Hello, it’s Tim and I’m writing again our new Monday Post!
The main subject of the last blog was departures but I conclude this post by saying that the magical aura of Bergolo makes people come back. And, you will see, that's exactly what happened this week! I also talked about two new arrivals on Sunday night. It’s time to reveal this mystery to the world and present our new short-term volunteers: Burak and Bertan!
Burak (left) and Bertan (right) helped Cascina Team but also support us all this week in Bergolo!
Burak and Bertan are both turk. Turkey colony is getting stronger now in our team and starts to seriously compete with the Ukrainians and Greeks (and believe me, that's quite an achievement). Bryan tried to compensate this phenomenon by inviting a greek friend, Georgia, but it’s definitely Turkey that has arrived in force in Bergolo this week!
Burak and Bertan will stay for 2 months in Italy but, actually, they are not volunteering for NWE and Vagamondo like us, but for another association called "Parco Culturale". Also, they will work in Monesilio instead of Bergolo. But, for now, we are benefiting from their presence in Bergolo for two weeks and we enjoy the time spent with them! You already saw in the first picture that they were part of the Cascina team this week, but they also helped us in our work in Bergolo and we are glad to have them with us! Both of them have also a role in the project we are currently hosting (I will talk about this project later, I promise).
Raul also came back from holiday this week with great energy and motivation for his next challenges in the kitchen. He tried a lot of new recipes this week and we were all glad about this! For me, life can be as simple as that: you bring good food cooked with love and passion and it's enough to make me happy for the week. So thank you a lot Raul for this culinary week, I really enjoyed all your dishes! (and I’m sure this is the case for everyone!).
Talking about this topic, I was sad to announce the departure of our chef, Davide, last week. But Bergolo is always afraid of emptiness and has already welcomed a new chef: Michael. This guy speaks super good French, which makes him already a great man. But I can also guarantee that he is a very good chef and the team he forms with Raul in the kitchen is already a great success. The food at Bergolo is very good, to my great delight!
To make up for all the calories I had stored, I went for a run a few times this week, including once with Mia and Sophie. I also work out with Raul. Since I'm here, I saw a lot of motivation from many volunteers to get in shape, or just simply to put our well-being as an important part of our experience. I'm really happy with the momentum that's going on here because it's also important that we focus on our personal well-being in order to enjoy completely our experience here. Personally, I know that I need this to be happy, and being surrounded by people that also go in that direction inspires me a lot and always keeps me motivated. Bergolo is the perfect place to be in motion while enjoying the beauty that nature has to offer.
As regards work, we are still spending our time in the office preparing for the various projects that await us this autumn. Our winter garden is also taking shape in Cascina. Note that, compared to last week, our two coordinators are no longer sick! Silvia can again devote all her energy to our garden but also as member of the team for the new project that we receive (wait a little bit more, I swear I will talk about it). Adele is also back in shape in the office and everything is going well (except when she allows herself to touch my stuff).
Ok Adele it’s cute... I'm glad that you are back, and I can share a little bit, but don’t forget that it’s MY baby!
We only had one person who left us in the middle of the week to go on vacation: Angelina. She had a nice vacation in Como with her friend to celebrate her birthday. I think she enjoyed it and we are all happy for her (as usual she takes beautiful pictures).
Speaking of the volunteers who have not yet returned to Bergolo, Mili is still in a training course in France. We hope that everything will go well and I'm sure that she will have a lot of things to tell us when she will come back!
And finally, here we are, the main event of the week: I announce the opening of the autumn projects in Bergolo! We host a new project called “Walk on the New Path”. Participants arrived Saturday night and, after these two weeks of calmness, we are glad to host another Youth Exchange in Bergolo.
As I said before, Raul and Mickaël are already making splendid meals in the kitchen. Sophie and Bertan form a solid team to take care of the visibility. Mia prepares the breakfast, Sefa and Burak prepare the coffee breaks. As for me, I help the chefs a bit with the dishes but I'm mostly involved in keeping the office alive with Angelina, Mia, and Sefa. It’s all the more important as Adele left us alone to participate in the project: we are very happy that she can live this experience and I hope she will enjoy it. Our participant Adele will be in good hands since our facilitator Fabri will be surrounded by a great team with Silvia, Bryan, and Livia.
PS. Little Sofia still didn't manage to get out of Bergolo