My Volunteering Experience in Lithuania in June

June started very fast for me. On May 31st, I took my last exam, moved from the dorm to my home, and caught my flight to Istanbul. Then I met Amine, the other volunteer I would be working with. We boarded a plane to Vilnius together and set off on a new adventure.

After landing at the airport, we met Daiva, who took us to Širvintos. After I unpacked my belongings, I went out to explore Širvintos. It’s a lush and peaceful city.

On my first day at the youth center, I met the young people here. They were all very friendly. We baked cakes and pastries together in the kitchen and played games. I learned the games played here, and I taught them the Turkish game “Papaz Kaçtı” (The Priest Escaped).

After a fun week, I took a bus to explore Vilnius. It was an easy-to-discover and beautiful city. I visited tourist attractions and tried traditional foods.

The following week, at the youth center, we braided ribbons with the young people for Širvintos’s 550th anniversary celebrations. We watched movies and spent time together. This week was quite stressful for the youth since it was the last week of school here.

Over the weekend, I visited the capitals of Estonia and Latvia. Culturally, they were both similar to Lithuania but also had their own unique differences. I toured historical buildings in both cities, ate traditional dishes, and met locals. It was a wonderful experience for me.

This week was relatively calm. As the youth center, we switched to summer working hours and prepared an informational post about it. A summer camp visited the center for a day; we played games and had a pleasant time together.

I took my days off this week and planned a six-day trip to Norway and Sweden. I had only visited countries with coastlines on the Mediterranean before, so I hadn’t experienced a major cultural difference. However, Scandinavian culture felt very different to me—and I really liked it. Both the people and the nature were amazing.

This week, I’m spending time helping with a workshop at the youth center and organizing games and events for June 6th. This month has been quite full and exciting for me. I’m looking forward to the next one with excitement…