New year, new beginnings and also taking consciousness on how close the ending of the program already is. I had also a little hope of being able to extend the program a bit, but we found out there is no way to do it under the ESC coverage. It really has hitted like cold water. All the things that are still in the drafts, all the activities left for later because one or other reason are now very present, and there is an urge to put everything together again and be able to carry them out. Now it’s time to prioritize and act.
It’s also a bit challenging for me because I decided to come to volunteer while still taking care of a bachelor’s degree, so now that I am in exams period I’m a bit stressed and finding it hard to be as present as I would like to be in both the center and the apartment life. I even went to, finally, visit Athens, which I loved and enchanted me so much, and I still got stuck with a belated essay! Ugh
January is calling for action at all levels and we are also planning a lot of trips until the end of the program, trying to find a way to explore this part of the world.
In the center something very exciting is happening for me and with the group of students I’ve been meeting since August and that have been my students. The social worker of the center proposed to me to carry out with her a non violent workshop, adapting it to the teenagers. So far I’m loving it, since I love these spaces where we can explore safely and from an understanding position how emotions are part of our life, when in daily life normally they’re excluded, when not neglected. I hope this month the group becomes more and more woven together and that we keep on learning from each other.
Another thing that this month has been keeping me busy is finding the way to stay longer. Since the beginning of the program I found it very weird that, being an educational program, we would leave mid school year. Specially considering that we’re in a structure that tries to provide help for people who have so little stability. I wonder what a change could do that I stayed longer, and often I answer to myself that not too much, but still it’s what I feel it’s the right thing to do (of course, my motivation is not only ethical, I’m enjoying myself like crazy getting to know my students, their quirks and all the good things they teach me. And working in the center!!). Let’s see.
I’ll keep you updated.
