If yes, this is your chance, if not think it a bit more…
Noored Ühiskonna Heaks is coordinating an European Solidarity Corps volunteering project called ”Fellowship of volunteers”. They are looking for 9 volunteers to youth centers, kindergartens and disabilities centers around Estonia.
The aim of the project is to develop the key competencies of volunteers, promote volunteering and active citizenship, as well as give hosting organisations valuable experience that engaging a long-term volunteer offers (cultural background and new knowledge, fresh ideas, etc.). It is also a very practical learning tool for the volunteer: a possibility to try a variety of different tasks considering the interests and skills of the volunteer and at the same time learn a lot about Estonian culture and multicultural cooperation.
The subject of this week’s article is pretty obvious and easy to think about it. CoronaVirus, Covid-19 or SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that influenced millions of people worldwide, killed a lot of them, closed borders and set the world in a Quarantine mood. I’m not going to give you general information about the virus, to present you the current situation or give you numbers of cases and deaths. I’m only here, blogging and speaking about my EVS experience in Italy as always…
So, I stayed… It’s over a month now that the situation in Italy became serious. First, the schools closed and with them our EVS activities that were pretty much related to schools and kids, as I described in my previous blogs. For around two weeks I had almost nothing to do and I had to stay in the house as much as possible. I can say that at this point I hadn’t really realized the seriousness of the situation; the numbers were still low and the people seemed cool, even though they were staying more at home and bars and restaurants weren’t so full as usual. At this point I had the chance to go back in Greece and spend some time in quarantine, but yet I would be with my family and it would be easier. I decided to stay in Faenza for several reasons, but the main one was that I didn’t want to risk get infected neither infect other people without even knowing it. Also, I didn’t know when this situation will end…
Supermarket reality the first days…
The next week the association start giving as activities to do from home and helping us to deal with the quarantine situation. I didn’t realize before now that it is really hard to live a global crisis like that so far from home and from people that you’re counting on. So, as you could easily understand I had my ”blue” moments, too. Actually the majority of the moments at this point are ”blue” given that each time that I open articles to see the numbers of cases always are bigger and bigger and you’re just feeling far and far from home.
Leaving a bit apart the plethora of thoughts that I have, I manage to feel better through work and activities that the organization gave me. I started some yoga lessons and I did workout from YouTube -like everybody at this point- and I tried to study a bit for my exams. Of course, the house like any other house in the world is cleaner that has ever been and I am cooking like crazy, because I’m running out of things to do in the house pretty easy.
Supermarket lines with 1 meter distance from each other
The latest lock-down found me in the position that I already was, it wasn’t for me a big surprise that we should stay home, we should stop going to the supermarket every day and we should be careful. The only change was that I stopped cooking so much and start a diet for the 5th or 6th time this year.
Reading again all these that I wrote above I just realized that I wasn’t funny at all at this new blog -eh, it doesn’t matter, we aren’t always funny.
Two of the reasons that I miss Greece…
I want to leave you with some food for though this time. I read a lot about solidarity, social awareness and new profound respects for human lives and I strongly believe that everybody should take a moment and think about all of these regarding what’s happening in the world and the new needs and issues that are created. Anyway, one of my results and I really want to spread the word about it, is to cancel 2020 and start using 2021, it will just take the stress out of my shoulders…
Until the next time-that I promise I will be funnier-,
Sono Danai venuta da Grecia e come ogni settimana, sono qui anche questa Venerdì per raccontarvi le mie nuove esperienze!
And continuing in English, because it’s easier…
The truth is that this week I didn’t do a lot of new things. After my mini trip in Brussels, for which I talked in the previous blog of mine, I back in Faenza and back to work. I continue being poor, because I’m spending all my money to travels and aperitivos, but I’m having a good time regardless the money in my pockets.
I decided to talk to this blog about a new activity of mine -association activity- for which I didn’t talk enough, I think. So, after the Christmas vacation and when I finally came back to Faenza, my coordinator asked me if I want to do a new activity and of course I told yes! Before holidays I was pretty focused on writing a youth exchange and with International projects in general, but after finishing my work and send it to the National Agency, the thing that left me to do was to waiting for their answer -and that reacquires time-. In that moment, when they asked me to start something new, I ran fast to answer ”yes, yes and yes”.
My new activity takes place every Thursday from 14.30 o’clock until 19.30 and is something I was already familiar with, after-school. I’m doing some after-school also here in Faenza, every Wednesday and Friday, but after the new year, the organization started an after-school also in Brisighella. Brisighella is a small city near to Faenza- only 10 min away with the train- and is really beautiful. The after-school there has kids in the first classes of high school, which we help to study for the next day in school- and after them we have younger kids around 7 years old, with whom we do creative activities in English.
