As promised in the other blog entry, here is an account of my self-awareness week on Tenerife. In case you didn't read the other entry, I'd recommend you do so, otherwise it'll be harder to understand because you lack background information.
Let's start at the beginning:
My mum works as a receptionist in my father's practice and a few years ago she also graduated in Lebens- und Sozialberatung (I'm sorry, I don't know what that is in English). So she definitely works in the social sector and therefore is qualified to take part in one of the self-awareness weeks Roma and Volker are holding on Tenerife. I don't remember how she happened to know about them, but as soon as she heard what they are doing there she wanted to go to Tenerife and take part in one of those groups. And so she did. When she came back after that week she still was so overwhelmed and amazed by the experience she gained that she decided she wanted us, her children, to go there too.
Usually Volker and Roma would not take on youth groups, especially because none of us is disabled or works in the social sector. Nevertheless, my mum somehow managed to convince the couple to take us as a group.
She gave it to us a present (unfortunately those weeks are really expensive) and in March 2012 we finally went there, dying of curiosity. We, that's my four brothers and sisters and me.
^^us on our last day on Teide (volcano of Tenerife)
We arrived on Tenerife, and on the first day we moved in into our accommodation, a self-catering holiday flat with an amazing view. Afterwards we met Roma and Volker for the first time, and also the two other members of our group, Fabienne and Simone, two Swiss girls. We then sorted out our snorkelling-equipment and had our first experience of snorkelling in the ocean of Tenerife - not in the open sea, of course, but in one of the bays.
^^view from our balcony
The usual schedule of our days was like this:
- We were divided up in two groups. The first group was going out on the sea before noon, the second group in the afternoon to encounter the whales/dolphins. The other group had some time off in the meantime, but we were asked to stay away from the Internet e.g. or don't talk too much to people who are not part of the group. This was in order to allow the encounter with the animals to develop to the full.
- We met every evening for a Sharing. In these Sharings we told the others about our personal encounter with the whales (unfortunately we never were able to swim with dolphins because they always were too far away) and how we experienced it. With the help of Roma and Volker we managed to go into depth and not cling to the shallow "They were so close.".
This went on for 6 days, on our last day, however, we drove up the volcano Teide instead of going out on the sea and had our Sharing there, with the aim to come back to earth again. When we returned in the evening we met on the beach to hold a fire ritual with a campfire.
Usually we were not allowed to bring a camera on the boat, because we were supposed to truly experience what was happening around us, and not only to see it through a camera lens. This was really a good thing, even though I didn't like it too much at the beginning. But seriously, if you're at some amazing place, no matter which one, take your ten photos and then put away your camera and just enjoy the magic around you. You get a lot more out of something that way.
Anyway, on the last drive we were allowed to bring our cameras and take some photos AFTER the encounter, plus Volker took some photos most of the time while we were in the water with the whales.
^^ the beach right next to our apartment
^^ our group, having dinner together
^^ one of the whales
^^ yep, we even met some turtles :)
Well, some of you might think that this was all very spiritual and far from reality, but what you feel when you meet those majestic animals can neither be described nor compared to anything I know. It was absolutely amazing to have the chance to swim with those whales, knowing that they are here with you because they CHOOSE to, not because they can't get away. The whales are understanding and calm, they don't judge you, and if they look you in the eye it feels as if they can see right into your soul. Which they probably can. An encounter with a free animal like that is really terrific and it sets off a lot inside you if you allow it to. The Sharings were really good because it often helps you to understand yourself better if you say out loud what you think/feel.
Besides the fact that this was simply one of the most amazing things I ever had the luck to experience, I also got a lot out of the time on Tenerife.
First of all, I started to be more self-confident and it became easier for me to speak my mind. I became more aware of my wishes and needs, and I would probably not have managed to decide on studying Translations if it would not have been for my week on Tenerife. For one of the first times in my life I was told to do what I want with my life, and not what others expect me to do or what is financially rewarding. As for Translations, I hope it is both, what I want and financially rewarding-or at least I'd love to be able to make a living. ;)
Also, this week together on Tenerife forged an even stronger bond between my siblings and me. Even though our relationship never was bad or anything it really did change to the better during our holiday there. We are much closer now. In addition to this, it was really important for me personally, because I started to feel as a real part of our group of siblings. This was always a problem for me because all my brothers and sisters are only one year apart from each other, but I'm three years younger than my youngest brother.
So, as you can see, I had an amazing time on Tenerife and gained a lot from it. If I ever have the money to go there again, I definitely will. :)
^^ one of the photos Volker took from me and a whale :)
No comments:
Post a Comment