Vasilis Skentos | Greece | Short-term | Have Less, Live More 2022
Going to France for two months to participate in this project was truly a life changing experience for me. It all started back when I was studying in my country, Greece as a computer science student. Living in a big urban city and constantly working and being one with technology made me wonder and search for new ways of living, being more sustainable and meet new people along the way so I felt this project truly aligned with my values. When I arrived at the camp, the people were super friendly to me and guided me with my tasks here with no stress so I felt I adjusted after a few days.
So far my work here has been taking care of the animals, as each volunteer is assigned a specific animal type to take care of, assisting in the kitchen and cleaning the mobile homes we have .I was also present at the Youth Exchange we hosted, as there were around 30 participants who lived with us for 12 days from different countries.
We did numerous workshops together about sustainability, social activities and intercultural exercises as well, where everyone showcased traditional dishes, culture, games and phrases from their own country and afterwards we even managed to play top quality football matches inside our farm . At night we would party, dance, play music and have fun all together. It felt really emotional at the end when everyone had to depart and it was an experience of a lifetime for everyone as they bonded with us volunteers and appreciated our hospitality and the activities we did together. Now that the Exchange has ended we are back to our community life in the camp and I plan to get involved in new activities and tasks we do from now on.
Getting out of my comfort zone has always been my primary motto and I plan to hold on to it as much as I can. Even if failure comes out of it, comfort in failure and trying again is the only option in order to grow and make memories worth living. In the end, I’ve been very grateful for my time and experiences here so far. I cannot wait for what the future unfolds and I wish I can make the most of it. To make sure I finish this post with a simple and concise lesson I will leave with you the simple phrase “Push Yourself”.
Because no one else is going to do it for you.
