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 are the things you didn’t do” in mind and now that we are leaving I can say that there is nothing that I would have done differently. I have had the time of my life on Chios Island and now that we are about to leave I am starting to realize that more than ever before.
From the beginning of October until the start of the summer vacation in June, I worked as an assistant teacher in the 3rd primary school of Vrontados and offered my help to the teachers and the kids. My daily schedule included the subjects English, P.E., French, Music, Arts, and computer lessons and I helped in classes two to six. My everyday tasks mostly consisted of making copies, filling up whiteboard markers, making decorations for the hallway or the classrooms, organizing cabinets, helping the kids with their work, and playing with them during the breaks. Over the course of the year, we went on quite a few excursions where it was our task to get the kids to the bus, help them with the seatbelt, keep an eye on them during the day and then drive back to school. When there was an event coming up like Christmas, Ochi-day or Easter we set up chairs and technical equipment, took pictures with the school camera, made costumes for the kids when there was a play and supported them behind the stage. Towards the end of the school year, we were asked to create a ‘goodbye video’ for the sixth graders and burn it onto CDs for them to take home. We also spent the last weeks with repainting some games in the schoolyard and once the vacations started we supported the teachers with getting the school ready to close. From the first day on I was welcomed with open arms by all the teachers and they offered us support wherever we needed it. In the beginning, the kids needed some time to get to know us before they were fully comfortable to talk and play with us, but the same goes for me as I also needed time to adjust to the situation. I knew that the language barrier would be difficult and I was aware that we didn’t speak the same language, but at times it was actually easier than I expected. Some of them knew some English words and sometimes my broken Greek was actually enough to understand what they were trying to tell me. At other times, it was also a lot harder than I hoped it would be. Trying to comfort a child without knowing what to say or them looking at you helplessly and you can’t do anything is something that made me feel more like a burden at times than an actual help. The teachers had to explain many things double or translate them just so that I could follow what was happening. While I never felt unwelcome and nobody ever made me feel like I was actually unnecessary, the feeling was still there and in the beginning I didn’t know how to include myself and instead just felt like I was standing around a lot. Once you get to know everything, learn a little Greek, understand their body language, and learn the teacher’s routine and how to navigate yourself through the school it gets a lot easier. You start seeing what would be helpful now and get the courage to ask for more tasks to fill your time. It took me a little but everyone is incredibly supportive, the teachers never lost their patience and the director made sure that we know how thankful he is for us to be there. Throughout the year there were still struggles coming up every now and then but the other girls were big factors in making me feel less alone because they were experiencing the same things. After a bad day, I always knew that I would feel better after I talked to the girls about it.
Next to the work that we did in school we also spent two hours every day in front of the computer creating content for the websites of the organization. We wrote articles for our personal projects or about our experiences, did translations to make the websites more internationally accessible, and recorded articles for the online radio. While this was not our favourite part of the day, especially in the heat, uploading the articles that I wrote and actually seeing them being on a website, was very rewarding and made me feel proud of all the work that I put into it.
Before I started this journey I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when it came to the people that I would live so closely with. I was scared that they wouldn’t like me or I wouldn’t like them, but those worries quickly vanished when I stepped foot into the house. Obviously, this is different for everyone and I personally also had a different relationship with all the people that joined us and left again over the year. But the three girls that have been here with me from the very beginning turned into friends that I know will stay forever and are what made this experience even more special than it already was. We supported each other through every up and down since we experienced most of the problems together, but also when it came to personal stuff there was always a shoulder to cry on. We brought out all the animals that somehow found their way into the house and if someone, me, didn’t want to do it someone else stepped in and saved me from a sleepless night. We fought through the cold and the heat, sat together in blackouts, had water fights, explored a new country together and went on vacation to Turkey, Samos and Athens. We were there for each other in difficult moments of being so far away from home, laughed and cried together and I will always be thankful for them being part of my life for the past 10 months. I was scared to not get along with the others but I didn’t expect to find friends that I know I can lean on forever.
Besides my roommates, the island is what made me feel so welcome here. It is honestly like straight out of a movie and still now, after seeing it every day for over 300 days, I am still in awe at the beauty around me. From almost everywhere you go you can see the ocean and if not you have a fascinating view over the mountains that stretch high over our heads. Chios is not really touristic and I am pretty sure that until June, we were the only non-Greek people living here. It really was an extraordinary experience to see this island when the streets are empty when we could watch locals lead their normal daily life and experience the true Greek culture that you normally wouldn’t on a vacation. Since then, many Greeks from America and other countries and tourists with big suitcases have filled the streets and we have met people from all around the world and even our own countries. Our beautiful little house is not more than five minutes away from the beach which presents the opportunity to go on a sunrise swim, an afternoon swim, an evening swim after work, a night swim and just enjoy the view from the house.
I am not sure what exactly I expected from this experience but also how could I know that it would turn out the way it did? I tried to keep my expectations low but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that my heart would twist as much as it does right now at the thought of leaving this place. I have so many memories stored in my camera roll and my heart that I will never let go of. I will never forget what snow over the ocean looks like and how differently the people here react to the weather than we do. When it was snowing the schools closed and everyone stayed at home even though the snow barely touched the ground before it melted again. On the other hand, they are so much more used to heat than we more northern Europeans are. I remember a taxi ride on a Saturday morning with us sitting in the back, sweating and talking about how hot it is and the taxi driver simply replied “eh it’s okay”. Or how scared I was of snakes and that I was convinced that I will find one in my bed, but I can count the snakes that we have seen on one hand and most of them were already dead by then. So it turned out to be a much smaller problem than I thought it would be. I know for sure that I didn’t expect the people to be this welcoming, even though I know that people in southern countries tend to be more open, but what I experienced here is a huge difference from what I am used to. Everyone in our neighbourhood greets us every day like it’s the first time that they see us, the parents of the kids greet us everywhere, offer to take us home safely, show us around, or call them if we ever need anything. Random people on the street would stop to offer us a ride when they see us walking, which would be slightly suspicious if someone would do that in a German city. We’ve been invited for tea and joined many different groups of people in bars to dance with them. We also experienced the younger people being a lot more open and it being relatively easy to find people to talk to when we go out.
Throughout the ten months that I got to call this place my home I learned a variety of things from everyone around me. I became more confident and independent and learned a lot of things that you never think of at home because someone else always takes care of it, like how often you have to buy new toilet paper. I learned so much about Greece and its traditions, about the language and the people living here. I learned some Dutch and Dutch traditions, and even a lot about my own country and how different we are because we live in different states. I learned how to improve my communication skills and make compromises with my roommates. From the work we do I learned how to create websites, edit and upload recordings, and write about my own experiences.
I’ve gained more from this year than I could ever give back and I will forever be grateful for this opportunity. Not only has it taught me a lot about myself but it also gave me memories and friends that I will hold close to my heart till the end of my life. Everyone warned me that the year would go by in the glimpse of an eye and now that it’s over I am trying so hard to keep my eyes open to not miss a single smile or ray of sunlight that always filled me with so much joy. I am leaving this place with a suitcase of memories and a heart filled with love and I will definitely come back to experience it all again.
