Hej hej!
My name is Laura, I am 24 years old and a new volunteer in Globala Kronoberg. I originally come from a town called Warendorf in Germany, which offers basically a small town center and a lot of landscape. As I own a dog since I am 12 years old and trained her in diverse (dog) sports, I really enjoy it to be so close to the nature and have long walks with her! But as she is now “retired” and a bit too old for adventures, she is now staying with my parents and is pampered by them.
After I finished gymnasium I had gone abroad to England for some months and worked in different jobs and surroundings in the context of a Work & Travel programme. The most of the time I worked on a very, very old farm in Herefordshire, which is close to the Welsh Border and there I helped with the egg and cider-business. Among 20.000 chicken and big cider orchards I not only discovered my passion for delicious English Cider but also for being abroad, gaining international experiences and meeting people from all over the world!
Back in Germany I reflected my stay in England and had come to the conclusion that I definitely want to make this experience again as it was such an amazing time and I learned so many things! But then reality got me again and I had chosen the sensible way of getting a vocational education first – not losing my urge for international experience though!
So then I started an apprenticeship as media designer in an advertising agency and moved to a bigger city called Osnabrueck. There I got to know the advantages of being independent from my parents but also to give up very much of my leisure time and hobbies because of a full-time job with many extra hours. I can tell you working in a advertising agency may be not a good idea unless you want to give up your entire private life 
However, I learned many things there and I still love designing and creating media and I even kept working there after I had (finally!) finished my exams in summer 2015. A few months later I had found this EVS-project which really fitted to my interests and skills and therefore I decided to apply for it – and ta-da! – I quitted my job and now here I am in wonderful Sweden joining the guys in Globala Kronoberg!
Although I have arrived quite recently in Växjö – actually Lessebo – I already feel comfortable and I am excited to get to know more of the country and the many personalities! I am sure that EVS is the best way to experience cultural exchanges and international atmosphere and I hope that I will have a great time here in Växjö and also to obtain some success in learning Swedish!