I came to Greece during the gap year I took before my final year of studies. I wanted to make the most of this time to be useful and give my time to projects I care about, to travel, to meet new people and to discover new horizons and perspectives. That’s why I chose to do a volunteering with the ESC!
My long-term ESC at Action Art was actually my second ESC. I did the first one also in Greece (as a teacher for refugees in an organization called OCC).
After this short-term project, I came in Action Art for a long-term project.
I learned a lot during these 6 months. I loved to work with my partner Lou-Anna! I learned about working in a team, I improved my communication skills and my organization skills, as well as my adaptability and my creativity. We had a lot of fun imagining and building activities for children and discussing at length random subjects while making psychedelic drawings.
I learned about pedagogy and to organize workshops for children on different topics (mainly art and geography) and I took storytelling and I told tales in the Intercultural Storytelling Festival called ” May of Tales ” organized by Action Art. That took place in various places such as schools and cultural places: an ancient site and the archeological museum. I think my personal training about storytelling and the performances storytelling was my favorite part of this experience!
During these months there were highs and lows and it wasn’t always easy of course, but I could always count on my housemates to support me and to brighten my mind with fun ideas.
Indeed, I lived with 25 people! I came to enjoy a lot living in such a big house, full of sweet and crazy people. Sharing our daily life and going to trips to discover so many beautiful places in Greece was wonderful! We had a lot of shared laughs, discussions that opened my mind and little adventures.
It made me more open-minded, feel more connected to people, more able to let people in and more confident that I can rely on myself.
It was also for me the occasion to practice languages with other volunteers. I started to learn Farsi and I am super happy about it! I also used English almost all the time, and it became very natural.
I am very happy I came here. It was a very intense experience. I met truly amazing people, I learned a lot and I will keep precious memories from it.
