October 2020

One down - 9 to go!

 
New month, new experiences, new feelings. On the first of October I was kind of stunned, as my first month here was already over. Time flew! But now, on to the update.

ICYE provides me not only with a mentor, but also with a contact person. Luckily, mine also lives in Ollerup, so it was easy meeting her. She is very nice with me, checks up on me regularly and I can always seek help in her. Additionally, we share some interests. Our first meeting was at my host family's house, which was cosy. 

At Genbrugskontakten I was a part of a special workday. The daily leader there told me that we were going to "drive genbrug" but honestly, I never even had an idea what she was talking about. I came in only at 1 pm and we drove off with their bus. First, we picked up some things from someone's house and sorted through those boxes. Afterwards we drove to the junkyard in Svendborg, where a special room is located, "Genbrugsrummet". People put stuff in there of which they want to get rid, but may still be usable. The second-hand shops take turns in emptying and sorting through this room and can take into their shops whatever they want. How cool is that?

With the scouts I was on a mini-hike. The children and their parents got divided into groups and were given a map with locations they had to find. There, they had to solve different problems. I was at the first location, so I accompanied the last group on their hike home. It was exhausting and cold, but in the end, I felt good because I have gone through it. It was a little hard for me, as I couldn't really talk to the children, but it was still a nice tour. 

with the two scout leaders (who kind of adopted me)


The local organisation of ICYE here on Fyn has organized a meeting of all the volunteers currently on Fyn. Unfortunately it was only Rosa, Karen (another Spanish girl) and me. Still, we had a nice day full of good food (smørrebrød - an open sandwich eaten with fork and knife) and funny conversations.

At Frivilligcenter I had some days without my mentor/boss, as she (or her partner or her son) were tested for Corona and she was forced to work from home. I was a little bit lost, but I always found useful things to do. Additionally, I could always call her, so that was a welcomed help.

One of my co-workers told me about her neighbour, whose girlfriend just moved from Cyprus to study in Denmark. I offered to talk to her, because I thought maybe we could be friends, as she is also 18. I was right. It is extremely interesting to listen to her stories from Cyprus, as I have never gotten familiar with that country, yet.

One of my biggest tasks at the office was (and still is) to distribute folders in various public places in Svendborg. At first, I was a little anxious, as I had to plan everything myself and somehow find the places. But now I actually love it. By going by bike, I see places and streets of Svendborg I would have never seen otherwise.

Accordingly, there are days on which I feel extremely exhausted after work, sometimes physically, sometimes mentally. But it is not the bad type of exhaustion, but the good one, which makes you feel like you got something done.

Especially the folder distribution gave me a sense of routine and trust in what I am doing. When I come to the office, I know exactly what to do and how to do it. It is a nice feeling to be clear of your tasks and actions, as it took away my insurance. I gain confidence in my work day by day. 

My evenings were mostly full of "hygge" (an extremely high form of coziness, comfort and well-being, which is typical for Danish culture). I usually sit in the living room and read one of my books while my host parents are watching something on the TV. Sometimes they are watching something in English with Danish subtitles, which is extra fun for me. One day we actually watched an Austrian show, "Tatort", and it was extremely weird for me to hear the Austrian accent on Danish TV.

In the middle of the month, I had several days on which something felt off. I started dreaming weirdly again, was left without energy and was constantly exhausted. To this day I don't know what was wrong then, but I forgot about it as it ended. 

In week 42 we had fall vacation, which means I didn't have to work. So, I got together with some other ICYE volunteers to travel around Denmark. We have seen a lot of different cities, such as Faaborg, Vejle, Aarhus, Aalborg and Esbjerg. That week was very special to me, as it felt like we had known each other for years, when, in fact, we just met. Also, we were all pleasantly surprised by the train-network here in the country.

street-art in Aalborg (very sweet)

Botanical Gardens in Aarhus (it even was free to enter!)

Art Museum "Aros" in Aarhus (not free to enter - so we just passed it)

the people I was travelling with: Jaime, Rosa, Jonas and Karen (happy eating)

a deer park in Esbjerg (he hit me afterwards)

another group picture in Ribe


Week 43 was also going strong, as I had an On-Arrival-Training hosted by ICYE, online. I expected it to be boring as it was on the computer, but it was actually enjoyable and the volunteers attending were motivated to do stuff. We learned about our rights, about ICYE in general and talked about our strengths and values. In conclusion, I could really get something out of that webinar. (They also sent us packages with goodies in it, like a rubber duck, which is currently chilling on my work-desk)

On Arrival Training (we did absolutely not play drinking games)


This month, my host father had his birthday. On his actual birthday we just went for dinner, but on the following Sunday (1 day before the new Corona restrictions) we had a big get-together with family and friends in the town hall of Øster Skerninge. It felt good getting all dressed up and ready. The food was also extremely delicious. I spoke to a lot of nice people and ate way too much, as expected.


me and my host parents at the birthday party (sorry for the bad quality)


I want to tell you about a walk one evening I will never forget. I forgot the torch at home, so I lighted my way with my phone. On one of the roads, I could see the moon clearly, so I turned off my light. The moon lighted up the whole way, I listened to music and I had the urge to start dancing my way down that road. That's what I did. So, there was I, in the evening, on that lonely road, with my headphones on just dancing. I may have looked incredibly stupid, but I felt so free in that moment.

I SAW HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE AT THE CINEMA IN ODENSE WITH MY CONTACT PERSON AND A FRIEND OF HERS. It was so cool. It was my first time seeing any of the movies in the cinema and it was, well, magical. I laughed, cried, sang and lip-synced the lines. It was lovely!

us at the cinema (me being way too excited)


All of those enjoyable experiences I have made so far make me feel loved, welcomed and really well. I'm very lucky to have this network of people around me here.

Towards the end of the month, I finally started a language course at LærDansk in Svendborg. I am, unsurprisingly, the youngest in my class. Nevertheless, all of the people are extremely nice and keen on learning Danish. It is so fascinating to hear about where all of them come from and what drew them to Denmark. We are such an international class and i love it. I try to speak as much as I can - with co-workers, my host family and the kids at the scouts.

Also, towards the end I got a weird feeling again. I felt like some hard times are going to come. I don't quite know how to explain it, I was just anxious to fall into a hole of missing home and having enough of my time here. Those time didn't come yet, and maybe that feeling just came because it is slowly becoming winter, darker and colder, so I just need some time to adjust to it.


Negative:
still having a feeling of confusion and shyness
missing my old school
sometimes being overwhelmed by things
Corona being pretty bad back home
it is sometimes still hard to hear from people at home
feeling of missing out

Positive:
inspiring talks with one of my co-workers
feeling very productive and like a part of the society here
genuinely being myself
not feeling alone
kids at scouts slowly seeing also me as a leader
feeling free
watching Titanic with my host mom





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