During the last week the main topic in kindergarten was the North Pole and the South Pole. The teachers started by showing the location of these areas on our planet to the children. Afterwards they watched a video about animals who only live in the Arctic or Antarctica and learned […]
During the last few weeks, the main topic in kindergarten was water. The teachers started by explaining the water circulation to the children in an easy way. To start this topic the teachers first asked everyone where the rain and the clouds come from. The children could soon agree that […]
Winter and Christmas are coming closer. It gets colder here, which also means bringing our winter jackets and hats out of wardrobes and of course seeing many beautiful Christmas decorations at the outside of houses. It brings a calming atmosphere. You automatically get in a Christmas vibe. However, due to […]
We took advantage of a warm sunny October day to go on a trip to the south of the island. We started of the day by taking taxis to Pyrgi. Also known as the painted village because of the traditional decorations on the houses. These geometrical shapes are called « […]
The 28th of October also known as OXI- day is a very important celebration in Greece. On that day in 1940 the Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxa refused to surrender to the Italian forces leaded by Benito Mussolini. Even though this decision ended in war Greek people are still very proud […]
On sunday 6th of september 2020, we took the opportunity to discover a bit more about Chios island and went on a trip to Nea Moni. We arrived a bit early therefore leaving us the time to look around and stroll through the abandoned buildings that once were the servants quarters. […]
After a long and hot summer holidays, it is time to start school again. But due to the current situation of corona school started one week later than actually planned before. Therefore, the students and the children were supposed to go to school on the 14th of September again. The […]
After a long break of summer holidays schools finally started again on 14th of September. In the kindergarten we already started preparing everything two weeks before the children arrived at school. Every year the kindergarten teachers select a motto for the whole kindergarten. As this year’s motto is “castle” we […]
On a sunny Saturday we went on another trip to the south of the island, this time to the capital of the mastic region: Mesta. The castle-village is located 4 km from the sea where it has a big port and has been added to the representative List of the Intangible […]
If the weather and the team are good we sometimes go sailing with the whole group. During our last trip we noticed that the motor of the boat was making strange sounds and therefore decided to check if everything is okay. After we had realized that the propeller was broken […]
On a Sunday we dicided to visit the small fishermans village Lagada located just 17 km away from the city of Chios. The City is built at the slope of a hill and originates from the two ancient settlements Koila and Kydianta. Those ancient settlements where built farther up the […]
On the 11th of June we, the volunteers, had the opportunity to do an excursion in the small village Pyrgi which is located in the central south of Chios. As soon as we arrived in Pyrgi, all of us were fascinated by the architecture of the houses because the village […]
Two weeks later than usual due to the Corona pandemic, the primary schools finally closed on the 26th of June for the summer holidays. Thus, during the last week everyone was desperately waiting for the holiday. The teachers were starting to watch movies with the children and lessons like the […]
The 3rd kindergarten of Vrontados had their final celebration on the 24th of June. This year the schools and kindergartens were open two weeks longer than usually because they had to close for many weeks due to the outbreak of Corona in 2020. We, the volunteers were very happy that […]
This Sunday we decided to discover another part of the island. Since we have not seen much of the north yet we went to Kardamyla which is the biggest village of the northeast in Chios with around 4000 inhabitants. As most of the villages along the cost Kardamyla has an […]
Easter is the most important event in the Greek year. After the 40 day long great Lent the Easter holiday usually comes with several celebrations and ceromonies. It is the time of family barbecues and traditional dances connected with a wenton mood and happiness. All of us were excited to […]
Carnival is a very special time in Greece. It is a three weeklong period that belongs to the Easter festival. So it is a religious event with an old tradition. The whole period is called “Apokries” which means abstention of meat because it ends with the 48 days long fasting […]
Anavatos is a deserted medieval mountain village in the centre of Chios island. It is reachable via a lonely road going up and down the mountains, passing by the monastery Nea Moni which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and crossing forests and extremely dry areas with barely any vegetation […]
