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Gap Year - Personal Project
September 27, 2016 - July 1, 2017

After I finished my basic ecology studies in 2016, I had no idea what to do next, which direction to continue my studies, whether to become a researcher or rather a field biologist. Although both paths have aspects I really enjoy, I never managed to specialize, so I always questioned whether my generalist, foundational knowledge and experience were worth anything, or whether I should give up on ecology altogether. At that time, I thought, let’s see what a gap year is like and maybe I’ll figure out what I really want.

I started researching and first came across the EVS (European Voluntary Service), which today is called ESC (European Solidarity Corps). I sent my CV with high hopes to every ecology-related project — turtle conservation, GIS internship, ranger work, zookeeper, conservation staff — but I wasn’t accepted anywhere.

So I revisited a site I had heard about during a high school volunteer experience, which I highly recommend to anyone considering a gap year: Workaway, WWOOF.

Then I set off into the world on September 27, 2016.

From here on, you can see photos of myself and my fellow volunteers.

This is a 30-liter backpack from the brand Atta. I think this is the size that’s not too big and still comfortable to move around with, but not too small either. This isn’t true for every 30-liter backpack — I don’t know how they came up with it, but many of them look much bigger than an average 30-liter backpack.

First, I went to Finland because one of my best friends was working there, and I thought I’d visit. In reality, it was a bit harder than I expected — we were about 40 km apart, but I managed to hitchhike there with four different cars.

In the meantime, I saw some really cool landscapes, and fortunately I had a camera with me, which took up a lot of space in my backpack — I’m not sure I would pack it again.

I took care of Icelandic horses.

I shoveled manure.

I walked dogs.

I looked at the landscape.

At night, I tried to photograph stars — with little success.

In the afternoon, I photographed the sunset.

I was excited to photograph a whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) up close, which I had only seen from very far away in Romania during winter.

At Purola Farm, they also organized horseback tours, so I was able to join a few times. Otherwise, I probably would never have had the money for it, but as a volunteer, I worked off the cost.

From left to right: me, Katy — a German volunteer, and our host’s daughter.

Our tasks also included building bridges like this. This was really funny because the American volunteer, Travis, probably had never hammered a nail in his life, but somehow the bridge got built. These are the kind of practical tasks that, unfortunately, are left out of school.

This is an insect hotel. At that time, it was not very well known here, but nowadays we read more and more about bee hotels, pollinators, and solitary bees. If you want to learn more about the topic, I can first recommend this website in Hungarian: https://www.beporzoknapja.hu/

In the meantime, I also visited a Finnish library, and I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry when I saw the cover of a book about Romania written by Finns — this is the country’s image.

After one month at Purola Farm, I took a little vacation in Tallinn, and then in early November, I hitchhiked from Tallinn to Riga. It was quite cold, and a few times I lost faith, but in the end, I made it there.

Since the snow arrived earlier than expected, instead of the prearranged gardening tasks, I ended up photographing foxes.

I also happened to be in Latvia during a national holiday, which involved lighting many candles. It was beautiful, but at the same time, I thought it was quite wasteful, and we should somehow find more sustainable ways to celebrate.

I also had time to visit the Riga Bay.

Another task: photographing at a children’s birthday party.

We also went to schools to hold craft workshops.

Kemeri National Park

The advantages of off-season tourism: everything is empty.

After three weeks, I moved on because I found a 10-euro plane ticket from Warsaw to Brussels, and I thought I’d visit an old friend in Belgium.

One of the challenging moments hitchhiking from Kaunas to Warsaw.

I managed to get there by the evening.

Then, very quickly, I found myself in Belgium, among cute houses.

And among lots and lots of bicycles.

I really liked this model; I would love to see enlarged models of cells on the street here instead of advertisements.

Something you find everywhere: fried dough (lángos) and Jehovah’s Witnesses — Brussels.

A Eurasian bittern (Botaurus stellaris) hiding in the reed bed — my Belgian friend and I visited a tiny protected area, and to my great surprise, everyone there was equipped with huge lenses and was incredibly excited to finally see a bittern. I was happy too, of course, but for us, this species isn’t rare. However, I realized that what is still common here is already rare in many Western European countries. I don’t know if we can avoid this ‘development curve’: we destroy habitats in hopes of a higher standard of living, and then realize we have to start restoring them because there’s nothing left…

Sleeping at the Brussels airport, and the next day heading to Manchester — again, driven by a cheap plane ticket and an old friend. Sleeping at airports is also a unique experience; you can talk to many people who often come from the other side of the world and wouldn’t normally meet for a coffee, but these situations often lead to very interesting conversations. At least, that has been my experience so far.

I hitchhiked from Manchester to Nottingham, which was quite difficult because everyone thought I was totally crazy. In the end, a kind lady from Stoke-on-Trent gave me a ride home and even offered me work, and then her son took me to Nottingham. Two days later, I was already working in a bar because I needed to earn some money for an Interrail ticket.

The Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is native to North America, but in Europe, it is an invasive species. In England, it already has a significant population. According to Wikipedia, it hasn’t completely displaced the native European red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), only from urban parks and lowland deciduous forests. Nevertheless, anyone I spoke to in England who was interested in nature conservation was very angry at the gray squirrel. It’s worth reading more about this story elsewhere as well.

The carrion crow (Corvus corone) looks like a cross between a raven (Corvus corax) and a rook (Corvus frugilegus), but in terms of behavior, it is more similar to the hooded crow (Corvus cornix). It was a new species for my list.

A tufted duck (Aythya fuligula) pair, female on top, male below — I was just as happy to see them as the whooper swans, because until now I had only seen them from far away in winter and hadn’t had the chance to photograph them.

A protected area closed to visitors — maybe this will be the only solution here as well.

White-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus) — one of my favorite water-associated species. If anyone would like to join the now-traditional winter dipper count, here’s some information about the project.

Roads.

It felt strange to hitchhike on the other side of the road.

I was looking for the camera, which of course was at the very bottom of my bag…

That’s why I was looking for it.

My only selfie from the trip.

Keswick — I stayed here for a while, helping someone who was house-sitting. In return, I got food and accommodation, and also a lot of help with project writing.

Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus).

Showing solidarity with a protest.

And I thought of the plants — Carex is the genus name for sedge species. I don’t know why they named a soap after it, but surely the marketers can explain.

In Scotland, large predators went extinct, so now they are trying to reintroduce them — this photo was taken at a wolf rehabilitation center.

When it’s better to turn back — the view was beautiful, but only from a distance.

I was looking for the Loch Ness Monster on a borrowed bike.

"And shoo, here comes Marrakesh…"

We volunteered at a school, and while we were there, we also signed up for a camel ride.

Dune.

We were hitchhiking, ran out of water, and I'm just looking at where to go next.

This is already Spain, and I was exploring the area with one of my fellow volunteers using a borrowed tent.

The red partridge (Alectoris rufa) retains its name in Spanish. I was gardening at a lady's place and would take walks around the area in the afternoons.

The darting cisticola (Sylvia undata) also made an appearance.

I hitchhiked to a flamingo reserve, but I miscalculated the time and didn't make it back before dark. So, I got stuck in a small town where they helped me with accommodation, food, and I even watched a Real Madrid vs. Barcelona match in a small pub.

Bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) at sunset.

Also an afternoon walk.

I ran into my Moroccan volunteer colleagues one more time in La Grande Motte, near Montpellier.

So off to the Pyrenees—I volunteered at a mountain refuge.

Gentians (Gentiana spp.)—if you take a close look at the Romanian 1 leu, you'll find gentians on it too. It's not the same species, but the genus is the same.