LINK - 95 (2017.)

LINK j u n e 1 ST 2017

N°95

June Editor : Mariam Sassi

Designer : Tea KriĹžanec

link

#LINKEXPLORE

Content Contact

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About us

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EVS, K.A.NE.

Youth Center - program 14 Yana Volkova 16

Love trip to Mani

Oscar Villarraso Lopez 18

Bulgarian culture

Joana Ganilho Marques 20 Martyna Czypicka 25 Molly O’Doherty 28 Sofiene Lahdheri 32

Mais Cidadania from Portugal Trip to Poland Meditation Photo Report

Laura Gimenez 34

Japanese Myth

Anna Szlendak 38

Trip to Koroni

RĂźya Hazar 41

Life after EVS

Rosa Vernooij 44 Martyna Czypicka 47

Travel 101: Meteora Zoom On Kalamata

K.A.NE. Staff members of KANE: Filaretos Vourkos Fotini Arapi Jelena Scepanovic Nantiana Koutiva Vyron Giannakopoulos EVS: Anna Szlendak Aroa Liébana Rellán Joana Ganilho Marques Laura Gimenez Mariam Sassi Martyna Czypicka Mehdi Jaffar Molly O’Doherty Óscar Villarraso López Renée Hoogenboom Rosa Vernooij Rüya Hazar Sara Amghar Sofiene Lahdheri Tea Križanec Yana Volkova

K.A.N.E Social Youth Development Youth Center of Kalamata Plateia Othonos 10 Kalamata, 24100, Greece info@ngokane.org +30 272 111 0740 kentroneon.wordpress.com ngokane.org/index.php

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@kentroneon

WHO ARE WE ?

ANNA

Kalimera! I am Ania and I come from Poland. I will be working for KANE and running Photography and Ukulele workshops. I studied photography in the Institute of Journalism of the University of Warsaw and worked for press photo agencies when I lived in my country.

I enjoy every form of photography, I use both digital and

film camera, I also create my own pinhole cameras. Besides, I am totally addicted to travel.

AROA

JOANNA

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Hi ! 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.

Hello ! My name is Joana, I’m 29 years old and I’m from Lisbon, Portugal. I studied fine arts, art education and museology and I just arrived Kalamata for a 12 months EVS project. I’ve worked for a lot of time in bookshops and I love to read. I like quiet places where I can be in touch with nature. I’m a curious person and I’m always better if I have a cup of tea with me

MOLLY

Hello 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.

LAURA

MARTYNA

Hi! 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 videogames, watching movies and tv show and so on.

Hey 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.

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MARIAM

Stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things is the best way to grow, and this is what EVS is all about. My name is Mariam, I am 24 and I come from Tunisia. Passionate by traveling, arts, adventures as well as meeting new people and discovering new traditions, places and cultures. I decided to leave all of my normal steady life in Tunisia to come seek inspiration and and explore a new way of living in Greece, in the beautiful city of Kalamàta. I would use all of my

knowledge and dig even deeper to give the best of me, but also try to learn everything I can from other volunteers, from locals and daily life experience, either languages, dancing, music instrument, sports etc.

YANA

I am Yana from Ukraine. For 5 years I was studying architecture in university and I fond of everything about it as well as about natural building. Before coming here I was working as a project coordinator of the workcamps and as freelance graphic designer for different social festivals and non-governmental organizations. The last 4 years I’ve been travelling to different places in Europe such as eco-villages and rural areas helping people and promoting volunteering for

peace. All kind of arts, nature, voluntarism, and travel -- my biggest passions in life.

OSCAR

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Hi ! 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.

ROSA

Hi 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.

RUYA

RENEE

Hi, 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.

Hi 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 didn’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.

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SOFIENE

TEA

Taking a decision to leave everything what you have and take a deep plunge into something unknown is never an easy one. I took such a decision, left my job and decided to take one-in-a- lifetime opportunity to do my EVS in Greece. My name is Sofiene, I’ am 26 and I am from a tiny country in North Africa called Tunisia. I am a photographer, videographer, graphic designer and I am here to share my experience and knowledge as well as expand it and acquire new skills. I’m social, open minded and always curious about different cultures and meeting beautiful people.

