First of all, this month has had a big change of weather so almost all of the flatmates got a cold. However, I’ve been trying not to waste the sunny time to not only swim in Perea with the boys but also keep traveling a little on our two days off per month plus some weekends. This time I went with Maria to visit the calm beach in Halkidiki of the town Toroni and I recommend it as a familiar and beautiful destination. Secondly, I’m happy about the sports activities since on Tuesdays and Thursdays the guys and I go together to the city to play basketball and volleyball in a way that at the same time of having fun we socialize with refugees of other shelters or Arsis centers. We’ve also been attending Greek classes so we start to feel less uneasy to understand while communicating with locals. It’s just the beginning but I’m looking forward to being able to have basic conversations when I leave the project. My favorite memory of the beginning of this month was when Arsis proposed us to work, and therefore, participate in a multilingual festival in the city hall. I regret that we didn’t go on Saturday because just on Sunday I experienced a lot of cultural exchange of music, dances and presentations about a lot of different countries and I’m very proud of the ones our boys made about Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh and the spontaneous and emotional Afghan song and dance that we shared.
On the other hand, the Spanish classes were not as successful since the only guy that got the family reunification to go to Spain was not around to help him out. Of course, it was neither a failure. We try with the most important resource that we have, our presence, to make their time in Perea’s home enjoyable by sharing different moments with the boys. I’m learning a lot during my volunteering project and I love being with them. Sometimes I feel sad when they leave (mostly in not an official way) but I will always remember and hope for the best for them.
