MARIAN (CANADA)

Volunteered From AUGUST 2022 TO OCTOBER 2022

2022 A quick Google search earlier this year led me to the Habibi Center and an epic 2-month experience that I’m struggling to find words to describe. I landed in Athens 8 weeks ago, a nervous and excited, jet-lagged traveler. This would be my first ESL teaching opportunity. I’m writing this as my final week is coming to a close. There are tears of sadness in my eyes as I handover the teaching of my classes to the next round of volunteer teachers. Let me tell you a little about my time in Greece and the Habibi teacher-community, and then I’ll tell you about our students! At the weekends I explored some of Greeces’ treasures (Meteora, Delphi, Aegina) and even an adventure further afield to Cyprus. On weekdays I wore out the soles of my shoes pounding the streets of Athens looking for undiscovered (to me!) murals and rooftop restaurants. I climbed to the top of every hill in search of the best view. I even squeezed in a cooking class at the Greek Kitchen. The teachers at Habibi are a special group. Some will be lifelong friends. We come from so many different countries, have different backgrounds, careers and ages, but we are bonded together with the one thing we are all here at Habibi for – to teach. At Habibi there will always be someone to run to get your last-minute photocopies, buy you a coffee or juice, offer advice for a tricky grammar lesson, remind you where the pencils are kept and listen while you go on about that new student who is having a hard time settling in. Without the support of these wonderful people the experience would have been quite hard. And then there are the students. I could write pages about each of the students I taught. I am amazed that the students at Habibi Center come to a 90-minute English class every day of the week on time, with homework done and smiling, ready to learn English. This is after their regular Greek high school classes. I wish all high school students learning in their home language could see this motivation in action. Seeing the Habibi Center students’ enthusiasm for learning makes me think that maybe these students are the ones that will make our world a better place in the future. One of my teaching highlights was the day I saw something I had taught days earlier being used in context. I had taught the students some idioms. During a later grammar lesson, that was harder than previous ones, I asked a student if he understood. He responded, ‘It’s all Greek to me!’ His classmate was quick to respond with ‘nah, Easy Peasy!’ We laughed together. It was a small thing, but a memory to treasure. My students were listening, applying lessons, and they had a sense of humour. …and final words… To my students: Never stop learning. Thank you for the privilege of teaching you. I will carry a bit of all of you in my heart as I leave Greece. To my fellow teachers: Stephanie, Camille, Vangelis, Sara, Arthur, Joanne, Liliana, Gen, Daniel, Tierza, Alison and Kitty, thank you! Your inspiration and enthusiasm has helped make this a memorable experience. To future teachers: Just do it! The experience of living in Athens for two or more months and teaching high school refugee students will be rewarding!