Building bridges between people with traveling and volunteering
As many young millennials in Slovenia, Ana, a twenty-eight-year-old from Maribor, realized at a very early age that she wants to see the world beyond her home town. She is a travel lover, skiing instructor and philanthropist. While talking about her experiences she radiates wisdom, honesty and deep empathy for people, nature and animals. Her words leave a big impression on me and I discover that the richness of her experiences is based on one simple element – she is not scared to trust people; a virtue that many now lack.
Youth is a time when people start to search for their passion and meaning of life. Thanks to your parents you discovered the passion for traveling very early in life. They took you, your sister and brother in the world, where you had the opportunity to broaden your horizons.
True, I have been lucky to experience traveling as such a young age. Our first biggest trip was when I was sixteen. We traveled to Kenia and one year later to Namibia. This was when I first met with another culture and my tendency to discover the world was born. Then we took a trip to Jordan and Israel where I realized, that as much as I enjoyed traveling, I didn`t feel good traveling in organized groups. So I decided I will start doing trips on my own.
And where did that decision take you?
After the first year in college, when I was nineteen, I returned to Africa but this time I went to the west coast. I backpacked through Ghana and Burkina Faso and I experienced the feeling of true freedom. I was hooked. When you are alone, without any friends or family, you experience the culture and environment much more intensely. You go where you want to go, stay how long you want to stay and, what is the most important thing, you learn to be independent. Even though I was alone, I never felt lonely. The people were so so generous and nice and the only problem I had was, that nobody took me seriously because of my age. So sometimes I had to lie I was twenty to be taken more seriously.
During your International relations studies you managed to maintain traveling as part of your student life. You applied on student exchange programs and even gained a ski instructor certification. The latter enabled you to start a very interesting career – can you tell more about it?
I trained skiing since I was a child and up to the end of high school. During my studies I decided to get the license for a skiing instructor which enabled me to work as a seasonal skiing instructor and took me around the world. I got my first job in Switzerland (St. Moritz) where I could try out if this kind of work suits me. I liked it very much and after I got a chance to teach skiing in Australia and Canada, I returned to Switzerland. In the meantime, I took one year off to do my Master’s degree in England. Between the working seasons I had a chance to travel to the nearby countries - from Canada I backpacked through parts of the USA and Mexico, from Australia I backpacked through the west Australian coast and Indonesia and while I was in Europe I took time to travel to the Caucasus region and the Middle East. Everything turned out pretty good (laugh). This kind of work gave me the opportunity to have freedom, which I still don`t want to give up.
Did you do any other seasonal work besides that of a skiing instructor?
One summer I planted trees in Canada. This was one of my best summers till now. We were in the wilderness of British Columbia and Alberta, we slept in tents, without phones or internet and spent our evenings hanging out around a bonfire. It was very intense work but we were an amazing team and we helped each other a lot. The nature was simply stunning, we even saw bears and moose. Not to mention northern lights. After working twelve hours a day I was tired but satisfied.
You are very interested in human rights (you even have a master’s degree from this area). This motivated you to volunteer in projects around the world which, you believe, is a very educational way to travel and meet new cultures. How did it change you?
I immediately loved it when I started to travel as a volunteer. Through the organization
Zavod Voluntariat I went to Paris and Tanzania. Lately I am volunteering in Palestine. First I taught foreign languages in Nablus and after, I helped prepare walking trails in South Palestine. My wish to connect two of my favorite areas – sport and human rights – came true this year. I had an opportunity to participate in a project as a ski instructor for girls in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. In the rigid Afghanistan tradition, girls learned how to manage the skis and I hope it gave them motivation in other areas in life. On the first glance, sport and human right might not have a lot in common but with the self-confidence that arises with mastering a sport, girls and women around the world can change their lives. I know that as a volunteer I cannot change the world, but I can use my experiences to build bridges between people, that are – especially in Europe – starting to be more and more scared of one another.
Let’s talk more about Afghanistan. In media the country is shown as extremely dangerous so people seldom put it on the wish list for traveling. How did you overcome everything you heard and saw about the country?
At the beginning I was a little bit scared, but only because I didn`t know what to expect. Usually I don`t listen to the media but I was aware of the tragic news from there because the majority of Afghanistan is at war. There is no reason to be scared though. All the people I met there were extremely welcoming. Besides humanitarian workers or soldiers they don`t meet foreigners a lot so they are very curious, but not in an intrusive way. The nature, especially in Bamiyan is breathtaking, the mountains covered in snow, clear streams, and under it little, poor but hospitable villages, well maintained and filled with potatoes and wheat. I immediately felt at home. The country has a very interesting yet bloody history since it is located between Europe and Asia. They haven`t had peace in thirty years, yet you find people on streets with so much life. Even though their stories are bitter, yet they always give you an honest smile. I think the western world can learn a lot from them.
Unfortunately, Afghanistan is still a place where women are oppressed. Did you have any bad experience?
I as a women haven`t had any problems in Muslim countries, especially in Afghanistan, as well as other parts of the world. As long as you obey their local tradition the people will be very good to you, no matter where you go. But it is true that Afghanistan is one of the poorest and less developed countries in the world and therefore the position of a women is bad. Most of them get married very young, live at home and take care of the children. As a foreign woman I was seen as thirdgender, which put me in almost the same position as a man. I had more freedom then local women since they don`t socialize with men outside their households.
You constantly find opportunities that enable you to travel and actively integrate into community. What is your advice for young people with similar interests?
European volunteering service (EVS) offers very good opportunities for young people if they are less then thirty years old. The projects are financed by the European Commission. I recently applied to a project organized by Palestine Sports For Life in Ramala. With many sport activities we will enable young people, especially girls, to learn about skills in sport which they could later transmits to everyday life. I also want to learn the Arabic language so I can integrate into the Palestine culture even more. Participation on volunteering projects is one of the best ways to travel, it doesn`t cost much but it teaches you plenty. When you help communities, not matter if at home or in foreign countries, you also help yourself.
With all your rich experiences it is interesting you never decided to write a blog. Why?
True, maybe I am little bit lazy. But the main reason is I don`t like to travel with the computer. Writing a blog is an obligation that would hinder me when I travel.
Can we expect something in the future?
I did have an idea to write about traveling and the projects but for now it is only an idea. Last year I started to write about my life in Palestine but I quickly changed my mind. The situation in Palestine is so complex that everything I wrote sounded insufficient. It lacked objectivity and this would impact the interpretation. I have friends from Palestine and Israel and I am sure they would see mistakes, each in their own way. So I left it, but maybe I will start again in the future, when I will have more knowledge about it.
What`s your advice to young people who want to travel?
If you have a chance to travel, no matter where, just go. Don`t wait until someone else will decide to go with you, just go, even if its alone. Don`t listen to the media or people that say the world is a dangerous place. But make sure you always read about the places you go, so you know how to behave. Travel with common sense and trust people, you will be positively surprised. The world is a wonderful place!
