LINK #166 by NGO K.A.NE.

LINK #166

February 15th 2021

FATE OR CHANCE

Content K.A.NE. VOLUNTEERS & COLLABORATORS 4-7 QUOTE OF THE WEEK JULIA GLASS 8-9 GET TO KNOW US 10 - 15 THREE QUESTIONS FOR VOLUNTEERS QUOTE OF THE WEEK LEMONY SNICKET 17 HOW TO SAY? 18 - 19 FATE IS THE ONE THAT SHUFFLES THE CARDS... MAIN ARTICLE I 20 - 27 FATE: A HUMAN THEME MAIN ARTICLE II 28 - 32 DOES DESTINY EXIST? MY PROJECT 36 - 37 CLAIRE IN THE LYSOS GARDEN MY SENDING ORGANISATION 38 - 40 EURASIA NET INTERVIEW WITH AN ESC VOLUNTEER 44 - 47 INTERVIEW WITH TANIA FROM SPAIN ART REVIEW 50 - 54 WANTED QUOTE OF THE WEEK MARISA DE LOS SANTOS 55 EVENTS 56 - 59 PAST EVENTS / FUTURE EVENTS PLACE TO TRAVEL 62 - 63 BALI RECIPES 66 - 67 RECIPES FROM FRANCE

LINK

Editorial

PILAR EDITOR

TA NIA DESIGNER

fb.com/kane.kalamata

instagram.com/kanekalamata

info@ngokane.org www.ngokane.org www.kentroneon.wordpress.com +30 272 108 188 2 Salaminos 8 24100 Kalamata Greece

VOLUNTEERS A NNALIS A Hello! I am Annalisa, I come from the wonderful city of Bologna (Northern Italy). I have an academic background in International Relations (European Affairs) and look forward to become a project developer in international cooperation, tackling social issues through the participation of civil society. I am spending a year in Kalamata, volunteering at the K.A.NE’s office, helping out with the design and management of youth mobility and social projects.

C L A I RE Hello, my name is Claire Madrigal and I am 22 years old. I am studying a Master 1 Social and Environmental in Montpellier, France. I come from the South of France so I have a very pronounced accent. I have already lived in Ireland for a year so my level of English is quite good. I came to Kalamata for the Lysos Garden project but also for other projects such as echitherapy and Dogshelter. I am a very smiling person and always happy!

CLARA Hey, my name is Clara, I'm 18 and I'm from France, more specifically Lille. I wanted to go abroad to learn English, get out of school before resuming my studies and discovering new cultures. I am now a new volunteer at the Kalamata dog center for a period of 6 months.

EM M A Hi, I’m Emma, I come from France and I’m nineteen years old. I’m in Greece for six month as volunteer to discover lot of things, as much as possible, to improve my English and why not to learn Greek. So I work in a horse therapic center.

KASSA N DRA Hello! I am Kassandra and I come from Germany. I am eighteen years old and I’ve just finished school, so now I have time to experience something new and to travel. This is why I take part in the ESC in Kalamata for one year and I am pretty excited about it. I work in the Dog Rescue Center, because I love dogs and I want to support them. 4

LAURE I’m Laure and I come from Lille, in France. I'm a nurse and student of psychology. I’m interested in health, psychology and environmental fields. I’m in Kalamata for six months. I will work with people who have disabilities in garden farmer.

PI L A R Hola! My name is Pilar, I’m 25 and I’m from Meco, a little town in the southeastern part of Madrid, Spain. I’m in Kalamata for 2 months and during my stay you’ll probably find me working in the dog shelter, feeding and playing with stray cats or just losing myself at the city.

TA NIA Yuhu! My name is Tania. I come from a town in the northeast of Spain. I studied psychology, although now I don’t have in mind to dedicate myself to it. Honestly, now what I want is to know new places and live new adventures. My life plan is to live in as many different countries as I can. I will stay in Kalamata for a year and I’m volunteer in The Dog Shelter. I love the nature, sea, music, photography and enjoying the life.

V I K T OR Čau, I am Viktor, a 20 years old dude from Czech Republic. I’ll stay here until August 2021 so I will be here for a one whole year. Actually I have just moved from my parents house and this is for the first time when I am living on my own. Most of my time I watch some TV shows or read good books. Looking forward to writing many amazing articles for you.

Доброго дня любі друзі! My name is Vira, I am 25 years old. Last year I graduated with a Master's degree of Marketing and International Communication from the University of Economics in Katowice. I always believed that if a person really wants to achieve something, there are no boundaries to get it. I think so, because 3 years ago, before I came to Poland, I had a surgery on the spine that changed my life. Volunteering is close to me because I believe that only by supporting each other, teaching, talking - we can succeed, improve our lives on this planet.

V IRA

COLLABORATORS FI L A R E T OS Hello, I am Filaretos Vourkos. For the last 15 years I am working in the field of Non-formal education as a volunteer, youth worker and youth trainer. 10 years ago, I decided to create the Youth Centre of Kalamata, in order to initiate youth work in Kalamata and promote active citizenship as factor for change.

JELEN A Hi, I’m Jelena Scepanovic, an EVS coordinator in K.A.NE. and a volunteer of the Youth center. I came from Montenegro in 2012 as an EVS volunteer. I really liked the idea of the youth center and the work that K.A.NE. does, so I decided to stay and be part of it.

NAN T I A N A Hello everyone! I am Nadiana, ESC & VET coordinator in K.A.NE over the last few years as well as Greek teacher. I am passionate in travelling around, meeting new people and organising festivals.

