Link 87 by NGO K.A.NE.

LINK No 87 January 15th 2017

ollowing the festivities around these end-of-the-year holidays, LINK has also dressed up a bit for it's first issue in 2017. Most of our hardworking writers went back to their countries to celebrate in their natural habitat and to be reminded of all the things they miss and those which they are thankful for when it comes to both countries. Now that our little break for Christmas is over and we recovered from all the food and family gatherings, we are getting back on track, writing in full speed.

In this issue:

New hunk in the office!

ff memeber. Meet Vyron, KANEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new sta on!) (A proper interview coming so

You think Greeks eat a lot? Think ag 12 d ain

ishes in one supper . , but not until you see a star! Martyna introduce s a polish Christm as.

mas? How Philipinos decorate their homes for Christ What about Ukranians? cle! Find out about those and much more in Rosaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arti

Christmas markets everywhere!

Where did they come from? Find out with Sara.

Adventuring through Greece in winte r! Rüya

shares her experience and her Christ mas miracle.

Right from the heart!

personal view A touching article about a very of Christmas by Oskar.

Warning! Don’t drool!

...as Oscar tells us about traditional food from Spa in.

New Year’s in Spain?

Aroa tells us what to expect.

STOP looking at fo od

! Make some! Cooking some pum pkiny goodness wit h Renée.

Ever heard about Newport?

And how about the other Newport? etown! Explore Wales with Molly and discover her hom

Bored of hearing

about Greek myth ology?

Find out about Jap

an's with Laura.

- Tea Križanec

Table of contents Contact

About us

EVS, K.A.NE.

Youth Center - program 10 Martyna Czypicka 12 Rosa Vernooij 14 Sara Amghar 16 Rüya Hazar 18 Oskar Shrattenecker 23 Óscar Villarraso López 24 Aroa Liébana Rellán 25 Renée Hoogenboom 26 Molly O’Doherty 27 Laura Gimenez 30 Zoom on Kalamata 34

Christmas in Poland Christmas decorations all over the world Christmas markets My Christmas Holiday What Christmas means to me Spanish christmas dinner New Year´s Eve in Spain Soup of grilled tomatoes and pumpkin Hometown village Newport, Pembrokeshire Japan’s mythology

Staff members of KANE: Filaretos Vourkos Fotini Arapi Jelena Scepanovic Nantiana Koutiva Vyron Giannakopoulos EVS: Aroa Liébana Rellán Arthur Gallagher Laura Gimenez Renée Hoogenboom Rosa Vernooij Rüya Hazar Martyna Czypicka Molly O’Doherty Óscar Villarraso López Oskar Shrattenecker Sara Amghar Tea Križanec Editor & Designer: Tea Križanec

Contact us: K.A.N.E Social Youth Development Youth Center of Kalamata Plateia Othonos 10 Kalamata 24100 Greece Telephone: +30 272 111 0740 E-mail: info@ngokane.org URL: https://kentroneon.wordpress.com/ http://www.ngokane.org/index.php/el/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ kentroneon/?fref=ts

About us - EVS

i, This is RĂźya from Istanbul,Turkey. I am 28 years old. I have studied Maritime Transportation and Management Engineering in Istanbul Technical University. Then, i started working on tanker ships as an officer. So, i was once an old mariner, than after leaving ships become a full time traveller and now i am a volunteer in Kalamata until next middle of May:). I am into sports, cultural activities and travel.

i there, my name is Renee, I am seventeen years old and I am from the Netherlands. I arrived last monday and I will stay here for ten months. My work will be therapeutic horseriding and in the keviab. I just finished highschool and I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wanted to study immediately, then I came across EVS and it turned out to be the perfect thing to do this year. Because I am doing something good and I will learn a lot from it. I hope that when I come back I will have new friends and have a lot more life experience.

ello my name is Oskar Schrattenecker, I am 18 years old and from Linz/Austria. I am doing Evs in Kalamata. The main reason for me to do Evs was because i didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what I wanted to do in my future so hopefully I get orientation during my Evs. Also since first of January in Austria you can do a long term Evs instead of your military service, so this was a nice opportunity. I started my Evs one month ago on 18. of April and my project lasts for one year, I work in the Youth center of Kalamata. Me and 6 other Volunteers live in an apartment.

i everyone! My name is Rosa and I am 17 years old. I come from a small town called Woerden in the Netherlands. I just graduated from high school, so now I am taking a gap year before I will go to university. I like hanging out with friends, watching a movie, going for a hike and cooking. I will stay in Kalamata for 9 months to work in the Day care centre for autistic children. We visited Kalamata in the beginning of August for one weekend, so we got to see a little bit of Kalamata already. The people here have been really nice, but it is so different from the Netherlands. I hope to become more independent here and meet new friends. I am also looking forward very much to learning about autistic children and how to approach them.

ey guys! My name in Martyna and I’m new volunteer from Poland! I’ve grown up in Poznan (west side of the country). I’m 26 this year and I try to enjoy every minute of my life! I’m crazy about Greece, this is my favourite place in Europe – however I love to travel and I take every opportunity to see the world. In my free time I like to read and spend time outside of the house. I love to eat, this is my biggest passion! I’m totally a beauty freak.

