Thoughts

It's been two months since the moment I left Poland to come back to Crete.
Two months without "dzien dobry" and "dzęknuje".
Two months without "my Polish family".
Two months without my mentor.
Two months without the friends I made there, in work and fun.
Two months without the Orthodox community of Koszalin.

A lot of things have changed during these months. Poland seems like an old memory now, like a dream from the past. Koszalin is faraway now, like an untouched vision in my mind.
Shall I see this country again? Shall I walk in this city again? Shall I drink its water? Shall I smell its perfumes? Shall I dance its dances? Shall I taste its food? Shall I feel its girls? Shall I pray with its people? Shall I...? Who knows...

But, this distance in space and time makes things more clear. Poland appears like a dream, but a living dream. Koszalin is like a vision, but not a cloudy one. It's a vision in a crystally clear sky...
This distance makes me see my EVS and my life in Poland in an other way. Makes me think about in an other way. Is it a more clear one? Perhaps. No doubt that it's a different one. It's a way with less passion, less temptation, less confusing feelings. But, full of sadness. Full of nostalgy. Full of eros. Full of love.

Yes, it was hard living in Poland. It was hard sharing a house with these three girls. A lot of times it was hard to communicate, it was difficult to find a common ground. Often we were eating in the same table, but not together. We were drinking in the same garden, but not together. We were dancing in the same place, but not in the same rhythm. Yes, sometimes, it was over my powers...

On the other hand, it was nice sharing things with them. Even if we had problems. Even if they never really liked me. Even if we never crossed some borders. Even if I never crossed some borders...

My last night in Koszalin, we made a farewell party for me and we exchanged some gifts. I gave to each one of them a card, with a poem in their own native languages and some thoughts of mine in English. All cards had the same ending, something like: "Perhaps we will not meet each other again. Possibly you will not think about me anymore. Sure you will not miss me. I doesn't matter. I wish you..." and my personal wish.

I still remember Meltem's surprise when she got a card written in Turkish, I stll remember Alejandra's reaction "It's Neruda, it's Neruda, it's my favorite poet, it's Neruda!!!", I still remember Amanda's hug.

And since that day, Meltem's question, in her lovely Turkish accent of English, has been fixed in my mind, has been stuck in my mind: "Michail, how can you believe that I'll forget you? Do you really believe that we can forget someone that we lived six months together?".

No, Meltem, no, Girls, I don't believe it. I never believed it. Neither now, neither when I wrote the cards. But, when you possed me that question, I already knew a Truth. I already knew a Truth written by cries, encraved by pain, taught by life. A Trurh which I learned by experience. A Truth that all Travellers, all Life Travellers know. I already knew the Truth which says that we tend to estimate things and people only when we miss them. That we must feel the distance to realise the lack of their presence, to understand the loss.

And when this moment arrives, we are ready to ask for forgiveness and to be asked for forgiveness. To give it and to take it. As we say in my language for forgive, to "sygchorein" (συγχωρείν), to "co-exist in the same space". Even if we live in far distance.

Good bye, Girls! Good luck in your life! LIVE YOUR LIFE!!! It Worths! It's Yours and it's Life...

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Meltem has birtday!!! * Η Μέλτεμ έχει γενέθλια!!!

Yesterday, Meltem had birthday and an other great opportunity for one more party appeared (as you have perhaps already realised we don't need too many reasons for a party here in Koszalin, and of course birthday IS a reason!!!).

In the morning she prepared sweets that shared with all the people of our association during the breakfast time, when gifts were exchanged.

Later in the afternoon we (girls and me, I mean) went to "Villagio", a pizzeria-restaurant here in Koszalin and then to the pub "Graal", where we met "our Polish parents" and some other friends to celebrate the day.

Happy, Purple and Sexy Birthday, Meltem!!!

We did it!!! * Τα καταφέραμε!!!

In my previous post I wrote that we were preparing a theatre play, based on the Hellenic (Greek) Mythology, to be presented in a Meeting of the Annexes of my Hosting Organisation in Mikołajki.

What I didn't write, because I didn't know, was than the Meeting was actually a competition!!! The 5th National Polish Competition on Theatric Arts for Mentally Disabled People.

