Hey, this is Dimitra, one of the ten new volunteers working with VulcanicaMente until the end of October! Today, I am introducing you to our team, what we do and also our first impressions of living and exploring Lecce. We are a team of ten young people from all over Europe; five girls and five boys from Estonia, Greece, Romania and Spain came to Salento to organize and participate in a Euro Bike Tour. Our purpose is to promote sustainable mobility and prove that cycling can be more than a workout or occasional recreation, while exploring the natural and cultural treasures of Salento. For the next five weeks, we will be working together to organize events, promote our activities and come in touch with the local community to understand how cycling can be more effectively weaved into the lives of people in this area. Our first week in Lecce has been exciting to say the least. Using our artistic skills, we made our own signs to attend the Fridays for Future global strike in Piazza Sant’ Oronzo, and took the opportunity to interview some locals about cycling and the sustainable future of Europe. We also took part in the Critical Mass bike fiesta, something that most of us had never heard about before, and were absolutely thrilled by the experience! Cycling in the streets of Lecce on a Friday evening with good music proved like the best way to make new friends- and also to cause some trouble to the drivers who did not seem so happy to see us. In the streets of Lecce we have discovered concerts, local artists and food treasure-corners, so in just one week we have already had a good taste of how lively the city is. No matter what you are interested in, Lecce has something for everyone: it combines traditional with new, serene with active, a modern lifestyle with an old twist. Using the bikes that Cicloficina Populare Knos has kindly lent us, we have also cycled and explored the surrounding area. On our first weekend here, we rode to Frigole and enjoyed a day at the beach under the warm sun. The next days, we explored the traditional trulli and stunning countryside around the area and, of course, we visited the home of VulcanicaMente in San Cesario to get down to work. Everywhere we go, one thing never fails to impress us: how kind and willing to help everyone here is. People here gift us their smile generously, and they are happy to chat and know more about us. As David, one of the Romanian volunteers commented during a group discussion, “Salento emanates a true sense of hospitality and authenticity which you rarely see nowadays.” Thoughts come true, and this thought was more than proven when we visited our home for the last ten days of the project. The owners welcomed us to their house and gave us a tour around, and even let us dive in the pool! After our swim, we all ate the aperitifs our lovely hosts had prepared for us, all made from delicious local products. Coming to Italy, of course we couldn’t stay unimpressed by the delicious food here. Apart from the famous dishes like pizza and pasta, we have also become obsessed with the local goodies such as pucce leccessi and pasticciotti. No matter the region of Europe we are from, north, west or south, all ten of us agree that our stomachs have been more than happy here. Of course, we also wanted to get to know more about each other’s culture, so we organized an intercultural night where everyone cooked typical dishes from their country, accompanied by traditional music and dances. The reasons that made each of us join this project vary. For some, it was a passion for sustainability and learning more about environmental protection. Others were more interested in the cultural exchange and sharing a unique travel and living experience with people from different backgrounds. For me, personally, it was a combination of all these things, topped off by my love for the outdoors and cycling in particular, and a desire to challenge myself physically but also mentally during the eleven days of cycling that await us. So far, our stay in Lecce has been magical. We have met amazing people and created memories that will stay with us forever. Volunteering with other young people is an amazing opportunity to learn more about other cultures but also yourself, and for me it has been inspiring to see my fellow volunteers, who are quickly becoming a family, working so passionately on our common goal. I am definitely looking forward to exploring more of the natural beauty and history of Salento during our bike trip, and getting to see a more raw side of the area, so stay tuned to find out more about our adventures!
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