Link 66 15 April 2015
Content - Editorial - Who we are - Hitch-hiking - Interview with volunteer - Vacation in Crete - Macro pictures: the importance of details - Polish Language - Potato soup - Let’s visit Lisbon - Let’s visit Marseille - Birthday party of Youth Center - What’s new - What’s coming soon
Editorial I recently read a very interesting article from Guardian about international/ humanitarian volunteerism. Talking about the those young people who are making use of these international volunteering opportunities mainly for personal or touristic reasons. The conclusion of the article was that those people, mainly youth from the “west world” are ruining the sense of volunteering and harming the humanitarian aid turning it to a product they have to consume without being sensitive about the real impact their attitude has. Weather it is understandable that many youth don’t have the appropriate information given or awareness about humanitarian crisis in various countries around the world, we cannot acknowledge that we are talking about young adults who can have unlimited access to information (and they are expert users of internet search) and they are responsible for their actions. So if you can find any small detail about your favourite pop star, I am sure that you can find information about a volunteer program you will spend 6 months of your life. So why youth are not making this proper research and they are ending up supporting organisations with no real purpose? Why they usually don’t support the ones who do meaningful work in their local community? Is there something that our society is doing wrong? Is it our educational system training us to see every thing through the ego and not with empathy?
Is it our political system which makes us that arrogant in order to think that only our money we can buy salvation for our souls? But can we really erase our negative impact (as the rich Europeans or North Americans) to the world by spending some money to buy a volunteering experience? Definitely there isn’t just one answer in those questions. What we could really do, is to find out why our political, economic and educational system is isolating people from their ability to properly judge what really matters in life.
Filaretos
Who we are My name is lolita but you can call my lola also. I have twenty years old. I studie social work. I love animal and in particularity my favorite are horses. I like dancing, listen music. My personality adventuress, Philosophie of lolita : stay serious but when the time is for enjoy, laugh because life is simple ! =) I am Burçin BEZİRKAN, from Turkey. I am 25 years old and coming from Antalya. I studied Public Administration at Akdeniz (Mediterranean) University and I am doing master at same university and on the same major. Here in Kalamata, I am working in Farma Fifa with Mirto Fifa for Natural Farming Project. I love reading book and watching movies and I love this Country!!!! Aye, i’m Laura nineteen years old and i come from the south of France. I’m interest in learning other language and cultre and that’s why i came the Greece. I’m more of an indoor person with a calm personality and i really like snow that why i love winter but i pefer spring for the flower. XD Hello everyone, as you already may know, I am Daan the Dutch EVS’er. Don’t confuse it with Deutsch, I am from The Netherlands. You know, Amsterdam, cheese and weed. Ok, I would love to meet a lot of people, so if you are in for a beer or a coffee, you will find me!
Hello, I’m Agnieszka, I’m 23 years old and I come from Poland. I’m volunteering in Youth Centre of Kalamata. I’m a big fan of music festivals and live music. My favorite season is summer, and the most enjoyable sport is snowboarding ;).
Hello people, I’m Nuno Davide and I twenty-three years. I’m from Portugal and I live in (Lisbon). I studied Graphic Design, and I love drawing, painting, listening to music, playing football and many things .. I came to Greece to evolve in my artistic career and learn and experience new cultures English Greek principaly. ;)
So..I am from Poland. My name is Kasia and I am 23 years old. I study Croatian language and literature. Balkan, most of all Serbia, is my place in this world, but I love to travel, to live in different places, to meet new people, because from this people I draw energy and joy. I love to dance and sing even I’m not the best in it. I love to listen to people and see some situations from different perspective. I learn by experience, project in Greece is next step in my “education”on”.
Hallo! I’m Ines Hofer from Vienna, Austria. I’m 27 years old and studied Zoology (Animal Behaviour) at the University of Vienna. Here in Kalamata, I’m volunteering for Re-think Project and Farma Fifa Permaculture. I like being in the nature, hiking, travelling and enjoying life Aye my name is Lorenzo Brizi ad i come from Italy. I come from a small town located between lazio, umbria and tuscany. Named acquapendente. In the province of viterbo. I’m 20 years old and i will stay in Kalamata until september. I will work to the youth center as a teacher of italian and also in tourist information center. I want to try new working experience to improve myself and also enjoy the summer, the beach and the company Hi! I’m Stina, 20 years old and from Hamburg in Germany. My project here where I volunteer, is in the Youth Center. What I like the most, is music. In Hamburg I sing in two bands, I’m learning the guitar and go to concerts and festivals as much as I can.
