This summer I had the opportunity to work with Elpida Home in Thessaloniki. This was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had thus far. We held a variety of English classes, ranging from youth to advanced adult.

Along with these lessons, we scheduled activities that would engage the children, all while introducing a new culture. This included yoga, group music games, football, and capture the flag.

We also partnered and planned field trips to the American Farm School. This offered the children a new environment that taught them about Greek culture and tradition.

Many experiences this summer showed me how similar people are, no matter where they are from. For example, while playing with chalk, I created a hop-scotch game, which prompted the kids to show me how they play hop-scotch in Afghanistan.

It was a fun moment because we swapped knowledge and realized that similarities are everywhere, you just need to be open to finding them.

Sharing cultures was one of my favorite parts of this summer. Bouncing between American, Canadian, Afghani, and Greek cultures and integrating them into our time with these families created a welcoming environment with space to learn from each other.