O testemunho da Aurelie No. 2 (Associação Spin)

Wake up. Morning routine takes a few hours, I savour it and them. Sit to work. Can I make this space into an

office? So many changes in these months. Isolation to reconvening with people, now I live with others. My bedtime is later, I try to stick to my early rise yet sometimes the discipline is not there. This afternoon tiredness. Today - meeting, that’s how the working day started. And an intention to sit in the park and do some work tasks after the meeting before heading home for lunch. An intention set and not realised. It was a nice chat with Tavi, a mutual interest and the semblance of presence because we were talking about presence. Discipline, how often am I able to bring this word into conversation? Very, of late. This doesn’t feel like discipline, sometimes discipline looks like not choosing the comfort of a familiar conversation. Sometimes it’s about remembering the intention set and making that happen. To break these old patterns of procrastination. 

Volunteering is a lot about self-motivation, perhaps more so in these post-lockdown times, we still do not go to the office, but we are more free… My bedroom doubles as an office. Tasks take some time in this sleep place. Being in the office could help me in these days to remember what it is I’m working for. We didn’t come here for this, but then again, before we came how could we even know what to expect? It’s human to have expectations before a new beginning, that are created based on what we see on the website of what we have applied for, and words that describe the coming adventure in the ‘job’ description. Corona Corona… Your effect is inescapable, ever present and tangible in the enforced distance and covered half faces. 

I am grateful. For this opportunity to come to Lisbon, for the chance to stay during the lockdown and be occupied by something. I am bored of work being sitting in front of a computer in my bedroom, supporting an organisation I never got a chance to feel so passionate about. 3 days at the office before we were quarantined. Colleagues are distant, physically and psychically. I’ve heard of people that have managed to create a separation between work and home life, within the confines of their home. Well done them. I have tried (hard enough...??). I think I needed more pushing from a superior for these computer-based tasks that aren’t so inspiring. Or I needed to find a personal project that I was so excited about that I could spend my extra hours working on. Then I would be motivated to complete my responsibilities to allow time for CREATING MY VISION. I have one, and these excuses are starting to induce curling of insides, raising of shoulders and lowering of head - ‘just do it’ I hear myself. It’s more organisation - I identify the problem, and I’m right in being ashamed when I don’t respond to it - this is holding myself accountable and recognising the things that make me feel bad, and wisdom and growth would look like changing the shame-inducing behaviour to something that makes me feel proud and accomplished! 

 

I’ll let you in on my secret - (one of) my personal project(s) has indeed been very personal - it’s been understanding more deeply the workings of my mind and the reasons for which I am here now today. This was a very important project for my 31st year. So I thank you Spin and Lisbon and the crisis of the world for facilitating this process. 

I have enjoyed teaching Portuguese, researching (at times :P) for omundodesdecasa, supporting people in their journey of discovering ESC and applying, seeing what wonderful opportunities there are for young people and telling those that I meet that such things exist! It was also very nice to return to the office this month and cook a delicious and nutritious meal with Michele for the other Spin volunteers and Giulia, and to reconnect and be in a new space! It's exciting and motivating and fun to share food and stories and laugh together and work. I do hope we have some opportunities to be together in our working environment over the coming months. Tchau for now!

O testemunho da Annalise No. 3 (Associação Spin)

ESC experience finishes this month. I am feeling relieved that my project has come to an end, anxious about moving countries again, and of course, a little bit sad about leaving behind the people I have made special connections with in Lisbon.                                                                                     

Highlights of my time here:

·       a 7-day bike trip along the south coast of Algarve (I followed the ecovia do litoral if you want to check it out)

·       the very random but lovely 5 days spent in Fafe for On-Arrival training (which feels like ages ago!)

·       getting to drink wine with lunch at the office whenever we had welcome days for new volunteers

·       explaining to all the over-friendly old Portuguese ladies on the street that I am not, in fact, from Angola

·       Building a bike from scratch and just generally hanging out with the bike bros at Cicloficina

·       learning Portuguese protest chants at the feminist, Black Lives Matter, and antifa marches

·       All the west coast sunsets spent with good company

I actually learnt a lot about the extent of the Erasmus+ program - which, honestly, I knew nothing about before applying for this project at Spin. As young European citizens, we really have so many opportunities available to us, and hopefully I can be a personal advocate for this going forward, whatever I end up doing.

Considering the current pandemic and public health measures, the past few months of summer in Lisbon have still been quite fun, thanks to the sunshine. Overall I'm just very grateful to Spin and the ESC program for allowing me to be here for 11 months! Lisbon is absolutely beautiful, and my time in Portugal has taught me many things, but I am happy to close this experience and move on to the next thing.

