Quite simply, it’s your free time and every place is different. Whether after work, on public holidays or at weekends, try to get involved in local life as much as possible and follow your interests. Try to get involved in local activities organised by the community or even your project. Explore your home town and region, do things with your project colleagues and other volunteers. Or get to know your host family better, take part in their life or just spend time with the members of your “new” family.
Ask your project supervisor about historical sites and museums you can visit, or go on excursions to nature parks or the local area where you can go hiking or swimming. Don’t spend your time “in front of the TV”. Group activities are a great way to get to know the country and its people, or simply to make new friends.
Bear in mind, however, that there are not many or any activities available everywhere. But that is why you are here: To enable children and young people to enjoy sports and leisure activities. So be creative, flexible and independent in your free time.
Even if you don’t speak the local language, it’s worth learning a little. You don’t need to speak it perfectly, but use your free time to learn useful words, phrases or sentences. This will make it easier to communicate with the locals, project staff and the children and young people in the project, and will create more mutual trust and understanding.
Are you open to new food experiences? Go to the local market with your host family, cook together, try out recipes and get to know the local cuisine. You may also have the opportunity to share your favourite recipes from home and cook them with your host family. This is another way to immerse yourself in the culture, chat while cleaning vegetables and get to know each other better.
But don’t forget about yourself either. Daily sporting activities, working with children and young people in disadvantaged and poor communities, or perhaps temporary tensions in the host family can push even trained coaches like you to their mental and physical limits. Use your time to relax, meditate, exercise, read a book or recharge your batteries in other ways. Look for local sports opportunities outside your project if your own project does not offer sports programmes for your age group. This will not only keep you fit, but will also help you to make new contacts and connections in the community.
Despite all the possibilities, you should discuss any activities outside your accommodation with your host family or project management in advance. This applies both to the times and to activities in certain locations that may be considered less safe. Find out about the flora and fauna and possible dangers when hiking or swimming. For safety reasons, please also inform your host family when, for how long and where you will be going. This will reduce their worries. Remember that this is not about control, but about care. Even though your free time is your personal free time, all activities should of course be in line with the project’s guidelines and values as well as the customs and traditions of the country.
Remember that you are not only a volunteer sports coach in a social project, but also an ambassador for your own country and its culture.
