Athens and the story of 2019
I returned back to The UK a little shaken from the events out in Spain, I had applied for a few job positions back
in Manchester in the hope that I would eventually pursue a new career path working with young people in sports from with disadvantaged communities, This is something which I have
been passionate about during and since leaving the competitive snowsports scene.
I was in a hotel cafe chatting away a week beforehand whilst in the mountains arranging an opening day meeting for a job, the opportunity even though I had no intention of being back in my hometown was a great chance to pursue these ambitions, so at the time with no set plans back home and also technically no home to go back too it just made sense to book a flight back to the city and see where things go from here.
The moment I stepped onto the train platform at Manchester Airport I knew I had made a perhaps over ambitiou decision to return back to the crowded traffic jammed noise polluted and messy streets of the city which i had been so distant from for many years before. The pace of life hit hard especially after soending time in the scenic and peaceful surroundings of Northern Spain over the past few months, but here I was back in my homeown with hope of an interview which ultimately never happened.
I had a few problems this first week back, I started to get a sore tooth the day of my flight back to Manchester, I had a feeling this was not just any old pain which would pass after a few days and sure enough I eventually began to get really ill over the coming weeks. I had not heard further news from the job and with my tooth feeling like it was ready to take over my face completely I decided to make an early call and book a pricey flight back to Newquay the town i spent the past 6 months desperately trying to move away from. I found work on return at my old job in the surf shop on the beach, so a weird fact though is that i never really liked surfing as a whole, I have always enjoyed swimming and other watersports but surfing was never my main thing, also lots of the guys who worked in the shop were more interested in the lifestyle culture than the actual sport, but we all had our own interests going on and the atmosphere in the shop itself was generally pretty relaxed so it was a great thing to return back to the familiar.
I started looking back and thinking of Spain and where I went wrong, I did set off with ambitious plans thinking that my budget would give me the time to adjust if necessary and search for a permanent position, also thinking how Spain would be in a better position to offer job opportunities to EU residents, however in reality it was most of spain which had been leaving prior to search for better opportuntiies elesewhere in EU, the one strong point on my side was my experience at this point and knowledge of the winter and summer sports industry. wI made a bad judgment shout to rely on the few to shape the way of my entire trip, and i could not depend on those same people to point me in the right direction.
I had fought a personal battle in getting myself back on the mountain to still see if i could ride to the ability which i had left off back when i moved away from snowsports years earlier, after dedicating much of my time and efforts into the sport over the past 10 years. I was happy to achieve thie return trip and to walk away from the sport and shake away any personal doubts or resentment in doing so to start a new path to inspire and help young people of all backgrounds to pursue their own goals and abitions.
I cdiscovered whhilst being back in Nequay an opportunity for a EU funded Erasmus project based Greece for the upcoming summer season. I was already very much living out of bags and not quite settled back into life back in Newquay, the project sounded like a great way to gain new experience and focus on my career ambitions moving forward. A few months later after being selected for the project, i would find myself on the way to the city of Athens in Greece for our first meeting as a newly developed European Humanitarian Voluntary team!
I enjoyed my time out in Athens and gained some very useful insight into developments on the ground and the humanitarian sector in general, however sadly there was also the negatives which come with these type of institutional organisations which tryy ane help to support those in need.
I joined the Erasmus project like many with a positive outlook to the work involved and the impact this could make on the livelihoods of young people living under destitution, However we were walking into a blank canvas with very little thought into our roles and the necessity for the work being done, and a lack of say and control by the benefeciaries we were attempting to support.
We started with immediate setbacks in trying to establish a working relationship with the refugee community groups, many of the initial community reps who had been interested in our proposal had backed out by this point as they did not feel our initial project idea would be a beneficial use of their time and resources.
The first few weeks also revealed the strengths and weaknesses of our team and organizers, our initial accommodation a Horse ranch based just on the outskirts of Athens did provide us with a very unique and interesting type of living quarters for our stay, however it also created some challenges due to the lack of facilities on site and space all during the blistering summer heat of Athens. I personally enjoyed the short but sweet time we had at the ranch, we were surrounded by nature and animals within the site itself, a few of the horses were going away on summer vacation nearer to the coastline to get some much needed cool sea breeze. We also had a really cute and very lazy Garfield cat which spent most of time lounging and sleeping the entire day on the steps, and a few dogs which had relentless energy considering the sheer heat. The lodge was pretty basic, but i guess the idea from the organisers is that we would adapt and come together to make the living conditions our own rather than walking straight into a palace with all of our needs catered for. We had our own personal idyllic retreat space in a bustling crowded city. I admit the shower was terrible, We had a very old busted up shower which also had to be reheated after each use which was a pain the ass. We also had to remember that we had traveled here for a reason and there are those who we are planning to support are much less fortunate than we are people we are, after all this was an all expenses paid volunteer opportunity, so a bit of compromise would not be the end of the world, however team members in our group were overall not happy with the setup.
