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Millennials, Children and Jobs

This morning I read the article “How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation” by Anne Helen Petersen for Buzzfeed. Usually an article like this would — very ironically if you read the article — end up on my ‘to-read’ list but seeing as it is the last weekend of my holiday I felt like I had the time to read in on the spot. I wanted to share it on my blog and write out some of my thoughts because of how much it resonated with me. Of course I can recognise the limits of the story she writes in my own life as the Netherlands is much better at treating its millennials in terms of health care and student debt than the USA, but nevertheless it remains true and recognisable.  

What I found most recognisable was the way in which Petersen describes the pressure on Millenials to find a job that “reflects well on their parents (steady, decently paying, recognizable as a “good job”) that’s also impressive to their peers (at a “cool” company) and fulfills what they’ve been told has been the end goal of all of this childhood optimization: doing work that you’re passionate about”. This pressure to find the optimal, ultimate job is something that I feel almost every day, so much so that usually I just try to avoid thinking about what will come after graduating my Masters programme. It is a pressure that I hear all around me, something that is always in the background of conversation among my peers.

Reading about all of the things that most potential jobs for millennials aren’t according to Petersen made me think about a conversation that I had with some friends a while ago. We were discussing the various side jobs we kept as we did our studies; waiting tables, retail, cleaning homes etc. when one of my friends pointed out that it was ridiculous that these were jobs we referred to a something we did before our ‘real’ job. Wasn’t this a real job? Wasn't what we were doing real work? Didn’t it matter that we did this work as much as it mattered that we did our studies?

They were, we all agreed, but it didn’t really matter because what we wanted — that dream job that is both financially stable and cool and our passion — had nothing to do with these ones. They wouldn’t add to our cv’s, wouldn’t make us stronger competitors to win the system. But something about that made me angry, and it made me angry again as I read Petersen’s article. Because while I used this blog to write about my volunteering with AIESEC during my gap year (something which I did think added to my cv), I didn’t write about my job at Opella. This job was a cleaning job, a job that I loved maybe more than I loved my volunteering in Greece. But as I was working this job I was constantly worrying: am I wasting my time here? What will working this job do for me in the future? It was almost as if I wasn’t allowing myself to enjoy the job I was working simply because my surroundings were telling me it wasn’t good enough, that I should be striving for more. And that made no sense, because while I do aspire to become something quite different from being a cleaner, I loved this job. I loved it because it was rewarding, when I finished I was truly finished and had leisure time to attend to myself for a while, and it did not constantly require me to compete with my peers about who was better or bigger or faster.

This doesn’t mean we should all throw away our dreams and stop our hard work to obtain that one dream job, but it does illustrate Petersen’s point; that we are never not working and when we work jobs that allows us to take breaks (to live life) we feel guilty about them.

Another point that struck me was her illustration of the pressure on female millennials with families as ‘project managers’ of a household — a job on top of all the other jobs. It is a struggle that I can see even with my mother (a baby-boomer with a part time job). Without the added pressure of maintaining an online brand and struggling in an underpaid internship to pay overpriced rent she faces this struggle. She comes home tired after work to find that nobody cleaned their dishes or put on the washing machine, simply because “she never asked them to.” Personally, I have no interest in becoming a household manager and struggling this job alongside my ‘real’ job. So over the past few years I have taken to telling people I have no interests in having children. It's not that I dislike children as much as I make out to be to my mother and any potential boyfriends, but more that I try to manage expectations. It is like preemptively saying: if I ever have those kids know it wasn't cause I needed them that badly, so you'll have to do the work, you'll have to take that management job.

In short, I struggle with my image of the future; what kind of job will I be working and how will I get there? Will I be able to have any leisure time outside of it, and if I do, do I want to spend that on raising and grooming my children? These are questions most millenials ask and few can answer, and although our parents probably struggled with similar questions at their age, times have changed and the answers may now be harder to find. Petersen’s article illustrates this amazingly and I highly recommend reading it!

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Kokkino Nero 

After my volunteering project with AIESEC last winter I made some promises to visit my new friends in Greece in the following summer. Unfortunately I was not able to go to Mytilini, Lesbos, where most of them live, but I had the amazing opportunity to visit my friend Alkmini at her place in Kokkino Nero.

