Volunteering is not about proving your Swedish language skills, it’s about team work. Columnist Julia Kryuk shares her afterfeelings after volunteering in Sweden for the first time.
Student Association’s Fair. Crowdy and noisy Café Athen. One can hardly see the organisations’ representatives behind the excited students. ABC, Folkuniversitet, Association of Foreign Affairs… Only in fifty minutes I find the stand with music activities in a shy corner and get acquainted with “Music i Syd” organization, holding the Lund Choral festival. Got information on volunteering, sent an application – and was quickly positively replied and kept informed.
My interest in choral festivals is not accidental. Being a part of the university choir in Belarus, I was intrigued to investigate the peculiarities for future involvement in choral festivals in Sweden, which is known as a country with the highest number of choirs per capita in the entire world.
Here, judging from the experience while volunteering during the Lund Choral Festival, I have come up with several reasons, why an international student should definitely take part of it.
First of all, it’s the best chance to learn about team work in Sweden. In my native country the concept of the community appreciating accomplishments of certain tasks doesn’t exist, because people are less responsible and try to skip their working duties. Here I was involved in working, learning and having fun at the same time, while arranging chairs for the audience compositionally correct and showing right directions to those lost during the performances. This team work spirit was a real discovery for me.
In addition, volunteering is always about mixing with people and getting to know new faces. As for me, I got acquainted with both Swedes and international students. The Swedes shared many things from their lifestyle and I told to them a lot of things about my home country. Hope we will keep in touch not only through Facebook in the future.
Moreover, volunteers at the Lund Choral Festival are always granted free tickets for the paid concerts. This is an opportunity to listen to the real ‘world choral brands’, like Chanticleer from San-Francisco and Voces8 from Great Britain, who are really worthy attending.
This volunteer week wasn’t about exploiting. It was about some 4-hours’ contribution a day in return of good mood, fresh contacts, free concerts and interesting experience. I learned new people, places, music and some skills. And though it is just about decorating arenas and concert halls, handing out programs, welcoming and escorting guests, it is still about communication, we all too often ignore in the world of growing virtuality.
Helping at the Lund Choral Festival was just a part of volunteering I implement in my life. And I know its contribution and significance for me. The simplest question a man asks himself before taking some actions or life steps is “Why I do this?” As for volunteering, I answer it as follows: it broadens my horizons and helps view the world from different perspective.
