Magic city - Work away, Lisbon

After UK I didn’t want to go to Serbia yet because I had a lot of time until my next project so I found work away in one hostel in Lisbon.  I stayed there 6 weeks and even was short time I learned a lot and had amazing time.

Work away is web site (https://www.workaway.info/ ) where you can find many volunteer opportunities all around the world; you need to pay to the web site around 20 Euros as I remember. for use it for one year. Most opportunities are to get accommodation and food in exchange for 20-25 hours of work per week. What is good about work away is that is very flexible so you can go when you want and stay how long you want (of course you need to plan it with the host).

I was not very smart with this one, because I went to the place without any comments from previous volunteers and from beginning was a bit weird but I did it anyway. The hostel owner didn’t understand what volunteering means and made us work too much and was not nice to us. It finished with me and one more girl left and report him. The work away took it serious and they closed his profile so he can’t take more volunteers.  Latter I met one girl that did many work aways and she told me that this happens a lot in hostels and that the ones out of city worked better for her. What I think is just that is necessary to take good care where you are going, read the comments and speak with the host.

The sad thing that I felt on my own skin is that people start to use volunteers for cheap or free labor. They don’t want to pay workers so they make a project just to save money without understanding what volunteer means. Also there is more and more so called volunteer projects that you need to pay to participate. They start to look for people with special skills or from certain countries and for me this is nonsense. Internet made it so easy to advertise and there is so many web sites that have no guarantee where you are going.

I learned this true experience, more than once, in life like this we need to take risk, we can give our best to avoid bad situations but they will happen anyway. What we can do is take the best from it and learn. My stay in Lisbon was more good than bad, other volunteers that stayed with me in hostel were wonderful people and Portugal is magic country! If you stay in Lisbon look for artistic areas, flea markets, alternative places to eat and beautiful views J  Also its cheap in compare with other EU countries and with so many things to see and do.

“Control is an illusion” Mr.Robot

We can have as many plans as we want and organize, research, prepare but we can never have a control on what happens. We are dust in universe and have no influence on what will happen. So take the best from bad experience and make it good, don’t cut the tree because one apple was rotten. I will for sure use work away again but this time with more care, and even then I am not sure how it will be.