My EVS in Athens
In January 2014 I packed my huge luggage, it was time
in the middle of the winter but my destination was sunny Greece. I was chosen to be an EVS volunteer for EDRA
in Athens where I worked with mentally disabled people. Now one year after
spending already two months back in my home country Finland I start to
understand what kind of experience it was. I can recommend EVS for everyone who
is interested in getting to know a new culture and exploring a different
country in Europe. Especially after graduation from high school EVS is a great
opportunity when you don`t know yet exactly what you would like do for your job
when you`ll get older.
I found my work very interesting in the daily care
centre where we did activities like crafts, going out for coffee and cooking. I
really liked communicating with our patients. First it was challenging because
of lack of common language. Little by
little using body language and learning basics of Greek it became a bit easier.
I felt happy to see patients smiling and enjoying what we were doing during our
workshops for example candles, keychains and wreaths to sell in the Easter and
Christmas bazaars. My supervisor,
coordinator and mentor were always helpful and they tried in the best way to
support us volunteers. It made me feel comfortable after a cultural shock in
the beginning. It took me some time to get used to live far from home for the
first time independently without my family and friends. Now I feel Greece as my
home where I hope to go for a visit many times in the future.
Athens is a very interesting place to do EVS. After
taking a look to all the touristic sights like Acropolis and museums it`s time
head your way to a nice café, a restaurant or a bar. Athens is full of them. There
is a lot of events and in the summer period it´s great to go to beach. It`s
around half an hour from the city centre by bus or by tram. If you just have a
chance you need to go also outside Athens. Greece has countless amounts of
beautiful destinations, for instance islands Zakynthos, Santorini and Hydra are
really worth visiting. There are very
unique places with different kind of nature. Also in the mainland are very
interesting places like breathtaking Meteora with monasteries and mountains and
the second biggest city of Greece, Thessaloniki.
EVS is an extremely exciting opportunity in the every field;
it`s volunteering, new experiences, friends and growing up!
Matleena Kinnunen
