Hello, this is Dimitra from the VulcanicaMente ESC project, Euro Bike Tour. As our time in Italy is slowly coming to an end, I thought I’d share a bit about our experience cycling through Salento and what this trip has been like for us. Let’s begin with a weather forecast: for the 12 days we were on the road, from our setting off in Lecce to our arrival in San Cesario, it was raining every single day. Some days we even got bonus excitement with strong winds blowing which made riding our bikes feel like an extreme sport. We would wake up in the morning, look at the heavy clouds outside the window, put on our clothes already wet from the previous day, and set off on another day of cycling under the rain. It’s true, however, what they say: everything is a habit. After the first few days of riding in the rain, we stopped being as frustrated and cursing our luck for the weather. We accepted that the situation was that way and focused, instead, on trying to make the most out of it. Pro tip: playing music can transform any experience and change your mood from “I want to kill everyone” to “this isn’t so bad after all.” Sure, most of us were feeling tired and frustrated during the trip, and I would be lying if I said it wasn’t challenging. But being with each other and getting through it all, made us more appreciative of the simple things in our lives such as warm water and dry clothes that we often take for granted, and grateful to be living this experience in the first place. During the trip, we visited ten towns, met nine local organizations and projects, and countless amazing people. From sustainable rural projects to agri-camping farms to alternative hostels, we saw how one small idea can turn into something much bigger and powerful, and that there are many ways to have an impact. In every single visit, one thing remained the same: the passion of these people for what they are doing. In every place we stopped, we interviewed our hosts and asked them about their work and how they started their business or project. Each of them had a different story to share, but all talked to us about the value of pursuing what excites you and never settling for less. It was surprising to see so many different settings, so many different lifestyles existing just a few kilometers away from each other. When looking back closely, however, this was also true for the 12 of us sharing this trip: we all come from different backgrounds, and carry different views, habits, attitudes and needs. Doing this trip together was definitely fun and memorable, but it also exposed us to the uncomfortable reality that there is so much that we do not understand about people who approach and live their life in a different way than us. It was an opportunity to get to know other people and learn from them, but also look into our own selves and reflect on our decisions and manners. For some of us, this means leaving this project more confused and uncertain about our lives than when we entered it, as one of the Spanish participants, Leire, told me today. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though. For me, this is one of the values of projects like these, pushing you out of your familiar cocoon and offering an immersion in a completely different reality which leaves you energized and inspired to change, to do more, to be more. Yes volunteering is not always rosy, sometimes it’s wearing plastic bags for shoes and eating soaked bread for dinner, but the feeling of working on something meaningful and having a positive impact is the biggest payoff and the reason why so many volunteers keep coming back for more projects. Once you start this journey and get into the travelling mentality, it becomes almost addictive. I can prove this with the fact that many of us in the group are already planning our next adventures with European projects! So, this is all from the Euro Bike Tour team. I hope you enjoyed learning about our trip, and that our experience inspired you to take part in something similar and look for opportunities to be active and challenge yourself as well. Arrivederci!
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“Feel the fear and do it anyway.” -Susan Jeffers The beginning of something new, exciting and unknown, can also be the most terrifying moment. At least for me, it wasn’t easy to step outside my comfort zone and decide to live abroad for ten months in order to be part of VulcanicaMente’s European Solidarity Corps project, Rise Together. I am Michelle from Germany, one of the four long-term volunteers for this project, and together with the other volunteers we are addressing gender equality problems. As my first two weeks of ten months in Lecce draw to an end, I have had time to reflect on the experience. We arrived in Lecce at 6 p.m. and by “we” I mean my mom and me. She accompanied me and stayed for the first four days at B&B Centro Storica in Lecce (such a lovely B&B by the way!). When I look back on it, I’m really grateful that she was with me these first days. It was quite a shock when I came here because everything was so different to what I was used to. The living situation is different from Germany, the people are different, the environment and the culture. For example, I am not used to traveling 30 minutes from one place to another because local transportation is easier in my city, Hanover. I also learned that it was better to wear more layers at night to stay warm because heating costs are so high; to be responsible we do not want to leave on the heating overnight. The biggest change, however, has been the language. This is Italy, so clearly the predominant language is Italian. This has often made it difficult for me to interact with locals, especially when I got lost and didn’t have a clear mind in those stressful moments. Even though these situations were and still are tough for me, they are also a great motivation to learn Italian so that I can actually converse with the locals someday. Since there was nothing that reminded me of Germany around, I became really anxious. I felt lost and overwhelmed and this is where my mom comes in. She was my calm anchor inside this whole new world and the one thing that felt familiar. I know it’s not always possible for parents to come along when you start a new journey, so what can also help is to try surrounding yourself with things that feel like home. These are the ways that helped me settle in:
Despite the shocks and surprises, I have also had some fun times with my roommates Cristian from Spain and Kalli from Estonia; I know there are more great times yet to come. Kalli also introduced me to two of her friends, and including my mom and Cristian, all six of us had a wonderful time. We shared meals and introduced each other to some of the typical dishes we eat at home. One evening, we went out to the Centro Storico of Lecce and sat on the Convitto Palmieri stairs. I ate the best calzone in the world and Pelle, one of Kalli’s friends, took his guitar out and started singing. It was truly a magical evening in a magical city, I slowly fell in love with it all. The architecture is dreamy and, especially at night when all the lights are on, there is an ambience that I only recognize in Italy. We also started to go to Ciclofficina Popolare Knos (CPK) regularly to maintain our bikes and give them a new look. When I first arrived there, I was fascinated by the place. It didn’t look like how I know it back in Germany, yet I felt like it was beaming with creativity. In CPK, you have the opportunity to actually build your own bike piece by piece, but you don’t necessarily need new things in order to do that. They already have plenty of pieces for building a bike and most of them come from other bikes they took apart. With that said, they are also focused on sustainability and actually showed me that just because something looks rusty, it doesn’t mean you can’t use it anymore. I really enjoyed taking apart my bike and seeing how it is actually built. It was my first time doing something like this while I was being guided; it was truly an experience. In Germany, I haven’t seen any bike labs yet, so I was positively surprised when I got the chance to tinker with my bike and can’t wait to see the result of my hard work! Now, after two weeks, I know that if something is wrong, I can go to Cristian and Kalli for refuge, which means a lot to me. Besides that, I know I can always go to Sandra, the Rise Together project manager, and Jacopo, VulcanicaMente’s vice president, if something happens. They welcomed my mom and me warmly at the bus terminal when we arrived in Lecce, which was really nice of them. On our first activity days, they have given us a good introduction to VulcanicaMente and what we can expect to come. We did some brainstorming about our project, what we want to do, what it means to us and what our goals are. They gave us a great start to slowly get into the project and how the organization is run. I’m looking forward to the coming months. All in all, I’m still learning to get comfortable outside my comfort zone and I think it is important to share that it is totally okay to be anxious or lost at the beginning. This is all part of the growth process. In moments of anxiety or loneliness, it is important for me to always ground myself and remember that I’m not alone. |
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