So, we wen't to Mikołajki, we presented the play and we got the Second (2nd) Prize!!! A Prize that we had to share with the 2nd Workshop of Koszalin (WTZ-2), that presented a play about the Holocaust.

Following are some photos from the play. Good job, don't you think so??

Here are also some photos from the 5-stars (!!!) Hotel Gołębiewski, where we stayed. Any comments???

And the Church of Święta Lipka, near Mikołajki, where we spent our first night and where we went for an Organ Concert./div>

Theseus and the Minotaur travel to Poland!!! * Ο Θησεύς και ο Μινώταυρος ταξιδεύουν στην Πολωνία!!!

There's no doubt that, if you are a Hellen (Greek), you do know the Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. If not, then you can visit Wikipedia, to learn more.

Why am I writing all this??? Because, nowadays, Theseus and the Minotaur are visiting Poland!!!

What that means??? Simply, in my Hosting Organisation we are preparing a theatre play based on that myth!!!

The play will be presented next week at a meeting of all the Annexes and Workshops of the Association, that will be held in Mikołajki, in Masury Lakes, on the occasion of the Day of the Dignity of the Mentally Disabled People.

The need to create a kind of presentation for the meeting, on one hand, and the request of the Hosting Organisation, expressed by both my Director and Mentor, that elements of my culture to be presented in the Project, on the other hand, gave birth to the idea of this drama play.

The preparations started some weeks ago, just after my return to Koszalin from Toruń and I think everything is going great. Following you can see some photos from the preparations:

BBQ at our Hosting Organisation!!! * Μπάρμπεκιου στην Οργάνωσι Φιλοξενίας μας!!!

Today was a really funny day in our Project!!! We had a BBQ breakfast!!! The weather was great (sometimes I'm wondering if I am in Poland or in Greece :) ) and we had great time!

The menu included sausages, kaszanka (traditional Polish sausages from pork blood and cereals) and two surprises: Hellenic (Greek) salad and tzatziki (traditional Hellenic sauce with yogurt, garlic and cucumbers).

And after (or should I write during) our breakfast we played football, tennis and other sports in the garden of our Association.

EVS MidTerm Evaluation Meeting, Toruń, 11-16/04/2007 * Συνάντησι Ενδιάμεσης Αξιολόγησης ΕΕΥ, Τόρουν, 11-16/04/2007

Like a glass of fresh water! That was for me this Meeting, organised by the Polish National Agency of the European Commission "Youth in Action" Programme.

The Meeting took place in Toruń, a beautiful medieval city of Poland, famous for its ginger-bread (in Polish: pierniki) and motherland of Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik), the astronomer who "stopped the Sun and moved the Earth".

The main aim of this event was to encourage the EVS Volunteers who participated in to reflect on their EVS Projects as well as on themselves and after that to plan better their Projects and (most important) their life.

That was fully achieved through a wide exchange of experiences, opinions, knowledge and skills about EVS Projects, EVS in general, Volunteer Work in general, Polish and other European Cultures, values and future plans.

Our Youth Trainers, Marta and Eliza, were really great and succeed to create a good climate and an open atmosphere, that really facilitated our learning process. Moreover, perhaps inspired by the beginning of the Spring, they picked-up as symbol of our Meeting the Flowers, giving that way a symbolic framework and a new dimension to our work.

So, let's leave our Flowers to grow-up!!!

"Mama" has birtday!!! * Η "Μαμά" έχει γενέθλια!!!

Yesterday was a really important day for "our Polish family":
"Mama" had birthday!!!

So, we were invited to our "parents" home for a small party.

And after that to went together to pub "Graal", one of the best in Koszalin and girls' favourite one to enjoy.

Happy Birthday, "Mama"!!!

Valentine's Day at our EVS Project!!! * Ημέρα του Αγίου Βαλεντίνου στο Σχέδιό μας ΕΕΥ!!!

It's true that I don't really believe in Valentine's Day. It's not just because Saint Valentine isn't a Saint of the Orthodox Church. It's mainly because I do believe that people in love don't need a special day to express it or to memorise on that. Every day for them is a Valentine's Day!!!

On the other hand, I do recognise that this day is a good opportunity to organise parties :) . And of course a great opportunity for Organisation like my Hosting one to create events. So, today we had a big Valentine's (in Polish: Walentynki) Party.

