Projects
|
FAQ
|
Announcements
#Turned fear of new experiences into excitement #Sea turtle rescue in Greece, unforgettable memories and friends #Overwhelmed (with emotion), joy, gratitude
“Trembling from fear and trembling from excitement are, in a way, the same thing. Somepeople think they tremble because they are afraid, others think they tremble because they''re excited. That isa very small difference in perception, but the results are enormously different.” After this volunteer project ended, I decided to accept the trembling before a new experience differently. Greece, Mediterranean Rescue Operation for Injured Turtles Jang Doohyun, Gap Year Tribe gapper (25, university student) / 4-week gap year |
# Making memories I will never forget
Hello, I''m Jang Doohyun, studying in Japan. I''m majoring in Economics. My Japanese is at a native level, and my English is sufficient for everyday conversation.I applied for and joined this gap year project with the money I saved from part-time jobs while attending school in Japan.
I''ve always loved animals. At my parents'' home in Korea, we raised various animals like cats, dogs, and chickens, and I was very interested in them. So I thought about what animal-related work I could do abroad while making friends, and as a result, I chose this sea turtle volunteer project.
The reason I joined the project was that I want to work mainly overseas in the future and wanted to experience meeting diverse people from around the world in advance. I also wanted to improve my English conversation skills for that purpose.
This project''s main goals were twofold:First, to make unforgettable memories; second, to make friends. Fortunately, I think I was able to achieve both goals.And in the process, I also wanted to give myself many challenges and try to overcome them.
* For Jang Doohyun, who wanted new experiences and career exploration,missions that broke existing thinking and personalized 1:1 missions for new experiences and challenges were provided daily, and a Gap Year Note that allowed self-reflection and planning was also provided.
# The two of us chatted at dusk, saying how beautiful it was.
The place where I volunteered was a place in Greece called Kyprosia.
(* Editor: This project takes place in various locations across Greece.)
That place was one of the sea turtle conservation volunteer areas. Kiprosia has a long beach (about 20 km), so there was a lot to manage, but because the number of people was small, everyone could take turns doing the various shifts (activities) at least once. The types of shifts included morning surveys, kiosk, boxing, excavation, cooking, camp cleaning, shopping, database, hotel promotion, and so on. The first shift I did was the kiosk.
When I first took on a shift I didn''t know what to do, so I stood blankly and just followed behind a friend who had the same shift.The kiosk shift involved running the volunteer group''s stall and selling various goods.
While working I learned Greek greetings and greeted nearby residents and travelers, and I also explained about sea turtles to people who asked.When there were no customers, the two of us would quietly chat in halting English inside the small stall.
The kiosk started operating as the sun began to set and stayed open until late at night.Inside the kiosk, which was located where the sea was clearly visible, the two of us watched the evening together and chatted about how truly beautiful it was. As time passed, I gradually began to adapt to the volunteer shifts.
Morning surveys involved checking the turtles'' tracks and nests every morning; excavation involved digging up nests that had finished hatching to count the hatched eggs and breaking unhatched eggs to investigate why they didn''t hatch; boxing involved enclosing nests with boxes so the turtles couldn''t go onto roads and watching over them all night. Repeating all the shifts several times made me very familiar with them.
I saw the Milky Way every night, something I had never once seen in Korea.
The morning survey meant going to the beach at 6 a.m. and walking the beach until lunchtime to locate sea turtle nests and examine the tracks the baby turtles had made overnight. But walking several kilometers on a beach under the hot sun from early morning, where the sand swallowed your feet, was inevitably exhausting.
However, seeing the hundreds of tracks made by hundreds of hatchlings as they hatched overnight and made their way to the sea sometimes filled me with emotion. On the other hand, when I found tracks showing that hatchlings had emerged but had been eaten by wild dogs, foxes, or birds and couldn''t reach the sea, it made my heart ache.
(*Editor: After hatching, baby turtles crawl to the sea. Their crawling along the beach leaves paths, which are called tracks.)
After finishing the morning survey and returning to camp exhausted,making lunch of fresh eggs and a tomato salad and falling asleep in a hammock out of the sun was enough to relieve all my fatigue.