The division over the accommodation quarters created some friction from the group at the very start, The group had a big heated debate over the sitation, those who were happy to stay in the Ranch eventually gave up the defence in order to keep the peace including myself, Obviously now at this point the mood between the team and the organizers had shifted since it had caused so much drama earlier on and much had been said about their plans and ability to manage a project. Also, we had a big electrical power cut the day before our meeting, restricting us to cold showers and eating out during the week, which was the final straw for many of the group.
Athens itself is a beautiful city to explore with many old historic ancient streets and monuments, a week alone spent in Athens can be an amazing experience and there is always something new to see and find in every district, from independent quarters which host lots of different cultural activities and events to just discovering new landmarks and sights which are still being excavated and discovered to this day. Whilst i do enjoy the historical side to the city, I wanted to really capture the feeling of living in the city like a local, I spent a lot of my free time playing Basketball with the locals and a few guys in my team at the street courts up at Strefi Hill in Exarchia district, a place which is notorious for being supposedly lawless and a hotspot for refugee communities. The weather during our time in Athens stayed extemely hot throughout the entire time with many days seeing about 38-40 degrees average, we had Athens almost fully to ourselves as the city is unusually quiet during the summer as we discovered most residents vacate outside of the city and head to the coastline to be in a much cooler and tolerable weather conditions. I remember only 2 rainy days in the first two months we were out there which is a big change from the weather back home, but unfortunately The warm weather creates a bit of a nasty stench and pollution is much more evident at this time of year.
Athens at night especially in our area had an uneasy edge, i didn't feel necessarily unsafe as growing up in a city i've been aware to look out for danger signs but i definitely recognised how easy it would be to take a wrong turn down a street and end up in unexpected trouble. We found it fairly easy to navigate the city, to a point where we no longer had to rely on the subway and could easily walk to many of the nearby destinations without fear of getting lost. This way, we also discovered many of the bars and food places which would become regular visits during our stay. I found my favourite food joint around the backstreets of our hostel after wondering around the neighbourhood to discover the area. The takeway shop was a tiny family business owned place which only appeared to be open at set times and days of the week selling Homemade Souvlaki, this eventually became my go to place when i just needed a bit of time alone from the group in the afternoons after our voluntary work had been done. I Also found the best doughnut shop which thankfully reopened again just in time for the final weeks of the program, Probably a good thing they closed during most of the summer as i would have looked like homer simpson after the summer.
The team were impressed with all the street artwork and independent general rebelliousness of certain areas of the city, and much of it was pretty impressive but at times i did feel it was a bit too much, almost every free wall or object possible had been tagged and for me it made the city look a bit messy, some of it followed an artisit theme of a certain area which suited it nicely, but others had been randomly scribbled everywhere just for the sake of it.
The project itself presented some highs and lows, the best part was of course helping the young people get involved and integrated into the local community with activities and sports, also meeting the community leaders who had a lot of character and motivation to help support the refugee community. Unfortunately, the lack of organisation from our hosts created extra challenges and at times controversional actions which did not really benefit the people we were supposed to be helping and instead used valuable resources and time which probably could have been better utilised with the money and staff available at hand.
We had been working alongside an already established EU funded NGO in the City, however i found it surprising the lack of real world planning and stakeholder cooperation between the NGO and the refugee communities, something just didn't feel right from the start. We did manage to create and run community social activities however there was a lot of shortsightedness around the long term legacy and sustainabilty of these projects as a whole, how would the groups continue to run without the funding and leadership, who would take control of these projects after we had left? I didn't really find it fair that we would introduce something that the refugee communities could no longer continue to do especially after enjoying their time so much only to then potentially take this option away from them. We also hosted many activity days out for young people and families within the community group and it was great to see their happiness and exciting during the participation of these events.