Kokkino Nero, meaning Red Water, is named for a small spring that lies just outside of the village. The water that flows here is clear, but it turns the rocks underneath it red over time due to the high level of mineral salts it contains. The water comes directly from the mountain and is thus quite cold, but one particular spot in the spring really takes the crown. My friend called it “The eye of Zeus” and here cold water bubbles up from underneath the rocks.

The water, and especially the cold water in the Eye, are said to be very good for your body, so of course we went in. Although it was cold, it was also very refreshing and the rocks and view are beautiful, so definitely worth a visit.

Aside from this we also climbed up to one of Greece’s highest waterfalls and visited the many beaches in and around Kokkino Nero. The water was so clear it was almost hard to capture it on my camera!

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Holiday in the Netherlands! 

Because the summer weather in the Netherlands is absolutely amazing this year I decided to take a holiday in my own country. Together with two friends I booked a few nights at a camping near the sea, situated in the dunes just behind Bloemendaal aan Zee.

We brought a big tent and set it up in our spot between the dunes. The camping had a very nice atmosphere, all of the spots situated between the dunes, which really created a holiday feeling. From our camping place it was a small, ten minute, walk towards the beach. The path went through and over the dunes, providing a really nice spot for sunset viewing too.

On our first night we had dinner at a beach club called San Blas. It was a little down the beach from where our camping was situated and somewhat closer to Bloemendaal. The place had a really nice look, somewhat latin-american, and the food was really tasty (it was also not too pricey, which was nice). We stayed for a while to watch the sunset and have a cup of tea.

The sunsets here were absolutely breathtaking in general. As I mentioned above, the dunes provided a really nice lookout point to see the sun slowly sink down into the sea, so we went and watched it almost every night, bringing drinks and picnics to the dunes.

On one of the less hot days we decided to take a trip to Haarlem, a nearby city. It was really easy to reach by bus and I had never been there before, which made it a nice, new experience. The city was adorable, with little streets decorated in flowers and plants. It had a bit of a small-town atmosphere but there were some cool places where you could have drinks. First we went to a bar called DeDAKKAS. It’s situated on a roof and provides a wide view over Haarlem. They served different beers from both local breweries and surrounding city breweries.

Because the food and snacks were a little pricey here so we decided to have dinner somewhere else and we ended up at Oerkap, a city beach which served amazing pizza. The place is situated at the water and consists of a collection of sofas and lounge-chairs scattered across an artificial beach. Although it was busy we managed to find a place and ordered two of their giant pizzas between the three of us. The homemade lemonade is another recommendation, especially on a hot, thirsty day.

To celebrate the last day of our trip we visited Woodstock’69 beach club. Despite having recently lost their original set-up due to a fire, the club managed to capture it’s authentic atmosphere with the new look. Similar to Oerkap there is a collection of old sofas and tables, scattered around the property to create the relaxed, informal atmosphere that is perfectly desirable at the beach. We had drinks and ordered some ‘borrelhapjes’, all of which were very nice.

All in all we had an amazing time, less than an hour away from our houses and it felt like a full-on holiday!

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World Press Photo exhibition Amsterdam

Recently I visited the World Press Photo Exhibition in Amsterdam. The location was the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, which often hosts exhibitions. It’s a really amazing venue for art exhibitions because the inside of the church gives the whole experience an extra dimension. You can see the foundations of the old building with the big, wooden entrance door and high ceilings. Some of the photo’s in the exhibition are displayed under the church’s old arches or against the backdrop of its high windows, creating a special mix of the exhibition and the location.

Because it was a surprise visit I didn’t have my camera with me, but I tried to document my visit the best I could using my phone camera. If you want to see the photos in better quality you can see them on the website, but best is to visit the exhibition when it is hosted somewhere near you so you can see all of them in full print! The exhibition will be in the Nieuwe Kerk until July 22.

Below I added some of my photos of the exhibition, mostly ones where I tried to capture how the photos look against the backdrop of the church, but also some of the ones that intrigued me the most. Patrick Brown’s photo of the Rohingya refugee crisis really touched me. The photo shows a group of refugees who drowned after their boat capsized, the bodies are covered with wet clothes. It’s a very powerful image that conveys the heaviness and immense tragedy of the situation whilst still depicting the victims in a dignified manner.

I was also very impressed by Anna Boyiazis photo series on young Zanzibar women learning to swim. The photos have such beautiful colour combinations, the blue of the ocean with the yellow of the women’s dresses gives beautiful images.