i! My name is Laura and I’m 24 years old. I come from a small town in France called Le Thor (yeah like the north god), it’s around Marseille. I have a bachelor degree but I wanted to do something else this year, something that will give me life and work experiences: I wanted to be useful. I’ll work in KANE’s office as the webdesigner of the team and I’ll stay in Kalamata for 1 year; I’m really looking forward to it! I have quite a lot of hobbies; I love to draw, write, read, play video games, watching movies and tv show and so on.

alimera to all of you, I am Sara, I am french and I am 21 years old. Since yesterday, I am a new volunteer in Kalamata and will stay here for a year (maybe more ...?) in order to give some help to the horse riding center of kalamata and the Kefiap as well. More over, I will give french lessons at the Youth Center of the city. I met people I will work with and I am really excited to start being part of the project. Horse riding center is a real peacefull place for anybody who needs to connect his mind with his body. The couple of therapist working there are sensitive and receptive people, so if you have any physycal pain, just go to the horse riding center :) !

i ! My name is Aroa, I’m from Madrid in Spain but I live in Màlaga, the south of Spain. In Spain I’m working in a secondary school for dance, I’m the teacher for hip-hop, funks, break dance and classic for teens. I have 18 years and I love dance, photography and watch movies with my friends.

reece, the final frontier. This will be the voyage of a young volunteer. Her continuing mission - to explore strange new places, to seek out new skills and new forms of art, to boldly go where no volunteer has gone before… Greetings dear readers! Tea is my name and art is my game. I will be working for KANE and leading the Creative arts workshops in the youth centre as well as teaching croatian. Please don’t let my fragile looks trick you, as I am a level 6 elven ranger of the Vanyar clan, my patronus is an Eevee and I am available for tea parties and board games.

ello, my name is Arthur, I’m coming from France. I will stay in Kalamata for a 12 months EVS, working at K.A.N.E office. I will animate some workshops here and participate in media communication. I’m glad to be here and experiment the greek way of life.

i ! I’m Oscar, I’m from Spain, I live in Màlaga, so close to Africa. I love the fashion world and I worked as organiser and teacher of modeling in lot of fashion shows. I’m an animal lover, I have a tiny dog called Fredy. Music is very important in my life, I’m listening music every time. I like traveling every time I can, I think exploring the world is the most interestng in your life.

ello everyone! My name is Molly and I come from the UK. I’ve moved here from a city called Bristol in England. I am going to be working in K.A.N.E.’s office. I’ll be helping with the programming, development and evaluation of activities. I’ll also be helping out in the Youth Centre and running an English Conversation workshop. I love cooking, watching films and doing yoga. I also really enjoy helping people to connect with their local history. Before I came here I was working in museums and archives for many years. I am really excited to be in Kalamata and I feel very lucky to be here working as an EVS volunteer.

About us - K.A.NE.

ello, I am Filaretos Vourkos. For the last 10 years I am working in the field of Non-formal education as avolunteer, youth worker and youth trainer. 6 years ago,I decided to create the Youth Centre of Kalamata, in orderto initiate youth work in Kalamata and promote active citizenship as factor for change.

i, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Jelena Scepanovic, an EVS coordinator in KANE and the volunteer of the Youth center. I came from Montenegro 2012 as an EVS volunteer. I really liked the idea of the Youth center and the work that KANE does, so I decided to stay and be part of it.

y name is Nantiana! Im 23 years old. I live in Kalamata! I were living for 5 years in patras! I were studying there greek philology and now im teaching greek to the youth center in Kalamata.

i my name is Fotini Arapi and I am project manager in K.A.NE. organization and responsible, among other things, for all sending motilities (sending EVS volunteers, participants in training courses, interns, etc). Apart from my work in K.A.NE., I also volunteer in the Youth Centre of Kalamata, a volunteer initiative managed by a team of local volunteers. I am very proud of and I love the Youth Centre, its dynamic atmosphere, and most of all, its natural inclusiveness that allows everybody to feel “at home” there. See you around :-D

would describe Vyron as an imaginative fast learning and inventive generalist with a passion for remarkable food and the great outdoors. That’s enough talking about myself in third person. Hello, I am Vyron Giannakopoulos, I consider myself a curious and open-minded person. I have studied the science of Geography and as the newest member of KANE I am here to help by managing the creative projects of EVS volunteers, planning events, creating new projects and doing anything that will add value to our organisation. In my free time I like exploring new places and learning new things. But feel free to contact me on any issue if you need help. Namaste

Christmas supper in Poland

he most important time during the Christmas is of course moment, when you can relax with your family and enjoy it, in some peace and quite place. In December we all dream about snow, table full of food and gifts under the Christmas tree. I will tell you how it looks in my country! First of all, Christmas preparation in catholic church begin four weeks before 24th of December – we call this time Advent, which means “coming”. Advent is a beginning of the year in catholic church. In every house you can find Advent wreath like one on the picture.

Also for all four weeks you can attend on very morning service called roraty – rorate coeli – where you are praying to Holy Mary. At homes we can start decorating Christmas tree even on 1st of December – the rule is to have it prepare until evening 24th! Usually in the beginning of December we’re cooking special ginger cookies, with honey, caramel and cacao. It’s a funny time for kids, because they are responsible for decorations on top of the cookies. When our ginger cookies are ready, we can start real preparation for Christmas Eve! 24th of December is the most important days for Poles. Traditionally it was day of fasting and meat is not normally allowed to be eaten in any form. Christmas Eve is known as Wigilia. It’s traditional that no food is eaten until the first star is seen in the sky! So children look at the night sky to spot the first star! After that you can start your Christmas supper. We have 12 dishes on the table – one dish for one month of the year. If you want to be lucky next year, you should at least try each of them! We don’t eat meat, so you can find a lots of soups and fishes. Traditional we make three soups: barszcz z uszkami (borsch with little dumplings), which is a beetroot soup with small dumplings filed with cabbage and mushrooms. Fish soup, you can prepare it from different kind of fishes, my favorite is salmon soup!