I had this doubt the entire time knowing the situation of the project and how everything is going to change again for the young people involved who had been so far very much committed and happy to join our groups, i had this feeling how it was irresponsible to leave the project without any legacy for the local community to continue it on without our support.
Towards the final few weeks i tailed off trying to lead the projects directly and allowed the young people to just enjoy the time with their new friendship groups without trying to impose too many set activity plans, the important thing was to see the young people enjoy themselves. Yes we as leaders and adults hold responsibility to ensure the group are safe and organised in correct way but the young people were also very much independent and much less reliant on us as the weeks went by to create their own fun. A few of the team members in our group attempted to put too much emphasis in doing things by the book and were visibly upset when it didn't go to plan, but such is the case when working with young people that not everything is so straightforward, especially when working with people from all different cultural backgrounds who are used to living a very different way of life.
I had experienced already so much within the first month of being in Athens, during my down days i ventured further and further out of the city to explore various towns and cities.
I also had a few fall outs with some team members during my time, as did others as people regularly clashed about ideas and enthusiasm for various plans during the project, however looking back we were all younger and naive and passionate in our own way. Bringing a group of people together from all different cultural backgrounds spanning across the entirety of the EU can be a challenge in itself. The Erasmus project was the start of my pathway into the Humanitarian sector, i would eventually go on to study further and work closer in the field, coming full circle achieving what i had set out after leaving the sports side of my life behind earlier in the year.
I was in a hotel cafe chatting away a week beforehand whilst in the mountains arranging an opening day meeting for a job, the opportunity even though I had no intention of being back in my hometown was a great chance to pursue these ambitions, so at the time with no set plans back home and also technically no home to go back too it just made sense to book a flight back to the city and see where things go from here.
The moment I stepped onto the train platform at Manchester Airport I knew I had made a perhaps over ambitiou decision to return back to the crowded traffic jammed noise polluted and messy streets of the city which i had been so distant from for many years before. The pace of life hit hard especially after soending time in the scenic and peaceful surroundings of Northern Spain over the past few months, but here I was back in my homeown with hope of an interview which ultimately never happened.
I had a few problems this first week back, I started to get a sore tooth the day of my flight back to Manchester, I had a feeling this was not just any old pain which would pass after a few days and sure enough I eventually began to get really ill over the coming weeks. I had not heard further news from the job and with my tooth feeling like it was ready to take over my face completely I decided to make an early call and book a pricey flight back to Newquay the town i spent the past 6 months desperately trying to move away from. I found work on return at my old job in the surf shop on the beach, so a weird fact though is that i never really liked surfing as a whole, I have always enjoyed swimming and other watersports but surfing was never my main thing, also lots of the guys who worked in the shop were more interested in the lifestyle culture than the actual sport, but we all had our own interests going on and the atmosphere in the shop itself was generally pretty relaxed so it was a great thing to return back to the familiar.
I started looking back and thinking of Spain and where I went wrong, I did set off with ambitious plans thinking that my budget would give me the time to adjust if necessary and search for a permanent position, also thinking how Spain would be in a better position to offer job opportunities to EU residents, however in reality it was most of spain which had been leaving prior to search for better opportuntiies elesewhere in EU, the one strong point on my side was my experience at this point and knowledge of the winter and summer sports industry. wI made a bad judgment shout to rely on the few to shape the way of my entire trip, and i could not depend on those same people to point me in the right direction.
I had fought a personal battle in getting myself back on the mountain to still see if i could ride to the ability which i had left off back when i moved away from snowsports years earlier, after dedicating much of my time and efforts into the sport over the past 10 years. I was happy to achieve thie return trip and to walk away from the sport and shake away any personal doubts or resentment in doing so to start a new path to inspire and help young people of all backgrounds to pursue their own goals and abitions.
I cdiscovered whhilst being back in Nequay an opportunity for a EU funded Erasmus project based Greece for the upcoming summer season. I was already very much living out of bags and not quite settled back into life back in Newquay, the project sounded like a great way to gain new experience and focus on my career ambitions moving forward. A few months later after being selected for the project, i would find myself on the way to the city of Athens in Greece for our first meeting as a newly developed European Humanitarian Voluntary team!
I enjoyed my time out in Athens and gained some very useful insight into developments on the ground and the humanitarian sector in general, however sadly there was also the negatives which come with these type of institutional organisations which tryy ane help to support those in need.
