Thinking about my last week, looking at the photos of the last days on my camera, feels pleasant to me. I notice that I discovered many new places. I met new people time and time again. I had good conversations and enjoyed the time to myself in Athens very much. Each and every week!
Everyday life in a foreign city with new tasks and different impressions and discoveries is not only always a joy (although it mostly is) – but the tough point about it is, that time is running far too quickly. Also, for this reason, the weekly reflection helps me to experience my moments once again.
I got the task to think about my own project at Inter Alia and to plan and structure it. My idea was that everything should revolve around the topic of beauty and show how multi-faceted and individual the ideas of beauty can be. I was thinking about it a lot these past few days. Because of this, I walked through the streets this week in a different way. I tried to define the beauty in different forms and moments for myself (internal and external).
For this reason, I experienced my week like this: I visited the hill of Likavitos, a “mountain” in the district Exarchia. The view was, of course, beautiful. I sat alone on the side of the road and watched a turtle crawling from left to right, listening to my current favourite song. I don’t know if it was because of the sun, the view or my favourite song, but I was just satisfied at that moment.
Furthermore, I made a trip to Piraeus. I walked along the coast. Accompanied by monstrous yachts and old sailing ships, the bright sun, the smell of grilled fish, olive oil and garlic, the noises of cackling couples in love and the laughter of children. A holiday feeling came over me – you can compare it with belly tingles.
The marathon run at the weekend was also a multifaceted experience, even though I did not run along. To see the Olympic stadium with all these people, children romping on the benches, faces and tears of joy at the finish line, the speaker with the announcements of the huge number of participants, volunteers and visitors and last, but not least, my group with which I felt very comfortable.
I also visited the Saturday market in Exarchia. The fruits and vegetables were colourful, smelled good and were very cheap. The sellers were very generous and gave me some things for free. Elderly men and women walked through the streets with baskets full of every kind of fruits and vegetables.The whole atmosphere inspired me very much, so much that I bought a bit too much.
It’s good to pay attention to the aspect of beauty in as many moments as possible and try to perceive it on all levels. It doesn’t mean that you have to lose sight of the ability to think critically and the awareness for things that don’t go well. Quite the contrary, I think that this view with the focus of the beautiful aspects of a moment -it can also be the view of quite ordinary and everyday moments- gives you the strength and energy to do the right thing and cope with your everyday life. It is another perspective worth trying.That’s why the report of the week sounds like a fairy tale. That’s why I want to do this project. It is powerful to see the world through pink glasses – even though it’s only for a short moment.
Since I had my first Greek lesson this week, I will end with: Δεν υπάρχει τίποτα κακό που δεν έχει κάτι καλό γι’ αυτό.
Hi! My Name is Elisabeth Schreier but everyone calls me Elli. I am 25 years old and I have successfully completed my Bachelor of Arts: Social Work in September 2019 in Leipzig. In Leipzig I have gained different experiences as a work student like working for and with a youth living unit for minor, female refugees and working in a close-to-family, integrative, stationary living unit for children and adolescents. Besides social work, my heart beats for animals. For this reason-in addition to the fact that I have two dogs- I absolved an internship at the institute of animal-assisted therapy and pedagogics in Denmark last year. Before going to Athens, I was volunteering in a shelter with over 350 stray dogs in Crete. After this more physical labour, I am excited to absolve a two-months internship at Inter Alia as part of an Erasmus graduate fellowship. The focus is on gaining and experiencing international and new impressions, working methods and diverse perspectives.
While in Athens, I implemented a workshop on female perspectives on the city.For more information on my project contact me atelisabeth.schreier94@web.de
