Tears were shed, hugs were giving, but now it’s time to get excited.

Hi, my name is Roos, and I’m about to start a brand new adventure! Waiting for my flight at the airport, now seems like the perfect time to get going with this blog. Which is new and a bit awkward, so bear with me please!

Off to Riga, Latvia it is, where Julia and Rasa will be waiting for me to pick me up and take me to Preili, where I will be staying for the next 12 months to be a volunteer at Preili Free School. Being from the Netherlands, and from The Hague, it is gonna be interesting to see how life in a small town will be compared to a bigger city. But I’m open to anything and excited to see what will happen!

So, why Latvia I hear you ask. Good question, and one I’ve had to answer to basically everyone who I told I was gonna do this. ‘Why not’ is usually my answer back, but here is the full story. Six years ago I went to Cambodia for four weeks to work as a volunteer at a local school to teach English, loving it so much that someday it was going to happen again, and that day is today! I quit my job, cancelled my studio apartment and booked a one way plane ticket. Of course, there were some in between moments, because there was a short process to actually become part of this project. I signed up with the ESC, the European Solidarity Corps, who have many projects all over Europe. So with quite some options, Preili Free School needed someone asap, and after I applied there was an invitation for an interview. With the interview the following day, I believe it was a good match, because Aija, the Latvian coordinator, hired me on the spot and things were getting in motion.
I told my employers about this a few days later, and after my one month notice, I am ready to go for take off as we speak!

Keep you posted!