United Planet’s volunteer Fengzheng tells us everything about his amazing experience in a nursing home in Italy:
“Who am I?
My name is Fengzheng, a third year international student from the University of Sydney. In March 2018, via Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honors Society, I have realized that the United Planet is looking for volunteers to participate short-term quests around the world. As a member of BGS, I do believe that we should not only be satisfied with our personal achievements during academic life or professional career. Instead, the pursuit of a BGS member should be relevant to the welfare of general public. Due to such belief, I enrolled a four-week short-term project in Italy that starts at the end of November 2018.
Where I have been?
With the help of Oudou, my project coordinator, I was assigned to a nursing
home, located in Cles, a small town in the mountain area of north Italy. During the project the facility had offered me a single room with bath room, which was comfortable and convenient. Wi-fi was also provided, so that I could have more
entertainments such as internet surfing or gaming after the work. On weekdays I usually picked my breakfast at salon on the third floor and had lunch with all other staffs in the refectory. In the evening I had to pick my dinner directly from the kitchen since refectory only opened during the daytime. I don’t need to worry about laundry or other housework because professional cleaners are hired to do so. All the information with regarded to the daily living environment was informed by my project coordinator before the journey so I had a better preparation.
What’s my job?
In the morning I worked in the gym where elders did exercise to keep fit. Since
most elders were too old to stand up and walk to the gym by themselves, the first thing we needed to do was to pick them from the salon on each floor and send them to the gym by the wheel chair. Therefore every morning I would receive a name list once I got to the gym office. The list included names of elders who needed exercise today and the floor they were living. At around ten and half, we sent them back to the salon for lunch one by one. The second work was to help elders to operate those exercise machines if required, which included speed or strength control, wheel chair settlement and person placement. After sending back all elders to the salon, the daily maintenance of the equipment were arranged. I would clean every exercise machine and put chairs and other devices in order. In the afternoon my work was varied which depended on the schedule of that day. I may send elders for hairdressing, do some handcraft for Christmas decoration or serve elders when they play games. In general, I started work at nine and finished at around four. Excluding the lunch time and rest in the noon, every day the length of my working time was around six to seven hours.
What’s the challenge?
The main challenge I faced during the project is language. Before I was assigned to this project, I could not speak even a single Italian word. Fortunately, Aurora, another project coordinator in Italy, shared me some free websites to learn some basic Italian words or phrases.
Another useful tool during the travel was the Google Translate. It is highly recommended for you to download one before you start the project. Do not expect that people there at least may speak a little English. In fact most of them don’t understand any English phrase even the simplest one ‘how are you’. However, you should try your best to speak their language first rather than relying on the translate tool every time. If you can’t say a complicated sentence, try to explain only by words with some body language. This will make you much closer to local staffs as well as elders because such communication or contact is direct without machine as media.
Why I enjoy the project?
It is always exciting for me to experience different culture and lifestyle. During
the weekdays I worked with local staffs and heard some interesting stories and
learned some knowledge from them. For example, I finally understood the difference
between Espresso, Macchiato and Cappuccino when a colleague bought me a cup of
coffee. On weekends I could travel to some large cities outside Cles such as Venice or
Verona and stay for a night there. I visited many tourism attractions and enjoyed
cuisines in Italian style. All these memories are worthwhile to be treasured up for a lifetime. Besides, helping others makes me feel like I have made some tiny contributions to the welfare of the society. Although my project in Santa Maria lasted only for a month, my work was still appreciated by the staff and elders living there. They even held a farewell party for me before I left, which gave me a sense of achievement though I knew that gifts I received was actually much more than the help I had offered to them. The project overall was fun and exciting. Thanks for your reading and good luck in your own journey with United Planet.”
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ABOUT UNITED PLANET
United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. Established in 2001, United Planet offers volunteer abroad, virtual internships, internships abroad, gap year volunteering, and global virtual exchange in more than 40 countries.
