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#I became more relaxed and began encouraging others #Sense of community; reasons for organizational growth #Happiness despite having little
- Greece, Mediterranean wounded turtle rescue operation — a gap year account Kim Junhyung, gap-year participant / 4-week gap year
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# I needed to step away from this life to have time to think, and I learned about a gap year during that period of uncertainty.
I had spent the past year focused only on work and study; I had goals, but I wasn’t confident about them.I needed to step away from this life to have time to think, and I learned about a gap year during that period of uncertainty.
I majored in animal studies and did some work related to it, albeit a little. However, I came to feel that animal-related work was at odds with my liking of animals, so I decisively changed my career path. I still like animals and couldn’t shake the lingering attachment, so during my gap year I wanted to experience animal-related work again. I simply had a strong desire to try that work again.
# I think that, rather, this sense of incongruity made it seem more romantic.
When I first arrived at the rescue center, I simply liked the environment. Right in front of the rescue center was the sea about 10 meters away, and on the other side was a privately owned boat dock.
Maybe because I had served at a coastal post in the military, it felt somewhat like the army, but the facilities weren’t great. The office, shop, and volunteers’ living spaces had been made by remodeling a train.On the surface it looked romantic, but in reality it wasn’t. Yet, I think that precisely because of this incongruity it appeared even more romantic.
# Acting somewhat boldly and dispassionately is actually what’s best for the turtles.
There were some aspects of the work that could be called dangerous.
First, the turtles weighed on average 40 kg, and very heavy ones exceeded 60 kg. It’s of course impossible to lift them alone, and even lifting them with two people can be dangerous if the turtle thrashes or bites. This part could be especially hard for physically weaker female volunteers.
Also, some turtles bite a lot, and there are cases where their claws or even broken shells are sharp. After the second week, as I got used to the work, I began to get many small wounds. If the flesh is deeply cut, you can be afraid to even lift a turtle for a while. For a time I even unconsciously avoided the work because of these wounds.
Other than that,basic tasks like washing turtles, cleaning turtle tanks, treating wounds, tube feeding (inserting a tube past the esophagus to feed), and giving injections or setting up IV drips.These are among them. First of all, showering the turtles and cleaning the tanks are the most basic tasks and anyone can do them easily. The rest are duties that involve directly treating the turtles, and among them tube feeding can be the most difficult.
Inserting a long tube into the turtle’s mouth and deep into the esophagus is by no means easy. If the turtle is distressed and thrashes with its heavy body, the tube can come back out, and you might weaken and try to pull it out. But if you remove it during this process, the turtle has to endure that pain again.So, even if it’s hard and distressing, acting somewhat decisively and coldly is actually for the turtle’s sake.
Actually, injections were a bit more difficult for me than tube feeding. Fortunately I performed them well without mistakes, but the first few times I couldn’t help flinching each time I gave an injection.
# The person I remember most
Around the start of the third week, a new male Italian volunteer arrived. He was very lively and had outstanding sociability, so he quickly made friends with people.
On the surface he seemed innocent and sometimes acted somewhat childlike, but in fact he was very mature and deep. This Italian was the most memorable person, more than many Greek volunteers. We promised to meet again someday, and we still exchange news via social media.
# It was paradoxical that what I thought I could fully learn turned out not to be the case.
After the third week, many volunteers at the organization gathered at the center and had a barbecue party together. There were people I didn’t know at all, and including volunteers who came now and then, about ten people participated. Most of the volunteers were veterans and a different kind from people like me who volunteer for a month and then leave. Those peopletruly cherished the organization and wanted to contribute even one more thing.
Listening to many stories there, I learned why this organization was able to grow well without state support. It was a community gathered with the intention of protecting sea turtles across the scattered Greek islands, beyond a single volunteer group.
Through various conversations with them I learned one more fact. Just because Greece’s economy is poor, one might devalue the country’s image. I too thought so until I spent a few days in Greece. But instead...People were relaxed rather than lazy, and they knew how to encourage and be considerate of one another.
Of course, not all of them lived comfortably or with full stomachs. But unlike the Korean belief that one must have full pockets to be happy, they were grateful for what they had and what they could do even if they didn’t have much, and they took that for granted.
Sitting there and talking so much, for the first time I felt like staying in Greece a little longer.I wondered how people in remote, sparsely populated regions outside Athens were doing—those people must have it tougher than these locals—so I was curious whether they too would have the same sense of ease.
Based on Athens alone, it’s hard to think of Greece as an IMF country. I thought a month would be enough to learn about Greece, but it seems I grasped only about 50%, which is disappointing. Believing I could learn enough turned out to be a contradiction.
Greece has the most islands in Europe, so you can’t judge the whole country just by life in Athens. If I have the opportunity to apply for this project or another Greece-related project later, I plan to study and prepare more deeply. Next time I’ll definitely include at least one island in the itinerary.......
# I’ve, if anything, come away from this gap year having created a concern for myself.
The manager of this organization currently balances work at the zoo with work at this center. She is someone willing to sacrifice herself for the job—for example, she always makes time to drop by and resolve problems when the center has an issue.She said she can do this because she truly loves this work and loves animals.
I also have goals, but I don’t think I want to achieve them at the cost of sacrificing myself. Perhaps that’s why my progress is slow. Or maybe I only set a hollow shell called a ‘goal,’ and inside it contains something entirely different—or is empty. I have, if anything, come away from this gap year having created a concern for myself.
