By Safia Mizon Thioune
VE Volunteer from Withington, England
“Don’t come to VE with any set expectations, because your experience will inevitably be different.” This sound advice from a VE member – and something which I would also be inclined to reiterate to potential volunteers myself – was surprisingly easy to heed: I had never done anything quite like VE before and, despite feeling excited and anxious in equal measure, I had little idea of what to expect from my five months here.
It’s now been almost a month since I landed in Chile and, while it feels like I’ve been here much longer in some ways, I’m amazed at how quickly the days go. The first week was spent in a hostel, getting to know the other volunteers, exploring the city that we’re living in and learning a little bit more about the institutions with which we’re working. I have since moved into an apartment, started my work at the hogar, and have settled into something of a daily routine.
Although I’m getting used to it by the day, starting work as a volunteer has definitely had its ups and downs. The hard bits have ranged from minor blips (such as pouring pineapple juice into my coffee instead of milk, much to the tías’ glee) to slightly more trying times which include getting lost on the way to the hogar and finding myself on the other side of the city. The biggest challenge, however, has presented itself with the children. Co-dependency between child and volunteer is not highly encouraged at the hogar where I work and, although this is only for practical purposes, not being able to comfort a little boy and give him a hug when he is crying has yet to not make me wince. There have been many good bits, however: being included in the joking and bantering between the tías, despite my broken Spanish; receiving a beam and a hug from a child who, only a few days before, would have either pinched or ignored me; and, although only a small victory, being able to successfully identify the juice from the milk carton.