Patrick Brown’s photo of the Rohingya refugee crisis in the Nieuwe Kerk.

The sunlight falls through the high windows of the Nieuwe Kerk on Anna Boyiazis photo series.

Photo series are exhibited between the old pillars of the Nieuwe Kerk.

The winner of the World Press Photo exhibition (Ronaldo Schemidt) displayed against the backdrop of the old church windows of the Nieuwe Kerk 

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Rita Ora, ♫Girls, and ‘gaybaiting’

Rita Ora recently released a new song called ‘Girls’, in collaboration with Bebe Rexha, Cardi B, and Charli XCX. The song was suggested as a bisexual anthem by some but also received significant backlash from other artists almost immediately after its release. Most of the critique was directed at the appeal the lyrics makes towards same-sex experiences and relationships, whilst none of the performing artists openly identified as LGBTQ+. The heavy critiques eventually prompted Ora to publish a message, revealing her bisexuality.

The position for the song as a potential voice for homosexuality in a predominantly heteronormative entertainment industry calls for heedfulness, however, I personally have some issues with the way in which the song is critiqued and I want to discuss two assumptions that underlie these critiques.

If someone discusses same-sex experiences they are either an outspoken member of the LGBTQ+ community, or they are reducing homosexualiy to simple ‘drunk fun’

I find that this binary view does not provide space for everyone’s real-life experience, but it does provide the base for most of the critique. Hayley Kiyoko, who is openly lesbian herself, seems to rely on the same assumption in her response to ‘Girls’. She said: “I don’t need to drink wine to kiss girls; I’ve loved women my entire life”, implying that the song simply reduces homosexuality to a bit of ‘drunk fun’.

Similarly, People’s Magazine asked Ora if the song meant her ‘coming out’, to which Ora replied by saying: “[...] If people look at it like that, it’s very narrow-minded, and I don’t think that’s what this record is. I don’t think that that even matters.” While some said this was a “coy, halfway claim of queerness”, it again shows the need for open sexual identification in order to make a statement about non-heteronormative behaviour.

But what is the necessity for identity definition? Why do we all need to fit a certain description and brand ourselves as such within a community that is suppose to value respect, celebrate diversity, and encourage individuality and personal expression? Who decides which experiences qualify for each identity box? Apparently, this is exclusively reserved for out, proud, and loud LGBTQ+ artists like Kiyoko.

Personally, I think it is both unfair and unproductive to place Ora in a position where she is forced to validate her experiences by naming her sexuality. The song discusses experimenting with sexuality without necessarily claiming a box, such as lesbianism. In doing so, it speaks to an image of freedom of experience and expression that I have always associated with the LGBTQ+ community.

If someone discusses same-sex experiences and is not openly a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it immediately means that they have the intention to financially exploit the LGBTQ+ community.

Sadly, this assumption is sometimes valid, however, it also potentially alienates allies of the LGBTQ+ community. In the case of the song, Ora’s experiences are seen as invalid or misrepresented for the sake of gaining a corporal benefit, simply because she did not identify as explicitly LGBTQ+ at the time of the song’s release.  

Similarly, The Independent justifies Ora’s song by describing her as ‘sexually fluid’, which implies she still needs a identity to justify her song. This need for identity is emphasised when the article accuses other artists like Harry Styles of ‘gaybaiting’, simply because they do not have the added legitimisation of being openly LGBTQ+, like Ora. The idea of ‘gaybaiting’ immediately implies negative intentions, something which in this case seems unlikely as Styles is an outspoken supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, waving rainbow flags at his concerts, even in places where this is not allowed.

Concluding

The hostility surrounding the release and reception of the song illustrates the increasingly more defensive and paranoid attitude of the LGBTQ+ community. This approach towards allies of the community alienates people: it raises the idea that one may only show interest in, or be supportive of the LGBTQ+ community, if they can justify so with an experience of their own. While it is a completely understandable outlook, seeing the treatment of many of its members, it is important to recognise where we draw the line.  

Instead of scrutinising those who attempt to support the community for their small mistakes or their attempts to keep their private life private, it might be better to embrace them and use their support to better the LGBTQ+ position. In other words, be careful not to alienate possible allies for the sake of protecting the perfect identities within the LGBTQ+ community.

