Logbook about my experience in Belfast (Voluntario del programa SVE)
3rd Entry: April
This month was short. Not because of work, where I had to suck up many office hours that are never as thrilling as events around the city. Fitly, let’s start this month’s report by talking about my service. Indeed, I had more inside than outside work, more than I had been used for the two previous months. And I realised a few things. First of all, I can also learn a lot at the office. Procedures and shortcuts, templates and forms, Excels and reports, details and concepts… Admin work, contrary to popular opinion, can be very diverse. And again, it is necessary.
As long as it is necessary to do it, I will be happy to do it. Sometimes I wish I had more in my plate to do, that I was given more tasks to work on a regular basis rather than punctual tasks. Some days I was found with few or naught to do, and those are the most draining days. I understand that, as a volunteer, I will never reach the level of responsibility that a staff member stands. I also understand that, as a volunteer, I lack of the proper know-how or language skills to undertake certain duties. Yet for none of these or other reasons would I surrender to stay in my comfort zone and stop pushing those boundaries. I have already transmitted this concern to my supervisor, who I believe will keep me busier.
This being said, I admit to count among my biggest fears that I may bother my workmates by constantly demanding them to give me tasks. Therefore, I’m also learning to occupy myself with non-work related tasks every now and then. I don’t even now if I should be proud or ashamed about this. On the one side, I can better tolerate the frustration of having few work-tasks if I am still productive working on other spheres of my life, such as English, emails or academic study. On the other, I can feel certain dissonance for being in Volunteer Now and not corresponding for Volunteer Now. Anyway, it is my understanding that May will be hectic, so I may even come to miss these office days!
Besides my project, I am getting busier and busier for the rest of the day. As good weather approaches, possibilities multiply. From lying down, book in hand, around Botanic Gardens; to playing soccer and tennis with whoever is up for it. I also signed up for some hip-hop classes at Crescents Art Centre and a few other things. Short indeed.
As I started this report by the end of April, but I couldn’t put my hands back on it till almost mid-May, I find it hard to remember what I was up to that long ago. May is getting even busier! So I’ll stop here in the hope I can deliver next entry in proper form and time.
4th Entry: May
And so it was. Fleeting, swift. In a flash. Light speed, tunnel vision. That was the month of my birthday. I started it off by treating myself with a delightful weekend to Enniskillen with a friend. Okay, she’s more than a friend. Delightful time indeed: the Wilde Festival, Marble Arch Caves, Geo-park, Enniskillen Castle, Devenish island, Forthill, Round’o, etc. And the lodge was class!
The following days, back to work, did not allow me to catch a breath. As I was second-guessing in my previous report, I did miss the office days. Long story short: I was out and about with different colleagues, different projects and events. All grand. We had the Balmoral show, we had the Irish Open, and now we have Volunteers Week. What a crack. I’ve discovered that I thrive in the hustle of these events. I sort of like the feeling of getting there with little clue of what’s what and, by the end of the day and by trial and error, knowing how to deal with every situation that pops up. Simple tasks as to tell where the ATMs are would lead to more complex tasks such as how to deal with a lost child. I tried to gather as much info as possible beforehand, as there’s no induction as such. Still, I had many questions everyday that I tried to solve on my own (looking it up through internet, going to the info centre…) rather than by depending on other colleagues answer.
Ultimately, I tried to be as autonomous as possible in my work. I tried to analyse and address the needs of every situation, before a colleague had to come and tell me to do this or that (in which case I would also be happy to do as told, but always try to understand the reasoning and know-how of it). Whenever I wasn’t sure how to proceed, I would ask for advice to one of my more experienced colleagues. I really felt immersed in an intense learning process all along. And found out that the vast majority of the activities I undertake here can only be learnt by doing. Unlike those at the office, where I try to keep record and mind notes of all I do. I know I’m far from reaching the level of expertise that my colleagues have developed in the multiple fields that we are involved, but I know the way to keep improving. And ultimately, what really made my everyday was to have a chat with all the volunteers and target groups that, despite very diverse backgrounds, proved how grateful and inspirational can be.
In conclusion, I read a while ago that the keys to a satisfactory and successful work are: autonomy, mastery and purpose. Those are the standards I’m trying to live by at work.
It’s also been a month of goodbyes. Up to 6 Erasmus people I had met since February, and made amazing plans together, have been returning to their home-countries as their academic program came to an end. I know I shouldn’t be sad, for I’ll get the chance to meet many more fantastic people. But it is also a pity that you discover people with whom you get along astonishingly well from the very beginning, and yet they have a due date, and a rather early one. At least I could travel around with them lately, either to Enniskillen, Cultra, Bangor, Dublin, etc. I also finished one of the most amazing sci-fi books I read so far, gently lent by one of my workmates. I missed the library days, so I’ll try to get back to that good routine. I should start thinking about my career future, as well as my English assesment (my classes at the MET start in September). As soon as it gets quieter at work (they already advised me that summer is dead at the office) I’ll put my hands on it. I’m already making plans for summer, I will get back around mid-July and I have to visit people in Madrid, Salamanca, Malaga and Portugal! Then I’m volunteering in Sunflower Festival, and probably in a couple more with Oxfam. We’ll see how the summer goes!
