Frühling in Trento

After almost two months in Germany, I am happy to come back to Trento on February 28th after a long winter break, where I am greeted with a delicious dinner and a little surprise. After my exhausting journey by train, bus, and plane, I am relieved to finally arrive after almost 15 hours.

The first few days start very relaxed for me, as I don't start working directly, but see familiar faces of the volunteers and team members during the online seminar.

However, with my first day of work, a completely new project starts in Mezzolombardo. There, I support the supervisors in homework assistance and supervision of 18 children, which is also a completely new number for me. I am very excited on the way there, as I have to speak and understand Italian again after such a long time and also get to know new colleagues and children. However, as with all other projects of Kaleidoscopio, I realize that all worries were in vain. I am welcomed very kindly by everyone and everyone makes sure that I understand everything. Everything is going great with the children as well and they see me as a "real" supervisor.

The next day I work at the familiar Centro Marco and I am very happy when the children greet me literally with open arms and warmly welcome me.
Luckily, the transition to Italy is not difficult for me at all and I quickly settle back into everyday life. My language skills have not deteriorated during my absence, in fact, they are getting better every day, so I can already have proper conversations with colleagues.

Due to another new project, we now also work in the morning and the days pass by quickly. Only from this semester, we are allowed to work with the children and teenagers in the PePe, the bicycle workshop or craft workshop. I really enjoy the work, as I can incorporate my own creativity and the children have much more fun with practical work. We work closely with the school, because the children are supposed to present their project with a big presentation in class at the end of the year. For example, we build models of energy cycles and the children should explain and work out the energy generation, etc. I support them with all tasks, such as designing posters, working out information, but also building models.

The third new workplace for me is "Kaos", which is also located in Mezzolombardo. This is a youth center where we deal with specific topics and projects through a lot of physical activity in the fresh air, but also help with homework or play games. On my first day of work, we go on a bike tour with the children (there is a bicycle workshop with many old but functional bicycles in "Kaos") and since the theme is "photos", we look for specific objects on the way and take pictures of them. I also really enjoy it here, as opposed to other places, I also work with older teenagers and can get a taste of all areas. In addition, the surroundings in Mezzolombardo are beautiful and every little excursion, where we ride through rivers, mountains, and vineyards, is a small adventure for me.

Although it is a bit stressful to work in so many places with such different children, teenagers, and colleagues, it is a great experience and you can learn so much more.

However, there have been some challenges to overcome. This includes my first visit to the doctor here in Italy. For several days, I had some kind of inflammation on and under my nose, which got worse. We then decided to go to the doctor and it was a huge challenge for me to even make the phone call. Since we can't just go to general practitioners here, we looked up the "Pronto soccorso" (emergency room) at the hospital here in Trento. We called there to inquire about doctors and ask how we should proceed. They told us to just come by and that's what we did. Luckily, I was able to report directly to where we had called and from there I was briefly examined and then sent to dermatology. Communication with the doctor was very difficult, as I naturally do not yet master this "specialized Italian" language. So, I thought he had diagnosed and prescribed something wrong, but after further research, I realized that we had found the appropriate medication. In retrospect, I am very proud of what I accomplished that day.

Another conflict arose at work at Centro Marco, where a child had a tantrum because of a game. At that time, I was alone outside with a temporary caregiver. The child then started to hit and attack the other children. I tried to intervene, but it barely worked. Due to the lack of words, I couldn't talk to him and I could only physically prevent him from hitting the other children. Luckily, at that moment another caregiver came out, who then held the boy tightly so that he could calm down physically and then went to a quiet corner to talk to him. This moment showed me that I am only a volunteer and I have no idea how to react in such situations or even had the possibility to intervene properly due to lack of language and pedagogical knowledge.
Nevertheless, I am glad to have experienced both conflict situations, because it gave me even more insights about myself and my work.

By now, we are very well integrated into our projects and our colleagues also involve us in decisions and new actions.

Above all, I really enjoy the Easter season, even though our region has been declared a 'red zone', which means there is a lockdown. Some projects can take place, but others cannot. Therefore, I have to be very flexible and adapt to the situation. Together with two other 'educatori', I made and filled Easter gift bags for the children, which we then distributed. All the children opened their bags together via an online meeting.

The warm sunny weather and the spring air are a motivation every day. Everything is blooming and it gives me a real spring feeling. So, I decide to go hiking nearby on Easter Sunday. Although it is very exhausting due to extremely steep hiking trails, it is worth it for the great view.

Above all, I am looking forward to the summer, as we will also go on excursions with the children and hopefully, I can travel and explore more of Italy, visit other volunteers, and maybe even meet more Italians my age.