Hello, my Name is Jana an I am from Hamburg. I am working in the therapeutic horse riding project and also in the KEFIAP Center. In my free time I like to dance ballet and meet some friends.
Like we say: we keep the best for the end so now K.A.NE people Hello fellow EVSers! My name is Argyris, Αργύρης, Арјирис, 아라리스 (the last one is Korean, and the one before is my contribution to serbocroatian) and I am the most long-term Euphoric Violent Surrealist (EVS) in K.A.NE., I am an all around player, attacking with the power of unlimited love and laughter and defending with the shield of memory. I have been living in Kalamata and working for K.A.NE. since April 2014 and I know everything about the meaning of life and death. Feel free to ask me whatever you want. Hi my name is Fotini Arapi and I am project manager at K.A.NE. organization and responsible 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, and most of all its natural inclusiveness that allows everybody to feel “at home” there. See you around :-D Filaretos Vourkos / Last 7 years I am working in the field of non formal educa- tion as a volunteer, youth worker and youth trainer. 4 years ago, I decided to create the Youth Centre of Kalamata, in order to initiate the youth work in Kalamata and promote active citizenship as factor of change.
Hitch-hiking Does hitch-hiking in Greece is a good idea?
Do you know this feeling which is pushing you to do something? Do you know this feeling in this moment when you are board of everyday life or routine when you extremely need to move your ass? Do you know this feeling when you miss adventure so much and you are ready to realize even the most stupid and crazy idea? If you have ever felt it you will understand what I will talk about! During the Greek Eastern holidays I hosted guests from France. This time for me was very unproductive. My Catholic holiday was one week before, so‌ The visit of my friends reminded me that my biggest passion is travelling. I can say that somehow I am still in travel, finally I changed country. But day by day, month by month Kalamata become to be my home (short-term, but home), I needed to move.
We got some idea. “Let’s go to Nafplio” we said. How? “By hitch-hiking” we decided unanimously. We woke up very early on the Saturday morning, hoping that maaaybe somebody from Kalamata will go in Athens’ direction. Full of energy we went on the road with big cartons with names of Tripoli and Nafplio. What happened after? Did we stop some car? Did we visit beautiful Nafplio? I can’t stop lough when I think about it… We spent 3 or even 4 beautiful hours on the road making people smiling. Some of them even stopped to ask us “what the hell are we doing?”. All of them they were extremely nice, all of them wished us good luck, but NO of them took us to Nafplio… We were a little bit disappointed, but we couldn’t come back home like that, we wanted adventure even much more. So what we did? Did we take bus? Yes, we did. Did we go to Nafplio? Noooo, we went to Pylos!
Yea, Greek people will say “such an exciting place!” with irony in their voice. So, we didn’t know! What we didn’t know? That this is amazing and charming city, but unfortunately, if you don’t have your boat or the weather is not enough nice to swim you have nothing to do. It was already afternoon, castle was already closed… and our bus was after 9pm. What to do? “let’s try to hitch-hiking to Kalamata!!!”. Yeaa, we never give up ;). Situation was exactly the same like in the morning, but view was much better. We spend 2 hours watching amazing sunset… (watch pictures). So, what is the conclusions? 1.) Greece is beautiful country with very nice people but they don’t really know what is hitch-hiking. hitch-hiking ;)
2.) Especially on Peloponnese and on hitch-hiking can be difficult. 3.) I don’t recommend to do in on Great Saturday. 4.) BUT Pylos is lovely place ;) What about Nafplio? I will go there soon, for sure not by
Katarzyna Chojnowska
Interview with Lorenzo Hi Lorenzo! Could you tell me a little bit about yourself ? Yes sure! I’m Lorenzo, an Italian boy. I come from Acquapendente, a small town located in the north of Rome near the Tuscany. I’m 20 years old. How long are you in Kalamata now? I’m in Kalamata for 2 months. And how do you like the city? Is it how you expected it? Yes I like it very much, especially the beach and the sea. Do you have a favorite place here? Yes! there is a place, not far from the port, under a tree along the beach which I love to read, relax and study.
