Volunteering in “Experimental-Technology, Education, Sports” – Brit Truuts – 11 months long-term volunteering in Greece

Name of the project: Volunteering in “Experimental-Technology, Education, Sports”

Date: 13/09/2023 – 27/07/2024

City/Country: Vrontados, Chios Island, Greece

Hosting organization: “Experimental-Technology, Education, Sports”

My name is Brit Truuts. I’m 27 years old, and I’m from Estonia. I’m doing my ESC volunteering project in Greece, to be exact, on Chios Island. My project here started in the middle of September, and ends 27 of July 2024.

Doing a voluntary job has been in my thoughts for a long time now. I first wanted to do it after high school, and also for me, it looks like most of the people do voluntary jobs after high school. But I thought that maybe it was easier to first go to university and then see what life offers me.

So in 2023, I quit my job and finally applied for this kind of opportunity. I knew that I wanted to do my volunteering in the Mediterranean region, and I also wanted it to be somehow connected with education. I googled a little bit to see what options I have in Europe if I want to do volunteer work and ended up on the ESC web site. On there, I found an organization called ““Experimental” Technology Education Sports.” I applied for this project at the end of July 2023, and at the end of August, I was picked.

So from applying to actually arriving on the island (on September 13), I had very little time. During this time, I had to learn how to use different programs like Olive (for video editing), Audacity (for sound), and Gimp (for picture editing). And I also had to find a sending organization. I didn’t have any idea how to find a sending organization, but luckily I got some help from ESC. And from there, I found contacts for NYH. Since I had so little time before my arrival on the island, I was able to meet with my sending organization once.

About my life in here. Currently, I live together with five other volunteers. They are from Italy, Germany, and Holland. I would say, we live in a typical Greek house, and we take care of the house and a dog- Jose’, who came together with house.

I’ll describe you an average day. We have to work five times a week. We wake up around 7 a.m. Then everyone makes themselves breakfast. Some of us do Duolingo (right now I have a 314-day streak on Duolingo). Around eight o’clock, we leave the house
and go to work. I work in kindergarten, like two other volunteers, and two of us are working in primary school. In kindergarten or primary school, we have to assist the teachers. That involves cutting the paper, laminating, playing with the kids, and helping them to fill out the worksheets.

Our work in kindergarten or primary school ends at 12:30 pm, and then we come back home. Then we cook, and if the weather is nice, and luckily most of the time the weather is really nice, we go to the beach. At the beach, like typical Greeks, we drink some coffee and spend some quality time together. For example, we practice Greek together, play volleyball, play cards, or just enjoy the sun and sea. In the evening, we have to do computer work. Computer work means that we have to write short articles. We mainly write for curiosity.gr or 4Children.gr, and also on Fridays we record the articles for our radio station. So I would say this is our day in here, but it is described very generally.

During the summer when the school year was over for the students, me and other volunteers started to paint on the school walls. In the evenings we are playing with local kids. They have toughed us some local games as well.

On weekends, we usually go to a city called Chios like island itself. In the city we have coffee or we also go for a lunch or dinner. It has already become a tradition and so far no weekend has been missed. We also try to go to different restaurants every time, but we already have our favourites. So if you need a recommendation, you can write to me. We also go on hikes or go to the beach again. On the island, you just can’t live without the beach.

In conclusion, I would say that I have learned so much about myself and about different cultures as well. I think that after all, it doesn’t matter what kind of project you choose. It depends on you, what you are looking for in life, and what you are going to take with you after the project ends. For example, working with small kids has taught me a lot about patience. Living together with people from different backgrounds is also really interesting. You see the way they communicate with their friends and family or with you. You also learn about their culture and cuisine. And the good thing is also that in the future, for example, if I want to travel to Germany, I have someone who can show me around.

I was also asked what my plans are after my ESC project ends. My honest answer is that I have no idea. Since I have a degree in teaching, I might continue with this, but I’m always open to new opportunities.

 

This Project was financed by European Commission’s European Solidarity Corps Programme.