Mushroom soup which is usually make from boletus. We eat it with small noodles (łazanki). The traditional fish, we’re eating only for Christmas Eve is karp (carp), but not much people like it! Definitely kids are not happy to eat it, it is always full of fish bones! But we have a nice alternative for everyone who likes fishes! And again, we make it only for Christmas supper and we call it… Greek fish (ryba po grecku)! It’s a crispy cod covered with carrots! I really love it, carrots are made with tomatoes, leek and little bit of sugar, so taste is sweet and delicious! We are eating a lot of heritage – my favorite recipe is a heritage in oil with onion and raisins! You can also make them fried and put into vinegar. Of course we can’t forget about typical Polish dish – pierogi! You can be sure you will find dumpling with sour cabbage and mushrooms. Usually we’re not drinking alcohol on Christmas supper (maybe a little bit of wine), but we make the best non-alcoholic drink in the world! It’s a compote of dried fruits! It taste like winter in a cup! Our traditional cake for Christmas is makowiec – poppy seed cake, and popular sweet (except of ginger cookies) – makiełki. Makiełki are made from poppy seed, cherries, delicacies and pasta. Only in my home we make it with pieces of roll! The worst part about the Christmas Eve supper is that you can’t open the presents before everyone finish eating! Presents are brought by Święty Mikołaj (St Nicholas / Santa Claus), but in different parts of Poland we have different girls bringers! some parts of Poland there are different present bringers. In the northern side of Poland (place where I live) gifts are given by Gwiazdor, the Starman. It was very nice to think about Christmas again and think about my time in Poland! When I was at home I ate too much, but I have to admit… I’m hungry again! I’ve hope you’ve learn something new today and you will like to try some of Polish traditional meals! I would love to give you some recipes in next Link! - Martyna Czipicka

Christmas decorations all over the world

Christmas decorations all over the world Ukraine In Ukraine you can find spider web ornaments in the trees, because of the Legend of the Christmas spider. In the story a poor, but hardworking widowfamily lives in a hut. One a summer day a pine cone falls on the floor in the hut and takes root. The widow children take care of the tree, hoping for a Christmas tree. When Christmas Eve arrives, they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford to decorate is. The next morning, when the children wake up the tree is covered in webs. When they open the windows the sunshine turns the webs into gold and silver. The widow and her children were very happy and from then on they never live in poverty again. So as you can maybe tell from the story, spider webs bring luck and fortune.

USA In the USA (and sometimes also in Germany) a decoration in the shape of a pickle is hidden in a Christmas tree. The finder receives an extra present or good fortune next year. People are not sure what the origin of this tradition is. According to one tale, a Bavarian emigrant named John Lower started the tradition after he became sick while imprisoned in Andersonville during the Civil War. The only thing he wanted was one pickle before he died. The guard felt sorry for him and found him a pickle. Legend has it he recovered soon after and returned home, where he instituted the tradition in remembrance of his good fortune. Another theory takes us to Berrien Springs. According to this Southwest Michigan town, it all started in the Middle Ages, when a cruel innkeeper trapped two Spanish boys in a pickle barrel on their home from boarding school for Christmas break. As the story goes, St. Nick rescued them by tapping on the barrel with his staff.

Greece The tradition of decorating a fishers boat instead of a tree goes back hundreds of years when most Greek men were working as seamen. During Christmas time the family of a seaman would decorate a small wooden boat to show how thankful they were that their father/sun returned and survived the harsh winter sea.

Since the Christmas tree was introduced, people have forgotten a bit about the decoration of the sailing boats. On the islands though, people try to maintain the custom by for example putting a sailing boat instead of a Christmas tree on the main square.

China China doesn’t have that many Christians, so Christmas isn’t that often celebrated. If people celebrate Christmas they usually decorate with things made out of paper, such as lanterns. The Christmas trees are often made out of plastic and people sometimes call the Christmas tree ‘the tree of light’.

Catalonia In many Aragonese and Catalonian homes you can see a Caga Tió de nadal during Christmas. As you can see on the picture, it’s a creature made out of wood. The hat that it’s wearing is the traditional Catalonian barretina. Between the 8th of January and Christmas eve children take care of the Tió de nadal every evening. They tuck him in with a blanket and also feed him a kind of almond, so that the Tió de nadal will poop a lot of presents and sweets when Christmas has finally come. During Christmas day the Tió de nadal is hit by someone with a stick so he will poo out more candies and presents. Before this, the tradition says that the children have to leave the room and pray for the log to give them lots of presents. While hitting the log, they sing the following song: “Caga tió, shit, log, caga torró, shit nougats, avellanes i mató, hazelnuts and mató cheese, si no cagues bé if you don’t shit well, et daré un cop de bastó. I’ll hit you with a stick, caga tió!” shit, log! A crazy tradition if you ask me!