- Greece, Mediterranean wounded turtle rescue operation — a gap year account Kim Junhyung, gap-year participant / 4-week gap year
|
# I needed to step away from this life to have time to think, and I learned about a gap year during that period of uncertainty.
I had spent the past year focused only on work and study; I had goals, but I wasn’t confident about them.I needed to step away from this life to have time to think, and I learned about a gap year during that period of uncertainty.
I majored in animal studies and did some work related to it, albeit a little. However, I came to feel that animal-related work was at odds with my liking of animals, so I decisively changed my career path. I still like animals and couldn’t shake the lingering attachment, so during my gap year I wanted to experience animal-related work again. I simply had a strong desire to try that work again.
# I think that, rather, this sense of incongruity made it seem more romantic.
When I first arrived at the rescue center, I simply liked the environment. Right in front of the rescue center was the sea about 10 meters away, and on the other side was a privately owned boat dock.
Maybe because I had served at a coastal post in the military, it felt somewhat like the army, but the facilities weren’t great. The office, shop, and volunteers’ living spaces had been made by remodeling a train.On the surface it looked romantic, but in reality it wasn’t. Yet, I think that precisely because of this incongruity it appeared even more romantic.
# Acting somewhat boldly and dispassionately is actually what’s best for the turtles.
There were some aspects of the work that could be called dangerous.
First, the turtles weighed on average 40 kg, and very heavy ones exceeded 60 kg. It’s of course impossible to lift them alone, and even lifting them with two people can be dangerous if the turtle thrashes or bites. This part could be especially hard for physically weaker female volunteers.
Also, some turtles bite a lot, and there are cases where their claws or even broken shells are sharp. After the second week, as I got used to the work, I began to get many small wounds. If the flesh is deeply cut, you can be afraid to even lift a turtle for a while. For a time I even unconsciously avoided the work because of these wounds.
Other than that,basic tasks like washing turtles, cleaning turtle tanks, treating wounds, tube feeding (inserting a tube past the esophagus to feed), and giving injections or setting up IV drips.These are among them. First of all, showering the turtles and cleaning the tanks are the most basic tasks and anyone can do them easily. The rest are duties that involve directly treating the turtles, and among them tube feeding can be the most difficult.
Inserting a long tube into the turtle’s mouth and deep into the esophagus is by no means easy. If the turtle is distressed and thrashes with its heavy body, the tube can come back out, and you might weaken and try to pull it out. But if you remove it during this process, the turtle has to endure that pain again.So, even if it’s hard and distressing, acting somewhat decisively and coldly is actually for the turtle’s sake.
Actually, injections were a bit more difficult for me than tube feeding. Fortunately I performed them well without mistakes, but the first few times I couldn’t help flinching each time I gave an injection.
# The person I remember most
Around the start of the third week, a new male Italian volunteer arrived. He was very lively and had outstanding sociability, so he quickly made friends with people.
On the surface he seemed innocent and sometimes acted somewhat childlike, but in fact he was very mature and deep. This Italian was the most memorable person, more than many Greek volunteers. We promised to meet again someday, and we still exchange news via social media.
# It was paradoxical that what I thought I could fully learn turned out not to be the case.
After the third week, many volunteers at the organization gathered at the center and had a barbecue party together. There were people I didn’t know at all, and including volunteers who came now and then, about ten people participated. Most of the volunteers were veterans and a different kind from people like me who volunteer for a month and then leave. Those peopletruly cherished the organization and wanted to contribute even one more thing.
Listening to many stories there, I learned why this organization was able to grow well without state support. It was a community gathered with the intention of protecting sea turtles across the scattered Greek islands, beyond a single volunteer group.
Through various conversations with them I learned one more fact. Just because Greece’s economy is poor, one might devalue the country’s image. I too thought so until I spent a few days in Greece. But instead...People were relaxed rather than lazy, and they knew how to encourage and be considerate of one another.
Of course, not all of them lived comfortably or with full stomachs. But unlike the Korean belief that one must have full pockets to be happy, they were grateful for what they had and what they could do even if they didn’t have much, and they took that for granted.
Sitting there and talking so much, for the first time I felt like staying in Greece a little longer.I wondered how people in remote, sparsely populated regions outside Athens were doing—those people must have it tougher than these locals—so I was curious whether they too would have the same sense of ease.
Based on Athens alone, it’s hard to think of Greece as an IMF country. I thought a month would be enough to learn about Greece, but it seems I grasped only about 50%, which is disappointing. Believing I could learn enough turned out to be a contradiction.
Greece has the most islands in Europe, so you can’t judge the whole country just by life in Athens. If I have the opportunity to apply for this project or another Greece-related project later, I plan to study and prepare more deeply. Next time I’ll definitely include at least one island in the itinerary.......
# I’ve, if anything, come away from this gap year having created a concern for myself.
The manager of this organization currently balances work at the zoo with work at this center. She is someone willing to sacrifice herself for the job—for example, she always makes time to drop by and resolve problems when the center has an issue.She said she can do this because she truly loves this work and loves animals.
I also have goals, but I don’t think I want to achieve them at the cost of sacrificing myself. Perhaps that’s why my progress is slow. Or maybe I only set a hollow shell called a ‘goal,’ and inside it contains something entirely different—or is empty. I have, if anything, come away from this gap year having created a concern for myself.
What makes this project special