Greece, 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 in my name and art is my game. I will be working for KANE and leading the Creative Arts workshop in the youth center 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 aivailable for tea parties and board game.

MEHDI

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There are at least as many things to know as there are humans and countries. EVS enables the possibility to know much more about our World. Καλημερα, Hello, my name is Mehdi, I am 24 and I come from France. Passionate about Life and Nature, my biggest motivation is to learn from other cultures, from people, from life. I decided to quit my job there too, so I could catch the opportunity to experience something unique in Greece, in Kalamata, and all the Greek cities I will have the chance to see. I will bring you all I have, and I will learn from everyone all I can.

SARA

Kalimera 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 :)

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K.A.NE.

FILARETOS

jelena

NANTIANA

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Hello, 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.

Hi, I’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.

My name is Nantiana! I’m 23 years old. I live in Kalamata! I was living for 5 years in Patras! I was studying there greek philology and now I’m teaching greek to the youth center in Kalamata.

fotini

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Hi 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

VYRON

I 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

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Love trip TO Mani 2 people. 1 tent. 5 days. 9 villages, 2 towns, 1city. 160 km. 5 cars. 2 buses.

2 people. 1 tent. 5 days. 9 villages, 2 towns, 1city. 160 km. 5 cars. 2 buses.

What can be better than sleep on the beach under thousand stars? And then swim in the sea after you just woke up. What can be better than looking at the majestic mountains while hiking. Or meet nice and kind people on the way? Making your food using herbs that you just took from the bush. What can be better than wandering in tiny villages and picking oranges from the tree.

If for you nothing can be better than this -- pack you backpack and explore our beautiful planet Earth!

Last month we explored a tiny part of the Mani region and it was unforgettable trip.

--> Kalamata -- Oitylo -- Neo Oitylo -- Limeni -- Aeropoli -- Diros <-- Diros -- Pyrgos Dirou -- Aeropoli -Limeni -- Neo Oitylo -- Karavostasi -Thalames -- Stoupa -- Foneas beach -Prosatio -- Petrovouni -- Kardamyli -Kalamata

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We wanted to share with all of your our experience, so we created a map with the trip we did: you can see places where we camp, paths we went, nice photos and spots where you may have an amazing view!

Hope it will be helpful for you to plan your next trip! www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=en&authuser=0&mid=1dY0JL9oLHvEvR34ocNgfz JLECPk&ll=37.13371049649748%2C22.79092823203132&z=8

YANA VOLKOVA 17

bulgarian culture BULGARIAN culture

Not everybody nows about Bulgaria, and i think is the best time to show how this country is really interesting. The culture of Bulgaria has received influences from several ancient civilizations, in particular the Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Slavs and Bulgarians.

Bulgaria served as the center of Slavic Europe for much of the Middle Ages, exercising considerable literary and cultural influence over the Eastern Orthodox world. Since the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union, on 1 January 2007, Cyrillic became In the third official alphabet of the European Union, after Latin and Greek. Bulgaria's cultural contribution continued during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with individuals such as John Atanasoff, a Bulgarian American citizen considered the father of the digital computer.

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Bulgarian culture has been popularized abroad by several well-known opera singers (Nicolai Ghiaurov, Boris Christoff, Raina Kabaivanska, Ghena Dimitrova, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Vesselina Kasarova) Bulgaria's musical tradition can be traced back to the early Middle Ages. One of the earliest known composers of Medieval Europe. What are you waiting for?? Go visit Bulgaria!!!