The people of the Educational, Social Rehabilitation & Inclusion Workshop together with the staff and the people of our Kitchen prepared sweets and Meltem with people from different workshops created a choreography that you can see in My Videos.

So, we danced, we ate, we drunk (not alcohol, of course!!!) and we exchanged Valentine's Cards and wishes.

Happy Valentine's, buddies!!!

Yea, we are famous!!! * Είμαστε πλέον διάσημοι!!!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are famous!!! The whole Koszalin is talking about us. What do I mean? Oh, it's simple, too simple: we had our first Press Conference!!!

Well, for telling the real truth, the Press Conference was mainly Amanda's and Alejandra's, but we (Meltem & me) were there to support them. And I think everything was fine!!!

For the history, everything started some days ago, when our "dad" Marcin (that, as I've written before, is a journalist here in Koszalin) arranged a public presentation to local media about EVS and the girls' project.

So, yesterday afternoon we went to their Hosting Association, where a lot of journalists, cameras and of course questions were waiting for us. Amanda and Alejandra made a short but in deep presentation about themselves, their families and their lifes in their countries.

Moreover, they talked about EVS, their desicion to realise EVS, why they choosed to participate in this project, why Poland, e.t.c. ...

After that, we went to the local radio station, "Radio Koszalin", where a journalist took an interview from all of us and from Iwona. Now, you can ask who is Iwona. Well, she's a Polish ex EVS Volunteer in United Kingdom.

Conclusion: today, three local Newspapers have articles about us, one local Radio Station is broadcasting about us, two local TV Channels broadcast on News about us!!!

In the queue for the autographs, please!!!

Polish Language Courses * Μαθήματα Πολωνικών

How does Polish sounds??? Like a radio, while searching for stations!!!

That short joke, told to me by Poles, shows how difficult can be to learn Polish, a language full of "close" sounds, such as "z", "ż", "ź", "rz", "s", "ś", "sz", "cz" e.t.c. .

Moreover, with a quite complicated declination of nouns and adjectives (7 causes!!!) and many rules for orthography, the scene becomes even darker...

On the hand, even if it is to early to have a complete image, Polish seems to be a language that gives to its user a wide number of ways to express his/herself and due its rich vocabulary creates a framework for both concrete and analytical expression.

Why am I writing all this??? Because today we had our first Polish Language Lesson!!!

It's an obligation for the EVS Hosting or Coordinating Organisations to provide language courses to their Volunteers and of course a Volunteers' obligation to participate in them. So, last week "our Polish family" had a meeting with our teachers, Kasia and Magda, we arranged the timetable and today we started.

What can you wish us??? Good Luck!!!

Finally, snow!!! * Επιτέλους, χιόνι!!!

It's been one week that I'm in Poland, but I've seen no snow. Neither the weather was particular cold during this week. All here we started to be desperate:

"We came to Poland during the winter to see snow, but there's no snow!!! Where's the snow???"

Et voila!!! Yesterday evening started to snow!!! I'm posting some pictures, just to see how it looks!!!

Έχει πια μια βδομάδα που είμε στην Πολωνία, αλλά χιόνι δεν είχα δει. Ούτε ο καιρός ήταν ιδιαίτερα κρύος αυτήν την μια εβδομάδα. Όλοι εδώ αρχίσαμε να 'μαστε σε απόγνωσι:

"Ήρθαμε στην Πολωνία μέσα στο καταχείμωνο για να δούμε χιόνι, μα δεν έχει χιόνι!!! Πού 'ναι το χιόνι;;;"

Και ιδού!!! Οψάργας, που λέμε στην Κρήτη (εχθές το βράδυ, δηλά δη), άρχισε να χιονίζει!!! Αναρτώ, λοιπόν, μερικές φωτογραφίες, απλώς και μόνο για να δείτε πώς μοιάζει!!!

(Polish) Home, Sweet Home... * (Πολωνικό) Σπίτι μου, Σπιτάκι μου...

Now, let me share with you some information about our house, that is ABSOLUTELY GREAT!!!

It's a big, two-floors house, with a small garden. Each one of the four of us has his/ her own bedroom. Moreover, we have a kitchen, a big living room, three toilets and a bathroom.

But I think is better to leave photos to speak about:

My Mentor * Η Μέντωρ μου

Now, I think I should write some things about an other important person in my life here in Poland: my EVS Mentor, Kasia.