Excavation required the most physical strength, so we couldn''t do it when the sun was strong. Therefore, we mainly did excavations early in the morning shortly after sunrise, in breaks during the morning survey, or when the sun began to set.
Excavation involved digging up sea turtle nests to find the eggs; we had to dig through tens of centimeters of sand to locate the nests.Finding the nests was hard, and so was taking the eggs out and breaking unhatched eggs to check their contents — it was really difficult.
At first, digging through the sand to find nests was fun, but after finding dozens of nests a day and digging them up, you inevitably became mentally and physically exhausted. Still, sometimes...when we found turtles that had hatched inside the nest but couldn''t get out and were able to send them to the sea, I felt the reward of the work I was doing.
When doing excavations, we couldn''t continue once it became dark, so we had to return to camp. Because of that,while doing excavations we often saw sunsets, and each one was a sunset beautiful enough to make you gasp in admiration.AndThe sea of stars that revealed itself when the sun had completely set and there were no nearby lights was dazzlingly beautiful.I saw the Milky Way every night—something I had never seen in Korea.Because of that, I would trace constellations with my finger that I had only heard of but never seen, and I even once found Mars glowing red in the distance.
# I could feel that little turtle''s powerful life force directly through my hands.
Boxing is when you block the nest with boxes so that turtles hatching throughout the night cannot get onto the road.However, because the turtles that emerged from the nest shouldn''t remain trapped inside the box for long, we would go back and forth along several kilometers of beach more than ten times through the night to find boxed nests, gather the hatchlings, and release them into the sea in places without lights.
Sometimes as many as a hundred turtles would hatch, and those When lifting the turtles one by one by hand and moving them to the sea, I could feel the small turtles'' strong life force directly through my hands.Turtles must, without exception, make their way to the sea by their own strength so they can develop the ability to survive in the ocean.
Therefore, we would release the turtles a few meters from the sea to lure them toward the water, The sight of around a hundred turtles moving in a line toward the sea was vividly etched in my eyes even in the pitch-dark night where you couldn''t see an inch ahead.And because the shifts lasted all night, I often catnapped in the car, Talking nonsense, chatting and laughing in the car sometimes made me forget the fatigue of staying up all night.
The shift I was mainly in charge of was about like this. Other shifts were slight variations of the above, or involved cleaning, cooking, and so on.
# The parties held several times a week blared loud music and we truly partied like fools.
The unheard-of dishes made by friends from various European countries broadened my narrow culinary perspective, and the game we played late at night is still unforgettable.The parties held several times a week blared loud music and we truly partied like fools.
Pizza parties, movie parties, cosplay parties, drinking parties—none of them can I forget.A party is something to enjoy. So how should you play in order to enjoy it? It was a time when I learned how to have fun.We would chatter about silly childish bets like kids, and gather in groups to hold drinking games—drink and drink again,We would all wrap ourselves in blankets, sit together, and laugh while watching a movie chosen by vote.
In Greece, whatever we did it was always lively and we''d play songs whose country I couldn''t even tell. Sometimes we''d sing along to the rhythm, sometimes we''d dance while working, and sometimes someone would pick up an acoustic guitar or ukulele and play a melody.When we picked up a guitar and played simple chords and everyone sang LAZYSONG together, our harmonies were surprisingly good and we laughed about it afterward.
# I wasn''t lonely because I had friends who always took care of me and stayed with me.
As September drew to a close, the sea turtle project began to wind down as well. One by one people said their goodbyes, leaving long letters in English in the guestbook before leaving. Shifts gradually began to decrease, and the tents that had seemed full began to thin out.
Even the Greek summer, which had always been hot, seemed to be getting ready to leave; the weather stayed a bit chilly. Maybe it was to forget that loneliness.As the end approached, we held parties at the camp more often and made noise playing games. Still, the moment of the end loomed before us.
Kiproisia, which hadn''t had a drop of rain all month, poured down storm-like rain the day before I left. Because of that, the tents, clothes, and towels all got wet. So on the day of departure I had a lot of trouble packing.