O testemunho da Annalise No. 2 (Associação Spin)

The 6-month mark of my project is fast approaching. What a half-year it's been. It has been an unsettled period for the Spin office, but the unwavering positivity of my lovely colleagues has been extremely motivating. As always, there are plenty of positive things to focus on...

First of all, I'm super grateful to be living in Lisbon. It's a colourful, cobbled, city with diverse neighbourhoods and whose laid-back atmosphere makes it really easy to feel comfortable here. It's not easy to learn the language but it's also never not entertaining trying to communicate in Portuguese with the locals. I love passing by people talking on the street and listening to those strange nasal sounds of the language that I love to imitate.

I'm also grateful for the host of other volunteers I have met here. A definite highlight of my time here was the five days invading a tiny town in the north of Portugal with 50 other ESC volunteers doing their projects all around the country, otherwise known as On-Arrival training (for future/new volunteers: On-Arrival is definitely not something to be missed).

Presumably there are 3 and a half months left of my project here, which is both comforting and alarming. I'm sure that these months will pass extremely quickly and once I move on I'll be left with a big, sad, Lisbon-shaped hole in my heart. So for the moment, I will try to make the most of the rest of my time here!

O testemunho da Aurélie No. 1 (Associação Spin)

Cheguei a Lisboa há duas semanas, num período relativamente calmo em que ainda se ouvia conversas que não tivessem o Coronavirus como alvo. No inicio não gostava sequer de falar deste tema porque me parecia banal, pouco interessante, os medos pareciam-me não ser baseados nalguma realidade concreta… Agora devo admitir que há uns dias que comecei a ver as noticias, ler as publicações no facebook, até ver a televisão (não me é nada costume) e a deixar-me ser influenciada por tudo aquilo que tenho visto, ouvido e lido. É frustrante. Sinto que perdi a minha capacidade de manter-me neutra. Não é que tenha medo. Tenho é compaixão por todos aqueles que se vejam implicados neste drama. Sobretudo os profissionais de saúde e as pessoas que ao longo do tempo não vão poder receber os cuidados que num período normal iam receber.

Ora bem. Que é que isso tem a ver com o meu voluntariado? Julgo já não existir na nossa realidade “moderna”, globalizada, hiperconectada; nada que não seja afectado. Pode ser apenas psicológico… Mas não consigo pensar senão tomando em conta este virus. Cheguei cá e depois de 3 dias no escritório mandaram-nos para casa. Acho bem e responsável, conter o virus é cauteloso, razoável. A nível pessoal, é frustrante. É preciso muita força de vontade para trabalhar quando não se está no escritório e não foram ainda atribuídas tarefas. Vou ter que ser mais criativa e proativa para não correr o risco de sentir-me inútil.

Coisas boas! Apesar de sentir que esta experiência de voluntariado ainda não tenha realmente começado, posso refletir um pouco sobre aquilo que já experimentei. Posso dizer que até agora só tenho tido interações boas tanto com os outros voluntários, sejam da Spin sejam das outras associações, como com os membros da equipa, apesar de só ter conhecido dois em pessoa! Tenho a sensação de que o ambiente de trabalho é bom, positivo, e que dá muito espaço para oferecer ideias e para criar os nosso próprios projetos. Acredito que o trabalho que a Spin faz seja muito positivo e valorizado por um publico bastante grande e variado; por um lado, aquele que está diretamente ligado à atividade diária da Spin - nomeadamente participantes de projetos como ESC, youth exchanges, etc., e por outro, a comunidade no bairro em que a Spin está inserida. Só tendo passado lá 3 dias, mas o que vejo é um bairro social limpo, cuidado, comunitário, diverso.

Não podemos saber como é que vai ser a evolução desta situação e como é que vai afetar a atividade da Spin, mas quem sabe - se os projetos relacionados com o estrangeiro vem-se restringidos, pode ser que isso nos faz trabalhar mais no nosso dia-a-dia com a comunidade mais próxima, contribuindo para aqueles projetos que normalmente vão direcionados para o Live it Lisbon!

Nestes dias tranquilos, em casa, estou a aproveitar para fazer muita leitura, reflexão, aprendizagem, e tenho como objetivo chegar a decifrar alguma mensagem que nos está a ser enviada pelo nosso lindo planeta, que, pelo menos, está a poder respirar um bocadinho melhor…

Um comentário adicional em relação às fotos que consegui tirar antes de ser confinada a casa; umas das muitas coisas que adoro desta cidade é a possibilidade de ter sempre diferentes perspetivas - querendo ou não ir à procura delas; com as suas sete colinas e o mar tão cerca conseguimos chegar a lugares expansivos, que nos permitem sermos nós mais expansivos. Expansão da perspetiva externa também expande a perspetiva interna… Por outro lado, coisas que nos projetam para o passado, em plena cidade (não sei se Monsanto pode ser considerado plena cidade)…