Alright...there should be a bunch of blogs on the way now that I am home. I've had a lot swirling about in my head, but haven't had time to type them out. Something about my Mom wanting emails from me and being too busy to do emails and blogs. Go figure.
First off, a quick rundown of my travels...There will be some more detailed blogs about specific things I did, people I met, and thoughts I had. Those will come when I get a chance :~)
Most of you know that I went originally to do some volunteering in Greece. I was going to be doing knitting classes with refugee women in Athens, then going out to Lesvos. Yeah...was is definitely the key word on that first part. It didn't really happen.
I tried to do the knitting. I most certainly tried. There were supposed to be plans in place for the classes before I arrived in Athens. But when I arrived, I learned that no plans had been made. It kept being "Tomorrow...We'll get something figured out tomorrow." Or "After the weekend". And finally, we were told that we didn't have permission to do the classes. The person who was trying to get permission for us told the manager of the refugee camp that one aim of the classes was to give the women a safe place to spend time together and talk, and share if there were any issues such as domestic violence that they were dealing with. He claimed that there was no domestic violence in the camp, and we were not needed, so we would not be allowed in. Basically, he would rather not risk finding out that there were any issues in his camp. So the main reason I came to Greece was blown up.
I tried to find other things to do during my time in Athens, but felt like I had come just a little late. No one seemed very interested in new volunteers. I tried to go to the port, where everyone said they were in "desperate need" of volunteers, and was sent away because I'd not read their volunteer manual. Read it later, and it was literally the same thing as every other volunteer manual I'd seen. I was going to read it and go back within the next few days, but looking around, I didn't see a point. There were loads of volunteers, sort of in the late high school/early college range, and they were mostly sitting around playing on their phones. I asked if there was anything I could do to help with the boredom of the people hanging out in the camp. There were no activities happening, and I know that I can't stand sitting around with nothing to do all day. I offered to bring my some of the knitting things that I'd brought to Greece, and set up a knitting class/group for the women in the camp. Just to give them something to do. But I was told that the women stay in their tents all day (the reasoning was that there was nothing for them to do, so I didn't really see why that was an argument against starting a knitting group...), and the knitting needles were too likely to be turned into weapons, and therefore, were not wanted in the camp. I disagreed with that logic. Using that, a pen is just as likely to be used as a weapon. But they were adamant. Knitting needles were dangerous.
I wanted to do something useful, but didn't think that going to the port and sitting around just to say that I was at the port was all that great.
Asking around with other groups, I found a similar theme. Very few people wanted a new volunteer. Church groups would not accept anyone unless they were already affiliated with a church in Athens. Even Samaritan's Purse, who I've worked with in the States said that they would not allow me to work with them in Athens even if I was already in the city.
I did some things with the Melissa Network, the group I'd originally gone to work with. They had a poetry workshop, and some activities with the migrant women who are in their organization. It was fun, but I still didn't feel like I was doing anything. I agonized over what to do. Should I leave Greece and go home? Should I leave Greece and go to another country? Should I leave Athens and go to Lesvos? I was so discouraged by this time, with all of the dead ends I'd reached, that heading home was actually looking the best. I didn't have specific plans for the rest of my time in Europe, and I didn't want to deal with things anymore.
So I decided to enjoy my holiday in Athens, as it was turning out to be. I'd spent the money on the plane ticket and I was there. May as well enjoy my time, do what I could, and not waste the trip. It was sort of a situation of lighting a candle or cursing the darkness
I spent time wandering about Athens, exploring and getting to know the city. I also got connected with the Central Athens Irregular Volunteers and visited a shelter in the city with them a couple of times to play with the kids and do activities.
Wouldn't you know, they had an opportunity for me to help teach knitting to the kids. I do wish I'd been able to do more, but the visits were only twice a week. There was a little boy there the first time though, and when I first got there, he had some serious issues with anger and aggression. He wouldn't do any sort of activity without hitting the other children, or even the adults. Against possibly better judgment (remember, they're weapons...), we gave him a pair of knitting needles and some yarn. And he loved it. He continued to knit for the rest of the time we were there, and showed no signs of aggression. The next time we came, he smiled warmly at us, took his knitting, and sat down to work on it. It was what I came to do, and I only wished I had more time to do that, and to see the longer term effects.
Then came the debate about whether to go to Lesvos. The EU deal happened right about that time, and a lot of volunteers were coming back from Lesvos because the refugees were being sent to the port, and the government was making it difficult to work with refugees. It took me a while to get in touch with The Hope Centre, the organization I was thinking to work with. I had a very hard time getting a straight answer about whether I should come or not.