Philippines For a lot of Filipino families it’s very expensive to buy an imported Christmas tree. This is why they put up a star-shaped lantern called a Parol. The Parol has the shape of a star, which represents the star of Bethlehem that guided the Three kings. Traditionally the Parol has a frame made out of bamboo covered by coloured pieces of either Japanese paper or crêpe paper, but nowadays people use a lot of different materials to create them. Here are some examples.

Christmas markets

i guys ! I hope you had very nice christmas holidays, with a lot of food, a lot of relatives and a lot of present that you may have found in christmas markets. By the way, do you know the story of christmas markets? Let's talk about it! A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt (in dutch), Marché de Noël (in french) and Weihnachtsmarkt (in german) is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, but are now being held in many other countries.The history of Christmas markets goes back to the late middle ages in the German-speaking part of Europe, and in many parts of the former Holy roman empire that include many eastern regions of France and Switzerland.The Christmas markets of Bautzen (city in Germany) were first held in 1384. Dresden's Striezelmarket was first held in 1434. Frankfurt was first mentioned in 1393, Munich in 1310 and Augsburg in 1498. The "December market" was a kind of forerunner of the Christmas market and dates back to 1294.

In many towns in Germany and Austria, Advent is usually ushered in with the opening of the Christmas market or "Weihnachtsmarkt". In southern Germany and Austria, it is sometimes called a "Christkind(e)l(s)markt" (German language, literally meaning "Christ child market"). Traditionally held in the town square, the market has food, drink and seasonal items from open-air stalls accompanied by traditional singing and dancing. On opening night at the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, and in some other towns, onlookers welcome the "Christkind" (originally Jesus, but often depicted as an angel-like girl), acted out by a local child - Sara Amghar

The Striezelmarkt in Dresden is one of Germanys oldest documented Christmas market

My Christmas Holiday

have taken this Christmas holiday period as a chance to see the Northern Greece and some snow of it. Well, seeing the snow intention was failed. Although, many cities were deserted because of low season, I have seen lots of beautiful things, under the shiny sun. 23rd of December, Morning : A group of people wants to see their missed ones (travelling in my case :D ) piled inside the car and headed to Athens. A night in Athens was more like seeing my friends there and giving my backpack a rest before dragging it with me along many kilometers. 24th of December, Noon : Instead of seeing Meteora Monastery (ok, costs were too expensive for Meteora trip in this season, so we have just canceled it for another time) headed to Chalkida. Again low season struck me again, but island was still nice, especially with that view, over the Castle. 25th of December, First Hours : After Chalkida trip, I took my backpack, catched the last train of the previous day at 2359 hrs and seated for 15 hrs journey all up to north. Afternoon, I have reached Komotini. Of course, due to Xmas, everywhere was closed which that gave a great opportunity for me to take some pictures on the empty streets! On the other hand, my friends and I had already planned a Christmas dinner in the house. So, it was okay. I even had “çiğ köfte” kneaded by an another Turkish EVS friend there. Oh, it had been such a long time haven’t eaten that! 26th of December, First Hours : Of course, I was emotionally effected by Xmas spirit and reality of having grandparents living that close to the border, also since I am like already in the border, I wanted to see them, at least for a couple of hours. I took the first bus and crossed the border. In the first stop, my best friend came from Istanbul, just to be able to see me in Tekirdag. We had a shortest best time, until my second bus delayed 2 hours more, which gave us more opportunity to see each other. When I reached my grandparents town, Sarköy, my father was waiting for me in the bus station. And entered 27th of December, by hugging him tight.

27th of December : When I entered the warm living room smelling mandarin because there was a stove with tea boiling on it, near mandarin shells and bonus : Potatoes! After a nice chat and catching up, went to sleep late and in the morning i had taken the morning bus, back to Alexandropoli. Well, I have seen a quite crowd in Alex/Poli, but nothing interesting. In fact! I think have eaten the best calamari ever there! In the night, I took the bus to Xanti. When I arrived there, it was like a ghost town, I thought again, I am in a city again, where a few people live in. I decided to the find somewhere to stay for a night at least, and leave that weird town with the first bus in the morning. I entered the first hotel and ask for the price for night, of course, it was hell expensiveâ&#x20AC;Ś And with that sad face, I have asked a hostel (just to try my chance, I never believed that there might be a hostel thereâ&#x20AC;Ś) And he replied me back that I have to go to the city center. THERE WAS A CENTER :D Long story short, as long as i walked up to North, i have found the perfect city that i want to die on it, and i came across the most beautiful hostel i have ever seen! Happy Living Hostel was a cafe/bar in the first floor, and hostel in the second floor. Concept of it was amazing both from outside and inside, everything was well maintained and thoughtful on it very detailsâ&#x20AC;Ś After a quick walk around the city and old town fascinated my by its Christmas lights and decorations, I returned to hostel. I took my hot chocolate and book in front of the door and started waiting for karaoke night. 28th of December, Morning: I took a daylight walk around the city and headed to my next destination, Kavala, such a beautiful city with monuments and its old city.

