What does Chatty Cathy do when she doesn`t speak the language?

Being a generally easygoing person and already having some experience in working in a multicultural enrvironment, both in Romania and away from home, I thought coming to volunteer in Russia will be just another summer spent away (something I promised myself I would do until I finish university) while doing one of the things I love most: working with children. What I failed to consider was that this may very well become my most challenging summer so far - now I have to raise the standards for summer 2020.

Our team consisted of two Romanians and two Moldavians, and besides the odd word here and there, there aren't that many multicultural differences - with the exception of our very distinct ways of cutting watermelon. Regarding Russian society, it's a different story altogether. I may be a fast learner, but in my short stay here I haven't mastered the language and to my dismay I haven't met many people who speak English either. Did I let a tiny detail like that stop me from getting the full of my EVS experience? Of course not. So, through Google Translate mediated conversations, a lot of waving my hands through the air and, most importantly, a LOT of help from our resident Moldavians, I managed to talk to and hopefully get to know some of the people I've come across. This was more difficult with adults than with children, as I've always said, playfulness and joy don't really need a language and kids find it more than enough.

Chatty Cathy herself, august 2019, colorized

To put an end to this drivel, working in a place where even ordering food is a challenge is not easy but it is definitely rewarding. And even with this barrier, I haven't felt out of place in Smolensk and I think that we are much alike in many important aspects, even if Russian society is a bit quieter than what I'm used to. Heartfelt advice - from Bowie, no less- to all youngsters out there who are thinking of volunteering in or travelling to some place far away from home and even further from their mother tongue: "Always go a little further into the water than you feel you are capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting." and from me: good luck, sunny days and always, always travel with Moldavians!

-Alina