OSCAR VILLARRASO LOPEZ

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MAIS CIDADANIA FROM PORTUGAL ngo IN bALRRO aLTO

Image 1: Because each one makes the world global (translation)

Associação Mais Cidadania is a non-governmental organization situated in Bairro Alto, one of the most characteristics and famous neighborhoods of Lisbon. The name already shows the main focus of the association: More Citizenship; the message it has to share is that each one can and should contribute to a better world, a more participatory, supportive, inclusive, democratic and humane society. Mais Cidadania was created in 2003 to give support to young people and adults in their life projects and its initiatives are carried out through non-formal education, cooperation and multicultural promotion. It works for the promotion of citizenship throughout local and international partnerships, training of youngsters and adults and empowerment of civil society by encouraging an active and responsible engagement in society’s current challenges.

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Its actions are developed both locally and internationally and they include activities such as youth centers; sessions on European mobilities and active participation; European Voluntary Service; youth exchanges; events and trainings on citizenship and youth; intercultural and intergenerational dialogue; internships abroad and abroad; trade fairs (clothes, accessories ...); cultural events; local volunteering.

Image 2: Mais Cidadania Local and European Activities An association built upon many voices and many nationalities Here the promotion of citizenship is made of many different languages and many cultures. From young people and seniors point of view, from mobility programs, European Voluntary Service and youth exchanges to internships, trainings and seminars, Mais Cidadania works to European valuesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; empowerment, active participation increase and multicultural promotion.

SENIOR PLUS Senior Plus is a project on adult education and employability. It involves 6 organizations from 5 different European countries, 20 seniors from each country for a total of 100 direct beneficiaries and about 2500 indirect beneficiaries, in a 2-year strategic partnership. The aim is to design, test and evaluate an innovative and combined path for the employability of people over 50 years of age, unemployed or inactive.

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The combination of training and mobility learning in adult education is also a way of tackling active aging, promoting the well-being, motivation, personal branding and entrepreneurship of seniors, and helping to enhance employability.

Its action will continue to be sustainable and achievable due to strong support with local entities and the synergies between public and private sectors. Mais Cidadania will be involved in research, local and international meetings, local and international trainings, send and receive senior volunteers, as well as working in a Guide to Senior Volunteering.

TUTTI FRUTTI Mais cidadania is both an EVS sending and a hosting organization, so it gives the opportunity to foreigners to see Lisbon and Portugal through volunteersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; eyes. But also allows it, as an organization, to invite those volunteers to share their own cultures. Each month, it holds an intercultural event under the name of Tutti Frutti, to celebrate the culture of a different country with two events: a movie night and a night of cultural sharing. So far, they have explored Georgia, Bulgaria and Malta and this month theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll travel to Azerbaijan.

Image 3: Mais Cidadania around the world 22

Working for the community Mais cidadania works for social inclusion in different neighborhood of Lisbon, targeting children and young people from 6 to 24 years old. Though its programs and actions it aims to contribute to the development of personal, social, educational, professional and artistic-cultural skills as well as to promote positive attitudes towards school, work and the life projects of the participants. +SKILLZ +Skillz itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a free project that targets an audience of children and young people from the neighborhoods around the association (Bairro Alto e Baixa-Chiado) to promote social inclusion based on the acquisition of school, professional, social and personal skills. It can be defined as a response that intends to work with the participants on a sustainable and positive life project using non-formal education and innovative strategies.

The program main goal is to find creative and innovative solutions for social inclusion and it has a ludic, pedagogic and artistic based approach. In order to open it to the community and to empower it, they often hold show-cases open to the general population, planned and performed by the participants themselves.

APELARTE This project aims to give a contribution so that the neighborhood of Quinta da Fonte becomes a neighborhood of opportunities. This neighborhood faces major challenges such as school failure, demotivation towards the educational system and lack for the leisure times. In order to promote a healthy and constructive approach to their process of individual and collective formation, Mais Cidadania develops several activities. Besides artistic, such Dance, Theater, Photography and Music, or Sports activities, it also offers support in job search and training, a tutors and mentors program, a school-neighborhood mediation program, among others. The main goals are to promote school success, to increase active participation and to help participants in the development of new skills.