After Kavala, i catched Keramoti bus. My intention was actually staying there for a night, after seeing the city proceeding to Thasos. However, as soon as I got off the bus, when I saw the ferry in front of me, waiting for her Thasos victims (:D ) that hunch came to me and I immediately jumped to the ferry, without even looking my back, leaving Keramoti behind… Well, that hunch was laughing me so hard, when I reached Thasos, a wilderness, a deserted island, no living thing around. I was waiting under the cold, stormy weather… No shop or hotels were open, even the ones have light outside were locked “outside” with key on them. I am not sure if intention was keeping visitors inside locked or, I don’t know, there is no logical explanation of that anyways… Only living thing was a municipal building, having many children and their parents inside, having so much fun, it was like a heaven in thas island, but of course, I just passed by in front of the windows without even paying much attention. After walking maybe hours of search, I have found one on Booking.com and reserved one room. When I got there it was closed of course, I called the owner, he came and left the keys of the main door and he said “All rooms are dirty except for honeymoon suit, here is café and everything, lock the door, boutique is yours for tonight, I am leaving” . Again, I was shocked and spend the night there, prepared myself for my big island trip… Again, hunch was laughing my plans sooo hard… 29th of December, Morning: Again long story short, due to off season, everything was closed, all bus and excursion schedules were canceled. So I have decided to wait for the first ferry to leave the island from 9 to 1800, all was canceled due to bad weather. Wind was so hard even to walk outside, but I had waited partly in the port partly in the cafes, waiting and waiting… And bad news came after 1730 hrs, there will be no ferry tonight… And again, I started looking for the hotels but I didn’t have enough money to cover the expense the one I stayed last night. I went to police, big hotels just to sit on the lobby until the first possible ferry at 0530 in the morning. I received negative answer from all off them.

And than, I saw that heavenly place again, where children were having fun inside. This time, I approached the window, and saw many people inside, smiling and running corner to corner with joy. And music given to outside was so relaxing. Suddenly I woman came of the building and I couldn’t resist and asked “Do you know any suitable and cheap place for me to stay overnight?” She smiled and asked me to come in and talk to Katerina. She was pointing a woman inside, covered by yelling and turning around children around her. Katerina was looking so overwhelmed and tired, but obviously forcing herself to cheer up. There was no question for me to ask on that time but this: “ Do you need help here?” Katerina was a hotel owner, preparing Xmas workshops for kids. She supposed to have many tools and volunteers on that night to help her, but there was one one beside her one friend and she had found more children than she expected.Only thing she wanted that night was, somebody to help her. Only thing i wanted that night was a place has a roof on it only. Well, after an exhausting but amazingly fun workshop, I stayed in her hotel, Hotel Vicky, for free of course :D 30th of December, Very Early Morning: When I woke up in darkness, and running for the ferry on 0530 hrs which is first and the last ferry of the day, I was the last subject, barely jumping to the deck, before ramp closed. And sailed Keramoti, safely. After Keramoti, until I reach to very close distance to Kavala again, it was a complete darkness. In Kavala, I took Thessaloniki bus and proceeded. When I arrive there it was noon and took the nearest bus to Florina to see Prespa Lake. On the way, road was partly snowy and it was the last snow I will see until the end of my journey. I have found Florina very small but cute. However, I couldn’t see Prespa Lakes, because there was no means of transportation in this time of the year. I decided to keep that plan for the spring time and spend that time walking around the city.

With the last bus, I returned Thessaloniki to the another EVS house there. And after the beginning of next day, I tried to find the address, thanks to Google map, it leaded me to the wrong address at the beginning and it made me walk totally 6 kilometers up to the hill, in cold night. However it was great, that night view and streets inside the fortification was amazing!! 31th of December, Very Early Morning: I have spent morning and afternoon, among the beautiful and tasty streets of Thessaloniki, by trying sweets, bakery products, actually everything I found interesting. There were many crazy dancing and both making barbeque people on the streets, paradesâ&#x20AC;Ś It was great to watch them having fun. And night time, my another friends visiting Thessaloniki from Kalamata and me, had a new year dinner in their friends house It was such a great coincidence for me and nice way to celebrate new year, both meeting nice new people and ones I really love. 01st of January, Very Early Morning: Daytime was the time to be lazy before my long journey, down to Kalamata back again. I took the last train to Athens to reach my home. 02nd of January, Afternoon: When i reached my home around 0900 hrs in the morning, Tea hugged me and gave the best news that they are on the way to Ancient Messini with her friend from Croatia, visiting her in town. I joined them and we spent the day in Ancient Messiniaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural and historical beauty. It was such an amazing ending, for an amazing trip! - RĂźya Hazar

What christmas means to me

hristmas is a special time for everyone. For me christmas is a time of peace and silence, a time for friends and family. On the 18. Dezember I went back to Austria for my christmas vaccation, after 8 months it was the first time for me to be back at home again. My previous christmas celebrations, were always with my close family, my sister, my mom, my dad and me. We came together and spent the day with each other. From the morning on the house was filled with good music and the smell of good food, most of the times we made a brunch in the morning with a big variety of good food. Between 1 and 3 o´clock we started to prepare the christmas dinner, all of us were in the kitchen either cooking, doing the dishes or just sitting on the table and laughing. We were cooking till the evening since we always made a big meal with lot of different courses. Every year we tried something new for the main course, once we had a Duck with Honeysauce, then just normal Sausages out of the pan. After the Dinner we light the christmas tree, sing christmas songs and open the presents. So thats is my normal christmas, out of that i can also say what it means for me. For me the christmas day is very special, it‘s a day where everyone is happy and just concentrates on the time being together. Since my parents don‘t live together, christmas was like a day where they are together again. I am not sad, but when I was younger it was my dream to have a “normal“ family. So christmas also means to have a family and to show love to each other, and to forget the small problems you have. The presents never were such a big deal, of course when I was younger it was more important for me, but with the age I lost my interest a lot. We give us presents, but most of the time small ones, sometimes they were more sarcastic than actually usefull. So yes, for me Christmas stands for a time to spend with family, a time to forget the small problems and about having a good time with your loved ones.

