This famous feeling that I tried to escape from –
Before leaving for Cyprus, I had a lot of beautiful places in mind, a lot of expectations, a lot of motivation, and wishes.
All departures create this positive tension and happiness. New lands to discover.
I would say that my generation is truly influenced by these freedom beliefs, this desire to discover the world, to enjoy in an intense way the riches given by this world, these different countries and cultures. The desire to take a bite out of the world.
We are also a conscious generation that is constantly under stress, feeling abandoned by previous generations, of carrying climate change on our shoulders. “Climate change now falls on you” is a statement that the new French generation hears often.
I think, this stress and pressure are deep inside of us and emerge with this impulsiveness, this momentum, this tendency to go after everything, to discover every place before it is no longer possible.
As a young volunteer belonging to this generation, I also feel a strong motivation and the need to discover by contributing to society.
Before leaving the home country, every volunteer has personal motivations, but as ESC volunteers, we also share common desires and values, such as being change-makers and contributing to a project with strong values, meeting new people and discovering new cultures.
When you arrive, everything is to be discovered, and everything is to be created.
It was the first time I had been in a country other than my own, and for several months.
The discovery and the first steps were made by meeting the roommates, the staff team, with whom I would spend the next months.
I experienced a warm welcome from Cypriots,whose expressions bring affection to almost everyone who crosses their path. The expressions that surprised me at first sight were “Mana mou”, “Chloé mou”, ” kori…”.
It was not hard to get help to find my way, to ask for advice or just to chat with the Cypriots. They seem familiar with this mix of cultures in Nicosia, hence at ease in speaking English on every street corner.
I tasted these first pork pitas, I walked the streets of downtown, but this first impressions were overshadowed by the discovery of many disappointments.
The reasons are numerous and destabilize me; the disappointment of finding a small capital that seemed so extinct. The discovery of all these cars and traffic jam;the only way to move around with public transports is by bus and Cypriots don’t use it as unreliable and never on time.
Another surprise: Cyprus is part of the EU but in some ways is so far away from the European way of life.It has sometimes distant cultural references in its musical and culinary culture. Moreover, I quickly realize that the Cypriot pace of life is similar to that of the Middle East, a country with a slow, non-frenetic pace.