It might be time to let go of the idea that if somebody does not 100% identifies as a pre-defined LGBTQ+ identity, they automatically have no authority to speak towards an identity that is not 100% heteronormative. There needs to be a space where such behaviour can exist; a society where we are all free to kiss and touch whomever we want, whether that means we are straight, bi, gay, or whatever else. In fact, we should strive to create a society where such labels are not necessary anymore, not in order to live your life, and definitely not in order to justify your support of others.

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Cameras!

Recently I’ve started buying and receiving vintage cameras and my collection has grown to quite a size now so I figured it was time to share some of it.

I’ve always been interested in photography, at least as a hobbyist, and I enjoy taking my camera out to snap photos of my dogs or the places that I visit (as you can see on here of course!). Since a few years I’ve also gotten more excited about analogue photography.

Firstly this was in the shape of disposable cameras. During my years in university I always had a disposable camera lying around my room and whenever I would go somewhere with my friends I would take it along. I love the idea of capturing photos without knowing exactly how they’ll turn out. When I take a photo with an analogue camera nobody can ask me to sneak a quick peak at it. There are no re-do’s, no endless photoshoots, no complains from every member of a group-photo to retake it. The photo is simply taken, stored on my film and awaits its development several weeks later. Each developed roll is a surprise and that’s what makes it so amazing! It adds a little mystery to our fast-paced, know-it-all world.

So, because I was such a fan of the analogue photography I decided it was time to move from a disposable camera to better, more durable version and I went on a search through my parents attic. Here I found the Minolta camera. It’s light, easy to take with its neat leather protection case and the only one in my collection of which I know with certainty that it works. Unfortunately, the flash is broken for now, but otherwise the photos turned out great! I am currently looking into fixing the flash for an affordable price. When I find a place I will update it on here :) promise!

The other cameras I photographed are ones that I bought and received for their looks rather than their functionality. The beautiful old Clack camera I got from my grandmother. It has a graceous leather case, specifically fitted for it and secured with a screw at the bottom of the camera. The Canon is another one of my parents old cameras. It’s complete with a detachable flash but unfortunately its photos have a pinkish shade due to light exposure inside the camera.

Lastly I bought the GAF film camera at a second hand shop recently. It was only €5, complete with case, microphone and a mysterious tape inside. I have not yet had the time or resources to view the tape, nor am I sure there is something on it, but if this results in something interesting I will be sure to share it!

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Plaka, Acropolis and Acropolis Rocks 

A trip to Athens cannot be complete without visiting the famous Acropolis. On the day I went to see it the weather was absolutely perfect, providing bright blue stars behind the creamy ruins. Because I am a student at a European uni my ticket was entirely for free, which was great because it meant I could come back whenever I wanted!

You can get to Acropolis by metro, simply getting off at the synonymous station. Alternatively, you can walk up from Monastiraki square. On this route, you will pass through the narrow streets of Plaka, the old city district. Here are many small shops, from tacky souvenirs to authentic Greek products and small restaurants and coffee places. On the way to the Acropolis you get a beautiful view of the city the higher you climb, and often accompanied by one of the many cats that hang out here.

Before reaching the Acropolis itself, there’s first Acropolis Rocks to your right (when you come from Plaka, if you come from the metro it’s to your left). It’s relatively quiet in comparison to the other look-out spots in the city, such as Lycabettus. But the view is wonderful. Not only does it provide a really wide view over the city, it also gives an up-close view of Acropolis behind it!

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National Market in Omonia

In Omonia is also the national market, where you can buy any type of product, from fruits and vegetables, to nuts, berries, eggs and sausages. Much like any market, the atmosphere is fast-paced and busy so make sure to keep track of your belongings, but also feel free to make conversation with the talkative shop owners.

On the outside market every stand seems to be made for photography. The stacks of nuts and berries are beautiful and each piece of nougat has its own, unique swirl of colour. Here the people are friendly and easy-going, not afraid to offer you a taste of their products and very happy to allow photography.

Inside the larger halls behind these stands are the meat and fish markets. Here the atmosphere is a little less pleasant, especially in the meat hall. I went to visit the market alone, taking only my camera with me to capture the stands, but I didn’t feel very comfortable. Along each side of the hall the stands are lined up, displaying anything from neatly cut pieces of meat to whole pig’s heads hanging from hooks. It wasn’t so much this meat that made me uncomfortable as it was the sales people. They cat-called me, kissed my hand and flirted with me, all of which made me feel relatively unsafe as I was by myself.

