Dear diary | My first week of February

My first week of February

My first week of February

My first week of February

My first week of February

The first week of February was quite busy, but in a good way

The tasks are mounting, and there are still only 24 hours in a day. At the end of January, Korra, Alexis, and I started working on an application for a very exciting event scheduled for mid April in Cyprus. We submitted the application almost at the last minute.

Do I want to tell you what this project is now?

Not yet. Not because it's difficult for me to share our plans, but because I'm genuinely nervous about whether our application will be approved. I've decided to hold back a bit and not create expectations that might not be met. You know how it is: the more you talk about your plans, the higher the risk of them falling through at the last minute. As soon as we receive confirmation, I'll definitely write a separate article about how we began preparations.

So why did I even start at the end of January?

Because all these additional projects just fell through at the last minute. As a result, some tasks lower priority or without clear deadlines had to be either urgently completed at the end of January or postponed until early February.

And so we're smoothly moving into February. There are many tasks, and they are all very different.

Almost immediately after submitting my application for the event in Cyprus, I started writing my own project within the Erasmus+ Youth Exchange (KA1). I was given complete freedom to choose a topic, and the idea came to me almost immediately.

I know we already have a program planned for July dedicated to recycling and environmental activism. Why reinvent the wheel if it already exists? My initial idea was to invite participants and run the project a week before the July eco-program. The logic is simple: July is dedicated to environmental issues, so why not do something in advance and then use the results of this work later? Especially since the topic of ecology is currently actively supported by Erasmus+.

Sounds logical, right? Unfortunately, we won't be able to implement this project until August. Oh well, the desire to do an environmental project hasn't gone away. The first week was mostly devoted to writing this project. And work on it continues even in the second week.

Also, in the first week of February, we had a large meeting with representatives of most of Thessaloniki's non profit organizations at the ActionAid Youth Center. We discussed volunteer accommodation, venues where we could hold events free of charge with municipal support, and many other important issues.

The most interesting thing was that the entire meeting was conducted in Greek, and Corra and Alexis don't speak Greek. Well...it was interesting.

After a lively discussion, we, as usual, ate a pie with a coin inside. And after the meeting, we met volunteers from the ActionAid Youth Center. We had a great time, and since then we've gone out to a bar with them a couple of times.

By the end of the week, we were quite tired, but happy. Back in late January, I made two posters for Green Friday as part of the Pawsitive Park program and posted them around the city center to attract as many people as possible. Green Friday was originally scheduled for late January, but it was postponed to the first week of February.

Green Friday finally took place on February 6th. A large crowd came despite the rain, which we were very happy about. Among the participants, in addition to us, was an Hellenic Rescue Team. They taught first aid for cats and dogs: what to do with broken bones, how to perform CPR, the symptoms of illness, and much more. This was especially helpful because many guests brought their own dogs.

Representatives from a pet store Furry Paws were also present, handing out pet treats and coupons for their chain of stores.

We served as hosts for the event: we prepared coin inside pies, wine, and calendars, which literally sold out in seconds. Alexis wrote a poem about helping animals, and Korra was the DJ.

During the event, I had the opportunity to talk to journalists about my calendar, and later, as it turned out, they wrote an article about my work. The editors were complimentary, but it's sad that they didn't credit me as the calendar's designer.

Green Friday was a great success, and we thank Villa Mordoch for providing the location for our program!

Okay, folks, I have to run, deadlines are cominig.

Thanks for reading!

by @lev_me_vision