Tanja's introduction

Hello everybody!  (Post from Tanja)

Because I was the first to arrive in Tukums, I will start by introducing myself :)

I am Tanja from Bamberg, a beautiful town in Germany where I've just taken my A-levels. It is quite common in Germany to go abroad for one year after doing A-levels, because they are very exhausting and, therefore, you don't really want to start studying immediately and many school-leavers don't know what to study either.
So for the same reasons and because I love travelling and I absolutely wanted to help people and work in a social organization, I decided to do an EVS.

You don't know what EVS is? Ecose it!!!  ("Ecose it" is a synonym for "google"it. Ecosia is a search engine that donates its earnings to a project which plants trees. So you basically "plant trees"by using Ecosia instead of Google)

When I was looking for an EVS project (https://europa.eu/youth/volunteering_en) I found Ligzda, which a small social art workshop (atelier) in Tukums and fell in love with it immediately. So I applied and got chosen and I must admit, it is one of the best choices I have ever taken! Since I've been here, I'm just like a happy puppy enjoying life :)

As I already mentioned, Ligzda is a small but beautiful atelier run only by voluntary workers. Some of the people engaged here are youngsters, who couldn't find a job and are now learning some new skills by doing something meaningful while they are searching for job possibilities. Another employee is disabled but a great help here. Basically, Ligzda is a open community room, where people all ages can come, do some art or just chat and feel welcome. On wednesdays there's a  ceramic course and thursdays a painting course that everybody can attend. On other days there are different events and soon I will start offering a weekly course, too.
I'm planning on doing upcycling with the kids and that way, teaching them how important it is to take care of our planet. Also, I want to show them some German traditions and explain "my culture". (I don't really feel German and I think it is stupid to have borders but I will write about that in another post). However, by showing the Ligzda visitors a different culture, I hope to spark their interest for other european countries and make them understand that we all are just one huge family with a connected history and the same core values that should stand together and whose members should support each other and be like brothers and sisters.

Ligzdas Website: http://manaligzda.com/en/

On my first workday I drew this: 
On the top left corner you can see my hometown Bamberg. The nest with the bird symbolizes Ligzda, my workplace.