SPIR O S

ANNA

Hello, my name is Spiros Koutsogiannis and since the beginning of 2020 I am a project manager and responsible for the Research and Development department of KANE. I hold a degree in Civil Engineering and I have been working in the EU funded projects field since 2010, having implemented almost 65 projects.

Hi, I'm Anna Charalampous. I'm here to help with K.A.NE. social media, website and administration. I'm happy to be part of the team promoting youth work, education and volunteerism, both locally and globally.

NANC Y Hello World! I’m Nancy and I have been working in K.A.NE. since 2017 as a Project Manager and EVS/ESC coordinator. I’m passionate about meeting new people and exchanging knowledge, experiences and ideas. I love the fact that many young people visit every year my hometown Kalamata and contribute to our society. 7

Quote

of the week

“When it co is r

Author: PILAR 8

omes to life, we spin our own yarn, and where we end up really, in fact, where we always intended to be.” Julia Glass 9

Do yo u b elieve in d estiny ? ANNALISA I believe in the concept of eudaimonia (εὐδαιμονία): in order to live well and be happy, we need to know our character and have a sense of purpose. So I see “destiny” or “fate” more as an individual, intimate matter, not as something that comes down on us from above telling us what will be of our lives: rather, understanding who we really are and behaving accordingly. I really don’t think we humans are able to interpret signs and see the future.

CLAIRE No I don’t believe in destiny, we can change what we want!

CLARA Many of us believe in fate as some sort of security plan or a way to make ourselves feel better. When something is wrong, for example, we can often reassure ourselves by simply saying that "it was supposed to happen".

EMMA Yes, I believe in destiny a lot.

TANIA Of course, I don’t think that our destiny is predetermined, it’s absurd. I believe that we have the power to decide our path, but from my life experience I believe that sometimes events occur that are not merely chance. Of course, I do not believe that it is a divine force that pushes us to these events, I think it is more about our instinct, our vital energy, that pushes us to make the right decision at certain points in our life. VIKTOR No, I do not believe in destiny. VIRA The Stoics believed that human decisions and actions ultimately went according to a divine KASSANDRA

plan devised by a god.They claimed that al-

I don‘t think we are led by destiny or a bigger

though humans theoretically have free will, their

individuum or element. We can decide for our-

souls and the circumstances under which they

selves how we want to react to life and the ways

live are all part of the universal network of fate.

and possibilities it gives to us.

So, I think I believe in destiny, because it's an idea that creates a more magical mood in life.

LAURE I believe in synchronicity. I think that when people have an open mind they can find easier synchronicities in their life. I think that life can bring lots of surprises and good things. Sometimes we can be surprised by facts in life and things that we find on our path. PILAR "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?"; it's still an unanswered question for me. What I surely believe is that we shouldn't confuse poor decision-making with destiny. Own your mistakes. It’s ok; we all make them. Learn from them so they can empower you! 11

Has something e ve r h a p p e n e d t o yo u t h a t you c o u l d n ' t b e l i e ve was just a coincidence?

ANNALISA I think coincidences are in the little daily things, but if I look back at some of the turning points of my life, I can see clearly many factors coming together in the most unexpected ways: from people showing up to natural phenomena, I’ve got plenty of examples of “perfect storms” which changed my life in one way or another.

CLAIRE

CLARA

Yes, because we provoke what is going to ha-

Yes, it happened to me several times. When you

ppen.

experience that, something tells me that it was not a coincidence. EMMA Yes, sometimes it happens. KASSANDRA YES GREECE! I never wanted to go for one year to Greece, I even didn‘t think about this before June 2020. Covid destroyed my future plan I had before, so I decided to go to Greece and it‘s the best thing which happened to me and I CAN NOT AND DO NOT want to imagine my life without these experiences I have already received. 12

VIKTOR I have not experienced anything like that. It was always just a coincidence.

VIRA Four years ago, I was diagnosed with an intervertebral hernia and had to have surgery. I had plans to go to university and move to Poland. The operation forced me to lie in bed for three months. Because of this, I had a lot of time to think about life. Understanding who I am and what I can do. My health was very poor and so I got a disability group. Becoming disabled at LAURE

the age of 21 was not my dream. But it gave me

I'm sure that in my life my biggest decisions

a lot of opportunities. I began to value myself

were in correlation with synchronicities. I pay a

and life. I met many new people. At univer-

lot of attention to my intuitions and for me it's

sity, I competed in swimming competitions for

the best way to have the life that you want.

students with disabilities and won three silver medals. My life was filled with acceptance and love for my body thanks to fate and not an easy

PILAR

life situation.

My life experience shows me there is no such thing as coincidence in this world. I like the chinese word bìrán: a naturally fore-ordained event, a state in which all other outcomes are impossible. TANIA Too many times. For example, I remember my entrance university exam. One of the subjects was Art History. Fifty different works entered the exam and I had not opened the book all year, I always passed with chops since it was a subject that did not interest me in the least. I also didn't study for the exam. Of the 50 works, only I knew one, Augusto di Prima Porta. Can you guess what work I found when I went to take the exam? 13

W h a t' s your o p in io n o n fo r tu ne tellin g ?

ANNALISA I think, much like gambling, it’s a custom (and an industry) that responds to the very basic human need to find out what we are made of and what’s our place in the world without involving our own efforts, leaving the responsibility to something

CLARA

external - be it sheer luck or some stranger

I love the concept of fortune telling because you

reading our hands or some cards on a table. It

never know what to expect.

can be a lot of fun, if we don’t give it the power to define our choices.

EMMA It scares me.