- Oskar Shrattenecker

Spanish christmas dinner

hristmas in Spain is celebrated in large, party everywhere, lights and dinners with friends, family, co-workers. Depending on the part of Spain, there are different types of food since in all of Spain the gastronomy is different. For example, where I am from, the south, most popular is the fish. Because we are next to the coast, we eat all kinds of fish: salmon, tuna, crab, octopus, squid, and of course the typical Spanish food: tortilla, jamon serrano, goat cheese, accompanied by the traditional Christmas grapes and of course the drink, champagne and wine.

If one day you spend Christmas in Spain, you will know what it is to “empacharse”

What can not miss in a Spanish Christmas table are the “polvorones”, these delicacies are everywhere, and you can try different types, also the liquor chocolates are welcomed. The salads are always in center of table, is used to accompany the fish giving a touch of color to the table. As you can see at Christmas dinners in my country the priority is the Mediterranean diet, with many flavors and colors, trying to have a balanced diet and good, these dishes are not only cooked in Christmas, you can cook all the time of the year, If you think that this taste well with the company of all your family and friends is better and will enjoy with much love and happiness, both in Christmas and other time of the year. - Óscar Villarraso López

New Year´s Eve in Spain

ive in Spain the experience and enjoy of New Year´s Eve, a Special party full of hustle and bustle until the wee hours of the morning. And receive the New Year while you eat the grapes of luck, a tradition of ours that can not be missed. Take 12 grapes, one at a time, to the beat of the clock which indicates midnight. This is our way off celebrating the arrival of the New Year, a custom very rooted in Spain. In addition, who eats the grapes in time will live a year full of prosperity and luck. After dinner, you can meet with your friends or family in front of the television, as these chimes are broadcast live througthout Spain. If you wish, you can also live this special night in many hotels and restaurants that offer New Year´s Eve parties, where there is a special menu, grapes and, of course, music and entertainment. In many cities and towns people gather around a square to share these minutes of joy together. There is in Spain a site especially linked to this tradition: the clock of the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. Thousands of people, mostly groups of friends and youth disguised as hats, masks, trumpets and jokes, are approaching each New Year´s Eve to this point of the capital of Spain to celebrate the arrival of the year. After the ritual of the grapes, happiness and joy take over the place, which reings confetti, streamers and music. Laughter, fun, groups of young people and music flood the city, while the cars ring their horns to welcome the New Year. And if the body and forces hold us, like every year, in my family after playing bingo with our friends and family (Everybody in my house), the winner of bingo about 6 or 7 in the morning goes to the nearest churreria open and buys churros for breakfast, What better way to finish the night than eating a chocolate with churros before going to bed?

- Aroa Liébana Rellán

Soup of grilled tomatoes and pumpkin Ingredients: - 3 kg pumpkin - 1,2 kg fresh tomatoes - 3 big onions, corsealy chopped - 6 garlic cloves - 2 spoons of coconut oil - dried rosemary - 1 liter bouillon - salt and pepper 1. Heat the oven till 200 degrees. 2. Cut the pumpkin and the fresh tomatoes in half and lay them with the cutting edge on top on 2 baking sheets. Add also the onion and garlic. Heat everything in 30/45 minutes until the pumpkin is cooked. 3. Heat the coconut oil easy in a big pan and add the rosemary. 4. Do the onions together with the tomatoes and the garlic also in the pan and scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin. 5. Pour the bouillon with it and bring medium high to a boiling point. Leave the soup boiling easy for 20 minutes. Than puree everything smooth with a blender. 6. When serving you can at some parmesan cheese and a bit extra rosemary. - RenĂŠe Hoogenboom

Hometown village Newport, Pembrokeshire (in Welsh: Trefdraeth, Sir Benfro)

ello all, I want to share with you a little bit about my hometown: Newport, Pembrokeshire. Actually calling it a hometown isn’t exactly right because it is much smaller than a town, it’s a village of around 1,200 people. Newport is a village situated in the West of Wales, United Kingdom.

Which Newport?

Another important point to mention is that the village of Newport is not the same place as the city of Newport. The city of Newport is located in the South of Wales, not far from the capital city, Cardiff. I make this point not just because -yes! two places in Wales with the same name are pretty confusing!- but also because these two places are completely different. The city of Newport is a bit of a depressing place [sorry citizens but you’ve told me it’s true!], a post-industrial town without much to see and few opportunities. The village of Newport however is on the coast, in an area of outstanding natural beauty and is a place where many people come for peace and relaxation. Newport village lies within the county of Pembrokeshire. It is an old port village by the sea with a tiny mountain and a river running along its edge. The centre of the village has food shops, a post office, library, restaurants, a primary school and a community centre. There is one church (a Protestant Christian place of worship) and three chapels (Non-conformist Christian places of worship) there.

The climate

The village has a fairly typical climate for the UK. It’s a temperate maritime climate with warm rather than hot summers and cool to cold winters. Yes, it does rain a lot!

What you can see in Newport...

Here are just a few of the best spots to hit around the village.

The river Nevern

The river Nevern runs from the hills (or small mountains) through different villages into Newport, where it feeds into the sea. There is a lovely walking path in the village that runs next to it, so you can enjoy a walk alongside the river. From a bridge near the beginning of the path you can see ducks, geese, swans and sometimes even kingfishers. The river is also a great place to go kayaking.