To continue we have to talk a little bit about my relationship with kids. Four years ago, I couldn’t even be in the same place with a little kid, I mean I couldn’t stand the screaming, the curiosity and the unstoppable urge of playing, I was tired even thinking about it. But the time passed, I grew up and I had to make some money. I have a degree as a teacher of the Italian language so it was easier to find a job as one. I started doing private lessons, to adults and after the kids came looking for me. Last year I rebuild my opinion about the small people, the kids. I did private lessons to some of them and I enjoyed it. Yes, I’m still tired every time after 1 or 2 hours with them, they are so active that they can take all your energy at once, but I’m having fun and I’m feeling useful.
Knowing all that, you can assume two things about me and about the new activity of mine. First, I enjoy it and second every Thursday I’m sleeping really early, because I’m so tired every time. In Brisighella’s after-school with the younger kids we are doing a so many creative and fun activities. Every Thursday we are planning new ones and we are focusing in the English language. We’ve done already the clothes, the body parts and the seasons. As you can easily guess the next should be carnival related.
And briefly I’m saying you goodbye, my lucky readers…
Sono io, Danai, la volontaria greca a Faenza. I hope you didn’t forgot about me…
So for another time I am here to tell you everything about my life in Italy, my EVS experience and all the interesting things that happened through this week.
Unfortunately, this past weeks I couldn’t live in Faenza, I had to go back in Greece and write some remaining university exams, that I’ m really hoping to pass and GRADUATE THIS YEAR. All this situation with back and forward travels between Greece and Italy made me really tired and combining the study that I had to do, I can truly say that after a while I was begging to return to my everyday life in Faenza and be in a chill mood for a while without having so many things to do.
Stavros Niarxos Foundation, Athens, Greece
Except all these difficulties and all the studying, I had a great time in Greece, because a friend of mine came to visit me in Athens. But to talk to you about this I have to do first a small introduction.
As everybody knows at this point the ESC or EVS or SVE -the same thing, three different ways to tell it- is an incredible opportunity that helps you in many ways. Regarding the flexibility of work hours and environment, the chance to live abroad and the experience to learn a lot of new things, I believe that I already talked to you for some of these. One of the most important and interesting things that this SVE experience is giving you is a lot of new friends from all over Europe and in this way you can have the best intercultural experience and of course expand your multicultural view.
From the previous paragraph is easy to understand that I made a really good friend this year, thanks to ESC project that I am being a part. My friend is called Federica and she does the same project with me, but in Greece. She lives in the northern part of my country, near to my hometown and she working with another organization based in Greece. To explain you, to do a program like this you have to have a sending organization and a hosting organization. In the case of Federica and me we are sharing organizations, in sense that my sending organization is her hosting and my hosting (SE.M.I association) is her sending.
Long story sort, in some point near October we started working together for a project and also doing some language exchange classes via Skype, so I can help her communicate in Greek and she could help me improve my Italians. From this cooperation with ended up good friends but we never saw each other until now…
When I realized that I would be in Greece for two weeks this January and also inside this time I would have my birthday, I invited Federica to come and visit me in Athens. And so she did…
She came in Athens Thursday afternoon and she returned Sunday morning. It was four amazing days. I tried my best to make her see all the sights of Athens and all the cultural things. We did a long walk in the center of the city, visiting Thisio, Plaka, Monastiraki, Sintagma e Psuri -the heart of the city-.
We also eat a lot, like a lot! I wanted her to try some traditional Greek plates and we ended up eating ‘till we were dead and couldn’t move -especially the first day-. But except the things that we did in the city, we got to know each other better. Making new friends is always a thing that I enjoy and through this project I am really happy that I met a bounce of new and interesting people from all over the world. Through others you also have the chance to see yourself and your behavior and accept or change things. You can evaluate and challenge yourself. One thing is moving to a whole new country but maybe the most important thing of all is to make a social life there, without knowing anyone, between strangers, you have to find your place and make your circle. It’s difficult, it’s challenging but also it’s a huge opportunity for self improvement.
Have you seen your friends on Facebook and Instagram having fun all summer abroad?
Are you ready to live an extraordinary experience which combines the study of your interests and the chance to live abroad for an amount of time?
A.N.S.I (Associazione Nazionale Scuola Italiana) is here to give you the chance to live the experience that will follow you the rest of your life. If you already have found a summer study program that interests you or you haven’t but you want to join one, A.N.S.I is there to help you.
The search of a program that suits to your needs sometimes might be stressful as well all the bureaucracy around your departure for another country. This organization will be by your side and give you all the right information so nothing negative will come in your way.
A.N.S.I is an association that organize and informs about summer study projects abroad and with an experience of years in this field is the best organization to make you fell safe, well inform you and help you to find your path.