CLAIRE I don't believe in them at all, they are stories we tell children to keep their dreams and hopes alive.

KASSANDRA It‘s funny to do it at a party but I don’t take it seriously because nobody knows my future.

LAURE I can believe in a lot of things that are not scientifically explained. I think that it’s possible that some people are able to have a close connection with things that we can not explain. We are just humans, we don’t even know all the things that exist in our universe.

VIRA In Ukraine it's a very old and popular tradition. Vechornytsi (Ukrainian: вечорниці, from вечір "evening"; Russian: посиделки, IPA:Bulgarian: седенки) are Slavic traditional gatherings with music, songs, jokes and rituals. Vechornytsi traditionally began in late September after the seasonal agricultural work was over. Young people from villages gathered in the evenings for entertainment. There were everyday and festive vechornytsi. During everyday parties people created folk art objects like rushnyky, while entertaining themselves by singing songs or telling jokes. During festive vechornytsi rich dinners were cooked, and there was music and dancing. It was the ladies' responsibility to cook a dinner and the men's responsibility to provide everybody with music, drinks, and sweets. Vechornytsi were mainly for younger people. PILAR

Here they not only entertained each other du-

I think it shouldn't be taken so seriously, the only

ring long winter evenings, but also met new pe-

certainty that we have is for the present time.

ople, communicated more closely, and found

Nevertheless, such practices as astrology are

partners. Each street in a village had at least

really interesting and entertaining to me.

one house for vechornytsi. Even small remote farms could have a few houses for parties, because it was a custom that brothers and sisters

TANIA

could not attend the same vechornytsi.

Honestly, I hate fortune telling. Even though I know it may be just for fun, It makes me very nervous that someone read my future. Actually, I never understood people's obsession with knowing their future. Even if it was possible, I’m not the least bit interested in knowing my future. I prefer life to flow. VIKTOR I do not like fortune telling. It's just one big lie for me. 15

“Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like.” Lemony Snicket

Author: PILAR

HOW TO SAY?

“Fate is th e on e th a t sh u f f le ones tha Le destin est celui qui mélang e les car tes, mais nous sommes ceux qui jouent.

To los tasuje ka r ty, ale to my gramy.

Η μοίρα είναι αυτή που ανακατεύει τα χαρτιά, αλλά είμαστε αυτοί που παίζουμε.

Osud je ten, kdo míchá kar ty, ale my jsme ti, kteří s nimi hrají.

es the c a rd s, but w e are th e a t p l ay. ” Wir sind diejenig en, die mit ihnen spielen.

Il destino mescola le car te , ma siamo noi quelli che giocano.

El destino es el que baraja las car tas, pero nosotros somos los que jugamos.

O destino é aquele que embaralha as car tas, mas somos nós que jogamos.

Author: PILAR

FATE

A HUMAN THEME

Is there anything more fitting than “fate” when one Italian volunteer just spent 2020 on a project in Southern Peloponnese? I could be bitter about it and see it the whole thing as a bad joke, but I decided otherwise: for this Link issue, I’m going to talk about how (I think) the idea of

fate is something humans

could not live without. The references I will make will belong mainly to aspects of the Western cultural traits, since they are the ones I am most familiar with.

Where to start, if not ancient Greece? I’ve never studied ancient Greek, but I did grow up loving Greek mythology and – like all Italian middle school students – I debuted into literary analysis with the Iliad. I could never forget the amount of time and effort I put into trying to figure out what was the point of such long, relentless violence, such passion, such dramatic turns, with gods, goddesses, men and women meddling into each other lives in one way or another. Now, if someone were to ask me, I’d say that those stories were all about glory and fate. I could give dozens of examples of heroes and heroines in ancient Greece dealing with their fate, fighting endless series of complications – including divine superpowers, striving to get what they want, 21

most of the time not getting it, but achieving glory in the process. Think of characters like Achilles and Ulysses, think of the poor Orpheus, Psyche, Dido, and of course – THE character whose entire story revolves around a prophecy and the determination to fight it –

Oedipus Rex. Author: ANNALISA

All that considered, just the fact that the Greeks had – in the huge collection – three goddesses impersonating the fate of human lives (the Moirai, remember the old ladies passing around one eye and getting into trouble with a pair of scissors and a thread in Disney’s Hercules? Not as glamorous as the singers who narrate the story, but still, a key element), interpreted as an allocation of length, wealth, misery, glory and suffering in all of its inevitability, up to the very way one would die (tragically or peacefully) – speaks a great deal to the importance of this theme in this culture. I’d say that what has survived of it throughout the centuries are stories with a whole lot of prophecies, people trying to avoid them, embarking on all sorts of adventures, struggling so much and still ending up fulfilling them in the most unlikely ways. Which – if I may say so – is a whole lot better to prepare for the complexity of life than most fairy tales we keep telling children. 22

But let’s continue exploring fate and the ways humans have dealt with it in their cultural production: maybe it’s time to bring Christianity into the conversation. Faith in the divine design was a huge part of living through the European Middle Ages, who could deny that? At the time, the stories most people (literate or illiterate, rich and poor) knew and told their children were about Jesus and the mostly horrific lives of the saints, their suffering and sacrifices, all in pursuit of faith, all leading to get a sweet spot in Paradise as a reward. Think about medieval architecture, arts and literature: most of it commissioned by the Church or meant to get its approval, so naturally the greatest theme was divine justice, of course placing the Church as His principal representative on earth, in charge of interpreting His will and telling people what to do in order to avoid ending up burning in Hell’s fire for all eternity. I’ll take Dante’s Commedia as an example – after all, I’m Italian. Now, Dante Alighieri has left us such a rich picture of the spirit of his time, and still, as he described this imaginary journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, while acknowledging divine justice, he did decide to express his idea of free will through a 23

character in Purgatory – Marco Lombardo, who says that all humans have the intellectual ability to distinguish between good and evil, and they do it in an autonomous way: God doesn’t decide everything and we do have to put the work in if we want a place in Paradise. Needless to say, in his reasoning Dante always took care of distinguishing the theological argument supporting the Pope as spiritual guide of humanity and the reality of Church representatives not always behaving according to his will – I mean, the way he portrayed a bunch of them in

the Divina

Commedia is just hilarious.