In what EVS project do you work? I’m working in the project to support the tourist information center. In the municipality of Kalamata. What did you do before you came here? Before coming here I was studying law at the University of Bologna but I left it because I want to change faculty. And what will you do after your EVS project? When i will be back i want to get into medical school. Thank you for the interview! Bye to everybody!
Stina Binder
Vacation In Crete Crete it’s a beautiful and the fifth largest island in mediterranean sea, The Crete island have for capital Hiraklion.
We was in « Chania » beautiful city in the nord ouest of the island, She is the seconde largest city in Crete with about 55 000 inhabitants.
It’s interesting to see there the old city, the center with the white towre, the ruine of old house and some monument. Also has sea side with a beatch where the people can easily sowimming.
Always the first thing you hear about Chania - the Venetian Harbour, the old port, the narrow shopping streets and waterfront restaurants. Chania is also one of the two places you are most likely to see on arriving in Crete. It is beautiful - that is to say much of the Chania you will want to see is clustered close to the harbour - old buildings, museums, churches and crafts shops. Crete have a lot of beautiful beatches and place to see !!
Falassarna
Stavros, Akrotiri
Rethimnon
& Paleochora place that i recomande
Matala place that i recomande
« When you come for the first time in Crete you know that it’s will never been the End »
Lolita Garcia
Macro pictures: the importance of details If you are fascinated by the smallest of details, nuances almost invisible from hidden details that the human eye is hard to see in their entirety, the solution is photography in Macro. Mainly used for photographing insects and other small animals, flowers and greenery, photography in Macro is the praise of detail. Wanting to provide a technical definition of this shooting mode, shooting in Macro means getting photographs in which the projected image on the camera sensor is the same size of the subject. This means that you will have shots that show the subject in an enlarged scale of 1: 1. Shoot in Macro so, it means coming as close as possible to the subject you want to photograph and capture even the smallest details and particulars. For those who choose to do macro photography, very often they are small insects, or other animals: if you fall into this category, you should choose a fixed focal length lens 150 / 200mm. This advice comes from the
fact that generally insects and animals are subject not easy to capture, because of their fast movements, and require a certain distance between us and them, so that they can feel free and do not escape. If you think that you’ll be working mostly on simple subjects, such as flowers and immovable objects, you can safely opt for a fixed focal lens optic 30 / 60mm. As always when it comes to photography, even in the case of the shots in Macro light is crucial. Just because this type of photography usually focuses on natural subjects (plants and animals) is supposed that we can have natural light. Natural light is not synonymous of perfect light! There are, as you know, times when it is better to take, and times when it is best to review their shots! Usually the middle of the day guarantee a better light, but on the other hand you will discover soon that photographing a butterfly or a bee during the middle of a summer day is an almost impossible! It will be up to you to check on the field what are the ideal conditions. However, I will spare you a little ‘labors: If you want to photograph insects and animals you should organize for a wake-up alarm. The insects in the middle of the day are in the prime of their activities, conversely in the early hours of the morning are practically inactive, allowing you to photograph up close
without them escaping from the flower or leaf in which they are placed.
If you want to photograph flowers and plants you should also consider the pace of insects. What to make of important insects such as butterflies and bees during the period that are most active? Carry pollen from flower to flower. The flowers, therefore, without going specifically, tend to give the best of themselves in terms of their aesthetic beauty in the central hours of the day.
Lorenzo Brizi
Polish Language Many of you know probably several words in foreign languages, which in fact you have never studied. Who doesn’t know about french Bon appétit, spanich Vamos, german Danke or italian Ciao? You know many foreign words, even if you never thought about it. This time I would like to introduce you to Polish language, which is rarely learnt by foreigners. There are approximately 40 millions native speakers of polish language, mostly living in Poland, however there are also many of big Polish-speaking communities all over the world. As a Slavic language Polish has a lot of in common with other Slavic languages, for instance Czech and Slovak. Here you have several words and phrases in Polish Language [Język Polski]:
How are you? Good morning Good evening Good night Hello, hi Bye, see you Thank you Please, you’re welcome
Jak się masz? or Co słychać? Dzień dobry Dobry wieczór Dobranoc Cześć Do widzenia, do zobaczenia Dziękuję Proszę
I’m sorry Przepraszam Bless you (when sneezing) Na zdrowie or sto lat!
