Bom dia, tarde, e noite.
As I learned today in Portuguese class: chamo-me Martins! I’m the latest arrival amongst the new batch of European Solidarity Corps volunteers at Rato.
Earlier during lunch, my housemate Sofia and I shared (and I hope she doesn’t mind me mentioning it further) a conversation about literature and our respective educational systems, in which I briefly mentioned having read Dante’s Inferno, amongst other things, some few years ago as part of my schooling. So, with this discussion still fresh in my mind, I was planning to start off this entry by saying that I’ve “emerged from within the ninth circle of hell”, quipping at the currently cold, icy and rather unwelcoming Latvian winter that I arrive from – a stark contrast to the still warm and pleasant December winds of Portugal. However, after some further thinking, I realized that it might imply I consider Latvia to be Hell on Earth (though that couldn’t be further from the truth, at least for the most part, I swear!); and I was unsure if it would be culturally appropriate for me to suggest it so casually or not, as I understand Portugal has many traditions rooted in Faith.
One thing I can say with confidence, though, is that my journey was definitely much more enjoyable than Dante’s. Upon arrival – after my 5 hour or so long trip – I was greeted by two of the most charismatic hosts from Rato (…for now, as I haven’t had the pleasure to get to know everyone yet!), who were quick to show me around, provide answers to any arising curiosities, and make me feel welcome. This was followed by meeting fellow volunteers, who were equally as hospitable, and having the chance to interact with various locals, who were all very receptive.
It’s exactly this sense of community and mutual requital that I just described that has attracted me to do volunteer work, to try and make contributions to a collective good. Back at home, I saw myself growing a bit tired of the more traditional, overly-competitive work environment that I’d been a part of for the past few years. Though we were all working towards the same goals at my previous job, it felt like each of us had to fend for ourselves – in pursuit of only our own individual welfare, and at the cost of that of others. Therefore, I consider myself somewhat lucky to be a part of Rato, which seems both to respect the individual, as well as value the collective as a whole.
That being said, the nature of my future contributions here is yet to be determined, as I’m still being onboarded and introduced to the people and environment that I’ll be working with for the next 6 months. By the time I write my next entry (which I’m sure to do every week until my departure), I’m sure I’ll already be deep into working on something, and will have much more to share. But we shall see…
P.S. At the time of writing this, if rounded down to an integer, then I’m seven pi ‘s.