I joined the Erasmus project like many with a positive outlook to the work involved and the impact this could make on the livelihoods of young people living under destitution, However we were walking into a blank canvas with very little thought into our roles and the necessity for the work being done, and a lack of say and control by the benefeciaries we were attempting to support.
We started with immediate setbacks in trying to establish a working relationship with the refugee community groups, many of the initial community reps who had been interested in our proposal had backed out by this point as they did not feel our initial project idea would be a beneficial use of their time and resources.
The first few weeks also revealed the strengths and weaknesses of our team and organizers, our initial accommodation a Horse ranch based just on the outskirts of Athens did provide us with a very unique and interesting type of living quarters for our stay, however it also created some challenges due to the lack of facilities on site and space all during the blistering summer heat of Athens. I personally enjoyed the short but sweet time we had at the ranch, we were surrounded by nature and animals within the site itself, a few of the horses were going away on summer vacation nearer to the coastline to get some much needed cool sea breeze. We also had a really cute and very lazy Garfield cat which spent most of time lounging and sleeping the entire day on the steps, and a few dogs which had relentless energy considering the sheer heat. The lodge was pretty basic, but i guess the idea from the organisers is that we would adapt and come together to make the living conditions our own rather than walking straight into a palace with all of our needs catered for. We had our own personal idyllic retreat space in a bustling crowded city. I admit the shower was terrible, We had a very old busted up shower which also had to be reheated after each use which was a pain the ass. We also had to remember that we had traveled here for a reason and there are those who we are planning to support are much less fortunate than we are people we are, after all this was an all expenses paid volunteer opportunity, so a bit of compromise would not be the end of the world, however team members in our group were overall not happy with the setup.
The division over the accommodation quarters created some friction from the group at the very start, The group had a big heated debate over the sitation, those who were happy to stay in the Ranch eventually gave up the defence in order to keep the peace including myself, Obviously now at this point the mood between the team and the organizers had shifted since it had caused so much drama earlier on and much had been said about their plans and ability to manage a project. Also, we had a big electrical power cut the day before our meeting, restricting us to cold showers and eating out during the week, which was the final straw for many of the group.
Athens itself is a beautiful city to explore with many old historic ancient streets and monuments, a week alone spent in Athens can be an amazing experience and there is always something new to see and find in every district, from independent quarters which host lots of different cultural activities and events to just discovering new landmarks and sights which are still being excavated and discovered to this day. Whilst i do enjoy the historical side to the city, I wanted to really capture the feeling of living in the city like a local, I spent a lot of my free time playing Basketball with the locals and a few guys in my team at the street courts up at Strefi Hill in Exarchia district, a place which is notorious for being supposedly lawless and a hotspot for refugee communities. The weather during our time in Athens stayed extemely hot throughout the entire time with many days seeing about 38-40 degrees average, we had Athens almost fully to ourselves as the city is unusually quiet during the summer as we discovered most residents vacate outside of the city and head to the coastline to be in a much cooler and tolerable weather conditions. I remember only 2 rainy days in the first two months we were out there which is a big change from the weather back home, but unfortunately The warm weather creates a bit of a nasty stench and pollution is much more evident at this time of year.
Athens at night especially in our area had an uneasy edge, i didn't feel necessarily unsafe as growing up in a city i've been aware to look out for danger signs but i definitely recognised how easy it would be to take a wrong turn down a street and end up in unexpected trouble. We found it fairly easy to navigate the city, to a point where we no longer had to rely on the subway and could easily walk to many of the nearby destinations without fear of getting lost. This way, we also discovered many of the bars and food places which would become regular visits during our stay. I found my favourite food joint around the backstreets of our hostel after wondering around the neighbourhood to discover the area. The takeway shop was a tiny family business owned place which only appeared to be open at set times and days of the week selling Homemade Souvlaki, this eventually became my go to place when i just needed a bit of time alone from the group in the afternoons after our voluntary work had been done. I Also found the best doughnut shop which thankfully reopened again just in time for the final weeks of the program, Probably a good thing they closed during most of the summer as i would have looked like homer simpson after the summer.
The team were impressed with all the street artwork and independent general rebelliousness of certain areas of the city, and much of it was pretty impressive but at times i did feel it was a bit too much, almost every free wall or object possible had been tagged and for me it made the city look a bit messy, some of it followed an artisit theme of a certain area which suited it nicely, but others had been randomly scribbled everywhere just for the sake of it.