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Programa Escolhas: a stamp of approval Both +Skillz and Apelarte are supported by Escolhas, a national government program which mission is to promote the social inclusion of children and young people from vulnerable social and economic background, aiming to promote equal opportunities and the strengthening of social cohesion. The program supports high quality initiatives that address the following subjects: entrepreneurship and empowerment of young people; school inclusion and non-formal education; vocational training and employability; community empowerment and citizenship; digital inclusion.

Visits Mais Cidadania is located at Rua do Teixeira, 13, 3º andar, Bairro Alto. And I heard they like visits! If you by any chance find yourself in Lisbon, give them a call. In between, you can follow their activities on Associação Mais Cidadania facebook page or through their blog: https://voluntariosdobairro.wordpress.com/.

JOANA GANILHO MARQUES

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trip to poland useful tips for going to poland Last days I spent in Poland with my family and friends! It’s always a big thing for me, because I can’t go back to my country very often. Unfortunately it’s still not that easy to travel between Kalamata and Poznan, this is why I want to give you some useful tips how to get to my city (or to Poland in general).

During the season going to Poland it’s very easy, because you can buy ticket for the charter flight directly from Kalamata. You will land in Warsaw (capitol) or Katowice (south of Poland). This is quite expensive trip, because you can pay even 250 euro for tickets / person. Anyway it’s the most comfortable and fastest way to get to my country. But if you want to save some money, you have to be prepare for loooooooooong trip.

1.Kalamata – Athens – I’m sure everyone knows how long it take to go to Athens.

2:45-3:15 hours (ticket: 25 euro) 2.KTEL Kifisou – Airport – You have to take bus X93 and go straight to the airport, but I will take you 45 minutes (so you’re already traveling 4 hours). Of course you have to reach the airport 2 hours before flight (ticket: 5 euro).

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And from now you have to options, both last 2:30 hours.

A. Ryanair – cheapest tickets in the world! You can find tickets to Warsaw for 20-25 euro! Then total cost is 50 euro in both sides. Not bad, right? ;) B. Aegean – little more expensive, because average price is 50-60 euro (and you’re landing also in Warsaw).

3.I f you pick Ryanair (A) you will land in Warsaw Modlin and you have to get to the center of Warsaw by train (or bus, but it’s more expensive). Train ticket costs 4 euro and you’re traveling extra 45 minutes. And it can be end of your trip, if you want to stay in Warsaw! Total cost is more or less: 120 euro for both sides and 10 hours of travel (including extra 2 hours at the airport).

4. If you pick Aegean (B) you will land in Warsaw Chopin (which is official Warsaw airport) and you can also take a train or bus, but in both cases in much cheaper!

Train costs 1 euro and bus 0,50 euro. Total cost is more or less: 180 euro for both sides and also 10 hours of travel.

For now everything seems to be fine, but…. Way back is much worse! In both cases you’re landing in Athens around 20:00-23:00 which means… you can’t go back to Kalamata, because last bus is leaving at 21:30! You have to be ready for night at the airport – first bus is at 6:30 and KTEL Kifisou is open from 5 AM. For me it’s even worse, because I’m not for Warsaw. Poznań, my city, is placed 300 km from capitol. So….

5. Warsaw-Poznań – you have to take a train. It’s not that bad, because we have direct connection between the cities and it takes only 3-3,5 hours. Tickets costs 11-25 euro, but amount of hours…. Ah, it’s unbelievable but if I include all hours I have to wait somewhere for something…. It’s 16-20 hours! And if you include night at the airport in my way back….

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This time I was very lucky, because my dad decided to pick me up from Warsaw, so I could relax in the car and sleep a bit. I went back to Greece with my sister and we decided to stay in Athens for one night, so luckily this time I didn’t have to sleep at the airport!

The only thing I’m thinking about right now is how lucky I am with new Ryanair offer!

From November you can come to Poznań, Krakow and Katowice (and Warsaw of course) directly from Athens! Tickets costs 50-100 euro and whole trip to my city will be so short! I will takes only 3 hours by plane! I can’t wait to go to Poznan again!