The Parrog

The Parrog is the old port area of the town where the river joins the sea. We call it an old port area because even though it is tiny it actually used to work as a harbour, trading things like wool and slate (a dark material formed from rocks, used for building) with other towns and cities. Nowadays it is an area where people keep boats for leisure and fishing. People mostly catch fish to eat themselves or to sell to local people and local restaurants. There is a beautiful view here of the river and the sea. It’s a great place to sit and look out. When the tide is high you can swim in the river, when it’s low you can walk across it to the beach.

Newport beach

We call the beach “Big Beach” or “Traeth Mawr” in Welsh. It’s a long stretch of sand, with rugged cliffs and sand dunes you can get lost in. In the summer it’s wonderful, you can swim, bodyboard and kayak there. In the winter it’s great for talking a stroll, watching the sea and the surrounding area. One of my favourite things to do at night is to light a fire on the beach with family or friends, cook food over it and have a drink together.

Carn Ingli

Carn Ingli is the name of the small mountain just outside the village, and it translates as “Mountain of the Angels”. Legend tells of it being a sacred place and it is believed that a Welsh saint used to climb up it to pray and find peace. It is part of the Preseli Hills mountain range in the north of the Pembrokeshire. It’s a fantastic place to climb up, get a little out of breath, and then take a look at the views all around. From here you can see the village and the sea below. On the mountain there are sometimes horses, sheep and snakes too.

Pembrokeshire Coastal Path

The river and sea in Newport are entrances to the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path. The path is a walking trail that extends for 299 kilometres next to the sea. It’s a brilliant way to see the beauty of the area (Lonely Planet previously voted this coast the no.1 region in the world to visit). Although you might want to go in short breaks because it would take 10 to 15 days to walk it all!

Who lives in Newport?

Newport is made up of an interesting combination of residents. There are... Local Welsh people, whose families have been living there for generations and many of whom are Welsh speaking (as well as English of course). People who have moved to the area to settle from England, Scotland and other parts of Wales. A local community of hippies and alternative types who work to live sustainably, without conforming to traditional values. Most of these people are English and have moved to the area from England. Holidaymakers who like to stay in Newport during the summer. There are many people from all over the UK who have fallen in love with the area and as a result have bought holiday homes to come and stay in during the warmer months.

What it’s like to live in Newport...

Growing up in Newport was very special. Being able to spend time outside, with space, beauty and fresh air was wonderful. Some of my best memories from my childhood include days at the beach: swimming in the sea, playing in the rock pools, rolling down the sand dunes and making sand castles. However I can also remember the boredom of being in the countryside as a child: being taken on seemingly endless long walks by your family, rainy days with nothing to do and wishing to live in a city with cinemas and cool shops. Certainly as a teenager it can seem like a pretty dull place to be! Now though, I love going back to my hometown. It’s such a pretty place, and when I’m there I feel the restorative power of being in nature. It makes me feel blessed to have grown up where I have and fortunate that I can visit my family there. If you’re ever in the UK you should definitely come for a visit.

Links: Newport official website http://www.newport-pembs.co.uk/ A blog about the history of Newport http://oldnewportpembrokeshire.blogspot.gr/ Visiting information http://www.visitwales.com/explore/west-wales/pembrokeshire/discover-newport Lonely Planet https://www.lonelyplanet.com/wales/pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire Coastal Path http://www.visitpembrokeshire.com/explore-pembrokeshire/coast-path/ http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/pembrokeshire-coast-path https://www.lonelyplanet.com/travel-tips-and-articles/76854 - Molly O’Doherty

Japan’s mythology AKA how you’re going to realize that Greece is not the worst Side note: I’ll describe here the shintô side of mythology not the bouddhist one!

verything started with the firsts gods (Kami) who created two beautiful lower divinities: the man, Izanagi and the woman, Izanami. They said: “Guys, your job is to create some land where things can live because well the ocean is nice but it’s pretty boring.” To help them in their quest, the gods gave them a spear with diamonds carved on it; the name of the spear is Amenonuhoko (which mean “spear from heaven”, bless you). Izanami and Izanagi, pleased with their present, went to the bridge separating the earth from sky (the name is Amenoukihashi, “celestial floating bridge”) and then the couple dipped the spear in the primordial ocean. When they removed it, the drops falling from it kind of became solid and created the first island of Japan. It’s there that the first creatures and others gods were born.

