Hy there!
I’m Denisa, a dynamic person from Romania who is in love with nature.When I was a child I spent my holidays with my grandparents in the countryside at their farm, I have many good memories of working the land, feeding the animals and cleaning the barn.Perhaps this is why for me, nature, outdoor activities and sustainable living is extremely important. Being in contact with the outdoors makes me feel relaxed, charges me with inner energy and resets me from day to day city activities.
My first English weeks started by having fresh air, a cup of coffee and a warm welcoming from Trevor at Penrith Train station. After I got to meet the other volunteers, see the beauty of the area and having the first encounter with the house and the room I choose to be my sanctuary for 10 months.
With a nice and cosy settle in, I decided to go and see the sunset over the lake, so I grab Edgar And Eva for our first walk and talk along the Derwent water.
A pretty good for a first day!
During the next day , Trevor show us the city that is gone be our home and share with us some tips ( like where is the best fish and chips place, nice coffee places, best supermarket) and later he took us for a ride at GlaraMara, an outdoor centre in an astonishing area, on the way we saw the beautiful lakes of Buttermere, Crummock Water, and the valleys.
Having Trevor ‘s tips, we had the traditional fish and chips for lunch in the market square, before starting our first hike together along Derwent water.
With a taste of the surroundings we started to know better Momentum World, the people involved and the stories they created for 10 years. Trevor started the introduction and Paul continued sharing his knowledge about it with details regarding media skills, EuroPeers project, Time for Tea project, S Factor project.
But he did not only share this but also, he introduces us to some good English beer, traditional ham and mustard sandwich, momentum world music playlist, wrapped up in a very nice dinner we participate together.
After one week let’s say that I adapted with the English accent, exactly with the north English accent, so I was ready to know more about the communities here in Keswick and get involved in activities. I started by going Thursdays and Saturdays shopping at the Keswick Market to support the local community, here you can find clothes for the difficult weather, crafts, homemade pastry, local meat and cheese, local vegetable, homemade jam, honey and bread( I tried this one and they are super yummy ). With a bag full of goods, I headed to the park at Café West, which provides support services and training to people with disabilities, to enjoy a cappuccino outdoor. Being charged with good food and coffee I went with Edgar at the Canoe Club at Derwent Marina to get to know the canoe and kayak community. The people involved were so nice and full of energy and they invited us to join them on the full moon paddling activity to show us the beauty of the lake. We accepted their invitation and we had an amazing time together on the lake, we will come back in the springtime.
In the following week, we participated in a EuroDesk event at Keswick school, where we talked with young people about international experiences, like European Solidarity Corps projects and youth exchanges.
At the end of this week, I grabbed Ed and Eva and we did our second walk in the area, around Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District. On our circular journey around the Gowbarrow Fell, we went for a picnic with a view at Memorial Seat( an amazing viewpoint), where we enjoy to capture with our eyes and camera the lengths of the lake and the colours of autumn.
By Denisa