As time passes, human fate and religious faith remain intertwined central issues in the Western cultural production, and so are the discussions and tensions around what kind of room of manoeuvre humans really have when it comes to the big things in life (just to mention a big one, how much time passed and how many wars were fought before Catholics and Protestants decided to coexist?). However, I’d like to point out one shift that occurred in these debates when science and technology started to gain traction as more than respectable ways in which humans could shape their own destiny. It took a very long time for this idea to set into mainstream conversations, but yes, as we all know, eventually the main intellectuals began to structure their reasoning differently, stressing our ability to craft our lives and even history instead of portraying the whole issue as a humble attempt to adjust to forces far, far superior to us. For a (all considering – short) while, people talked more about Progress, and used logics of cause and effect, keeping religious faith as a more private matter. 24

In time, of course, disillusion came, the faith in science blurred into far more complex issues, and if we look into the work of someone who lived between the late 18th and the early 19th century, everything is more ambiguous when it comes to defining fate. No doubt, in these stories there are no prophecies being inevitably fulfilled and religious faith is not the main force moving the characters, but neither are faith in science and free will. Let’s take a novel that’s probably the nightmare of most Italians aged around 14 and 15: The Betrothed (I promessi sposi) by Alessandro Manzoni. Now, this was the first Italian historical novel (seriously, written in Italian when no one could really tell what “Italian” was) set in the 17th century, telling the story of a couple – Renzo and Lucia – who want to get married even if a local baron (Don Rodrigo) forbids it, wanting Lucia for himself. Well, this little (oversimplified) plot is just an excuse to develop a whole universe describing the Ducato di Milano under the Spanish rule, with all the power structures and curses of the time (the 1629-1631 plague killed more than

a million people out of a population of around 4 million). A big theme of this novel is Providence, the rational order governing the manifestation of God’s will in human history in general and in the lives of individuals. Now, this order is not a simple thing to discern, and the characters go through a lot of trouble to try and solve their problems, but still: Manzoni says that life is a mess (and certainly does a good job at expressing the idea – the plot just keeps unfolding and one wonders whether it’s ever going to end), but that’s not a good excuse to act as if there were no good and evil. Providence is a thread our hearts know how to follow when we are in a labyrinth.

And then the XX century came, Western societies entered a process of secularisation, lived through the greatest human-made catastrophes of all times and the belief that nothing makes sense and reality is completely random spread all over. Some say this happened because it became evident that the width and depth of our ability to destroy ourselves knows no limits, some still advocate that the point is not what we are able to do, but what we decide to do. In any case, in our times, we ended up with curious cultural products reflecting these huge dilemmas: think about one of the latest experiments of our beloved Netflix – Black

Mirror: Bandersnatch.

In this interactive movie, users can take their pick among different plot developments and make decisions for the main characters. Needless to say, no matter however much we try, hard choices pile up and our characters find themselves in trickier and trickier situations. The message

appears to be: choice is an illusion. 26

My thoughts? I believe that, no matter how sceptical and dismissive we try to appear about the power we have over our lives – we can say everything is already determined in an order we cannot understand or everything is 100% random, and all the grey areas in between – humans need to ask themselves these questions and come up with answers in order to find balance in life and be happy. Centuries of our own cultural production show that. 27

DOES DESTINY EXIST? 30

Coincidences have always sparked curiosity and fascination. Sometimes everything seems inexplicably coordinated so that two situations that seem to have nothing to do with each other seem to fit together. Humans have always associated these coincidences with a higher power. This leads us to wonder whether it is really a

coincidence or a fate?

Both chance and fate have always been sources of worries and questions. They have already been analyzed from very different perspectives, ranging from philosophy to occultism. You have a power that has been there from the start. Why are we born? Why in this family, in this country, in these circumstances and no other? Is there anything that can explain this, or is fate just indecipherable? Author: KASSANDRA

“There is no such thing as coincidence; and what seems to us to be a simple accident arises from the deepest source of destiny. " Friedrich Schiller Both fate and chance are central to a whole host of theories, from those supported by statistics to those that interpret random - or fateful - phenomena as supernatural interventions. 31

One name stands out in particular:

Carl Gustav Jung. The psychoanalyst, known first

as the successor to Freud and then as the founder of his own school, has devoted much of his work to these phenomena. He was the one who came up with the interesting concept of synchronicity.

One of the first people who asked questions about chance and fate that have come down to us was

probably Hippocrates, the father of medicine. If this wise Greek doctor has its

way, then all the components of the universe are linked by "hidden similarities". In other words, he believed that there were laws that explain everything and that we just didn't know all of them yet.

