I am Ieva from Latvia, and I was part of Mirakolix first EVS volunteer team for the project Play Your Way in 2012/2013, one of the funniest volunteering projects I’ve ever heard of. Doing EVS was a way for me to take a break from anthropology studies, and 9 months with Mirakolix turned out to be great – I met awesome colleagues and friends, learned a language and played innumerable sessions of Settlers of Catan.
Mirakolix is an organization built around a simple principle of play, and while it can be purely an amusing pastime, it also contains a lot more. Especially playing with kids at schools made me think about different ways of learning and how skills cannot always be taught directly; it is more about creating an environment for learning and interaction that is exciting, novel and open, about appreciating different skills and expressions. Playing can also be a way of self-exploration and getting to know other people better. I think, anyone can find a game suited to their character, while most of them cultivate wit, positive competition and good-humour.
I enjoyed the opportunity to be part of a community of players and contribute something to it. Now I’m so caught up with Romania that I’m trying to figure out ways to come back, at least for a while. 