Dziękuję,
Agnieszka Lul
Potato soup Ingredient: • • • • • • • •
3 -4 medium potatoes 1 Onion 1⁄8 cup butter 1⁄4 cup flour 3 cups milk 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon salt pepper
Preparation: Peel, cube, boil, drain and “mush” potatoes to the consistency you like. In separate pan, melt butter, add onions, add flour and cook while stirring for about a minute or so. Add half the milk and stir until lumps are out of flour mixture. Add remaining milk and on med-high heat, heat to a boil. Stir almost constantly or it will scorch. After boiling, turn heat off and put everything together. You can also add some bacon, sausages or fresh herbs!
Jana Henschel
Let’s visit Lisbon Lisbon is one of the most important capitals of Portugal. I do not live near Lisbon but belongs to the area where I live. There are hundreds of places you should visit in Lisbon. Some are hidden in the narrow streets of the city, so the best thing to do is venture out and discover them! Full of ancient history and contemporary lifestyle, Lisbon perfectly combines the new and the old. Down the Chiado and Bairro Alto, find some of the trendiest restaurants and bars in Lisbon. During the day the streets are filled with crowds animated to stroll through modern art museums, the designer shops, the art galleries, cafes or by the grocery stores that sell gourmet products. From Low to Marques de Pombal Square will see a different Lisbon with theaters, train stations, cafes and large squares where a walk. Head to Bethlehem to see the majestic Jeronimos Monastery, the famous Tower of BelÊm and the many museums that surround it. Do not forget to taste the famous Pastel de BelÊm.
Nuno Davide
Let’s visit Marseille Let me tell you a bit about the city where i’m from Massilia in Greek. First of all it’s the older city in France created in 600 before J-C. It’s now the third biggest city of France with 1,56 million of people in 2011. Because of it long history the city have a lot of beautiful place to visit and speciality. To begin i would like to advice you if you want to visit Marseille to use public transport which are numerous: subway, tram, bus and taxi, with a recomandation of subway and bus because 1 hour of transport cost 1,5 euro and you can use the subway and bus with the same ticket. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money don’t use the taxi becaus eyou will easily have to paid 10 euro. Yes it’s much more expensive than Greece. Marseille being a bit city there is a lot of traffic and you lost 1 hour each day in those if you don’t know where to pass or at what time. Let’s talk about something nice: tourist!!!
If you go to Marseille you will have to visit “calanques de Marseille”
It’s a natural area which become a national parc in 2012 and welcome 2 million visitors every years. The famous “basilique Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde” situe on the montain of Marseille, even i it’s a religious place i recomand to visit it once at least for the beauty of the view you have and he interior.
The “ Vieux-Port de Marseille” it’s oldest prot of the city which became the historical and cultural center of the city
There are a lot more a beautiful think in my city like the “ Davide� or the Longchamp palace.
And if you prefer gastronomie Marseille have a lot of speciality you need to digust from sweet, passing buy dish to alcool. Pastis: Alcool from aise and spices
Navette: traditional sweet with orange blossom flavor
Bouillabaisse: fish soup
Tapenade: from green or black olive
Fougasse: kind of bread which can be natural or with lard or olive
So let’s stop here because i don’t know you, but me, i’m hungry now!
Laura Doddi
Birthday Party Of Youth Center On the 4th April 2015 the Youth Center of Kalamata had celebrate it 6 years old. It was a moment of party and share the precious moment of this year around cake and beer.
And at the End everybody who participate and help the Youth Center went back home with a little certificate
What’s new New EVS volunteer arrive: Welcome to our Italian girl and Chyprus guy! Youth Center open after the Eastern breack so come to follow our lesson
What’s coming soon The Departure of Ines, our Austrian girl who end her EVS projet and will leave in some day. Let’s say goodbye to her and hope for great thing to happen to her in the future. We will miss you!!
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 there in.
The end