With Sigmund Freud, the concept of the “collective unconscious” began to spread, while Carl Gustav Jung gave it a definitive form. He defined it as something that is inherent in all people beyond our consciousness. It contains memories, fantasies and desires that we are not aware of but that play out within all of us. The collective unconscious is the origin of unconscious communication between people, which in turn explains much of what we call coincidences. At a later point in time, the psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung developed the concept of synchronicity, defining synchronicity as “temporally limited, random occurrence of non-causal events”. He was referring to the confluence of two situations that were not mutually dependent and that have complementary content and consequences. 32

While Jung's theory is very attractive, it is not the only one trying to explain chance and fate. Freud, father of psychoanalysis and Jung's teacher, was pretty much convinced of the opposite. In his view, fate did not exist. He said that it was the people who, through their stubborn insistence, managed to ensure that everything that happened was given meaning. Another cause of what we commonly call fate is the neurosis that causes people to repeat traumatic situations. According to classical psychoanalysis, nothing has meaning in itself. It is people who ascribe meaning to things and the basis for this are their lusts and trauma. People tend to see meaning in coincidences that don't exist: “I was walking down the street an hour later than I was planning to when I met someone, and it then turned out to be the love of my life was. " Sure, and the same thing happened to you with numerous other people who didn't turn out to be the love of your life. In fact, the idea of the "love of life" can also be a fantasy. Maybe it's a beautiful idea, but it remains a fantasy.

Perhaps the situations that we consider fate are more likely to have their origin in our subconscious. Without being aware of it, we try to create certain situations or have certain experiences. Maybe

people are not

as detached from fate as they think they are. It is our unconscious fantasies and lusts that create what we call purpose. It's just that when we give them a magical meaning, it gives us some satisfaction.

MY PROJECT

I am Claire and I’m from France. Before coming to Greece I was doing a Master's degree but I decided to take a gap year in order to devote myself to a human cause. 38

Author: CLAIRE

What are my tasks?

What I love about my work:

• Daily plant care (watering, weeding, pruning

I can work with children and stay outside!

etc) • Preparation of works for planting flower beds

What I am learning from it:

(mixing soil supplementation, addition of ma-

The problem is that I haven't really started my

nure and compost)

project yet I've only been there a few times

• Work with agricultural machinery

just to take care of the garden! I will be able to

• Collection of plant residues for the purpose of

answer this question in a few months.

creation compost • Taking Care for the general cleanliness and arrangement of the space • Participation-assistance in the creation of structures/materials that are required to facilitaname of the project Lysos Garden

te everyday life of the trainees as well as for the facilitation of educational activities (wood constructions and metalwork)

place of the project Lysos Garden

• Creating/uploading content for the website and social media of the project

address Lakonias 87, Kalamata

• Creation of advertising material (printed and with the aim of promoting and communication

email lysosgarden@gmail.com

of the garden project but also for the sales promotion)

facebook facebook.com/lysosgarden

People I work with: I work with one volunteer from K.A.NE. organization. There is also all the team from Lysos Garden and most of the time I’m with George! 39

MY SENDING ORGANISATION

EURASIA NET 40

Author: CLAIRE

Introduction: Eurasia Net was born out of the desire to bring

Their approach is based on non-formal educa-

Europe and Asia closer together through ex-

tion, which enables the development of trans-

changes in the educational, cultural and artis-

versal skills. This approach allows a real inter-

tic fields.

cultural dialogue.

Their motto "United in diversity". They wish to enable young people, citizens, educational

name of the organisation Eurasia Net

and cultural organizations, local authorities and

address 67 La Canebière 13001 MARSEILLE - France

companies to meet and exchange.

EURASIA NET is the will to create a generation

website https://eurasianet.eu

of committed and responsible young people,

email sc.eurasianet@gmail.com

mobile, open to the world and innovation. Their mission is to develop the skills of young peo-

facebook facebook.com/eurasianetcoop

ple and to support them in building their future project by offering unique experiences with a

instagram instagram.com/eurasianet13

strong impact at the local and international level". 41

Main project: Keep Your Eyes Open is a great project supported by the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission which gives continuity to the EYES project for the promotion of social entrepreneurship among young people. It is a program that allows our international partners to meet around the same goal: to exchange best practices in the field of social entrepreneurship and to develop capacities in the field. The EYES project "Eurasia for Youth Entrepreneurship and Social business", launched in 2015 and designed to support young people in their social entrepreneurship projects, has been a success. Thus, Eurasia Net wished to follow it up. Its aim was to promote and develop good practices in the field of social entrepreneurship to facilitate the employability of young people. The EYES website was launched with the aim of promoting these good practices of social entrepreneurship.

My experience: My experience is good. After applying for the project on the same day, I received information that my application was handed over to K.A.NE. Two days later I had an interview. Before my departure to Kalamata, a training was conducted. I got a lot of support from the coordinator from France.

INTERVIEW

One year ago, Tania, a volunteer in Kane, arrived in Greece to start news projects : work at the dog shelter and to be designer of the Link. For her last participation at the Link, I wanted to interview her. 46

to our internal desires are more likely to occur. I

In your opinion Tania, what is synchronicity?

think we attract what we want. If you take risks, you have a better chance of amazing things happening in your life. For this reason, I think it

Tania: Carl Jung (1875-1961) was a famous

is difficult for extraordinary things to happen to

psychiatrist and wrote a book who speaks

you if you remain seated on the sofa at home.

about synchronicity. He defined it as the simultaneous presentation of two events that are not linked by a cause and effect relationship, but by their meaning. For me, synchronicity

ESC

is when an external event suddenly occurs to us that is directly connected with an existing internal thought, which contains a great emotional charge for us. That connection is incomprehensibly unlikely to us, as it defies the laws of logic and rationality by which our society is governed. It is hard for us to believe that it is not mere coincidence.

