Hej 
I’m Lina from Germany and just started being an EVS volunteer in Växjö.
My working place is the culture house Palladium, where we have events like concerts, theatre and art exhibitions. We do everything which is necessary to prepare an event so there are many different tasks to do, which makes work really interesting. For example I design the posters and flyers with InDesign, a program I’ve never used before, so I had to discover it myself a little. But it’s fun and I hope I will improve during the year. Next to the office tasks we are also active; we prepare the stages with lights and sound, talk to visitors and artists about upcoming events and install new technical equipment. So far it has never been boring
Especially last week because of Kulturnatten, a big culture event that took place all around the city on Saturday. The whole week we were busy designing posters, meeting the artists, doing sound checks and so on but of course Saturday itself was the busiest day of all. The program was 11 hours long and took place on both stages and the entrance. Luckily we had many hard working volunteers who helped us. Working 13 hours is definitely exhausting but it was really great as well. The events were nice and also diverse. There were many concerts but also theatre, poetry, activities and a filmquizz. But what I liked most is that I was able to meet so many people like artists, visitors, volunteers and friends.
Meeting people is something which is actually easier than I expected it to be because everyone here is really nice. I thought that the people would be more reserved but my experience so far is that they are actually really welcoming and also open. I already start to feel included into the society. I think it is that way because Växjö is a bigger city than my hometown, so there is more going on and I try to be outgoing. But also because it seems like the Swedes put much effort into integration. There are a lot of organizations and activities to get to know others and learn the language, for example Språkcafé and groups. So far a step to integrate myself was that I greeted my mum with “hej” on the phone without noticing it, so let’s see how Swedish I am in a year 
Pictures:
- on my way to Alvesta by bike which was an adventure, next time I do this in spring
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- my supervisor Rita and me selling fika during a concert
- at a gala were Palladium was nominated for the best culture stage 2016
