Dear diary | My last week of February

My last week of February

My last week of February

My last week of February

My last week of February

My third month working at Esay En Roi has come to an end. To be honest, I feel a bit lousy. As I wrote before, I've gotten used to this place and really don't want to leave. Everything here has become somehow my own, the people, the pace of life, even the little things: the food, the nature, the sun.

Speaking of the weather, it's slowly improving. I don't remember if I've mentioned this before, but I've already opened the shorts season. At least for me, it's definitely open. But my local friends say I'm crazy because for them, the weather is unbearably cold right now. I guess if a Greek isn't sweating, they're cold.

Work keeps increasing. And do you think I've started painting graffiti on a wall in the park? No! But why? The answer is simple: I've found something much more interesting to do. I've been given the unique opportunity to prepare two Erasmus projects, KA1 and KA2. I submitted KA1 last month, and KA2 is due by March 5th. And as it turned out, two days before the application submission, we had to revisit the project dates again... Am I worried that everything is happening at the last minute? Yes. But we have an experienced university partner, and in Greece, I learned to do everything at the last minute, so I'm not so worried anymore. Although, maybe it's the antidepressants hahaha?

Should I describe the idea of ​​my projects in detail? Like last time, the desire to tell everything only appears once I receive confirmation that the project will be implemented. Currently, I have submitted an application for KA1 and am awaiting the committee's decision. The project will be dedicated to ecology.

And yet, I'll lift the curtain a little. You know what I've learned while working here? I constantly want to exceed my expectations, gain new knowledge and experience. Returning to the topic of graffiti, I did it as a teenager, so it's not something completely new for me. And Erasmus projects are nothing new either. But there's a catch: with Erasmus projects, you can completely develop your idea and choose the topic exactly as you want. This gives you enormous scope for your imagination. And through such projects, you can also meet different specialists from different countries and build international connections.

What will my KA2 be about? I'll put it this way: I managed to reach an agreement with a technical university to collaborate on a project to help blind and deaf people. That's enough information for now, but it sounds incredible, right?

Aside from working on projects, I don't have much to brag about. Honestly, preparing project proposals and communicating with partners from different countries takes up almost all of my time.

The only news I can share is about the photo exhibition Alexis and I are putting together. We already have a concept and several ready-made ideas for implementation. The concept is simple: people and nature. We want to create photographs at the intersection of fashion, art, and mysticism. This exhibition could attract a lot of attention to Karataou Park. I heard that the authorities want to build a shopping mall or residential buildings on this site, but I hope our upcoming exhibition will somehow influence the decision to preserve the park.

I haven't had any time to write articles. I only managed to find time for a piece about discrimination against people with non-conformist appearances. I'll leave a list of topics I want to write about here:

— Why was life under communism terrible?

— How to recognize employer manipulation?

— Has the concept of love changed? Why are young people increasingly reluctant to have relationships?

— The secrets of the dark web.

— Stigma and stereotypes about mental illness.

Quite a variety, right?

Radio shows aren't really my thing, at least not right now. I find it very difficult to concentrate on the text and the topic while recording my voice. In early February, I tried to record an episode, and it took five hours, ending up with only ten minutes of rather mediocre material. Honestly, I want to continue because it's a new experience, and maybe with time I'll even enjoy it. But the prospect of wasting another few hours of my life recording voiceovers, to be honest, isn't exactly appealing.

I think I've covered the main "successes" of my work. It doesn't sound particularly atypical, but that's probably because I'm a bit tired. There's nothing more to add.

by @lev_me_vision