2 Do you believe in synchronicities? Tania: When I was a teenager I was very skeptical and when significant coincidences name and surname Tania Cano

happened, I attributed it to mere chance. But at a certain point in my life, strangely improbable

nationality Spanish

events began to occur to me. There I began to rethink my opinion about these events and

hosting organisation K.A.NE.

began to think that maybe they were not mere coincidences. Although I could clearly observe

place Kalamata | GREECE

a phenomenon. These events always happened when I got carried away by my impulsiveness, when I followed my instincts. I believe that

volunteering project DASH (Dream of A Safe Haven)

intuition plays a fundamental role in the appearance of synchronicities. When we listen to our intuition and are receptive to what the external world offers us, events directly related

Interviewer: LAURE

life. So answering your question; Yes, I think it is

Do you think that your project in Greece it’s a random project or correlated at a synchronicity of life?

a synchronicity.

4 Daily, do you meet synchronicties? Do you have specific examples about synchronicities in your actual life?

Tania: One year ago, I decided to leave the city where I lived, my flat and my job to go live in London to improve my level of English and live a new experience. When I had been there

Tania: Yes, of course, although I currently

for a week without stopping rain, I had a bad

consider that I am living a period without too many

day. I began to wonder if that city was for me, if

significant synchronicities since I lead a stable

I had made a wrong decision. The possibility of

and calm life, without too many worries. I believe

doing an EVS in another country went through

that the most significant synchronicities happen

my head and I found this project, so I decided to

in periods of vital changes or existential crises

apply for it. The next day the sun came out and

in which we must make important decisions.

I completely forgot about the project. A month

Nowadays, simple synchronicities related to

later I received an email that I had a good chance

everyday life happen to me. For example, the

of getting the project. It exactly coincided that

other day in the morning we were driving to my

it was the first week that I started some pretty

project and we stopped at the cafeteria to get a

hard new job. I was feeling stressed and upset

coffee. I went to the bakery to buy a sandwich.

there, so that email seemed like a sign to me. In

6 hours later, to return, coincidentally the driver

a few days I did Skype, they accepted me in the

stopped at the same bakery to buy. While we

project and I bought the flight to Athens within

waited for her, I became self-absorbed staring

a month. But I quickly adapted to my new job

out the window directly at the ground. Suddenly

and was really happy in London. So I had many

I saw a credit card, with a name in my language

doubts about whether to stay there or leave

! Of course, it was mine.

everything to go to Greece. I finally listened

5 I guess that you have met people

to my instincts and decided to go to Greece. When I arrived in Kalamata, the first few weeks

since your arrival in Greece, do you think that these meetings are random or liked to synchronicities?

I wondered if I had really chosen well... but then the Coronavirus happened. I feel very fortunate to have spent this pandemic

Tania: I think that during this year I have had the

year in one of the countries in Europe which is

opportunity to meet many people with different

least affected by the virus, in Kalamata, where

life and future expectations but with one point in

we have been able to lead a more or less normal 48

common : getting out of the routine, looking for a change, new experiences, meeting new people, growing as a person ... I think we have met people who in some way wanted to break with the daily and stipulated life that we are supposed to lead. For me, it has been very satisfying to share this experience with people who are open to leaving their comfort zone and discovering new things.

6 Do you believe in synchronicities to be more secure in your life? Tania: According to my life experience, whenever I follow my intuition, extraordinary events end up happening to me that change the course of my path, giving me new and enriching experiences. Many times I have made decisions that the people around me have considered crazy or wrong, but then time showed me that I had made the right decision. So I could say yes, believing in the power of intuition makes me feel confident that if I listen to myself and what I want, I will take the right path.

ART REVIEW

WANTED

Wanted is a 2008 American action thriller film directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, and Chris Morgan, loosely based on the comic book miniseries by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones.

The film stars James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common, and Angelina Jolie. Its plot revolves around Wesley Gibson (McAvoy), a frustrated account manager who discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin and decides to join the Fraternity, a secret society in which his father worked. In Chicago, Wesley Gibson works at a dead-end desk job with an overbearing boss, takes medication for panic attacks, and has a live-in girlfriend who cheats on him with his co-worker and best friend, Barry. One evening, Wesley is told by a woman named Fox that his recently murdered father was an assassin, and the killer, named Cross, is now hunting him. When Cross and Fox engage in a shootout, Wesley panics and is pursued by Cross. Fox flips Wesley into her car and then executes an escape.

Author: VIRA

Wesley awakens in a factory surrounded by Fox and other assassins. The group's leader, Sloan, forces Wesley at gunpoint through the Gunsmith to shoot the wings off of several flies,

which he does, much to Wesley's shock. Sloan explains that Wesley's panic attacks are actually a rare ability that allows him to distribute massive amounts of adrenaline to his brain, slowing his perception of his surroundings and granting him superhuman strength and speed. He reveals that Wesley's father, as well as Cross, were members of the Fraternity, a society of assassins that maintains balance in the world. Sloan wants to train him so that he may help kill Cross. A panicked Wesley leaves the building and awakens the next morning in his apartment. He discovers that his bank account now contains $3.6 million. Filled with new confidence, he insults his boss in front of the whole office and hits Barry in the face with a keyboard. Fox, waiting for Wesley, chauffeurs him to the Fraternity headquarters, a repurposed cotton mill.

