Wednesday, August 30, 2017

SAYING GOODBYE IS HARD

We, Sandor, Sophie and Brigita had a unique and inspiring year in Atlantic Bridge. It was a year where we learned a lot about crossing cultures and about the various parts of the Christian faith. As we look back, for each of us it was a different experience. So we would like to give you a brief overview of what this year has meant for each of us. Not for Leo, though, as he started later and will continue till November. This photo puts us at the front of the City Hall of Hermsdorf, Germany, where our adventure started! Leo was not with us then!

Sandor

It is really hard to summarize a year just in a few sentences, but since the time is here, I will try. I have written another blog post where I mentioned how different were my first insights I had with Atlantic Bridge from that I experienced before, which was due to the organisation’s Christian background and due to the fact, that I didn’t have this background. My grandparents were Christians before the Communists got in power in Hungary after the WW II, but I couldn’t say about me the same anymore. My curiosity drove me back to their faith, but for a really supportive community which helped me to learn about Christianity I had to leave my country. Thanks to the projects and the experiences I gained together with the other interns I got closer to something unique, something really valuable.

But this year wasn’t all just about Christianity. I got time for myself, tried out things, fell and stood up and all this in a way that I could be sure nothing could go wrong. It is hard to pick specifics I learnt, but if I had to I would mention that I developed my language skills which will play an enormous role in my future and had time to rethink the priorities in my life.

But all this couldn’t have happened without the other three interns I now, without any doubts, can call my friends. Friends, who understood me at the end almost without saying anything and who will never forget that “broken glass is actually fun”.

Sophie
When I left Northern Ireland for the Netherlands I had no idea about what Atlantic bridge was or what I was getting into and an entire year seemed like a very long time. However, now I’m reflecting on what was possibly the craziest year of my life, it seems like my time in Kruiningen was all too short and I can’t quite believe it’s over.

Working with Atlantic Bridge has taught me so much about Youth, different cultures, working in the middle and of course being flexible! Over the course of my time there I met so many amazing young people who I formed relationships with and got to know on a deeper level. Not only did I meet young people but I also became part of the larger network which is the Atlantic Bridge family. Therefore the Youth Work Factory was the perfect way to finish off my year by spending time with so many wonderful people who I have come to know and love over my time with AB.

Looking back I have done things I never would’ve imagined doing in my lifetime from teaching Dutch students about Northern Ireland’s political history to sailing down the vltava river in Prague whilst eating a rather delicious pizza. This year has been one of exploration, travel, self discovery and growth and I am a more rounded person because of it. I love Atlantic Bridge’s vision and I am excited to see how this develops and grows in the coming years.

However, my time with AB wouldn’t have been the same without the other interns: Sándor, Brigita and Leopold. We became work mates, house mates and best mates all merged into one. We have entirely different taste in food, taste in music, religious beliefs and opinions on current affairs but this is how we learnt from each other and opened each others eyes to different slants on life. I have learnt lots from them and I’ve hope they’ve also learnt something from me, even if it’s only understanding sarcasm. I can’t thank them enough for all the good times over the past year and for making me laugh every day. Although life in Northern Ireland is a lot more straight forward, I will miss the madness of the vierslag!

So thank you to Atlantic Bridge and everyone whom I have met over the past year for teaching me so much, I will remember this year fondly. Who knows you may see my face pop up again in the future, but until then, keep on building bridges!

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Is honesty the best policy?

EVS is one heck of a journey. Not only in terms of the distance you travel, but also in terms of personal experiences. When I came to the Netherlands I expected to visit different countries, travel lots, and eat a wide variety of food. However, I did not expect the cultural differences between myself and others to be so vast.

As a British girl manners are of utmost importance. Now, whilst I would agree that we are an excessively polite nation most of the time, I do find myself somewhat stressed by the differing levels of what is considered ‘polite’. As a British person you never want to sound too harsh, we like to soften the blow. Contrast this to the directness of the Dutch and you have two diametrically opposed styles.