Fortunately, in the fish market people were less intrusive, giving me more space to take my photos and a lot less objectifying. This hall also provided a great place for wonderful photos, like the ones of the calamari. I’m still a little sad that I didn’t take more time in each hall to take more photos, but I simply didn’t feel comfortable too.

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Omonia’s Gaffiti and Universities 

Just outside the Panepistimio metro station (red line) beautiful buildings stretch out alongside the street. The buses, trolley’s, taxi’s and cars rush by the old National Library building and the very prestigious University and Academy of Arts. These buildings are so beautiful, adorned with statues, gold and paintings on the outside.

They form a stark contrast with the Omonia, which is the neighbourhood situated just behind it and is mostly covered in graffiti. Though it gives this part of the city a little bit of a rough exterior, not all of the unsolicited art is a degradation of the buildings. Many massive paintings cover the smooth walls of tall buildings, making it look a little bit like a real-life art gallery.

A little bit further, just in between Omonia and Victoria metro stations, is the Polytechnico University. The graffiti gets a little more politically charged here and large banners cover the university gates. It’s not surprising, as this university formed the centre of the student uprisings against the Junta in ‘73.  Within the university gates a monument commemorates those who have fallen during the uprising. Now it seems a lonely monument, but during the commemoration day, November 17th, students and politicians lay wreaths and flowers here.

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Lycabettus Hill 

If you want to enjoy one of the largest views over athens, stretching out all the way to the sea, Lycabettus is the perfect place. The climb up the hill isn’t too far, and most of it is reachable by car of scooter. On its very top is a small church and a little restaurant in case the climb made you thirsty. It’s a really nice place to watch the sunset reflect off the white houses of Athens and it is possible to see Acropolis get lit up once darkness falls.

Ps. This is also where I met my favourite cat!

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Syntagma and Monastriaki 

When you get out of the central Syntagma metro station the parliament building immediately raises up over the square. With its soft pink colour it stands out against the other, mostly white buildings around the square. Each hour the changing of the guards takes place in front of the parliament. The guards are dressed in traditional clothes, different outfits for winter and summer weather with adorable pom-poms on their shoes. I was lucky enough to see the guards in both outfits as the weather was quite diverse during my stay!

Around Syntagma are various rooftop restaurants where you can have a drink or lunch with a view of the city. Most of the ones here are quite expensive but the restaurant above Public is not too bad. It’s situated on the top floor of a giant bookstore and because it’s situated just across from the parliament it gives a wonderful view of the pink building with the national gardens behind it. Walking around the parliament building and into the gardens, you can enjoy the quiet of the trees in the centre of the city. There is a small pond with turtles, chickens, ducks and the occasional dog where you can enjoy the sunshine. Walking back, you also pass the beautiful Zappeion, an official building with wonderfully painted walls and ceilings.

Towards the other side, it’s a quick walk from Syntagma to Monastriaki square. The busy shopping streets leads from the one square to the other perfectly. At Monastriaki are many small souvlaki places, fruit stands and souvenir shops. Street artists perform with small music installations on the square. Here are also many rooftop bars, e.g. A for Athens and 360 Athens. They are cheaper and arguably have a better view as you can see the Acropolis from here.

Behind the square begins a flea market, where all sorts of shops sell their products. From Nike sneakers and shisha flavours, to traditional Greek olive soaps and small antique furniture shops, the street eventually takes you to a small square where stands sell all sorts of usual flea market products. It’s a nice place for a little afternoon of shopping, whether you’re looking for souvenirs or just a unique teapot.

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Meet My Dogs! 

The lens of our camera had some problems with the stabiliser but today it was fixed again so I decided to take it out for a little test run. I took out my favourite photo models: my dogs Saartje and Pleuntje. They are Schapendoezen, which are Dutch sheepdogs similar to the Bearded Colli but quite a lot smaller.  

Unfortunately it was quite difficult to capture them as they ran with the wind in their hair because they always stay too close to me. Maybe next time I will manage to capture an action shot! But for now I think the camera works quite perfectly again, lens approved!

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Piraeus and Palaio Faliro

As the AIESEC office of my experience was based in Piraeus I often visited this area during my first weeks in Athens. The port city is situated in Athens’ larger urban area and easily reachable by train. On your way you pass the big Peace and Friendship stadium near the Faliro station.