MARTYNA CZYPICKA

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meditation activity or non-activity?

Meditation is an activity (or non-activity, but we’ll come to that later!) that has gained increasing popularity and recognition in recent times. This is an interesting development because meditation has been practiced by people, groups and religions for centuries.

What is meditation?

To meditate is to, “focus one's mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation” according to the Oxford Dictionary.

Meditating usually involves sitting in a quiet space in silence, striving to calm one’s mind and body. The main way to achieve this feeling of calmness is to allow one’s thoughts in one’s brain to flow freely without focusing on any one thought in particular. So it can be seen as an activity that involves non-activity, but rest assured, you are not doing nothing! When meditation is going well a person can begin to feel less limited by their thoughts and worries. This can then help them to gain an increased sense of peace and to feel more in touch with the present moment.

What isn’t it?

Meditating is not about stopping one’s self from having any thoughts at all. It’s about letting the thoughts come and go without getting attached to them.

It’s not about managing to detach perfectly every time either. The act of meditating is about working towards a goal of peace, so by simply sitting down and trying to let go of your thoughts you are meditating.

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Where does it come from?

Meditation has commonly been used as a method to achieve divine connection with God. It is actually considered to be a pre-historic practice and one that has continued right up to the present day.

There are some well-known examples of it being practiced amongst religious and spiritual groups in history such as: Vedantists (Hindu tradition) in India Taoists in China Buddhists in India, China, Korea and Japan Ancient philosophers in the Roman Empire Jewish and Muslim people across time Eastern and Western Christians between the 10th and 16th centuries.

During the 18th and 19th centuries meditation and its practice (as a part of Buddhism and Hinduism) was introduced to Western countries through literature, philosophy and schools. Later yoga, which is connected to Hindu tradition, introduced a path to meditation to non-religious people. In the 1960s and 1970s meditation become very popular as part of a counterculture seeking spiritual and consciousness awakening.

The use of and interest in mediation in Western culture has persisted since this period.

In recent years there has been a growing discovery of it and a growing recognition of its benefits. We are now witnessing a huge trend for its use amongst people from all walks of life, including celebrities.

Why is it so good?

As mentioned above, meditation has been a tool to get closer to God for religious and spiritual people throughout the centuries. However we now see it being practiced by people of no faith too. A great number of people see it as an aid to help deal with the stresses and pressures of modern life. By taking the time to relax their mind and be in the moment many people are finding that they feel happier, have more clarity and are better able to deal with stress and difficulties that they experience in their life.

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There is also a great deal of research that shows that meditation can have enormous benefits for physical and mental wellbeing. Studies have shown that children who meditate at school have better concentration, that workers who do it have increased memory capacity and focus and in addition that it can help to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. It also been linked to living longer and decreasing health risks.

Prisons, schools and workplaces are adopting meditation and mindfulness programmes to improve and encourage the wellbeing of their users.

How do people do it?

One of the most common images of meditation is of a person sitting down in silence an empty room with their eyes closed. However, this is not the only way to meditate. The practice can take many forms, such as: Mantras Mantras are uplifting phrases or words that are repeated. They can be used in meditation as a way to boost positive feelings and to focus. Mantra meditation involves saying a mantra over and over again aloud or in one’s head in order to create a kind of a rhythm.

Breathing Meditation can be greatly helped by the use of breathing techniques. These can include counting in a pattern whilst breathing in and out or alternately breathing between one’s nostrils or between one’s nose and mouth. This enables one to slow down their mind and again create a rhythm.

Visualisation Some people find visualisation a powerful way to meditate. This is the act of imagining calming images and scenes to direct one’s mind towards a state of peace.

Walking Walking has long been used as a form of meditation, in fact some people even use the two terms interchangeably. This is because walking can naturally involve slowing down, 30

breathing deeply and connecting with the present moment. Many people practice walking meditation where they work to clear their mind of thoughts through relaxed walking, particularly in nature.

