Lorena
My name is Lorena and I’m 27 years old, I come from Spain, from Barcelona. I’m doing my ESC project about arts and permaculture and today it’s exactly a month I arrived in Greece and I can say that my experience here it’s been very interesting.
I came here basically because I feel really attracted by the topic of the project and because I wanted to work with my hands and I wanted to work the land, feeling the nature and also I wanted to connect all these areas with the artistic and the social field. I live near to the beach and the beauty of the place is immense. I live near to the olive grove too and I found this opportunity as a really moving feeling. I live in a big house with 8 more people, 4 of us we are doing the ESC program in different areas. This has been really interesting and really challenging at the same time, learning how to live with so many people in the same place, adapting to each other, founding our own space, definitely it wasn’t easy, but now I adapted to this way of life and I’m really enjoying it.
I’ve found my own ritual routines and I experiment a deep happiness every time I do it. I love to go alone to the beach, sometimes at the morning and sometimes at sunset and sit there and just look at the sea (it’s the first time I took a bath in the Aegean Sea). I love to be in the garden and lay down with Penélope, the dog, and read or take a nap. I also love to share my time with the rest of the volunteers and we have been all together in Thessaloniki, one of the biggest cities in Greece and the atmosphere of the city is just magical.
We have been working on the field picking up olives because is the season of the harvest and this inspired me a lot. These moments made me reflect about peace of mind and the connection I have with nature and with the rest of the people and gave me new ideas about my life, and life in general.
The situation with coronavirus compared with Spain is really good and I am very lucky because as I live in nature I don’t feel the pressure of the measures of big cities and I feel more much calm and relaxed.
I’m having a good time here and I’m happy because I’m experiencing a lot of new feelings that are letting me to learn a lot. I am beginning to learn Greek and I’m willing to being able to have a conversation here with the local people. I like to think that I came here for a reason that sometimes I don’t even understand, maybe by hazard, maybe by chance, but I feel that I am where I have to be by the moment. I cannot wait to see what’s next!
