Monthly report
February
After my arrival I’ve spent one week in quarantine. I have to say that it’s very strange to be in a new city and not being able to visit it; it was almost funny because I was continuously trying to picture how it could be. I didn’t have any expectation about the project or the city, because my January was so full of decisions and confusion that I was just caring about the pragmatic side of the travel and I didn’t think about all the other things. When I arrived, it took some time for me to settle in the house: that’s typical of me, because I’m very shy and introvert when I don’t know the people and I’m afraid to look boring, annoying or just unpleasant. When Rossana came to the house I felt better because I wasn’t the new one anymore. I started to work at the shelter in Pylaia one week after my arrival. It was really different from my previous experiences: I was completely free to do anything because the boys are adolescents so of course they are more independent than children. At first it was a little bit complicated for me because I had no idea of how I should interact with them, also because not all of them speak English, but then, day by day, I became more confident with some of them, playing football, listening to music and giving them some English and German class. I started to understand the personality of each of them and how to speak to everyone, so I began to actually feel part of the project. I really like this experience, I needed to be directly in touch with people because that’s what I missed more during the pandemic, furthermore I like to be in contact with those boys because they give me a completely different perspective of life. I’m also learning a lot about how migrations actually work, both the bureaucratic side and the practical side, because of course it’s easier to learn it if you speak directly with people that work in this field or that are actually migrants. I want to learn Greek, I’m trying to do it by myself with Duolingo and exercises, but I need to practise with somebody that can actually speak it, I hope I will meet Greek people in the future. Also, I hope I will meet people I will feel comfortable with, because it’s what I need to feel good in a place. So far, I’ve met some friends of David (the other ESC volunteers) and some friends of Ilaria and Giusi (QRT volunteers), which are all very nice and during free days we like to spend time outside, in parks or in the seaside for a walk.