Tools and more information If you are interested in meditation but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where to begin there are now many applications you can download which introduce meditation and breathing techniques.

Here are a few: Headspace Calm Smiling Mind Buddhify The Mindfulness App Or you can check to see if there is a local meditation, Buddhist or yoga centre near you. Many of these places offer guided meditations to help develop the habit as well as introductions to the practice.

To learn more about meditation and its benefits there are plenty of interesting articles and blogs to read online. Here are some examples: How to Mediate https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/how-to-meditate http://how-to-meditate.org/ The benefits http://liveanddare.com/benefits-of-meditation/ https://www.artofliving.org/meditation/meditation-for-you/benefits-of-meditation Blogs and views http://www.choosemuse.com/blog/ http://www.karanbajaj.com/category/yoga-meditation/ http://meditationiseasy.com/blog/ https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/03/meditation-success-metrics-mindfulness-mental-health

MOLLY Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;DOHERTY

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PHOTO REPORT !

Kardamyli International Jazz Concert Parade

SOFIENE LAHDHERI

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SOFIENE LAHDHERI33

japanese myth three lovely creepy myths Hello dear readers ! Last time, I talked to you about Japanese Myth and today we are going to continue this with three others lovely, creepy myths. ENJOY !

First Myth : When everybody started to think Susano-o was going to be a problem.

Initially, Susano-o ruled the Takama no Hara (High Celestial Plain) with his sister Amaterasu but he caused such a mess all the time (killing peoples, destroying forests) that he was banned from Heaven. “Dude, you have to stop been pissed off all the time”, was a common sentence in those times.

He pretended to visit Amaterasu to tell her goodbye, but again caused a mess on his way to her palace. Like destroying a mountain, drinking a whole river and those kind of thing. Amaterasu was convinced her brother was up to no good. And she told him.

Faking an outrage, Susano-o challenged her to prove his good faith and they contested to know who could produce more new Kami than the other. Basically who has the biggest… power.

He took the 500-jewel necklace of his sister, ate them and spat them out as a mist from which five male deities were born. Yep, this can happen.

When Amaterasu performed a similar feat by eating Susano-o’s sword and spitting out three female deities, Susano-o was so happy that he won over her. He was allowed to stay in Heaven because he won.

The Kami created during this contest are believed to be the ancestors of japanese nobility.

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Second Myth : Amaterasu and the cave.

Amaterasu was the elder, she was happy, bright and kind, she is protecting the world in the form of the sun.

Tsuki-yomi , the middle child: more calm and composed child, nice but not as bright as Amaterasu. He protect the world on the form of the moon.

Susano-O, the youngest : awful temperament , jealous, chaotic, prone to violence. Make sense that he is the god of seas and tempest.

One day, Amaterasu was weaving on her loom, her favorite hobby. Susano-O was furious and jealous that she was so beautiful and loved. He decided to ruin her day : he killed her horse and tossed it into her room. As you can imagine, blood everywhere, people screaming, load of work ruined.

He was still pissed of so he also killed one of Amaterasuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant which made Amaterasu flee her own palace.

She runned away and find herself a nice cave where she could hide from her brother.

Unfortunately, by hiding herself no light was shining in the world anymore. The earth started dying and demons where coming out of Yomi (hell).

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The others gods and goddesses were worried that the world might die so they all gathered in front of the cave to make her come out again. They tried to convince her, begged her ect. But it didn’t work.

Uzume, goddess of Joy, gathered all the gods and goddesses to create a clever trick.

She placed a large mirror facing Amaterasu’s cave against a nearby rock, hung jewels from the trees, and began to dance around, urging the other Gods and Goddesses to do the same. It is qualified as a strip tease. #truestory.

Curious Amaterasu ask what happened, Uzume replied “We have found a new and much better sun goddess!”

“That bitch !” said Amaterasu, pissed off.