Wesley trains under Fox's cruel tutelage, learning endurance, knife fighting, and hand-to-hand combat. He also learns to control and use his abilities for firearm marksmanship, such as curving bullets around targets. Frustrated by his lack of progress and the brutality of the training, Wesley insists he is ready, but Sloan disagrees. Wesley refocuses on his training and starts to excel. Sloan then shows him the "Loom of Fate", which has served for 1,000 years in giving coded names of Fraternity targets through errors in the fabric. The Loom identifies those who will create evil and chaos in the future, with Sloan responsible for interpreting the code. 54

Although the Fraternity’s accuracy rate can be faulted, its selection methods must be Really Deep, since orders are transmitted through the Loom of Fate. As demonstrated in the film, if you look at a cloth really, really, really closely, you can see that every once in a while a thread is out of line. These threads represent a binary code that is way deeper than my old Lone Ranger Decoder Ring. They also raise questions about the origin, method and reading of themselves, which are way, way, too complicated to be discussed here, assuming they could be answered, which I confidently believe would not be the case.

After several successful missions, and dumping his girlfriend with the help of Fox, Wesley has an unexpected shootout with Cross, wherein he accidentally kills the Exterminator, a Fraternity member he had befriended. Cross shoots Wesley in the shoulder. Sloan grants Wesley's wish to avenge his father and sends him after Cross—but then secretly gives Fox a mission to kill Wesley, saying that his name has come up in the Loom.

Analyzing the bullet from his shoulder, Wesley realizes that Cross had used a traceable bullet for the first time (as his previous kills were all untraceable). Wesley traces it to a man named Pekwarsky.

He and Fox capture Pekwarsky, who arranges a meeting with Cross. When

Wesley faces Cross alone on a moving train, Fox crashes a car into the train, causing a derailment. 55

While Cross saves Wesley from falling, Wesley fatally shoots him. Before dying, Cross reveals that he is Wesley's real father. Fox confirms this, and explains that Wesley was recruited because he was the only person Cross would not kill. As Fox prepares to shoot Wesley, he shoots the train window below him and Cross, causing the men to free fall into the river.

Wesley is retrieved by Pekwarsky, who takes him to Cross' apartment (which is located just opposite Wesley's) and explains that Sloan started manufacturing targets for profit after discovering that he was targeted by the Loom. Cross discovered the truth, went rogue, and started killing Fraternity members to keep them away from his son. Pekwarsky departs, stating that Cross wished Wesley a life free of violence. Wesley, however, decides to kill Sloan after discovering his father's secret room, containing schematics to the Fraternity base.

Wesley attacks the base using explosive rats (a tactic he learned from the Exterminator), killing surviving Fraternity assassins in a massive shootout. Entering Sloan's office, he is surrounded by Fox, Gunsmith and the remaining assassins. Wesley discloses Sloan's deception, to which Sloan reveals that the names of those present had legitimately come up in the Loom, and that he had acted to protect them. He gives the members a choice: kill themselves, per the code, or kill Wesley and use their skills to control the world. As the others choose to kill him, Fox curves a bullet around the room, choosing to follow the code and kill everyone, including herself, but not before throwing her gun to Wesley. Sloan escapes in the mayhem.

Wesley, penniless again due to his bank account being wiped out by Sloan, returns to his desk job. Sloan arrives to kill Wesley, but is shocked when the person turns around and is revealed to be a decoy. Wesley shoots Sloan with a sniper rifle from Cross' apartment miles away. Wesley states that he is taking back control of his life.

Author: PILAR

“But some things, no matter how unlikely, are just supposed to happen. You know what I mean. Some things just smack of the future and feel part of an overarching rightness.” 57

Marisa de los Santos

PAST EVENT Ισλανδία '' Η γη του Πάγου & της Φωτιάς'' (Iceland "Land

of Ice and Fire") Organizer: Red Elephant Place: Online Date: 10/02/2021 Tickets: Free Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/127483332483553/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22discovery_top_tab%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D]%7D

Like an alien sculpture made of ice and lava, Iceland gazes at Europe from a

distance. Known

for

its

eccentric

character

and

unadulterated

beauty,

the

land of ice stands proudly amidst craters and icebergs, dark sandy beaches and turquoise waters, lonely fishing villages and a culturally troubled capital.

Autor: VIKTOR

FUTURE EVENTS

ΧΙΟΝΟΣΤΙΒΑΔΕΣ & ΧΙΟΝΟΔΡΟΜΙΚΗ ΑΣΦΑΛΕΙΑ (Avalanche awareness & snow safety) Organizer: Kalavrita Ski Resort Place: Online Date: 16/02/2021 Tickets: Free Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/413302316644236/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22discovery_top_tab%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D]%7D

The gradually increasing need of people to be in contact with nature and the mountain environment, combined with the flourishing of winter outdoor recreational activities, leads every day more and more people to be exposed to the risk of avalanches. The Ski Center of Kalavrita stands responsibly to modern requirements and assumes an active role. In collaboration with the Association of Greek Mountain Guides and the Greek Rescue Team, through this action, we set the following goals: • The detailed presentation of the conditions and factors that contribute to the creation of this impressive phenomenon, as well as the information on issues of equipment, field recognition, response and risk avoidance. • The awareness and information of the publić who goes to the mountains in winter: skiers and climbers, amateurs and professionals who want to take part in a useful information process, consisting of three thematic units. A) Presentations / Presentations, B) Review of real events (case studies), C) Educational procedures - open positions. 59

Flegga Lakes, Valia Calda, Drakolimni Verliga Organizer: Xtreme Greece Place: Metsovo Date: 8.-9.5.2021 Tickets: 65€ Link: https://www.xtremegreece.gr/en/pezoporia-trekking-hiking/limnes-flegga-balia-kalnta-drakolimni-berligka.html

