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#I became less dependent on my phone and focused on myself. #A precious friendship with Claudia. #A time in Greece that felt like a break.
Times That Gave Me a Break!
Hello, I'm Seo Hyun. After graduating from college, I was looking for a special time, and I wanted to create an experience that would give me a break at 25. Above all, I wanted to forget about my work and studies and enjoy the moment, and I can confidently say I met this goal better than anyone else.
I love to travel and have experienced many countries, but I haven't been to Europe yet. So, I thought, since I'm going to volunteer, why not go to Europe? That's why I looked into Greece! Also, I like animals, but because I can't have pets at home, I couldn't express my love for them fully, so I chose this stray animal volunteer project.
I had traveled abroad for 2 weeks before, so my basic preparations were smooth. However, I was worried if I would like the food in Greece, so I packed some instant noodles, which turned out to be very helpful! Every time I got tired of Greek food, I cooked noodles with my friends there, and my British friends cried because they found it spicy.
My daily routine was based on split shifts. I usually woke up at 8 AM, and my work started at 9. First, I fed the cats and dogs and did the dishes, then the daily deep cleaning began. Cleaning up animal poop, sweeping the floor, vacuuming, steaming, mopping, and dusting seemed simple, but there were three yards, the first floor, the second floor, five balconies, and four rooms, so each area took about an hour.
At 1 PM, I had lunch, and then I worked on dinner from 7 to 9.
I filled the water for the cats and dogs and divided their food. Since sick animals ate different food, I paid special attention to this! After cleaning the cat litter and washing the dog bowls, my day ended.
I enjoy cleaning, so I found it fun too, but sometimes it was really hard. Volunteering in Greece was healing in many ways, but considering that you need to clean a lot, it would be good to think about that before you go.
While volunteering, it’s true I learned to love cats and dogs more, but I also learned a lot from seeing the care and love that the managers gave them. There were many sick cats, like those who couldn't see or couldn't walk, and I was touched to see the managers taking care of each one. The managers, just like the volunteers, came to work every day in the morning and afternoon, and I could see them helping us and caring for each sick animal one by one.
Especially, there was a manager from the U.S., and I found it interesting that they worked in a different country, focusing on just one animal. Watching them made me think there are people who live this way too. In the third week, I got used to things and even taught new volunteers how to do their tasks.
It was simple English, but I want to thank those friends for understanding it well. I felt that the world is really wide while living with friends from other countries. The first place I felt I could get that close to a foreign friend was the shelter.
Even before meeting foreign friends, the language barrier made it hard to feel close. But I keep in touch with friends I met during volunteering even now that I've returned to Korea, which is amazing. Among them, I got closest to Claudia, a volunteer from the UK.
The day before Claudia arrived, the other volunteers went home, and for two days in a row, it was just the two of us working. Usually, a day of volunteering is done by 3 to 5 people, but we did it with just the two of us, so I think we bonded a lot during that time. It seems that sharing tough experiences connects you more than just happy moments.
Even after that, whenever we had free time, we spent it exploring Athens, the beach, and many small nearby towns together. Claudia has become the only precious friend I keep in touch with since returning to Korea. I also learned that I like meeting people regardless of their nationality.
The beaches we often visited on our days off are my fondest memories. We went to many different beaches, and there were plenty of fish everywhere. I remember having bets with my friends on how big the fish we saw were.
I was able to visit various beaches and the city thanks to Uber. If you take an Uber for about 20 minutes from the accommodation, you will arrive at a neighborhood called Avlaki. This area has various paid and free beaches, and I want to recommend a restaurant called Lagoon.
The restaurant has its own beach, so if you use it, you can use the beach chairs. The food is decent, but I highly recommend ordering the cafe latte with medium sugar. It’s one of the best coffee memories I have from Greece.
After morning work, during my break before afternoon work, I briefly went out to buy some potato chips from the store, bought coffee from a café, and sat on the local beach to spend time. Seeing other residents enjoying their time just like me made me feel like I became a real resident of Greece. It was nice to feel like I truly lived abroad.
I found out I actually enjoyed sitting at the beach, in cafes, or on the balcony, even though I thought I hated being still. While staying in the foster home for a week, it was a small town by the beach, and I saw the residents greeting passing people, which made me think living like this would be nice. Since I lived my whole life in Seoul, I never understood the feeling of being in a close-knit community, but I could feel it a bit then.
When staying in the foster home, there was always a slightly sensitive cat on my bed. I was scared it would bite me, but I have a funny memory of my friend Sophie wearing safety gloves to move that cat somewhere else. I want to thank her for helping me.
After finishing my afternoon work, I really enjoyed the time spent chatting with my friends in the living room. I usually go to bed early at night, so I couldn't join often, but just sitting and eating watermelon or snacks while chatting was fun. Also, something really trivial, but lying on the beach in a bikini was also something I could do.
In Korea, I usually wore more covered swimsuits like a monokini, but once I got to the beach, everyone was wearing bikinis, which amazed me. So I chose a bikini in Athens city, and when I went to the beach again, I tried wearing a bikini outside for the first time. Just as I expected, nobody cared about me, making me think this is also a part of a small culture.
Through this experience, I found that I actually have a bit of an obsession with cleanliness! The work itself involved cleaning, so I discovered this tendency while doing it every day. On the other hand, I feel I could let go of some pressure on myself and look at what I was preparing and doing from a step back.
I want to keep the habit of not looking at my phone when I wake up. In Greece, I didn’t use my phone before work; I washed my face and brushed my teeth, and since I was just making my meal, I found myself distancing from my phone and focusing on myself. In Korea, I would spend at least 10 minutes on my phone as soon as I woke up, but during this time, I could get rid of that bad habit.
After this experience, I feel it would be good to challenge myself with other overseas volunteer experiences as well. Before, I thought I wouldn't be able to try volunteering with children in Africa, but that thought changed after returning from Greece.
This volunteering in Greece was safe. I learned that the world is really wide by meeting people from various nationalities, and it became an experience that gave me a break. Thank you.
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