I’ve always been a person that had a tendency to escape-escaping reality, changing settings, seeing and experiencing new things, but also creating worlds of my own in my mind. Being raised in a small town in the north east part of Greece, it makes sense that I was curious about the world. So, when university time came, moving out to a different city far away sounded like the perfect opportunity, right? Well, here’s the twist: curious as I might be, I am also an extremely introverted person. Two poles: curiosity and openness to give to people and at the same time reticence and cautiousness. And that’s me, Christina, a perfect contradiction. Many challenges came my way through the years, some very disappointing and some pretty exciting, like being able to live abroad for the first time and also getting my degree some months ago. From here we reach the exact point where I’m at now: Italy. Italy was one of the countries I was obsessing over for quite some time, wanting to visit it but never getting the chance to do it for one reason or another. When I found the VulcanicaMente's ESC project, “Connecting the CommUNITY,” which combined my interest in contributing to a community and the chance to live in Italy, I applied without hesitation. After that, everything happened as if in a dream: fast, vividly, and joyously but also with some shadows at first. Here I am, almost four weeks, living in Lecce. In the beginning, I was quite uncertain of how it would all turn out, as I was the first to arrive for my flow and was all alone in the apartment. A kind of an overwhelming and doubting feeling took over me: “am I right here?” “Will I manage to fit in the team and with the other volunteers?” I slept with these thoughts in my mind and the first morning was a bit slow. Until a volunteer from the other ESC project, Rise Together, “dragged” me out of my uncertainty, showing me around and offering me her company. That was the first positive glimpse of how my time here would be. Then it all started like an avalanche: meeting my coordinators and mentors, getting to know them and working with them, meeting other volunteers and welcoming my new flatmate and co-volunteer for the first time, but also opening my mind and my views about the world and, most importantly, about myself. I started being more conscious of my feelings and started getting out of my comfort zone more and more. Adjusting to the Italian ways was also a challenge: everything kind of familiar but also so totally different. Not knowing the language at the beginning made it also more difficult to connect but little by little I am getting the ways to communicate with the locals by having more experiences with the community and getting to know them a little better. Additionally, discussions on different themes and activities with people and their unique experiences reminded me of the importance of being original and not getting into boxes that others make for us, bringing my ideas and thoughts to the table, but also reflecting on myself. A whole new world opened up to me: a reconnection with myself and my potential that has enabled me to also see the potential in others and work with them. Little by little, a new feeling started to form in me; doubt and uneasiness were replaced by the feeling that this is my place, that all was meant to be. Now, being exactly in the middle of my time here, I realized that four weeks has passed like a minute with a feeling that I have done nothing in the meantime. Of course, that is not true as I have gained so many more experiences in one month than the entire last year. Also, my life is getting richer by bonding day by day even more with wonderful people that are becoming important for me – without even realizing it! I am already thinking about the pace of time and how I would like it to stop right here right now and this exact fact makes me want to live my remaining time here to the fullest. That’s why I am making this promise to myself: cherish the time with the friends you have made, take care of them and enjoy (consciously) the little moments and opportunities you get right now, because we have the power to shape our reality however we want it; and it is worth living it!
*From the song “As it Was” by Harry Styles, dedicated to all the wonderful people I have met and have yet to meet here but especially to Nuria, my partner in craziness!
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Yes, there I was, sitting in Brindisi Airport waiting for my bus to go to Lecce. I am Kerem from Turkey, a long-term volunteer in VulcanicaMente's ESC project, Rise Together. I want to tell you about my experiences that, looking back, seem unreal even though it has only been two weeks since I arrived here. I remember the day as if it were yesterday, about eight months ago, when I received the email informing me that I was selected for VulcanicaMente’s long-term Rise Together ESC project. That day, I had a hard time believing the situation, just like in Brindisi waiting for the bus. I verified the email again and again to let my family and friends know. I was terribly excited by the thought of not only embarking on a unique long-term adventure in Italy, but also being able to touch my own life and the lives of others by raising awareness on issues that are vital to me. As we often witness in life, it didn't take long for things to suddenly go wrong and reach unexpected places. Just before starting my visa procedures, we learned that passenger transits between Italy and Turkey were closed within the scope of Covid-19 restrictions. My nervous waiting began when we received the news that restrictions would be reviewed again in a month. When I learned again that the restrictions would continue after yet another month, my world was almost destroyed. After a long time, I lost again the reason that excited me and made me come out of my cocoon. It shouldn't be hard to understand that getting bad news doesn't help the situation at all, while keeping your motivation high is hard on its own, especially with my mood. It took a little longer than I expected for me to regain my motivation and take action again for my purposes. I tried and I was defeated. I shifted my focus to myself, albeit unwillingly, from society. I started contacting various courses and schools so that I could focus on my own education and development. Somewhere inside me, however, there was still a child who wanted to volunteer and wanted to contribute something of himself to society. I contacted Jacopo at VulcanicaMente again without thinking. I reached him via email, explaining that I had been selected for Rise Together but could not come due to visa problems and that I would be happy to work with them if they needed a volunteer for their next project. In just a few hours, Jacopo responded. He informed me that passenger restrictions between Italy and Turkey were still in effect, but that we could reconnect again in the future. I was very touched by his response and a small fire of hope was rekindled inside me. Not too long after this exchange, while I was at the stage of signing a full contract with a language school in Ireland, Jacopo contacted me again, saying the passenger restrictions were lifted and I could come if I wanted to still participate in Rise Together. I swear that 15 seconds passed between me tearing the language school contract I had just signed and reading Jacopo’s message. It was not surprising that other options were quite inadequate besides the opportunity to live in a different culture and learn a language while supporting society and working on a subject that affects my whole life and that of millions of other people. It was not difficult for me to complete my visa procedures and get my visa. Both VulcanicaMente and my sending Turkish organization, Turkiye Avrupa Vakfi (TAV), patiently answered all my questions and provided me with all kinds of documents and information I needed or might need. Frankly, I doubt that this process would have gone so smoothly if they hadn’t been so helpful and professional.
So, yes, here I am. Kerem. While I have been living in Lecce for two weeks now and writing these lines, I still reflect in disbelief at what I have lived and will live. Stay with love and volunteerism! |
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