My First Month in Ankara, Turkey

 

 

Hello, my name is Airida. I am 21 years old. I come from a very small, but very dear to me, Lithuanian city called Širvintos. This is where my heart feels at home, and every corner of it has a special place for my soul. When I get to big cities, I get tired quickly, so Ankara became quite a challenge for me.I never planned to volunteer abroad. For as long as I can remember, I have always been a modest, shy girl who never leaves her comfort zone. But one day, when I left university, my life turned upside down. The decision to leave studies seemed to open the door to new opportunities. I chose the path of volunteering. It was very scary to step out of my comfort zone and go live in another country, knowing that I would be far from home, with a different culture and language. But now I can say with a calm heart that it was the best decision of my life.Volunteering became a unique opportunity to get to know the local community, share my skills, contribute to social work, try myself in various areas, and rediscover myself.

 

The first month in Ankara was full of challenges, but in the end it helped me experience and learn a lot of new things. First of all, I was afraid of the English language. My English skills weren't the strongest, so understanding the other person wasn't always easy.But now I can confidently say that I feel much stronger, and I can communicate with people in English more freely, which is a significant achievement for me. I am glad that I have the opportunity to learn Turkish as well, it is a very beautiful language. However, it is not easy for me to learn it.

It's hard to believe but in the first month in Ankara I found myself. I discovered something that calms me and allows me to take a break from the rushing world - ice skating. We had the opportunity to visit a youth center and try ice skating. At first, it was intimidating. I clung to the walls, but eventually, the fear faded, and I started gliding on the ice. I cannot describe the feeling that overwhelmed me then, it allowed me to escape briefly and be with myself,calm down.

It is not my first time in Turkey, but this volunteering experience inspired me to rediscover this country. I am happy to be part of the LÖSEV team and help children with cancer. It's special. In Ankara, I tried many traditional Turkish dishes that I had never tasted before. I like Turkish coffee and tea. And after drinking Ayran, food is much tastier. And now just thinking about börek, sütlaç, katmer makes me salivate. During my volunteering, I met many different people with different lifestyles, languages, religions and cultures. It makes this new phase of life even more exciting. Every Saturday we organize cultural evenings from different countries, we learn more about each other. In the first month, we introduced Lithuania. We demonstrated our culture, played "KAHOOT", tasted traditional Lithuanian dishes, danced traditional dances. We had a great time. I was melting with happiness to hear how many other volunteers learned from our cultural evening.

I also celebrated my 21st birthday in Ankara. It was an amazing and unforgettable experience. The day started off great. My roommate made me breakfast and then we met up with the other volunteers. I did not understand anything. All this time, I thought we had gathered to get to know each other and discuss common volunteering goals. We all sat down, introduced ourselves and suddenly everyone started clapping. Of course, thinking that there was an exciting activity ahead, I started to clap, but suddenly everyone started singing and saying happy birthday. IT WAS UNREAL. Speaking of unreal, we got a chance to see the entire city from the minaret of Ankara's largest mosque, surrounded by night lights.

So, volunteering is a great opportunity to grow as a person, discover yourself and have a wonderful time.