I finally decided to go. If nothing else, to get out of Athens. I booked just a couple of nights at a guesthouse, because I didn't want to pay for 2 weeks and end up not having anything to do with the Hope Centre, and deciding to leave.
After being on Lesvos for about a day, I'd rented a scooter and decided that even if I had the same experience as I had in Athens, and didn't have any volunteering to do, I would enjoy myself. I was on a Greek island, I had a scooter, the weather was gorgeous. I was going to stay for the 2 weeks I'd planned, and be happy about it no matter what.
But as it turned out, I didn't need that decision. They were happy to have me at the HC, and even invited me to stay there. It was good for me, because I had free lodging, and good for them because they had someone there overnight to keep an eye on the place. I had bonfires on the beach and did some hiking. Most evenings I'd take the scooter out for a drive. The island felt a lot like Ooty, but with the sea around it. It was stunning, and I enjoyed my time thoroughly. Enough that I toyed with the idea of staying there longer. But it was beginning to feel like I'd finished the jobs I'd started, and it was time for me to leave.
Oh, and I'd seen the Pope while I was on the island, so that was a cool experience.
I went to Athens for Easter weekend. It was part good and part bad. Probably more on that later.
Then was Romania. I flew in to Bucharest, and took the train to Baia-Mare, where I stayed with a girl named Eva. She was my first host for Helpx, and she was a good one. Her place was up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere. It was a gorgeous area, and I enjoyed spending time with Eva and her dogs and cats. I did some jobs for Eva, took the dogs out hiking quite a bit, and hung out with Eva. I stayed there for about a week, then left on the train for Melk, Austria.
I was supposed to be in Austria for 2 weeks. I almost left after 3 days. And ended up staying for 5 weeks. It was mental. I worked at Austria's first camel riding school, in a tiny village called Eitental. I have plenty of experience with horses, but none at all with camels. I'd only been there for a couple of days when Salome, one of the bactrian camels, tried to bite me. I decided I was not a fan of camels.
Part of the problem was the other helper that was there with me. He had no interest in working together or even answering my questions. He made it a lot harder for me. But eventually, I learned what I was supposed to do, and I was told to check on the other helper's work (he'd been there for a week when I arrived...I don't think this sat well with him).
At the end of my original 2 weeks, I took a small trip to Vienna. I'd previously purchased tickets for a performance at the Spanish Riding School, and wanted to also see a bit of Vienna.
I tried to couchsurf in Vienna, but my host didn't show up. Found out later that he'd gone to a bar while waiting. Go figure...But someone else in his building offered me his bed. He said he'd be working all night anyway, so I may as well use the bed.
I had a few moments of wondering if I was going to end up in trouble if I accepted, but I was already in trouble. It was 2 am, and I didn't have anywhere to sleep. So I stayed there. I was thinking to stay just one night, then do a hostel for the 2nd night, but he told me I could stay both nights, so I did. We got along pretty well, and it was only a little bit awkward.
So I spent my weekend in Vienna, and returned to Eitental. I planned to be there for a week, and then it ended up another week and another week til I was there as long as I could be before going back to Athens for a few last minute things and my flight. Ended up there for 5 weeks total, and was sad to leave.
I had a couple of scary moments health wise during those weeks I was at the camel school. Still not really sure what it was, and hoping it doesn't happen again. It seemed a little bit like a migraine, which I used to have when I was younger, but haven't in a while. This was different though, with some weird memory and speech issues that really freaked me out. They mostly stopped, though I do still have weird dizzy spells and headaches.
Went back to Athens for 2 days, and was a little moody about being there. I didn't want to be away from Austria, and I am not a fan of Athens. More on that later...I especially didn't want to just chill there waiting to get home. But I made the most of it, wandering around the city and having falafel and this random sweet that I found in a bakery and kind of got hooked on :~). It ended up not being too terrible.
And then I was on the plane coming home. An hour or so from Athens to Istanbul, a 2-hour layover in Istanbul (the gift shops have free samples of Turkish Delight, so I enjoyed that during my layover.), and nearly 11 hours from Istanbul to Chicago. In which I watched a bunch of movies and scarcely slept at all.
Customs was more of a hassle than usual, with the officer being incredibly suspicious of why I travel as much as I do. He let me through though, and I got my bags, got on the bus, and met Mom at the Clocktower in Rockford.
The dogs pretty well freaked out when I reached home. Cosette usually does, but even my emotionally distant Leaf was jumping and whining with excitement to see that I was home. Marius was thrilled to see me as well, and Scarlet ignored her babies in favour of getting some attention from me.
It was a good trip, despite things that didn't go as planned. I'll put more detail in future blogs, but just thought it may be good to get a quick post with the basics out there.
