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Lug 19 2016

Stampa Articolo

Un anno incredibile parte 1

Ciao Ragazzi,

now also my time is coming to an end and before I am leaving I don’t want to miss writing to the INACHIS diary. My name is Antina Lippert, I am 19 years old and I am from Germany, to be more precise, from the Baltic Sea, in the near of Rostock. Behind me are staying 12 really amazing months here in Civitella Alfedena (AQ) with INACHIS and there are 8 weeks more coming. These 13 months with INACHIS I did as a first half as a normal volunteer and as a second half as an EVS (European Volunteer Service)-Volunteer of the ERASMUS+-Program of the European Union.
I remember when I was arriving here in the end of July 2015, everything was new: the language, the people, the environment, the culture, even the weather. That was of course a big change in my life. Some months before I was just finishing school, the time with my friends was over and also the time in my comfort zone at home with my parents was coming to an end. There had to be something else, something new, and especially something that gives me new experiences to grow. Being more aware of European values, its community, its way of working and also to see the way European countries are connected through different aspects with each other and especially being an active part of this was a great and important experience for me.
So then I decided to do a voluntering project with INACHIS in the “Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise” in the heart of Italy. The whole project was situated in Civitella Alfedena at the Lago di Barrea. My parents brought me here and I remember when we arrived by car driving on the little streets that I was deeply impressed by the whole environment of the Mountains around the little town and the lake with its amazing blue colour that had an even more blue and shining look in the summer sun. In that moment I knew that this little town is going to be a second home for me. And it is! Civitella is a very little town with 190 inhabitants. It has some shops, three bars and three churches. Because Civitella is in the centre of the park and in a very beautiful environment it also has two faunistic areas: one area is the “Area Faunistica del Lupo” (Lupo=Wolf) and the other one is “Area Faunistica della Lince” (Lince=Lynx).

We then met two of the founders of INACHIS Claudia and Luigi that were at the same time my bosses and my mentors and during that time also my friends and my second family here. They were explaining me how the work is going to be, what we will do and what they expect from the volunteers. Also showing me how the life in Civitella is, meeting new and amazing people and learning step by step Italian were things they did with me. The first weeks here in Civitella flew, the other volunteers changed so often (some of them were here for one weekend, some days or even some weeks), together we discovered the area around and had a lot of amazing experiences together. August is also the time where the most Tourists are coming to the town, so there were many events here, e.g. the Film Festival in the first days of August, that takes place in the Centro Polifunzionale, La Sagra della Scurpella on the 19th of August or the Civitella Alfedena Folk Festival in the end of August.
Also in the “environmental part” of my work was happening a lot: together with Claudia I was helping the park to the counting of the Marsican Brown Bears (Orso Bruno Marsicano). A species of the brown bear, that is just living in that part of the appenines where we are living. They are a little bit smaller than the brown bears that are living in the other parts of Europe. In total there are just about 40-50 Bears living here in the park. That means, that in the last days of August Rangers of the park together with volunteers go out at the sunrise or the sunset to different parts in the Mountains (prefered are parts where the Berries (Bacche di Ramno) are growing that the bears are eating) and wait there for the bears to come out for eating. If there is appearing a bear they have to be registered. On the first day we were very lucky: when the fog went away for some minutes we could see a bear that was searching for some food. A very impressive moment!
Some days later we went to another part of the park, again for the counting of bears. We were sitting on the Mountains, everybody watching the other Mountains around with a binocular. Suddenly I saw something moving, and then there was appearing a young wolf just 30 meters away from us. He was watching us for short time and then he ran away from us into the woods to hide from us. Also that was an experience that I will never forget! In general these walks with the rangers were really fantastic, not only because of the animals, but because we were walking in parts of the mountains where it is not so easy to arrive.
Some weeks later the park was doing another counting of the famous Camoscio Appenninico (on english: chamois). For that we went out on some Mountains in Molise, and although the weather was really bad and foggy we saw one chamois that was standing on a big stone watching us. Some days later we went to Monte Marsicano (2245m) where we saw 40 adult and 8 young chamois that were laying in the sun. Fotor_144491948814713
Apart from all these things we were continuing working on the trails around Civitella: collecting trash, cutting vegetation, giving oil to signs and pannels, restoring the red and white signs on the trails. There we where walking to Lago Vivo, Valle Iannanghera, Val di Rose, La Camosciara, and on the trails near the Lago di Barrea.
In the end of October and the November were unfortunately not so intensive, the weather was not good, so we couldn’t go out so much, so I could spent some more time on learning Italian and encouraging the relationship to the people living in the town. In that time we were also opening the Museo del Tratturo e della Transumanza. I was learning Italian with a women of Villetta Barrea that is also a guide of the park, these lessons were very nice, because we were talking a lot and I was not afraid to do mistakes, so it was easier to use the language.
In the end of November the first real snow was coming. That was very nice to see because I was arrivng in sumemr, when everything was green, then I saw how the trees on the mountains lost their green colour and everything was yellow, orange and red, and now the snow arrived. It’s incredible how much the nature can change so fast and each season looks different, but on its own way truly beautiful. In that time the people of the town were also starting to prepare the Presepe that had to open on the 5
th of December. This presepe is a very special one, because we all know, that for christmas people are putting the nativity scene. That one is a nativity scene with figures that are as big as real humans, also the animals around are as big as that. And this takes place in an old house that is like 300 years old, and that is integrated into the environment of stones. So coming out of the house in the back is like a little cave and in there is the nativity scene integrated. Apart from this nativity scene there is also a little “town” with these figures: little houses with daily scenes, like a shop for fruit and vegetables, a carpenter’s shop, houses where people are cooking or playing cards. In these scenes the people of Civitella also recorded some dialogues in dialect that are in the background of each scene. Also the noises of the animals you can hear. And many more scenes. Out of this environment, in the old town of Civitella, they put also animals, like a horse, sheeps, a donkey and also other people that are “going” to the “town”. In the exit they also have like an archetype of the old town of Civitella, that is very detailed. Working and helping there is very nice, because all the people are coming there to help with so much love, that’s really incredible. The Presepe is starting in the evening, when it’s dark outside, so the scenes are even more beautiful with all the lights.
With the Presepe my first really amazing and great half in Civitella was ending. I was looking back to successful, beautiful and impressive five months. On the 12
th of December I was leaving Civitella for three weeks to be at home for Christmas and new years eve and to spend some time with my family and my friends. I am very sad that I was not there in Civitella to celebrate “Fiaccolata” on the 30th of December, a feast where on the Mountains around they are doing shapes of figures that are changing with the music in the background. The figures they do with torches. All the figures are belonging to a certain topic that in the months before the commission of Ficcolata is choosing. After that there is a big fire and a firework in Civitella and many people are coming there. But there is always a next time, so it’s also a good occasion to come back. And I will!
My amazing EVS-Experience I will upload soon with everything that we discovered!

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