On Saturday, we will visit all the magical images of the core and the Flegga Lakes. We will approach the alpine part of Montenegro and the wonderful landscape with the thunderbolts and after climbing to the top and the lakes we will follow the path to the core and Arkoudorema, where our vehicles will be waiting for us to wander in the rest of the valley. Duration of activity 10 hours (hiking 6 hours). The trip is of moderate difficulty and requires basic physical condition. For those who do not want to do all the hiking they can do a little, as much as they want in Arkoudorema following the vehicles. In this case it is also suitable for children. On Sunday we will visit the most beautiful alpine plateau in the country. After approaching the village of Haliki from Anilio we will climb Peristeri as close as possible to the destination and with as much hiking as needed in the wonderful Verliga. From there anyone who wishes can approach the peaks of Tsoukarela (2295) and Mega Trapo. 60

Sacred Buddhist Dance of Nepal Organizer: Yangchenma Arts & Music Place: Online Date: 20/02/2021-08/05/2021 Tickets: 195$ Link: https://www.yangchenma.org/courses?fbclid=IwAR0PI0lDhIQTMF2dRW38bbaJugGFClE2YodmivM8coENnuLebcA62iL-2Bw

This course is a three part training in Charya Nritya Dance, a unique Newari Buddhist Nepali tradition dating back over a thousand years, that uses the physical body as a vehicle for liberating the mind. By uniting movement, visualization, and awareness, one learns to emulate and then fully embody the qualities of the variety of Buddhist deities — male and female, peaceful and wrathful — and to genuinely express those enlightened qualities through one’s own body, speech, mind, and activities.

PLACE TO TRAVEL

BALI

Bali is an Indonesian island famous for its forested volcanic mountains, rice fields, beaches and coral reefs. The island is home to religious sites, such as the Uluwatu Temple built on top of a sheer cliff. To the south is the seaside town of Kuta with its many lively bars. The cities of Seminyak, Sanur, and Nusa Dua are also popular seaside resorts. Bali is also known for its spiritual retreats, including the practice of yoga and meditation. 64

Author: EMMA

For many reasons, the best time to come to Bali is from April to June and sometime in September, just before and just after the tourist season. It is still the dry period and the weather is less humid than usual. October is also quite pleasant, with much less rain than in November. Discovering Bali and Lombok also means setting off to meet two distinct culinary identities. Local specialties, mostly spices and rice, can be tasted in the many local restaurants at low cost. We will thus discover the inimitable Urab of Bali, a delicious mixture of beans, coconut and finely chopped vegetables flavored with spices. Bold and tangy, Indonesian cuisine reminds us of the flavors of Malaysia, South India and China. Nothing like a tour of the local markets to take in the full dimension of the culinary change of scenery!

Around Bali you will find some of

the best surfing and diving spots in the world.

This is for example the case of the Gili Islands where it is possible to dive in the middle of gardens of corals and multicolored fish. As for surfing, we will not miss the most famous spots in Bali such as Kuta Beach and its exotic surf culture, Echo Beach and its powerful waves or Ulu Watu, a legendary surf spot popular with seasoned surfers.

Finally, THE EXCELLENT QUALITY / PRICE RATIO Whether we are talking about accommodation, food or the cost of living in general, Bali and Lombok are two inexpensive destinations. You can taste delicious local dishes without breaking the bank, take a taxi for three times cheaper than in Europe or even try out various activities for the equivalent of a few euros. The cost of living in Bali and Lombok will allow you to indulge yourself without having to restrict yourself.

RECIPES FROM FRANCE

CASSOULET

Author: CLARA

Hard 2h 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

• White beans • Garlic sausage • Unsmoked Toulouse sausages • Bacon • Tomato puree

• Garlic • Onion • Salt • Pepper

PREPARATION: 1. Soak the mojette in cold water the day before. 2. Drain the mojette, put it to cook in a casserole dish, covered with cold, unsalted water, with 5 or 6 cloves of garlic, thyme and bay leaf, for a good 1/2 hour, 3/4 of an hour, from boiling.

3. Drain the mojette, then put it in a large casserole dish, cover with water. Add the tomato paste, the slices of sausage, the smoked breast cut into pieces beforehand, a few cloves of garlic (the old ones will have been removed), thyme, bay leaf, return to a simmer. 68

4. In a pan, grill the fresh breast cut into pieces, then the sausages, and add all this to the casserole dish, taking care to wipe off the excess fat with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for one hour over very low heat (thermostat 3 maximum on the simmering plate), stirring occasionally. 5. Take the duck thighs out of the boxes, clean them well of all the fat, and separate the upper and lower thighs. 6. Add to the casserole dish, check the seasoning, and simmer for another 1/2 hour. Put the oven to preheat, rotating heat (we will put two dishes on two levels), to 110 ° C (thermostat 3 or 4). 7. Take two large terracotta gratin dishes with a fairly high edge, rub them with garlic, then gently divide the contents of the casserole dish between the two dishes (beware of the confit, which comes off very easily). The sauce should cover the beans just level. then sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and put in the oven. 8. Check regularly that the preparation is cooking very slowly, and that there is enough sauce, always that the juice is at the level of the beans. From time to time, press down on the pieces of meat or sausage to put them back in the sauce. 9. You can simmer for another half hour, two hours, or better to cool after an hour and cook for another hour.

The volunteers responsible for this publication are hosted in Greece in the framework of the European Solidarity Corps programme of the European Commission. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.