When everyone came together to see me off before I left,they each hugged me and said they had a good time thanks to me, and thanked me.But it was actually I who had been able to enjoy my faraway life in Greece, thanks to them.
They all recognized how much courage it takes to do this kind of volunteer work alone and told me I was amazing and brave. However,the friends who approached me first when I was nervous and couldn''t speak proper English were much braver.Whether playing games together, talking, or going somewhere to hang out,because there were friends who always looked after me and were with me, I didn''t have to feel lonely.
I decided to interpret the trembling before a new experience differently.
On the last day before leaving, I wondered: had I really tried hard? Having come this far, had I gained anything? Had I changed at all? I felt regrets. I could have done better—my shifts, my relationships. I should have reached out more from my side, even if only a few more times; I should have talked more with people I wasn''t so close to and gotten closer.
Although these regrets remained and hurt,I still think it was good that I came here. If I ever have the time and opportunity to volunteer here again, I would book a flight and leave without hesitation.On days off from shifts, my friends and I went to the beach, felt the sea breeze, and watched the sun setting over the sea while having this conversation.
"Being trembling from fear and trembling from excitement are, in a way, the same thing.Some people think they''re trembling because they''re afraid, while others think they''re trembling because they''re excited. Thatis a very minor difference in perception, but the results are enormously different."
When I first set foot in Greece, I was terribly nervous. I think that was probably fear of experiencing something for the first time. But this volunteering project, which felt both long and short,after this volunteering project ended, I decided to accept the trembling before a new experience differently.
People I met locally
I met so many different people that I''m not sure if I can write it in five lines. Ludin from France had English skills very similar to mine, so I talked with them the most. Guy from England had a really nice personality and was kind to everyone, so he was fun to be with and I shared the most drinks with him. Similarly, Nico from England knows how to make people have fun and taught me many British games. Sarah and Nike from Germany were also cheerful and kind friends, so I learned a lot about the work.
After the project
I learned to approach people more warmly. I also learned on my own how to cope with adversity, hardship, pain, and loneliness. I made many friends, andI made memories I will never forget.
And by talking with many people, I reflected a lot on my own future. Before participating, I only had a vague sense of my goals,After participating, I was able to create a concrete plan for how to achieve those goals.
# For prospective participants
First, as someone who experienced this project, a simple piece of advice: don’t be afraid — go up to people, offer your hand for a shake, and introduce yourself; just that can help you build many relationships. Also, no matter how hard or tired you are, if you show that you’re trying your best, people will naturally gather around you.
If there’s a party or festival, people will likely invite you to join. Rather than refusing because you’re tired or don’t feel like it, I think joining in is a better way to enjoy yourself.
# My gap year tips
- Language
What I felt most strongly from this volunteer work is that English is really about confidence. Not being afraid to have conversations with people, initiating talks myself, having mistakes pointed out, asking questions, and sometimes using gestures — all of that became the foundation of my English skills. Still, it’s helpful to remember a few common everyday expressions before you go.
- Accommodation
Since you will definitely be staying at a campsite, it’s absolutely a good idea to bring a tent. I thought a one-person tent would be enough, but I brought a slightly bulky three-person tent just in case. That decision wasn’t wrong. A sufficiently spacious tent made resting more comfortable and allowed me to organize my belongings inside, which was convenient. Sleeping arrangements are the most important part of recovering from fatigue, so it’s important to carefully consider bedding and bring whatever lets you sleep as comfortably as possible. A compact fleece blanket, an air pillow, or an air mattress are suitably sized options, and air pumps are usually provided with the tents, so those are good choices.
- What to bring
Regarding what to bring, I’m the kind of person who will buy things if I don’t have them, so I don’t have much advice. What was nice to have was a book. When I couldn’t adapt at first and was bored being alone, I could pass the time by reading, and later it became a conversation topic when friends asked what I was reading. We talked about books we didn’t know, and when we found common topics it was really enjoyable.
My gap year is
Experience ★★★★★
Learning ★★★★★
Environment ★★★★★
Safety ★★★☆☆
Leisure ★★★★☆
Capturing the growth journeys
of our participants.
