Calais Day 4

I've now left the warehouse and am sat in Calais port waiting for my coach back to London. I've had an extremely informative couple of days as well as having fun, which is something I wasn't expecting when I set off. Sorting out stuff in the warehouse was enjoyable due to my mindset of liking things organised and neat, and at the same time you chatted with the other volunteers, hearing their stories of why they came and what they've experienced. Most of these volunteers have been at least once before and I would love to become one of the 'repeat' volunteers. In the afternoons seeing the camp and talking to the people was amazing, seeing how enthusiastic they were to learn English and to just have something to do during the long boring days. The distribution was great to see and be part of, giving out things that we take for granted - jumpers, soap, toilet roll. Talking to people in the English classes and just in the queue for distribution I was amazed to see how upbeat they were and I enjoyed learning about their lives, their hobbies (a lot of cricket watchers) and even having them teach me a bit of Arabic (or try to anyway). I started to have fun after the nervous first hour or so and as I enjoyed myself more I saw it rubbing off on then, with the people i talked to smiling and laughing as time went on. It has been such a precious opportunity, I've learnt so much and I'd jump at the chance to experience it again. Now to be soppy, I'd just like to thank Beth and Amy for organising this trip, and I hope that the rest of the week proves even more fruitful for all the other volunteers, it's been great to meet you and spend time with you even for just 3 days ❤️

Calais Day 3

Day 3 was pretty similar to day 2, except we were less excited when we saw the bus. In the morning we were in the warehouse again, this time sorting through women's clothes ready for distribution and making sure tents had all their parts (I never want to see a tent for at least a couple of months). I was surprised at how much of the women's clothes we were discarding, but we were told that most for women and children were in a different camp so women's clothes wouldn't go with our distributions. Instead a lot of the women's clothes are passed on to other charity's here in Calais.  After another great lunch we went into the camp again doing the same jobs. Distribution in the container was such an eye opener, with these refugees desperate for simple things like jumpers and toilet roll, but politely queueing for hours at a time, with only a minority pushing in and most of them joking around and going to the back of the queue when asked. Most of the people hanging around not in the queue were purely looking for entertainment and enjoyed having conversations with us. In the evening we stayed in the camp and enjoyed a meal at one of the restaurants where people are trying to make some money, seeing as they aren't allowed to work in the town. After a brilliant dinner (with lots of amazing Chai tea) our day ended with a walk home along the beach, watching the beautiful sunset yet again.

Day 2

Our second day in Calais had an early start with us all hoping for a better day than yesterday. I don't think I've ever seen anyone get as excited about seeing a bus before but at 8:08 we already felt today was better. We arrived at the warehouse where we met the other volunteers and had a cup of tea (my first in 48 hours) before getting to work. In the morning we stayed in the warehouse where we were sorting out clothes, food and getting supplies to distribute in the afternoon. After a good 3 hours undoing and retying bin bags, sorting cans of soup and moving crates around we had a break for lunch before splitting into groups for the afternoon. We all went into the camp with different roles: some of us distributing the aid we'd sorted in the morning (today rucksacks and toiletries) and the others held casual English and art lessons. We spent about 3 hours in the camp each with different experiences talking to different refugees. We finished the day off by finally managing to find a Carrefour to go food shopping, paddling in the sea and watching the sun set over England on the horizon.

Calais Day 1

An interesting day to say the least. First problem of the day was getting from the ferry terminal to the town centre. Fitting 6 people, luggage and aid into a taxi was an experience I don't really want to experience again. We needed to go to a restaurant where we'd pick up the keys to our house, but when we got there the restaurant was shut. A phone call from a stranger's phone and some panicked French managed to get us a taxi to our house, just 3 hours after we got in off the ferry. Next step was food - apparently there was a Carrefour 20 minutes walk away. After 30 minutes walk (and a couple of detours) we were no where near any shops, so we flagged a lift off a couple to the supermarket 15 minutes drive away. Which was shut. After begging to get in for bread and milk we came away still needing tea so we stopped at McDonalds as it was the only thing open. Finally back at the house we had a lukewarm tea and a view of the sun setting over the sea finished off the day. Who knows what tomorrow will bring but we're all ready for what comes.