of confidence. Knowing that I could move around and survive on the few words I picked up makes me not at all nervous to move to a new city in the fall. I feel like I have broadened my understanding and appreciation for other people and cultures. Volunteering with students from all over Europe, Asia, and Oceania allowed me to learn about the education, political, and healthcare system of a lot of places, not just the one I was living in. I think and talk about my experiences in Romania all the time, and I definitely believe that it has helped me both personally and professionally. It's also a great conversation starter. I mean, how many people do you know that have been to Romania!?