Hi, my name is Franca, I am 19 years old and I come from Germany. I arrived together with the other volunteers in Izmir on September 1st so we already had some time to settle and explore the city and our surroundings.
My room is shared with the most lovely and sweetest roommate I could ever imagine –thank you Ida for the late night talks and similar mindset. Also my other roomies are great, I am glad about this constellation we are a good mix with many different personalities which is, in many situations, really helpful.
The city itself is incredible! Even though there are about 4.5 million people living here it never feels overcrowded because the districts spread onto much land so there is always
something to see or witness but in a good way. One of the best parts of the day is, of course, taking the ferry from our flat in Karşıyaka to the office or workshop places on the other side of the port. You can eat your breakfast on the boat while enjoying the fresh wind of the sea.
The arrival days in the office were really intense: we learned everything there is to know about the ESC program and about Pi Youth Association. We got to know the office members and, of course, the volunteers of the other flats. On the first full day, we got to enjoy a city tour with a few mentors showing us great sightseeing spots and beautiful cafes. We drank a tea together and then continued to visit the Clock Tower and, in the evening, we went to a Hande Yener concert in Kültürpark.
The first weeks were all about getting around and visiting a lot of workshop places so we got to know the people working in the youth centers and already some of the children. We talked about what kind of workshops they want to offer and who is suitable for this place. My first workshop was shortly after all the visits in a high school in Konak. Helen and I were from now on assigned two times a week to hold a German conversation club for different grades. In the beginning, it was a little bit difficult for us, and also as I heard for everyone else, to get used to get to our new role as a person standing in front of the class teaching something but not really acting as teachers.
But time went by and the students also got more comfortable with speaking so I think this will get better week by week. Another workshop I have just started is also a German conversation club which I am really looking forward to because the level of the students is definitely advanced and they can speak the language already fluent so I am trying to prepare something more contentrelated and topics to discuss for them.
One of the biggest highlights so far was our four-day-trip to Samsun where we got to
know many other volunteers from other countries who also do their ESC in Türkiye but in different cities. It was great to exchange knowledge and thoughts about volunteering in general and about our projects. We got to see different things in the city and went to an authentic Pide restaurant which was great!
I think one of the best aspects of Samsun was the connections we made. Now we have contacts in Antalya, Ankara and Gaziantep, and we can also welcome other volunteers to the wonderful city of Izmir. For the next weeks I am hoping to improve my language skills and also preparing any kind of workshop and being more relaxed while talking to a group. Also I want to get to know the cultural life of Izmir better so there are a lot of things to explore and to work on.
