Volunteer Diaries: My May in Lithuania

I have just realized that my project will end in three months. I remember the day I arrived in Širvintos for the first time. After an early flight from Ankara to Antalya, we landed in Vilnius. I was so exhausted yet excited. I have had great opportunities and created many memories thanks to my sending organization, IYACA, and my hosting organization, Širvintos Sports Center.

As I mentioned before, I prepare a monthly calendar for mobile youth work in Musninkai and Gelvonai. During the first week of this month, we visited the fire stations in Musninkai and Gelvonai to learn how these brave firefighters work for us. They taught us how to extinguish fires and what kind of helmets and hazmat suits they have to wear. It was not only an educational lesson but also an entertaining activity. Everyone tried to use the water hose, which was actually quite difficult.

One entrepreneurial teenager expressed her desire to invite a famous Polish writer to our youth center. Eager to encourage her initiative, we arranged for Bartosz Polonski to visit and meet the youngsters. He shared his drawings and ideas before writing his books. Fluent in Lithuanian, Polish, and English, he wrote all his ideas in three languages, which we, as international volunteers, could read. I learned that he had also created a VR game, some kind of open world, though unfortunately, it was not in English.

On another day in Musninkai and Gelvonai, we went on a trip to the riverbank and had a picnic. Even though it was rainy, we enjoyed ourselves a lot and played team-building games. The next day, we went to Vepriai, another small city near Musninkai. It was so peaceful and warm that I felt like I was in the Shire from the Lord of the Rings book. Living in Lithuania, I always feel like I am in Hobbiton because we live close to nature, and people here respect its beauty.

Moletai Youth Center invited us, and we saw that they had a lot of opportunities for teenagers. They even had a "violence room" where you can break everything, but there was one essential condition: you had to wear a suitable costume to protect yourself while breaking things. We also introduced our youth center and mobile youth work. I had a new experience in Moletai, where there were needles on a platform, and we needed to concentrate to stand on them. I did it, but it was painful and difficult for me. However, I observed that it was easier for Jelena, Daiva, and Aydan. Aydan and I also went to the violence room and broke everything. It made me feel relaxed and happy.

Our international volunteers' projects ended, so we had a small party for Aydan and Ekaterine. Everyone drew funny pictures of them, and we made speeches about them. It was a sad and emotional farewell.

I attended the Pink Soup Festival in Vilnius with my friends. We ate the soup and joined in the festivities. Nearly everyone except us wore pink. We had fun together. There was also a summer festival in Širvintos where I met Gabrielus Vagelis, a famous singer in Lithuania, and took a picture with him.

In winter, I was complaining about not seeing the sun, but now the sun never sets, which is another amazing memory for me. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. See you next month!