I’ll give you some examples. If a situation occurs and a British person says “It’s fine, don’t worry about it”, the Dutch would never think of it again. Whereas the British person is probably stressing out about how terrible this situation is and will not be able to stop worrying about it for the foreseeable future. Now, I am aware of the fact that our use of language may seem very confusing to others as what we say vs what we actually mean can be quite contradictory, but we are a wonderfully peculiar species and we understand our own kind.

Whilst living here I have experienced conversations that I would never dream of having back home. The list includes comments about disliking food I made, the way I look/dress, the lunacy of the British people in voting for Brexit and countless ignorant statements about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. All of which I have attempted to respond to with as authentic a smile and chuckle as I can produce.


Don’t get me wrong, I have had many fabulous conversations here and I have met so many Dutch people who are more welcoming and pleasant than one could imagine, the bluntness is simply something you have to get used to. I do not think that the British people are in any way better due to their politeness, I have just learnt that Honesty, in all circumstances, is clearly a core value in the Netherlands. Learning about these differences has definitely broadened my worldview and understanding of the Dutch culture, and this is merely one of the limitless cultural differences I have experienced. I think that embracing these is what EVS is all about.      

Sophie

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Visiting a Calvinist Church



Visiting a Calvinist Church for the first time

by Sophie Grier

In all honesty I was not looking  forward to attending the Gereformeerde  church last Sunday. I had witnessed the dark figures in black solemnly pass my house many a Sunday, and it always looked to me as if they were headed to a funeral as opposed  to a service of worship. Their formal attire seemed to drain them of any personality or joy. Nevertheless, we had heard a lot about the Calvinist community in Kruiningen, but were yet to meet such people, therefore I was intrigued to go and learn more about them.

I was invited round to a family’s house a few days prior to Sunday, to be briefed on what to expect at a Calvinist service. The family were lovely and welcoming but some of their church’s traditions seemed very old fashioned and outdated to me. For starters I had to wear a skirt. This may not sound like a big deal, but as a girl who loves her jeans and only wears skirts to weddings it seemed a bit far-fetched. However, my fashion woes did not end there. I also had to sport a hat in order to cover my head. I do not wear hats so one of the girls was kind enough to lend me one out of her collection. I come from a church with no dress code, therefore the fact I had to wear certain clothes to attend a service was a somewhat horrifying reality for me. After witnessing the black parade go through the streets many times I asked if black was compulsory, a question at which the whole family laughed and replied “of course not”!

Sunday morning arrived and I begrudgingly put on my skirt and hat and decided to stick to dark coloured clothing to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention to myself. I arrived at the church which was flooded with people pouring in and surprise surprise, they were ALL WEARING BLACK. Boy was I glad I didn’t wear yellow. . .
However I was pleasantly surprised by the nods, smiles and hello’s I received that morning. Normally if I was walking through the streets on a Sunday these people would do everything in their power to avoid eye contact with me. However, since today I was wearing a skirt and a hat it seemed that I was accepted as one of them and I received countless ‘goedemorgen’s’.
It was the busiest church I have been to thus far, but also the quietest. Once inside the church all conversation ceased and I felt as though people were watching as I walked down the aisle to my designated seat in the very front row, number 450.

Everyone had to stand as the minister and all male board walked into the church, then we sat, and I didn’t stand up again until the board and minister left. In this church females are not allowed to stand during song or prayer like the males are. To a 21st century western girl like myself this seemed like a derogatory tradition from 400 years ago and I found it hard to fathom that so many women were sitting there week after week of their own accord.

In spite of these blindingly obvious differences, the core, structure and style of the service was very similar if not identical to every other service we had attended.

Afterwards we headed back to a family’s house for lunch. They were very pleasant and one of the girls gave us a short summary of the sermon in English, which was very helpful as my dutch still needs a lot of work.

Overall, the service was better than I thought it would be, although I may not agree with their requirements for females I met very nice people and it helped me put a human face on the term “Calvinist’’ which I’ve heard so many in this town talk about. It was interesting to see things from their perspective and I feel it was a worthwhile  experience , but I won’t miss the hat!