Our favorite lovers decided to take this island for themselves and live there among the others creatures. Until then it was okay. Suddenly Izanagi was like: “Hey girl, let’s make babies!” and of course Izanami was like “Sounds fun!” They built a pillar named Amenomihashira (yes everything has a name, get used to it) and around it they made a wonderful palace named Yahirodono. So they were happy with their pillar and their palace but: how do we make babies? No idea. After further analysis, Izanami said “Well it’s weird, my body did develop here.” Izanagi replied “Well mine is too much developed here… maybe I can put it in?” That was the good way. Izanami proposed that they also both turned around the pillar in opposite direction and make out once they met, as a part of the ritual to create their children. As they both turned around, finally met and Izanami said “Let’s do this!”…. and they did. After a while Izanami got two babies, Hiruko and Awashima but both of them were poorly formed so they couldn’t be considered as divinities (=Kami). Izanagi and Izanami, both of them really good parents, put the two babies in a small ship and left them to the ocean. #parenting #uglybabies #bye Then Izanagi said « I think we have a problem. We should ask our friends the gods about what just happen. Maybe you have a problem with your lady parts. » So they sought couple counseling and of course the gods knew. “Who talked first?” said the gods. “I did! » said Izanami, proudly. « Well next time, let your man do the talking, little lady. This is how it should be.” They replied. So they decided to try again. They turned around the pillar but this time, Izanagi said: « Hey giiiiirl...” And it was right. The first baby this time was the Japanese islands and other piece of lands. After a while they created some Kamis (gods): god of Ocean, god of trees, god of mountains and so on. Then they created the kami who represent the technical skills/tools that humans would need to survive in this world: Kami of boat, Kami of fishing, Kami of food, and Kami of fire. The last one while been born burned the genital of Izanami (of course he is the fire), it’s a mortal wound and she dies. “But Laura, she is the goddess of creation she cannot die!” Yes you are right, dear reader. Yomotsu Hirasaka is the name of the way to go to the Kingdom of Yomi and it’s today located at Higashiizumo, Japan.

She died and she went to the Kingdom of Yomi, which we can translate by Hell. You have to know that in the Shintô religion, Hell is very different than in the Christian or Bouddhist religion. People are not getting tortured or punish there, it’s just a very dark place described as it follow “a place where no light will ever shine, colorless”. It’s not even people anymore it’s just their body lying there, just waiting forever, and tainted. Of course Izanagi is really sad and want her to come back to the land of living. (Also he killed the baby fire god because he was so piss of that he killed Izanami. What a man.) He decides to get his wife back by going to the kingdom of Yomi and ask the gods her return. After a long time, he manages to find a cave that leads in the Kindgom of Yomi and eventually find her. -“Darling, beautiful wife, I’m here to take you back to the land of livings!” -“I’m sorry husband I cannot come back with you, I already ate the food here and it’s delicious.” -“Fair point, but please ask them for me… I really want you back. I’ll cook you breakfast every day if you’re coming with me.” -“Fine, however you have to promise me that you won’t try to see me until we are back on the land of living. I haven’t put any make up on today; I don’t want you to see me like this. I’ll try and convince the gods, but you have to respect this deal.” This argument was convincing so Izanagi agreed. It was so dark in the Kingdom of Yomi that he could not see anything any way. Izanami pleaded the gods to send her back with her lover. Meanwhile, Izanagi was getting more and more impatient and curious about the deal. He took one of his wife combs and lit it on fire, sending light all around. On the floor in front of him, the corpse of Izanami was resting. It wasn’t a lovely corpse; she had already been a bit eaten by the worms. Of course Izanagi screamed of horror, what happened to his beautiful wife! And he ran away. Furious, Izanami sent every creature of the Kingdom of Yomi after him. -“I TOLD YOU NOT TO LOOK AT ME WITHOUT MAKE UP! BRING ME IZANAGI!”

Witches, demons and all of their kind chased Izanagi until he reached the land of livings. Going out of the cave crazy fast, Izanagi was like “shit they are going to follow me if I don’t block the entrance!” He found a nearby boulder and took a big rock to block the way. Suddenly a scream of anger come from behind the rock: -“IZANAGI! How dared you break your promise to me! I hate you and I’ll kill you! I won’t be your wife anymore!” -“If I knew you were a corpse I would have not come and get you!” -“I swear that from now I’ll kill 1000 creatures a day, I’ll get my revenge on you, fake husband!” -“Oh yeah? Well I’ll make 1500 creatures every day so I don’t care! There will always be more than you can kill! ” As you can imagine the divorce was really bad. Feeling a bit dirty with all that running, Izanagi wanted to take a bath in the nearby river. He started to clean himself from all the dirt and taint he had in the Kingdom of Yomi. From this purification, 3 kami appeared. The first one came out from his left eye, Amaterasu. The second appeared from his right eye, Tsukiyomi and the last one, no kidding, from his nose, Susanoo. He divided the world between the 3 of them because without his wife he felt kind of miserable. Amaterasu will be the Kami of the sun and will rule over the Heavens. Tsukiyomi will be the Kami of the moon and the night and own them. Eventually Susanoo, Kami of storms, will be in charge of the seas. This was one of the most important myths in Japan, I hope you enjoyed it! - Laura Gimenez

Zoom on Kalamata

ood evening and have a nice month!!! The second photography contest of Youth Center Kalamatas has reached its end, with a winning picture of your choice!!! Orpheus Legno (picture: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Christmas Spiritâ&#x20AC;?) congratulations!!! Your picture is getting its own spot on our wall, making our Youth Center even more beautiful!!! - Martyna Czypicka

Theme for January is: “New Year’s craziness” – take the most crazy picture you can think about!

Kentro Neon Kalamatas invites you to participate in a photo contest which aims to discover the beauty of our city. Regardless of the technical capabilities of your camera (or even your phone!), be open to your own creativity and new challenges! Every month, all submitted works will be published on Facebook, where they will be evaluated by “likes”. The winning image will receive the title of the month and will be hanged on the Youth Center’s wall. Photographs can be submitted by the 25th of each month. Interested candidates please send your work to: kentroneon.mc@gmail.com and add following information: • first name and last name • title of the photo (facultative)

The volunteers responsible for this publication are hosted in Greece in the framework of the European Erasmus+ programme, KA1/youth - European Voluntary Service. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.