Bridging Cultural Gaps: Winnie’s Unforgettable Volunteering in Azerbaijan
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Addressing and embracing struggle is the first step to fostering growth. Six weeks, one new country and countless memories.
“Salam. Necəsən?”
If someone greets you with that, then you can answer them with ‘Salam. Yaxşıyam!’; a simple greeting in Azerbaijani, like the English ‘how are you?’ and ‘fine, thank you, and you?’.
Winnie had found herself using this many times throughout her volunteering experience in Azerbaijan. This was facilitated through our ‘Youth 4 Impact’ project, where Winnie taught English at local tuition centres for six weeks.
While six weeks sounds like a long time, it’s a hidden gem in our available experiences- more than worth it. Winnie deepened her personal growth and produced a substantial positive social impact.
With zero knowledge of Azerbaijan, Winnie found it difficult to communicate with her host family fluently. Slowly but surely, (and Google Translate), they were able to bridge the gap, and soon enough, she and her roommate found that they had picked up some Azeri and the host family had picked up English!
Seeing the impact first-hand, Winnie felt luck was on her side.
She bonded deeply with her host family and her volunteer roommate, staying with her. The unconditional care and love she received from the host family were incomparable; the warmth transcended all language barriers.
However, the same barrier would follow her to her job site. The place where she was determined to make the most impact. Communicating with entry-level students was difficult; they relied heavily on translator apps to learn new English words. Apart from the lexicon itself, some students couldn’t understand her speech as they were used to their Azeri accent.
As these mountains stood before her, Winnie managed to embrace and acclimate to her surroundings- finding a new appreciation for what she could do. Both she and the students were able to share knowledge in this experience- something we at AIESEC strive for.
Now, Winnie has a stronger understanding of the importance of:
Winnie was also able to share her experience with another volunteer, her roommate, the two bonding over their mutual ups and downs. From this, a deep friendship bloomed. At the date of this post, Winnie’s journey was a year and a half ago- the two are still in close contact today!
Although her volunteering role was to tutor English, Winnie was excited to share more- her Malaysian heritage. Through a ‘Global Village’ event hosted by AIESEC in Baku (the capital of Azerbaijan), she was able to present a stand for Malaysia. For some, it was their first time learning about Malaysia, which goes to show how important Winnie’s impact was.
Just like Winnie, you too can make this impact through our many Global Volunteer experiences. Unforgettable and priceless memories are ready to be found, so what are you waiting for? Sign up now with the button at the top right of the page, we’re all rooting for you!
“It was really special to me that I was the one to introduce my culture to people. And I’d like to think that there’s some ripple effect!”
Memories
