My introduction and first days in Thessaloniki
My name is Fantine and I´m 19 years old. I´m from a small city in Sweden on the east coast where I live with my mom and brother. My parents are divorced, and at my dads house I have little siblings and a stepmom. I really like being with kids and working with them. At home I have many pets such as cats, dogs and bunnies. Throughout my life I have had many different kinds of animals, for example chickens, ducks, quails, a horse and fishes. I'm really passionate about animals and I love every kind of them.
I just graduated from Swedish high school in June this year and got my high school diploma. I majored in the social science programme, specializing in behavioral science. I really enjoyed the courses I took since I truly am fascinated by psychology, behavior science and psychotherapy. Later in life I would love to study more deeply in these specific subjects and possibly work in these areas.
I have been working back and forth since I was 14 years old in different areas. For the last 3 years I have been working in a hotel as a receptionist and a housekeeper which I really liked, and that's what I did from the time I graduated until I came here.
I came to Greece, Thessaloniki September 15th. The first thing I noticed when I stepped out of the airplane was the air, it was so humid and it was very hot here compared to Sweden. I haven't been abroad since I was 11 years old, so everything here is very new to me and it is a culture shock. But I do really like it here even though it was very scary before I arrived and in the first few days.
Just after two days here, I went to the city of Thessaloniki for the arrival training to learn more about European Solidarity Corps, volunteering and to meet other volunteers. The day I arrived at the arrival training I got very sick with the flu and had a very high fever, but I managed to participate a little in the beginning and I got much better the last two days so I could participate in all of the activities. It was a very good experience to meet all of the other volunteers and I learnt so much through the activities and learning sessions.
I'm very excited to be here the rest of the year as a volunteer for Esai en Roi. I´m sure that I will get a lot of life experience and grow very much as an individual. I look forward to being here, working and getting to know everyone better.
Comments