This caused Amaterasu to peek out of the cave and she saw her own reflection in the mirror. Feeling better about herself, she came out the cave.

Smiling to the trick of Uzume, she decided to shine on the world again. To prevent her to hide away the gods blocked the cave and all the demon and disease of the world disappeared. I can actually see all the gods been like “Fuck we have to block ALL the cave in the world so she cannot hide ever again!”

After he attacked Amataresu, Susano-o was banned on earth.

Third Myth : Susano-o a hero?

Susano-o was walking around in Izumo , he suddenly heard people crying. A whole village was in mourning and particularly 3 peoples: an old man, an old women and their beautiful young daughter all sobbing uncontrollably and absolutely terrified by something.

Susano-o asked what happened, they said that every year a gigantic snake was coming and eating one of their daughter. The snake’s name was Yamata no Orochi. I do wonder how many daughter they had at the beginning.

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Susano-o decided to help them and struck a bargain with them : he will marry Kusha-nada-hime (the daughter) if he could kill the snake. Always the gentleman, Susano-o. The parents accepted. And Susano-o asks them to put eight cups filled with extra strong sake at each of the doorways of their house.

When the monstrous serpent arrived with fire spitting from each of his eight heads, he smelled the sake and each of his head started to drink. The snake fell on the ground completely drunk. And Susano-o stepped in and cut off all his heads. #SmartSusano-o #Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;tDrinkAndDrive He opened the belly or the tail of the snake he found a special sword: Kusanagi (grass-cutter), that he gave to Amaterasu in a way of apology. The sword was then given

by Amaterasu to her grandson Ninigi who was the first ancestor of the Japanese imperial family and it became a part of the imperial regalia (treasure).

Despite his reputation of a bad boy amongst the Shinto gods, Susanoo is credited with giving certain cultural gifts to mankind, including agriculture.

Susano-o VS Yamata no Orochi

LAURA GIMENEZ

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trip to koroni

After whole week in Kalamata it is nice to go out from the city, especially that Peloponese is full of beautiful places worth to visit. One of them is Koroni â&#x20AC;&#x201C; city situated only 40 kilometers from Kalamata. It is easy to reach there (around 45 minutes from Kalamata) by bus or a car. When you finally reach your aim you will sea a town situated on a hill, reaching the edge of the gulf with Ventian castle overlooking the whole place. Going by a car through narrow streets can be sometimes quite problematic, since when some of the streets had been created in times when citizens still were using donkeys for a transport and maybe they are motorways for donkeys but definitely not for cars. For that reason it is much more better to leave a car and go for a walk. It would be not only healthier, but also that would let you admire beauty of Koroni more. Walking by sunny streets full of colours it is a pure pleasure.

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Going higher constantly you will finally reach the castle. Inside the walls is a monastery with beautiful gardens and lovely nuns. Some of our EVS were so impressed by this little paradaise, that they decided to move there in their old age.

There is also stunning view from the castle to the coast.

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Koroni, as all Greece is full of cats as well.

In this time of the year Koroni it is still not full of tourists, what make this period perfect to visit this beautiful town. I highly recommend this place!.

ANNA SZLENDAK

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life after evs back at home Here I am back home.

From flat Kalamata to “7 Hills” İstanbul. İstanbul welcomed me with a sunny-windy weather.

Wierdly, no creepy looks around (even no creepy look to my super-duper mini skirt dress ) and no traffic. So, third bridge seems useful, and it looks it’s working properly.

When I arrived İstanbul, I found it quite green again. I think last winter with 1.5 m height snow was quite effective and brought life to grey nature of the city.

Hello Bosphorus!

Then, I arrived home, it was still safe, white and surrounded by my mom’s favorite flowers, as usual. My “survivor from ants invation” apple tree was so small when I was last home, I saw it is bigger and even it has 4 pieces of apples on it.

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After first step after the door, I run to my favorite place.

It was ready to have a small coffee in the terrace.

News.