Because the city is one of the mediterranean main ports it is surrounded almost completely by water. When you step outside the station the massive ships waiting for passengers and large transport boats reloading and depositing goods immediately catch the eyes.

Walking further into the city, the small pasalimani harbour gives a little bit of summer feeling despite the sad autumn weather. With the small white boats lined up around the half-moon harbour and the buildings rising up around them it gives that soft summery blue and white through the grey-ness. Similarly to Athens itself the streets in Piraeus are lined with orange trees, fully packed with fruits in this time of the year.

My work was in Paleo Faliro, another area relatively far outside the centre of Athens. To get there I took the bus and on my way home I would walk to the beautiful seaside near the school. Here the summery feeling of Piraeus is doubled by the sea and the various small yacht harbours stretching the coast. The photos I took here were during a day with significantly better weather and the sun truly brings to life he little beaches and white boats. In the distance Pireasu can be seen across the water too!

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Animals of Athens

Being a big fan of any type of animal, Athens provided me with the perfect environment as the city is bursting with happy, seemingly independent animals roaming the streets. Especially cats are plentiful, and while nobody seems to own a cat, there are plenty people feeding them.

On the road to Acropolis Rocks people leave cat food sprinkled on the small walls lining the pavement and cats gather around to accompany street artists. Dogs stroll lazily over Syntagma square where they lay down to soak up the streams of the early spring sunshine. In the national gardens turtles lounge collective on the rocks of their pond, only to disappear under water a few hours later when the thick canopy swallows their sunrays.

I tried to capture the freedom and happiness of the animals in Athens as best I could. Not all of the cats were cuddly and friendly, mostly because people aren’t always nice to them, but they are photogenic nonetheless.

My favourite photo is the orange cat I met on the steps of Lycabettus hill, that was so cuddly it was hard for me to capture an image at all. But in the end its orange fur blended so perfectly with the setting sun and acropolis in the background that I would say it’s my favourite picture of my time in Athens!

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Looking Back on my AIESEC Experience

Instead of giving a week by week update on what my experience in Greece was like, I found it to be more useful to look back on the full experience in one post. In my other post I described a little bit about what I had been doing in Greece up to that point. Amongst other things I pointed out some of the difficulties that I encountered in that first week. Reading that post back now I can really feel the impact that my experience has had on me as a person.

When I started my experience I had just finished traveling around to meet some of my friends as the start to my gap-year. At the time I was struggling with a lot of anxiety which prevented me from pursuing my dream of traveling the world in my gap year. Personally, I saw participating in an AIESEC programme partially as a way to overcome this anxiety; it offered me the perfect combination of safety and freedom. Yet, while in my other blog posts I seemed super excited, I was a little sceptical at the start.

I had a million questions and worries running through my head. Was this really the way to overcome my own anxieties? Did the project really line up with my interests and skills? Would it look nice on my CV and help me further academically? Was a company like AIESEC even really something for me?

Truly a worrying mind at work. But while I was busy thinking of all the possible horror-scenarios, the true experience showed me the most positive outcome.

My time at the kindergarten was absolutely wonderful! While in my earlier post I mentioned that it was quite difficult for me to communicate with the children due to the language barrier, this issue was easily compensated by the enthusiasm of the children to connect with me. They told me their stories, blissfully ignorant of the fact that I didn’t understand much of it. Their carefree attitudes taught me to be more spontaneous and impulsive and helped me to develop a more problem-solving approach.

Working together with the teachers helped me develop my communication and team-working skills. Not only did we shape the schedule together, brainstormed about the possible activities and shared experiences, I also sometimes had to give up some of my authority on the programme because my teaching depended on their translation. While I, a perfectionist, found this difficult, it helped me to let go of my need to be 100% in control of everything too.

So I learned a great deal from my project! But more importantly, the entire experience had an amazingly positive impact on me personally. While before my departure I was extremely scared to start new things, deal with the uncertainties that came with making choices, and leave anything up to chance, my experience in Greece forced me to face all of those things. Not in the least because Greek culture is simply less structured and stressful than Dutch culture (in my humble opinion of course). Changing my environment and company helped to show me the elements of my life that I enjoyed and was proud of, but it also pointed out those things that I would rather see change.

