FINAL TRAVELER REFLECTION: 3 months post lesvos

LYassas friends! It feels strange to greet you all in Greek for the final time (for now at least…). As I am writing this final post, it has been a little over three months since I returned to the US. During these past two months, I have been focusing heavily on my community here in the States and integrating the lessons I learned during my time in Greece into who I am today. That being said, there is still an empty space in me that was once filled by the beautiful, sweet little island of Lesvos and the incredible community that found me during my time there. 

For five months I lived on the Greek island of Lesvos, nestled in the far corner of the Eastern Aegean just a few kilometers off the coast of Turkey. Once known for its olive groves, the International Women’s Festival, and being one of the last authentic Greek islands, the nature of this island changed in 2015 when surges of refugees began arriving on the shores via dinghy boats. Over the course of years, Lesvos became the center of multiple humanitarian crises involving refugee reception. 

Project Overview 

Since this is likely the first post you will see when reading my blog, here is a brief overview of my project. For five months, I volunteered/interned with Lesvos Solidarity, a refugee support NGO that has been operating since the beginning of the reception crisis 10 years ago. Specifically, I worked with their program Safe Passage Bags Workshop, where volunteers, locals, and refugees come together to create bags from the physical remnants of refugee arrivals, specifically lifejackets and dinghy boats, and sell them across Europe as an advocacy tool. My duties with the organization included assisting with marketing, communications, and social media, workshop and program development, website redesign, product design, strengthening university partnerships for ongoing volunteer recruitment efforts, and organizing a digital archive of LESOLs activities over the past 10 years.  

The Diversity of a Missional Community

I came to Lesvos with almost no expectations about what Greece would be like (beyond being obsessed with Mamma Mia since childhood… but I figured choreographed song and dance weren’t going to be on the docket). Looking back, I’m glad I did this because it opened my eyes to the possibilities of what could happen there, and allowed me to be pleasantly surprised. 

Perhaps what I was most surprised by was the incredible community that I found there. Mediterranean culture already invites community through urban design and cultural customs (going to have a coffee after work instead of going straight home, going for a swim in the morning, town squares, etc.), but there was a secondary community I found that only happens when you’re existing in an environment where everyone is working towards a shared goal. Suddenly, it didn’t matter that most of the people I knew weren’t in the same age group as me or from the same country and, sometimes, hardly spoke the same language. We all had in common the belief that all people are deserving of safety, food, and shelter, and wanted to do what little we could to help.

I particularly found this within Lesvos Solidarity and with the Yoga and Sport Gym where I volunteered part time. I found it with the founder of Lesol who would regularly drop off food at the house to make sure the volunteers were doing well, a cutter in the workshop who would fix my bike once a week (don’t ask me about that bike), lunches with the crew down in the workshop, the Yoga and Sport volunteers inviting me to trivia nights and greeting me with the warmest smile when I walked into the gym (usually huffing and puffing from biking up the hill, and yet again, I’ll blame it on that bike), and long hours spent rock climbing with Greeks, refugees, and volunteers. 

In regards to Greek culture as a whole, what I enjoyed the most was how much time is dedicated to relaxing and enjoying life. Even during the working day, my colleagues and I would frequently take breaks to talk with each other. Shops were closed from 2-6 so people could spend time napping or with their families. Dinners were long endeavors where messy plates would litter the table for hours after the meal so we could spend time enjoying one another in conversation. This isn’t necessarily something I found surprising as I’ve always understood this about Mediterranean countries, however, adapting to the faster pace of American life is a challenge I am still struggling with. 

How Do I Find the Words?

Yet the hardest part of long-term travel is trying to explain it to the people back home. When friends or family ask me about my time in Greece, I’m at a loss for words. My experience comes together in bits and pieces. Spontaneous dance parties on Statue Beach with people from all over the world and every walk of life. A Wednesday evening in late September spent basking in the dying sun in the outdoor kitchen at Sporos, the eco-farm I would visit, while Charlotte strums a ukulele. Sunday brunches that turned into long hours sitting with friends on the balcony, watching the cats jump across the rooftops until the Greek moon began to appear in the sky. Early morning swims, even when the water was ice cold and I had a cough for 2 months afterwards as a result (worth it!!) 

And with the beautiful moments, there were the hard stories. Visiting the rubble of Moria as my friend who had stayed there walked me through each part and told me how it used to be, the lack of water, the food lines that stretched for hours, the overcrowding. Finding a stuffed panda on the shore next to a discarded life jacket. Biking along the sea at sunset and passing a refugee camp, wondering how the world can be so beautiful and so horrible at the same time. Talking to the women from our safe house, who, despite having lived the hardest lives, always showed up with the brightest smile. 

I can’t put that into words, so instead I just say, “It was great, I loved it.” My stories from Lesvos don’t feel like stories, but rather, strings of moments that changed the fabric of who I am as a person and how I view the world. 

Looking Forward

In regards to the impact my project had on the community I existed in, it is hard to quantify numerically. Quantifiable outcomes of my work at Lesvos Solidarity included an increase in sales for safe passage products, creative a digital archive of LESOL’s history and 10 years of activity on the island, hundreds of photos for future promotional use, updating the copy, photography, and layout of the shop website, helping plan, organize, and facilitate multiple workshops and events, and initiating partnerships with various European universities to lead to ongoing youth volunteer engagement.

Growth & Learning

It is hard to describe all of the ways that this experience allowed me to grow. For one, it gave me a dense understanding of many different areas of work within an NGO setting, whether that be advocacy, fundraising, community engagement, or social media work. It also gave me a strong understanding of my skills, both personally and professionally. I began seeing my creativity, my love of talking, and the emotional, sentimental sides of my personality as a strength, not a weakness. 

But beyond this, I would say that my curiosity and my adaptability increased tenfold. During my time there, I was constantly confronted with projects and situations I understood little about. In these moments I was forced to be curious, to ask questions instead of giving answers, and to learn to be flexible when needed. 

Needless to say, my Lumos experience truly was one of the most incredible, transformative experiences of my life. It is an incredible program that Belmont offers, and I am so grateful to have been given this experience. So… my biggest piece of advice will obviously be to just do it! BUT, for future travelers, I have 3 words of advice…

1. When looking for a sponsoring organization, don’t always try to stay within your major. Instead, think about what you are truly passionate about, even if it is a random, niche interest, and try to find ways to connect it to your career interests. 
2. Be curious! You are going to be confronted with a lot of unfamiliar circumstances! Ask so many questions! 
3. Volunteer outside of your nonprofit if you have the time. Volunteering part time with another NGO allowed me to get far more involved in my host community than if I had merely stayed with one. I cannot recommend this enough. 

And alas… Here is the final playlist of how I am feeling post-Lesvos… some of these will be repeats (sorry guys) 

• If I Go I’m Goin by Gregory Alan Isakov
• UFO by Olivia Dean 
• I Will Be Back One Day by Lord Huron 
• You Get What You Give by The New Radicals (my Lesvos anthem!) 
• Tell Me If You Wanna Go Home by Kiera Knightley (From the Begin Again soundtrack… one of my favorite movies ofc) 
• Nostalgia’s Lie by Sam Fender