Very Underrated Romania

Romania came as a surprise to me. As a European myself, I never was very interested in going to East Europe, so I didn't have very high expectations. I mainly decided to go because it was one of the safest places to go with the pandemic going on. But, once I was there, all my presumptions were shattered. I got to meet very nice and open Romanian and Hungarian people, learn about its rich history, visit its beautiful castles and cities, and hike through mesmerizing mountains.

Moreover, the volunteering experience was very rewarding. I did everything I could to make myself useful to a local NGO as a NGO Support Volunteer with IVHQ. My aim was to start my journey to understand how NGOs work, while helping out one with a memorable cause: to provide educational and fun summer camps to disadvantaged children. Among other things, I got to help them out with the online marketing for a crowdfunding campaign, write a blog post about one of my adventures in Romania, conduct interviews, snap pictures of the summer camps and help build a space to hold these camps for children on rainy days.

Altogether, it was a great experience that I wouldn't change for anything and one which made me see a part of the world with new eyes.