Grazie! Hvala! Gracias! Gamsahabnida! شكرا

In the variety of languages spoken by the volunteers which visited us we would like to thank those who came to work at Modletín. Here are some memories, thoughts and feelings that come to mind when remembering our time at our workcamp.

On the first day of workcamp we picked up Mahmout from the train station in Chotebor. Mahmout is from Jordán. I asked him what he studies, and he replied that he studies business. I had assumed that he was studying in Prague, but soon realized that he had come all the way from Jordán for the sole purpose of working with us in Benediktus at the workcamp. We have worked with the volunteer organization TamJdem for many years and have had people visit from all over the world, but I was surprised to hear that Mahmout had come to us all the way from Jordán. When we arrived in Modletín we were greeted by more volunteers from around the world ; Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Korea, and of course Czech Republic.

Gradually we became acuianted with eachother, learning everyones names, speaking about our countries, lives, and cultures. In addition to participating in daily life at Modletín the voluteers did a variety of large manual labor projects such as excavating, building stone retaining walls, demolitioning flooring, and preparing firewood. We enjoyed spending the evenings together. We had a Benebend concert which was enjoyed by all. We also had an international night and a movie night . One night we visited a traditional Czech pub where we drank, played question games, and shared about our lives. I asked the volunteers why and how often they go to workcamps. One volunteer, Valentina from Italy, studies medicine and performs in a street theater. She said her friends cannot understand why she would work for free, but for her it is not just a job. She loves learning about different cultures, people, food, being with people with disabilities, and meeting othe volunteers. For her volunteering is about gaining life knowledge,

We did not want to say goodbye, we enjoyed together the fullness and richness of life.

We thank the volunteer organizers from TamJdem Andrea and Martina for the perfect organization, and thank you to our Czech and American volunteers: Jura, Tereza, Sarka, Bara, Klara, Megan, Anabel, Marcela, Matousek, Ivca, and Verca.