You know when you have no expectations and things turn out to be much nicer than you could have imagined? For me, the week before last was such a week. From Wednesday to Sunday, I was at an ESC on-arrival training in Arnhem to learn about my rights and duties as a volunteer and to meet other volunteers who are currently in the Netherlands. I wasn’t really excited at first; rather, I was very tired and in great need of rest. And I had absolutely no expectations. But in the end, my days in Arnhem were really successful! Already when I arrived at the hostel, Stayokay, I got a good feeling because it turned out to be situated on a hill with nature around it.
We were a group of roughly 20 people from all over Europe. (I was the only Scandinavian.) I had a good first impression; most seemed open and curious, and it was fun to hear about all the projects! Some were mostly doing office work, someone was at some sort of meditation center, someone was at a cemetery, a few of them were involved in social work. When I compared our projects, it struck me that for me, volunteering in an ecovillage is not as much about working per se, but more about being. I am an ecovillager twenty-four hours a day and live where other ecovillagers live. I don’t cycle to a workplace and then home again; my whole life is integrated here. My job is my life, and my life is my job. This was probably the biggest difference I noticed.
On Thursday, we learned what we can expect from life as volunteers. I quickly realised that I am very lucky with my placement in Ecodorp Bergen, because not all volunteers have such a close connection with their mentor as I do – mine even lives in the same house! One of the participants hadn’t even gotten a mentor yet.
In the afternoon, we divided into small groups to plan a fieldwork project for the next day. The idea was to go out and interview Dutch people about their lives. I was excited, especially since I am familiar with fieldwork from my anthropology studies, and our theme ‘life changes’ felt exciting too.
However, I was exhausted and a bit out of sorts in the evening, so I made sure with my group that it was okay for me to leave the planning to them. This felt like a difficult but important decision for me to make, because sometimes I feel guilty if I take a step back and listen to my own needs.
After a good night’s sleep I felt much better, but still quite fragile. Before we were sent off, we were asked to think about how we wanted to challenge ourselves in relation to our comfort zone. What was in our comfort zone, and what was outside of it? Did we want to take risks, or was our challenge in fact to stay in the safe space? I really appreciate that the facilitators presented staying in your comfort zone as a potential test, and not only going outside of it. I have never thought of the comfort zone as something demanding, but it can indeed be difficult sometimes to embrace staying in the safe and familiar when society is so focused on growth and development. And I felt that for me, my challenge was to stay safe, as I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and out of touch with myself.
My group had decided that we would conduct our interviews at Rozet, a library and cultural center in Arnhem. On the way to the bus stop, we did a little check-in round where everyone could say how they felt about the fieldwork. It turned out that the majority of us did not feel particularly excited. Just before we arrived at the bus stop, one of the group members even announced that she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to go back to the hostel. I really appreciated how honest everyone was; it made me feel that it was okay for me to have withdrawn the previous evening as well. It should always be okay, but somehow it always seems more justified when others listen to their needs than when I do it myself. Food for thought!
Rozet was very spacious, large windows with plenty of light. It was easy to lose ourselves in everything there was to discover, so we allowed ourselves to do that for a little while before we were approached by a curious woman. She was a retired geography teacher and had just finished her volunteer shift as a language café host at the library. She was happy to be interviewed and suggested we sit down in a group of sofas. From here, we then conducted the rest of our four interviews. We took turns going to recruit informants and it was so nice to see how everyone in the group challenged themselves in their own way. It was also really pleasant to spend time with these people. For me, it was more important that we had a good time together than to conduct the interviews themselves, even though they were a nice bonus. The conversation that stayed with me the most was one with a 74-year-old woman who divorced her husband three years ago. She hardly knew any English, but we still managed to make a very nice connection, beyond words.
When we were finished, we went to a bar and asked each other the same question we had asked our informants: what major life changes have affected your life? For the two 18-year-olds in our group, it was finishing high school and starting to live a more independent life. Funny, because for me, that was also a big change, but it still pales in comparison to other things that have happened to me over the ten subsequent years. Sometimes it’s easy to forget what has been important to you prior.
The next day, all the groups presented their work to each other. After that, we got to sit down with our group members and give each other compliments. I had really enjoyed being with my group, so it was very easy to say what I appreciated about them! Then we got the following question: if our role in the group work corresponded to a component of a bicycle, which one would it be? For me, the answer came quite quickly: the frame. The part that holds all the other pieces together. The person who strives for good cohesion and community internally. Funny enough, one of the other group members said the same thing about me without knowing what I was thinking. I really liked the bicycle metaphor because I have always felt that my role is somewhat invisible. You always want to have a visionary, a leader, someone result-oriented. A bike light, a handlebar, pedals. Usually those are the roles that are valued the most in society. But here it became so clear that my role is indeed important, and visible! Without me, maybe the bike would fall apart. Who knows.
The days in Arnhem were over before I knew it. Before I went there I was moderately motivated, but I felt so uplifted afterwards! I also liked that the facilitators encouraged us to be creative. Sometimes we would write down our experiences, but we also got to draw. During our last walk together, we were to create a piece of art that represented what we personally had taken away from these days. I picked some mushrooms that I decorated with leaves, coral mushrooms, and holly berries. For me, the mushrooms represented the tired, sluggish state I was in when I arrived in Arnhem, and the green represented the life that could still emerge. Because even though I wasn’t feeling like my best self, I still managed to both contribute to a group project and make new friends. It was a very nice experience and felt reassuring.
In summary, I had a very good time. It was fun to meet other volunteers, and I learned more about how I function in group work and that it’s okay to sometimes take a step back instead of pushing myself too hard. Additionally, I was inspired to be more creative in my life and use more tools than writing and dancing to express myself. I am thankful for the opportunity to attend this on-arrival training!