In summer 2015 I was able to experience a whole new
different world. Always, people especially young people when they think about
summer, they always think about holidays, beach, partying, traveling etc. But
with UNESCO I had the chance to have a more proactive summer not only in the
aspect of being able to participate in a workcamp in order to enhance the
community and provide lessons for sustainability for the locals as well as for
us but also to learn and experience a whole different culture from my own and
meet people from all over the world.
I had the chance to participate at a international volunteer project in Tongyeong
at the RCE Centre. It was truly an amazing experience. We were 9 international
volunteers and 7 Korean but I sincerely believe the world does not have any
boundaries. It’s true we had our differences as being from different parts of
the world but as human beings we all have the same feelings and we honestly
were able to connect from the beginning. We were able to work together like
there was no difference between us and we could share our culture and be
accepted for who we are.
Our work was
hard but it was an experience where in the future we will be able to say that
we achieved something with our own hands. Our workcamp lasted for 2 weeks. At
the beginning we had to make stairs for the Sajahtera Forest which surrounds
the RCE Centre and they are meant to be for the locals of Tongyeong. It was
hard work but we were able to finish them in time.
Afterwards, we had the opportunity to work with local students.
Firstly, we, the international volunteers, we prepared presentations for our
countries in order to show them our culture and history. Personally, I found it
quite amazing because all the students were eager to learn about our countries
and they were happy that they could meet foreigners and share their thoughts.
Afterwards, with the help of the Korean members we prepared presentations for
water pollution in our countries especially pollution in the oceans. The
interesting thing that really amazed me was that all the students wanted to
learn about pollution and had many questions towards us and they all tried to
understand better what pollution is, what the environment is and who is
responsible for it. The reason that I was amazed is because the environmental
issues that are happening all over the world are not only regional neither
national, they are international and young students cannot understand the gravitational
influence they have in our world but the students that participate in our
program were able to understand through us.
Furthermore, except from learning about the
environment and pollution we had the chance to share our culture with the
students through traditional games from our countries. We separated into 4
different groups as well as the students separated into different groups in
order for them to try all the different games we prepared. I think during that
time we were able to get closer to the students, talk to them and what I
personally like all the students talked to us about their dreams for the
future, their studies and their daily life. And in the end what we’ll all
remember in the future is the friendship that we created.
Meanwhile, every day we were cleaning the roads of the
village from rubbish. But while we were walking around the village what made us
happy, especially us the international volunteers was the smile of the local
people and how happy they seemed when we were saying ‘Annyeonghaseyo’. Lastly,
after we finished all the work and the presentations we organised the opening
of the stairs we created.
Firstly, we went to clean the beach along with
students from whom there was a lot of positive response. Then, we went to
prepare traditional food for the opening ceremony with the help of the
students. I think that day will remain in our memories forever because it was
the opening of all our hard work but also the opening for the reason we were in
Tongyeong, and the reason we all became friends. They are the stairs that made
us tired, sad, mad, and happy and stairs that made us love not only Tongyeong
but also Korea and the locals. That day was the last day of all the work and
responsibilities we had.
The next day was our last day. But it wasn't a sad
day. We had the chance to celebrate the end of the international volunteer project by going at an
ocean park. It was an awesome day, it was so much fun. We were able to let all
out and be happy for completing our tasks and giving something to the community
of Tongyeong. But as I already mentioned, it was not a sad end. By going to
Tongyeong RCE Centre we were able to meet each other and make amazing memories
that will always remain in our minds and then one day they will become stories
for our children whereas we will be able to tell them with a smile. Also, I’m
glad that today I can say that I gain 15 friends and I now have friends from
all over the world. I want to thank Korea UNESCO and Tongyeong RCE Centre for
giving me this amazing opportunity.
No comments:
Post a Comment