The beautiful weather has finally arrived, and we’ve started going to festivals. Recently, Vaso, Madelyn, Monika, Lenka, and I went to a festival in Rača. We found really nice handmade items there and watched traditional dances. It was a genuinely fun time.
Meanwhile, my preparations for the Míľa pre Mamu event were keeping me very busy. I prepared a lot of booklets about Türkiye, and at one point, I was terrified that I wouldn’t finish them on time. After a while, my hands started working like a machine! We also drew pictures for badges, and one of them was my own design.
Finally, the big day arrived. We organized the park and the children started coming. They were all so cute and even tried to teach me how to count in Slovak. They were incredibly bright kids, and I can’t wait to do another event with them.
For my activity, I introduced them to Türkiye through a “Türkiye Magazine” concept. I explained the meaning of the Turkish flag, printed out pictures of various tourist spots and traditional dishes, and asked the kids to color them. Then, I had them paste the pictures inside the cardboard booklets I prepared.
We also attended a promotional event organized by the European Solidarity Corps. We talked to students to explain what volunteering and the ESC are all about. The event took place on a boat, and there were many other volunteers like me, so I had the chance to meet them.
On Volunteer Day, we cleaned the INEX office. My task was cleaning the windows. It might sound a bit strange, but I had never cleaned a window in my life, so I didn’t know how to do it. Mirka showed me how, and I ended up cleaning about 4 or 5 big windows. New skill unlocked: Window cleaning. Every day brings new knowledge.
The Step Up and Lead training day finally arrived. I was really looking forward to this because I was going to be a workcamp leader in Svätý Jur between May 29th and 31st. I had theoretical knowledge about leadership, but being in the moment and actually experiencing it is very different. We learned a lot of detailed information, including first aid, over the two-day training. I also met Zolko, who will be my co-leader at Prešporkovo, and together we prepared the info sheet and schedule.
Of course, events never end at INEX! We had a Japan Tea Meeting. I used to watch anime all the time in high school, so I’ve always had an interest in Japan and always wanted to visit. I even applied for an internship there once (I got rejected), but the enthusiasm is still there, I will make it happen.
At the meeting, Mizuki and Elmas prepared Japanese food for us. Traditional Japanese cuisine isn’t exactly my favorite, but I still liked it. Katarina also told us about her workcamp in Japan. Even though she is in her 60s, she did a 7+ hour hike. I was shocked! At 23, I can barely tolerate a 30-minute walk. Bravo to her, seriously. At the end, we did origami, which was incredibly difficult. No matter who I looked at for help, no one seemed to understand it, so we were all constantly asking Mizuki or Elmas for assistance.
By the way, did I mention Elmas is half-Turkish? Her father is Turkish and her mother is Japanese. I was so surprised and happy to hear this. We were exactly 1.5 Turks in the room! 🙂
My First Workcamp: Svätý Jur
Finally, the workcamp… my first leadership experience. I was so excited and nervous that I completely forgot my backpack on the bus.
Before going to the camp, the other girls wanted to join me for the shopping and communication with the local partner to get some experience, as they will also be camp leaders this summer. We got on the bus ready for everything, but we missed a stop. Because of the crowd, there was a bit of confusion and we got stressed. We got off the bus, and that’s when I realized my bag was gone.
I was in shock. Luckily, the girls were with me. Madelyn calmed me down while Vaso tried to call a taxi. Great teamwork… We got in the taxi and asked the driver to go fast. We made it to Autobusová Stanica, the last stop of the 88 bus. Monika talked to the driver, explained the situation in Slovak, and the driver handed me my bag. Experiencing this right before the workcamp wasn’t nice at all and added to my stress, but I managed the workcamp well.
I already loved Svätý Jur, and the festival was mostly focused on art. Wildflower workshop. Stone and wood painting workshop and so on. We participated in various workshops and concerts, organized a theater room, and watched plays. It felt deeply restful. It was a full 3 days completely immersed in art.
