Recently, I pulled out my journal and by chance stumbled over a page where I’d noted some goals I wanted to attain during my gap years. I started reading them and realised that, after just two months of traveling and living in South America, I’d already achieved most of them or at least was on my way to doing so.
Of course, the process didn’t just start in South America. While working in Zurich at the Foifi ZeroWaste shop and as a bicycle courier for Öpfelchasper, I certainly developed new competences and felt good doing what I did. I earned my own money and led a pretty independent life.
But here, I’ve been forced more than ever to leave my comfort zone. Three weeks ago, school started and I began my experience as an assistant teacher in a fifth grade class with nearly 30 students, all full of energy and very chatty. Being exposed to constant noise, trying to get them to calm down, memorising so many new names, it requires lots of patience and energy. Also, I’ve been assigned to work with two different kids with habilidades differentes, which is very interesting but challenging at the same time (especially as I have absolutely no experience with special needs children). I’ve reached my limits more than once, sometimes daily. But that’s what limits are there for, to be reached and tested and adapted.
I’ve taught yoga to about forty parents, I’ve spoken to complete strangers and told them my story, I’ve danced salsa in a room full of Latinos who really knew how to dance (unlike me, I barely managed to follow all the steps). At the end of this experience, I’ll have done many new things, spoken a lot of Spanish and will maybe know with more certainty what I want to do with my life. And I hope to make a difference, however small it might be.