Time flies by really quick. So the invitation for the Midterm-Training was a big surprise for all of us. The Midterm-Training is offered to all volunteers who do a project that is longer than 6 months by the National Agency of Greece, which basically means that the half of the […]
Water is the elixir of our life without it we could not exist. Because of its importance for our lives the teachers of the kindergarten took the past two weeks to explain everything about water to the children. Starting with the question “how does water smell?” the children learnt at […]
As a big highlight of the year the 3rd kindergarten of Vrontados prepared a Christmas theatre for Sunday the 15th of December which they performed in the “ΠΕΚΕΒ” club. To have the best performance as possible the teachers started to practice the play already back in November. With much passion […]
On Halloween, the 31st of October, the second primary school of Vrontados decided to do an excursion to the nearby beach of Daskalopetra. The beach is named after the famous poet Homer. Homer used to teach his students on the rock, which is just up the hill above the beach. […]
Every year on the 28th of October the people in Greece and the Greek communities all around the world celebrate a very special historical moment. In 1940, during the Second World War Benito Mussolini presented a ultimatum, to the Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxa, which demanded Greece allow Axis forces to […]
This week both groups of the 3rd kindergarten of Vrondadhos did an excursion to the “Centre of Enviromental Education Chios”. The group where Robert helps went on Wednesday 30th of October and my group did the same the day after Thursday 31st of October. In a car convoy we made […]
On the long weekend from 17th to 19th of February we volunteers had the opportunity to visit Turkey. First we went to Cesme by ferryboat and afterwards we took the bus to Izmir. It is an impressive city, located around a huge bay and surrounded by beautiful mountains. We got […]
You know how sometimes people say, “The more often you see something, the more used to it you get?” In a lot of cases, this statement is true. It seems like you already know what is going to happen because you have already experienced something similar before.However, for me, it […]
Before I came here I promised myself one thing, I didn’t want to look back and regret not doing something and asking myself what if? During the last year, we tried to make every decision with the motto: “As you grow older, you’ll find that the only things you regret […]
“I am actually living the Mamma Mia life”. This thought was stuck in my head ever since I stepped off the airplane in September. I thought at one point I will get used to everything around me and nothing will feel special or new anymore, but that was not the […]
For the past ten months, we have spent our evenings in front of the computer working on our articles for the organization’s websites. When the summer holidays started we spent a couple of days in the school to support the teachers with getting the school ready to close. Then, starting […]
In the last one and a half months of my project, the school where I worked was closed due to the summer vacations in Greece. Unfortunately, we were not able to plan and promote official activities because the other volunteers and I are leaving at the end of July. Instead, […]
After my exchange year in the USA, I decided to go abroad after school again. I informed myself about the possibilities and learned about the European Solidarity Corps. Five months ago, the time had come. I left my home in Germany, to start a new experience. I arrived at a […]
A little more than a year ago, I was graduating high school and I was thinking about plans for my gap year. I knew that I wanted to go abroad and maybe work or do a volunteering service. I was really excited for the next year but also a little […]
As an ESC volunteer working in a primary school, there is a lot a lot is going on around the Independence Day of Greece on the 25th of March. There is also an important history behind Greek Independence Day to learn, which took place in the 19th century; By the […]
Sometimes I ask myself how I ended up here. To leave my home and my life as I knew it for one year. On Chios Island, a place that I didn’t know existed before I came here. And now, almost a year later, it feels like home. I found my […]
No school, crowded beaches, hot temperatures and cold drinks. Summer arrived. For us volunteers, this means there is no more work in the schools and kindergarten on the island since it is summer vacation. Instead of that, we meet in the evening, when the sun goes down in the schoolyard […]
March 25th 2023In 1814 a secret organization called the Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends) was founded to liberate Greece. The insurrection was supposed to start on March 25th of 1821, the day of the Annunciation. Unfortunately, the plans were discovered and the Filiki Eteria was forced to start earlier. The […]
Greek flags decorate houses and gardens, students march through the streets under the guidance of their physical education teachers, children practise traditional songs and dances: In Greece, the days leading up to 25 March are packed with preparations for a big celebration. Parades and dances take place every year on […]