Hi,
I am Sude, after graduating from Boğaziçi University Department of Psychology last year, I had the chance to participate in the 9-month ESC Project as a result of long efforts. The institution where I work called “Die Naturkindergruppe Gatchhüpfer” is a forest kindergarten in touch with nature. Although I have worked with children and adolescent groups in different fields before, I have never had the chance to establish a long-term and deep bond with such a young age group. There are 15 children between the ages of 3-6 in our group, and we spend time with the children every day with a team consisting of 2 pedagogues and me. The style of the kindergarten I work in is based on creating a completely free space for children and allowing them to explore their environment on their own, rather than approaching them with “instructional” principles. One of the things that impressed me the most was how respectful and kind the children were to nature at such a young age, and how knowledgeable and curious they were. In our area, which is completely outdoors, we spend every day lighting a fire (we had to keep warm in the winter), going on nature walks, making discoveries in the forest about different living species, and of course giving the children free space to do whatever they want. I am very happy that I volunteered for 9 months in such a free-spirited and nature-friendly institution and was able to make valuable observations about child psychology.
As for Vienna, I think it is one of the most livable cities in Europe. Every corner of the city is full of art, history, architectural beauties and lush green parks. Even though it is a big city and full of opportunities, it is also calm and serene. In other words, it has the potential to give everything a person wants. As a nature lover, I never felt stuck between concrete piles in the city, I always threw myself into wonderful parks that can be visited in all seasons. The most common activity I did after work was to meet our friends in a park and take a walk/sit and chat, or to have a coffee and a book alone and enjoy the banks of the Danube River. Grenzenlos, our supporting organization here, has contributed greatly to creating a social environment by arranging frequent activities and meetings for the volunteers. I met many people from dozens of different countries who came to volunteer at similar times, and we had a very international group of friends. While we were all trying to understand the brand-new experience we were in, we were also trying to make sense of each other and our differences.
The summer months we are currently in are spent most days swimming by the Danube River and evenings going to free outdoor events in the city. The only challenging aspect of this volunteering adventure for me was the days when the daylight in the winter months was very short and it started to get dark at 15:30. However, we tried to get used to this situation by finding different solutions/activities with our friends who, like me, came from southern countries (usually Spain and Italy) and were not used to this situation. Learning a new language in a brand-new country for 9 months, trying to adapt to a different culture, experiencing loneliness far outside our comfort zone, but also trying to build a new social environment are some of the best experiences one can have in their 20s. In my 9-month volunteer experience in Vienna, everything was full of big “I’m glad”s. I hope such projects and opportunities become more and more common. Even though I personally did not encounter any negative experiences or experiences that I could not solve during this process, I would like to thank Pi Youth Association for always making me feel their support 🙂