Ehhh, Turkish Lira was gaining value against Dolar until Erdoğan visited Trump. Result, nothing. Increase stopped. Everthing is stable now :D Politically, same, OH SORRY EVERYTHING IS PERFECT!. Bla bla bla.. (If I write something, I might end up in jail, I am in Turkey now :D) However, no bombs, which is good...

Actually, many festivals and street shows are happening these days.

It is promising!

And me?

Less than a week, I am not expecting a dramatic change so quickly.

Trying to find a suitable occupation. On the other hand, trying to complete some projects which I have promised to my friends for a couple of months.

Only thing I now, I am hopeful and looking brightly to the future.

Hi Rüyük, It is ok, You can look at your future brightly now...

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RÜYA HAZAR

Travel 101: Meteora back at home With some friends we decided to visit Meteora last weekend and we had an amazing time!

Meteora is a formation of stone pillars that rise very high in the air, which also explains the name: in between the air.

The name meteora, which sounds like meteor, makes a lot of people think that the rocks came from the sky, while the pillars were formed in a totally different way. The well-known shapes of the pillars were formed by water, wind and extreme temperature on the vertical vaults. In the 14th century the holy Athanasios Meteoritis started a monastery on top of the megalo meteoro seeking retreat from the expanding Turkish occupation. Since then 24 more monasteries were built, of which 6 are in use nowadays. The monasteries on top of the rocks are seen as the most important Greek Orthodox monasteries after Mount Athos. It is so special, that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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The biggest one, the Monastery of Great Meteoron (the two pictures above), is beautiful but filled with tourists. I also visited the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, which was much more peaceful. Both are different, but nice to see in their own way. I didn’t have time to visit the Monastery Varlaam, but a lot of people say it is worth visiting. It was even the décor for one of the James Bond movies. The entrance for every monastery is €3,- and most of them are open until 17:00.

Meteora is located on the Greek mainland and there are 3 villages nearby: Kalambaka, Kastraki and Trikala. Kalambaka is the closest one and in my opinion the nicest.

Kastraki is very small and totally made for tourists. Trikala is a city and there are more things to do, so it’s nice for a longer stay. It is further away though, so if you will only be there for 1 or 2 days Kalambaka is perfect. We stayed in a Youth Hostel called El Greco in Kalambaka, which was very nice. The woman that runs it, “mama Dora”, is a very busy, but amazing woman. She is like a typical Greek mother and is very welcoming.

From the moment we arrived she invited us for everything and she tried to connect all the people staying in the hostel. There is also a volunteer working there, who can show you around in Meteora (so you’ll have a free tour guide :)). It is 15€ per night per person.

Mama Dora recommended us a small pita place, which has the name of the owner: Sakis. They have simple, but nice food and you will feel like a local.

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From Kalambaka it is quite easy to get to the monasteries and nunneries by foot. The hike is not very steep and if you have a normal tempo you can get to the closest monastery in one and a half hour. The route is beautiful and it makes the monasteries even more special when you finally reach them. If you are not looking forward to arriving there sweaty, you can also visit the monasteries by car/bus. The bus to the biggest monastery goes from the KTEL bus station in Kalambaka and is around â&#x201A;Ź4,- for both ways.

The best months to visit are definitely April and May, because you will probably have nice weather, but the temperatures are not too high yet and it is not very crowded. What I also recommend to do at least once is go up to the mountain in the evening to watch the sunset. You can easily hitchhike back since a lot of people are also watching the sunset and will go back down by car.

I hope I gave you enough useful tips to visit Meteora, because it is definitely worth it!

ROSA VERNOOIJ

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ZOOM ON KALAMATA PHOTO CONTEST

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Theme for June is „Four Elements – earth, water, air and fire”. Did you capture perfect moment during the storm or you have photo of big thunder? Big waves, burning sun…

We can find all four elements around us! Keep your eyes open and cameras ready!

Together we can create photo album full of beautiful and scary pictures of nature.

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).

MARTYNA CZYPICKA

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LINK

N°95

j u n e 1 st 2017

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.