Kasia is an therapist/ instructor in my Hosting Organisation, responsible for the Workshops of Art & Pottery. She's now realising a weekend Master's on Artistic Education (spesialised on Mental Disabled People) at the Academy of Fine Arts of Poznań, where she has also studied Design.

She's the only real English-speaker in our Hosting Organisation and that's the reason she's been chosen to be our Mentor.

But, speaking English is not the main reason that makes her precious for our Project: Kasia is a really supportive person, both in professional and personal levels. Always available to share experiences, exchange opinions and give solutions makes her more than a Mentor a Friend. And when I write Friend, I do mean Friend...

My EVS family * Η EVS οικογένειά μου

Well, I think it is the moment to present you my EVS "family", my "family" here in Poland. So, let's start:

Anna, the "mother": President of the "EUROPA Młodych" ("EUROPE of the Youth") Association, that is co-ordinating our EVS Projects here in Koszalin, Anna is working in a Municipal Cultural Institute.

She's quite smart and she loves complaining (as a lot of Poles do) about things, even if she already knows (or supposes) that they be better really soon.

She's really the "head" of the Association and the "heart" of our Project. Friends (that means also us) call her Annia.

Marcin, the "father": Annia's husband, Marcin is the Vice-President and responsible for the Economics of the "EUROPA Młodych" Association. Working as a journalist, he's our "media networking" person.

He's quite silent but makes really funny jokes. He always asks me about my life with the girls and still wonders how I succeed to live with three girls in the same house.

Meltem, the first "sister": Coming from Antalyia, Turkey, this 24 years old girl is my project partner. She describes herself as a feminist and she REALLY is!!! That makes things sometimes difficult for me, but I think there's always space for improvement.

Amanda, the second "sister": Amanda, 19 years old, is Swedish, from Oland. She's a quite silent girl, but she's also a great dancer. We're not worning in the same project, but her project is in a day-room for children coming from problematic families (alcoholic parents e.t.c.).

Alejandra, the third "sister": Coming from Murcia, Spain, this 18 years old girl is the youngest (but sometimes mature enough) member of our family. She's working together with Amanda and there's only one comment I can make about her: she feels the rhythm! No, she LIVES the rhythm. Whatever she does has a rhythm, a great rhythm...

Marek, the "big brother": Marek is a Polish ex-EVS Volunteer in France that lives in Koszalin. He studies in the local University of Technology and he also works in a real estate office. He is really our "big brother", as he takes care of us, shows us Koszalin night and student life (well, the one that exists :) ) and is always available for parties!!!

Welcome to Koszalin!!! * Καλωσορίσατε στο Κοσάλιν!!!

Koszalin, the capital of Middle Pomerania, is a small and quite quiet city of some 110,000 inhabitants in the north - west part of Poland, near the Baltic Sea (at around 4km in a straight line).

The city covers 83 km2 of picturesque land and is crossed by the river Dzierzecinka. Because of that, it's a genuine oasis of nature. Almost 40% of its total area consists of parks, forests and green grounds. Near the city centre is located the Chelmska Hill, which is 137m high and is covered by a forest.

The city is also near to the Jamno lake, that one has to go round one of its banks to reach the seaside (but that's really easy) and during the summer the nearby beaches are always crowded.

Moreover, there are two seaports near Koszalin, where one can also cross the border: Kołobrzeg (45km from Koszalin) and Darlowo (30km from Koszalin). Additionally, Koszalin is located in the route that connects Berlin with Kallinigrand. These two facts are crucial for the tourist and economic development of the city.

The city also plays the role of the main cultural centre of the region. One can find here a number of professional institutions of culture, as the Regional Museum, the Jamno Culture Open-Air Museum, the Philharmonic Orchestra, the Baltic Theatre of Drama, the "Dialogue" Proposal Theatre, the Municipal Centre of Culture. Their activity is complemented by dance groups, choirs and galleries.

To conclude, I'd like to share with you a quite impressive (at least for me) piece of information. In the main square of Koszalin, just in front of the City Hall, is located the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the city. Just a few meters on the eastern part of the square is located the Orthodox Church and a few meters in the south-east the Evangelic Protestant Chapel. Three different Churches, of the three main Christian dogmas, located in the same area!