The project itself presented some highs and lows, the best part was of course helping the young people get involved and integrated into the local community with activities and sports, also meeting the community leaders who had a lot of character and motivation to help support the refugee community. Unfortunately, the lack of organisation from our hosts created extra challenges and at times controversional actions which did not really benefit the people we were supposed to be helping and instead used valuable resources and time which probably could have been better utilised with the money and staff available at hand.
We had been working alongside an already established EU funded NGO in the City, however i found it surprising the lack of real world planning and stakeholder cooperation between the NGO and the refugee communities, something just didn't feel right from the start. We did manage to create and run community social activities however there was a lot of shortsightedness around the long term legacy and sustainabilty of these projects as a whole, how would the groups continue to run without the funding and leadership, who would take control of these projects after we had left? I didn't really find it fair that we would introduce something that the refugee communities could no longer continue to do especially after enjoying their time so much only to then potentially take this option away from them. We also hosted many activity days out for young people and families within the community group and it was great to see their happiness and exciting during the participation of these events.
I had this doubt the entire time knowing the situation of the project and how everything is going to change again for the young people involved who had been so far very much committed and happy to join our groups, i had this feeling how it was irresponsible to leave the project without any legacy for the local community to continue it on without our support.
Towards the final few weeks i tailed off trying to lead the projects directly and allowed the young people to just enjoy the time with their new friendship groups without trying to impose too many set activity plans, the important thing was to see the young people enjoy themselves. Yes we as leaders and adults hold responsibility to ensure the group are safe and organised in correct way but the young people were also very much independent and much less reliant on us as the weeks went by to create their own fun. A few of the team members in our group attempted to put too much emphasis in doing things by the book and were visibly upset when it didn't go to plan, but such is the case when working with young people that not everything is so straightforward, especially when working with people from all different cultural backgrounds who are used to living a very different way of life.
I had experienced already so much within the first month of being in Athens, during my down days i ventured further and further out of the city to explore various towns and cities.
I also had a few fall outs with some team members during my time, as did others as people regularly clashed about ideas and enthusiasm for various plans during the project, however looking back we were all younger and naive and passionate in our own way. Bringing a group of people together from all different cultural backgrounds spanning across the entirety of the EU can be a challenge in itself. The Erasmus project was the start of my pathway into the Humanitarian sector, i would eventually go on to study further and work closer in the field, coming full circle achieving what i had set out after leaving the sports side of my life behind earlier in the year.
Below is a Picture Diary of my time working voluntary in Greece, some of the sights, featured in my blog post.
Highlight : Sunsets and the Sea
On my flight home, i had a nice early morning stopover to the island of Kefalonia and went for a swim right here!
I could see loads of mini fish, but they were a bit too interested in taking a nibble on me
Tolo, Beautiful place, great memories, but a time that must stay in the past
Bell Tower, Nafplio Castle
The Steps 1000 to the top but incredible views
As you can see
The beach directly below in the seering sun
This beach had a really cool bar
Nafplio Fort
Downtown for a coffee
Overlooking a cactus covered hill, do not fall here!
The sea was clear but not all that warm
Parliament building, a debated place
Athens is a city of creative street art
This was the strangest picture, i feel like this woman was there especially to feed the birds in her dress and look amazing doing it, well it caught my attention
Black cat in the usual position
Hitching in the hills
Great natural views
Then the city views at Sunset in Athens, you can go anywhere high in this city and happily spend the night
A perfect timed Dove
Athens classic monuments
Where it all began for the Olympics, home of the flame
Amazing sunset hikes down the canal
Then probably the top 5 sunsets of my life at this beach nearby the City
The Acropolis
This Art deserves Recognition
The one thing i noticed the most with Athens is the open minded people and strength to stand up for others
Flying into Bristol at night
Views of the Swiss Alps on the Flight back
Going hiking around the Old Quarter
They are watching everywhere
For the first two weeks we stayed at this ranch, I did love it but it had a few issues which in the end meant we moved nearer into the centre
You cannot have the art without the car
Substances were involved in this one
The grey building on the left was our first rendezvous in Greece to stay and meet the International Voluntarily team, it was also a motorcycle hang out bar underneath with a special love for KTM
Risked it for a viewpoint of a lifetime
