My volunteering experience

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Category: Experiences

Published on Wednesday, 22 June 2022 16:04

Nine months ago, I decided to become a volunteer and it changed my life. I have discovered a new country, new people, new skills and new passions, and especially, it has made me leave my comfort zone, challenging and changing a big part of myself that felt stuck in the routine.

I decided that the place for me to go was Greece. Have I ever been to Greece? No. Did I know much about Greece? No. For me, Greece was a similar country to Spain, a southern country with similar traditions, people, food and weather. I thought that living here would not really be a challenge for me... the real challenge would be to find my place in an unknown country, with unknown people and working in something I had never worked before.

I had studied History at university and even though I really enjoyed it and have great memories of my years there, I felt like it was not really my passion, so the idea of working in a field different from the one I had been submerged in for the past years was very exciting. I was going to work with children and with technology.

At the beginning of September, I arrived in what would be my home for the next nine months, Vrontados, a village in the island of Chios. I was welcomed by the organization I was going to work with, Experimental Technology Education Sports TES-HIENET, and also by the two volunteers that had been here for a couple of weeks. For the first weeks, I felt a little overwhelmed by everything, but in a good way. Everything and everyone was new, and those first weeks were like going to summer camp as a child, when you make new friends and discover a new place. Now that I look back on it, it almost feels like a dream.

But being a volunteer is not a vacation. I wanted to be here to work, learn and develop myself, even though it is important to find a balance between work and free time. I worked in the 3rd Kindergarten of Vrontados as an assistant teacher. As I said before, I have never had any type of formal training as a teacher. I only knew that I was good with children. So I really didn't have any expectations of what the work there would be like. For the first two months, I felt like an outsider, which at the time made me a little nervous and also made me doubt myself. But I know it was just an adjustment period both for me and for the children and teachers. When you get the chance to get to work right in the heart of such a strong and united community, like the schools are, you need to earn the trust of everyone and to show that you are a valuable asset to them. The way I did this was just by being myself and working hard, not trying to be in the spotlight and understanding the value of the work that I was doing.

For me, going to school was one of the best parts of my volunteer experience. I entered the school filled with doubts and not really sure of how it would be, and I exited it nine months later filled with love and gratitude for everything that I had learned. And it is very important, as it was for me, to let go of everything I knew before and to realize that I knew little to nothing about education and learning processes for small kids and that it was an amazing opportunity to learn from the best, the teacher that had been doing their job for more than twenty years. And also, from the kids. I never thought that I could learn so much from those 5 and 6 years old.

There were two classes in the Kindergarten and I went between changing from both classes to staying just in one of them, depending on the needs of the school. The classes were fairly big, 22 kids in each and I was a stranger to them. Some of them liked me from the beginning and wanted to play with me, but some others just completely ignored me. And not speaking their language was not helping me. I was seeing that I could not really help them as much as I wanted because I could not understand them and make myself understand.

At that point, it was very important for me to learn Greek. I wanted to do more for the kids and for the teachers, and also to take the opportunity to learn a new language for myself. So I started learning more and more and soon I could see myself talking more with the kids and they were very happy to see that I could understand them. This was truly a turning point for me. I got much more involved in school and this made everything much better. My bond with both the children and the teachers grew much stronger. Now that I look back on it, I am really happy that I made that effort for them and for myself.

The next big part of my project was the technological part, as I worked with the rest of the volunteers to update websites, create content like writing articles, making videos, upgrading the radio, etc. Before coming here, my knowledge of technology was pretty basic. I knew how to edit videos and photos and use basic software, but that was pretty much it. So it was also the opportunity to gain more knowledge and also to work together with the other volunteers. Moreover, I got the chance to develop individually thanks to my personal project about mythology, where I got to mix my past knowledge as a historian and all the knowledge I gained about technology here.

Also in the social and personal aspects I feel like I grew more than I expected in the first place. It was not always easy to live with other people, but I learned how to be patient and empathic and always be clear of what I think and want in a honest and communicating way. Things not always work the way you want or expect and I had to learn how to adapt to new situations and just make the best of it. The relationships that I develop here are one of the things I will take with me forever and cherish. A part of the reason that makes this experience so special is to have people to share it with and that had been with you from the beginning and can always talk about it in the future.

It is very rewarding to look back at how I started and how I leave the project now. I learned so many new skills, a new culture, a new country and new people. And also many new things about myself. I feel like I have grown much more that what I had ever thought and discovered many new things about myself and new passions that I will develop as soon as I go back home. A part of me will always stay here, in Vrontados, and as a door closes now, I know a lot more will open in the future.