BLOG – VOLUNTEERING – Tirol

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to visit the Montessori school in Telfs, guided by two lovely workers: Zita – teacher, former Esk volunteer and Foteini- current Esk volunteer.

The Montessori Method of Education is different from the school system that we know, what we would define as „regular“.

It emphasizes  independence and it views children as naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating learning in a supportive environment. It discourages some conventional measures of achievement, such as grades and tests. At the school in Telfs, they welcome kids from 5 to 15 years old.

I was not aware of the details of that method before, and when I got to know them, they sparked some reflections. I think we could all take inspiration and example from that and ask ourselves some important questions.

• Why do I want the things that I want?

In Montessori School, there is a general program that teachers follow and three main subjects : German, Mathematics, and the Science of the Cosmos. Two things really stood out to me regarding the academical program. Firstly, one day per week is dedicated to contact with Nature. Secondly, children can choose to deepen a specific topic according to their predispositions and inclinations. There is no particular ranking or order that they have to respect, or judgement.

As a result, they have the opportunity to get in touch with their true preferences and what gives them joy and purpose. They are free from a very young age to unleash their potential and their natural curiosity.

Why is it so important to ask ourselves this question as adults? To understand how much of what we think we want is spontaneous and genuine and therefore brings us motivation and meaning, and what was learned as a result of a poor and discriminatory education system. Often we are taught that some passions belong to a lower category of skills, or maybe they won’t get us anywhere in life. With these premises it is undoubtedly more difficult to discover what gift we are meant to bring as unique individuals in this World. Which is a crucial part of living a life filled with relevant and positive experiences.

• Where do I create my home?

The Montessori School in Telfs looks like a big family house. When the students get inside, they take off their shoes and wear slippers. In the secondary class, they cook 3 times per week , planning the whole menu ahead. Classes eat all together and clean after themselves, they also take care of laundry and ironing. This is, in my opinion, a good method to learn responsibility, obviously. But other that than, it pushes people to give a personal contribution to their environment. In today´s society we tend to focus more on permanent achievement rather that how important it is to grow together with our surroundings, developing, learning about it and also shaping it, somehow. We often forget that our voices and actions matter. We are connected and we can create meaningful experiences for ourselves.

• DO I SPEND ENOUGH TIME IN NATURE?

Many of us are getting progressively further from mother nature. This is understandable and logical considering urbanization. Still, we should keep in mind how important is for us, as humans, to form a relationship with grass, lakes, rivers and mountains. I think this is crucial in the teaching of Montessori School, kids spend one day per week immersed in the green. Here the territory is so amazingly beautiful and nature is rich, which makes it simples to just take a walk through the backyard and be in the forest.

Every time we step into nature and reduce external distractions we are recharging and meditating. Nature heals. It´s scientifically proven that <<Exposure to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes to your physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones>>.

I think everyone can take inspiration and example from this method of learning. As individuals and as a collective.

(This post is a sort of continuation and conclusion for the “Caturday” post I made back in April. While the quarantine is now over, I felt something needed to be added.)

Katzenheim is a small cat refuge located in Schwaz. It is linked to the “Tierschutzverein für Tirol”, an animal welfare association in the Tirol region. This place welcomes cats without owners, stray cats, or abandoned, or lost. It also accepts pregnant cat mothers and newborn kittens.

The place itself feels warm and welcoming to cats and humans alike, being more like a home than an animal prison. And the people here, professionals and volunteers alike, do their best to take care of these feline refugees, and, if possible, find them a home.

If you find yourself longing for some feline company, you can come and adopt one of the residents here. Kitten or old cat, black or white, quiet or playful, athletic or chubby: there may be a suitable companion for you.

Alternatively, if you live around schwaz and would like to get to know all of them, the shelter is always looking for volunteers to help them provide their pensionnaires with enough care and attention.

For me, I discovered the place in the middle of the confinement, thanks to the good advice of a concerned colleague. Like many people, that was not a good period for me. In fact, looking back, it may have been my absolute lowest point, emerging from a very trying winter only to enter a spring of forced passivity and powerless anxiety.

I was not alone, many people actually tried to help us all getting through that time, including the team and the other volunteers from pojat, but online socialization and distant relationships were never my strong points, and through all that I did not see much to do, write, or say, that could make it better, so I mostly kept to myself.

I started volunteering in Katzenheim, a couple of times at first, then almost everyday until the end of the shutdown; and still two or three times a week once my youth center reopened. It gave me something to do that made me feel both happy and useful. It helped give me enough will to go back to work, and later to start some projects of my own. Enough will to recontact old friends and try making new ones. Enough will to finally write this post.

Maybe that text is a bit late. The confinement has been over for 3 months, after all. But maybe confinement will come back at a later date, or maybe someone will feel as I did, for completely unrelated reasons.

I guess the point of this post is not about cats. Some people are allergic to them, some people don’t like them, some people simply don’t care about them; so what worked for me is obviously not going to work for everyone. But the actual point is, something worked. Things do, sometimes, get better.

And if that last sappy comment is not for you, then here is at least some more cute kittens.

Today I thought it’s the right day to share this video that I started to record in the first week of the quaranteen and that I finished editing today. I hope this first day back in “freedom” for Tirol will be a rebirth for all of us!

I’d like to share a little song with you, especially for the ESK-volunteers in Tirol. Soon the Corona-restrictions will be loosened 🙂 And then we’ll meet up in natura! Have fun & enjoy 😉

Here are the lyrics:
Ein kleines Lied,
ein klitzekleines Lied,
ein kleines Lied jeden Tag,
ändert dein Leben und es bleibt nichts wie es war,
ändert dein Leben und es ist auf einmal klar.

One little song,
tiny little song,
one little song a day,
changes your lifetime, into a new and brighter day,
changes your lifetime into anew and brigher day.
(by Katharina Bossinger)

D, A, Hm, E, A :// Fism, Hm, G, A ://

Just change “Lied/song” with any other word you like (eg dance, joke, kiss, run,…) and try out what happens 🙂

Lukas, POJAT

noun [countable]: a small animal with fur, four legs, a tail, and claws, usually kept as a pet or for catching mice (Cambridge Dictionary)

Cats are neat. They can be cool, classy, funny, heartwarming, impressive,cute, awesome. They are a great source of inspiration, a great companion against sadness or depression.

Cats may not be adapted for everyone. Known side effects include allergies, food consumption, decrease in environment cleanliness and tidiness and trying to unpredictably murder you while you lovinglingly scratch their bellies. Ask your veterinarian if a cat is good for you.

There is a place in schwaz called Katzenheim, a “cat refuge” where animals without owners are taken care of by people, including volunteers. A youth center for cats, in a way.

Nicolas