Have you ever seen the movie “Mamma Mia”? If you have, then you probably remember how beautiful the scenery in it is. It is all about mountains, beaches, small towns, friendly people, the sun and so much more. That is pretty much what I pictured when I thought about Chios Island.
When I got off the airplane and drove to the house that I will be living in for the next year, I was already impressed by the city. It was way bigger than I thought it would be, filled with lots of people and restaurants. The road we took runs all the way along the ocean, giving us a pretty view of Turkey on the other side. Everything looked so warm and beautiful.
But before I even knew it, my first evening on the island was already over. My head was spinning with all the new impressions but I was very excited for what the next days might bring.
We spent the following day at the beach and in Chios City for dinner and drinks. Everything still felt so surreal and new but at the same time, it felt like I had already been here for a few months.
One of the things I liked the most, was how welcoming and open the people were. I first really experienced it on our taxi drive back home from the city. Before getting out of the car, the taxi driver offered us some grapes that he grew in his backyard. But he didn’t just give us one each. He gave us a whole lot, saying that he has enough left at home. That was something that made me very happy, knowing that the people here aren’t reserved when it comes to foreigners. This observation still proves itself every time I pass people outside. Mostly everyone, especially the older people, greet you welcoming and with a warm smile.
However nice my first weekend was, it was now time for my first week of work.
I was nervous (and excited) about the first day: Will I be working in a kindergarten or in a school? Will the kids like me? What about the teachers and the tasks that they’ll give me? Will I be able to do anything without understanding a single word? These were all questions circling in my head while we were walking to work. Arriving at the school, I was greeted by the headmistress. She brought me into her office to explain to me what my task will be and to give me some information about the history of the school. I could already see the differences in comparison to elementary schools in Germany. One thing that surprised me the most, was the relationship between the headmistress and the children. Of course, everyone respects her but just the way they talk to each other is more familiar and closer than what I was used to from home. For example, some of the kids just walk into her office and chat with her for a bit, even if it’s during class. That is also something I noticed after a few days: During classes, it is normal for the children to get up, walk up to the teacher and interrupt her in the middle of her sentence because they want to say something. Or they just get up because they don’t want to sit anymore and then stand for a while.
I guess schools in Germany are just stricter when it comes to things like that but that is also the reason why I really enjoy being in the classrooms here. Even though, it can be very loud because every kid talks and screams at the same time, they all seem to have fun. I probably would have loved being a kid in a school like that. They are even allowed to just play with play dough, draw or make handicrafts during lessons.
Anyways, back to my first day of work. When the headmistress told me about what I had to do, I had no idea of how hard the task would actually be. She explained to me that there is a special kid in grade one who has a hard time concentrating and leaves the classroom after a few minutes because he gets bored of the exercises and then wants to leave the school. I was supposed to look after him so that when he leaves the classroom, the other teachers know that he is safe and doesn’t do anything dangerous.
When I entered the classroom of the first grade, the kids all got very excited and started talking to me in Greek. I was overwhelmed by so many little faces asking me questions and showing me all of their drawings and toys. It made me happy though that none of them were shy or scared to talk to me.
I was sat next to the special kid to help him with the first worksheet. He started to work on it but decided to leave five minutes in. The teacher gestured to me that I should follow him outside. From then on that was pretty much what every day looked like. We spent most of the time outside of the classrooms, either petting cats or running around. I was struggling on what to do and tried to find different things that would keep him occupied, without any lasting success. I really underestimated this task but the teachers helped me wherever they could and we tried to find solutions on what to do further on together.
When my first week of work was over, I still couldn’t believe that this is what I will be doing for the next year. Everything just looks like a dream. Even on my way to work, I can see the mountains, the ocean and of course the typical Greek churches, with white walls and blue roofs.
But work is not the only thing that still feels surreal.
Living with two people that you have never met before and now spending most of your time with them is not something that you experience every day. It is a comforting feeling though, knowing that there are always other people around you who go through more or less the same emotions as you and it is nice that we are able to experience new things together.
I’ve already made so many new and happy memories that I didn’t think were possible to experience in such a short amount of time.
Everything is still exciting: The walk to the mini market here in Vrontados because you never know what conversation you are going to have with the people on the street this time and what candy the man in the mini market will give you before leaving. Every time we go to the fountain to get some drinking water, I always wonder if we will see the donkeys climbing on the rocks again like we did the first time I went there. Whenever we sit outside for breakfast or lunch, I look at our pomegranate tree in our dog’s area and think about when the next ones will be ripe enough so that we can eat them again. Going into the kitchen and looking over the ocean after we just came home from the beach where we went to right after work. Taking the bus to the city to find the next restaurant in which we can try more Greek food and suddenly finding ourselves eating crepes at the port at midnight. …
Now that I’m writing these memories down, I realize that this is nothing like the “Mamma Mia” movie I was talking about in the beginning. From what I’ve experienced so far, it is so much better. The island is even more beautiful than I imagined, the people are nicer than I thought they would be, and work (even though it is difficult and I’m struggling sometimes) is much more fun than usual work.
I was really unsure of what to expect from Chios and my life here, but so far, it has definitely exceeded my expectations!