My time in Greece made me feel very carefree, especially after the months that I had spent trapped by my anxieties before I left. Through my host I met many wonderful people that drew me out of my comfort zone and even took me on a trip to celebrate Greek carnival in Patras, something that I would most likely have skipped out on before this experience.

Participating in the meetings organised by AIESEC and speaking with the other volunteers I was complimented on my strengths, something which I really needed. Hearing others point out my strengths made me able to recognise and see them better, and in doing so reduced the impact that my weaknesses had on my life. I felt like a lighter, more happy person.

So all in all, the experience that I had in Greece was amazing. It taught me that a lot of the things you think you can’t do or be are already inside you, all you have to do is believe it yourself. While I found this really hard to do before, being in such a different environment and truly testing myself, I found that I could see and believe in my own strengths. Every experience will give you something new, so don’t hesitate to join one of AIESEC’s projects. Go and experience and learn from everything that you do!

(with my amazing host Alkmini)

(Carnival in Patras, don’t we look super cool haha)

(With the other AIESEC volunteers)

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AIESEC Piraeus project Week 1 & 2

During the first week of my project I was introduced to the different members of the AIESEC team that I will be part of during my stay. This meant the necessary introductory sessions, some of which had some very deep questions. As the office to which my project belongs is in the region of Piraeus, this was the part of Athens I saw most of so far.

On my first day I got picked up from the airport by my contact person at AIESEC, this was very nice because it meant that I didn’t have to figure out how to make my way to the city. I was immediately introduced to my host, who took me to her house in the centre of Athens. Being a student, she is close to me in age which is very nice. We immediately got on quite well, which made me feel like I already had a friend to share my experience with. Contrary to my expectations, the project did not start immediately but instead there were a number of introductory things to be done first. In Greece it is customary to get a radiography when working with children, therefore I needed to get this done too. While the whole thing seemed a little weird to me, it was all arranged fairly quickly, which means I now have a health certificate officially allowing me to go to my project!

At first sight Athens did not impress me much, the buildings are simple and build closely together, with many of them abandoned as well. Being used to living in architecturally pleasing Amsterdam, I was a little disappointed, especially considering what I knew of the Ancient Greek architectures. As all of the bus information is written in the Greek alphabet, navigating my way around the city was quite the adventure in the beginning. Slowly, I am starting to figure out how the letters are pronounced, which makes reading my destinations a lot easier. During my stay here I got to know the city a little better and discovered more of its charms and beautiful places which I will post on later!

After getting settled in Athens and getting all the required meetings and scans over with I finally got to start my project at the Kindergarden. The children unfortunately don’t understand english, which makes communicating with them directly quite difficult. Luckily, the teachers speak english very well and are very helpful in translating the things I explain for me. Because the children are about 4 years old, a lot of the things we do consist of arts and crafts. So far, I have introduced them to the beautiful dutch clog (which they made even more beautiful with their decorations), and our city of Amsterdam, with its crooked houses and many bikes. Updates on more of the project will come soon!

(view from my window in Athens)

[royceroos]

Street Foods in Athens

Along the roads in Athens’ city centre are many local food stands. These include fresh fruit and coconut stands at the market, but also more traditional small stands where people grill corn-on-the-cob and puffed chestnuts. Such snacks can be bought for a small prices and eaten on the go.

More even than these stands, you see bakery stands that sell varieties of baked goods, both sweet and savory. Most widely sold are Koulouri: pretzel-like breads, shaped like big rings. They are covered most often in sesame seeds but they are also available with other seed toppings. Although they resemble pretzels in their appearance they taste different, simply like standard white bread but flavoured by the seeds on the outside. Other snacks sold in these stands include sweet treats. Some of them are shaped like donuts while others look more like small pies. Their flavour is very similar to that of a donut or Krispy Kreme and they come in different shapes. When I tried this I chose one that was filled and glazed with chocolate.

There’s also a famous shop in Athens, called Lukomades where they sell (you guessed it) Lukomades. These are small dough balls, fried and covered with honey and cinnamon (or another topping of your choice). They are even available filled with chocolate! They are a little on the pricy side, and not technically streetfood but definately worth a try!

Aside from all these baked goods you can, of course, get your fill of gyro and souvlaki in Athens. These are sold in restaurants but can also be purchased easily as on-the-go snacks. Try, aside from the traditional souvlaki, also a vegetarian version with Haloumi cheese instead of meat filling.