Volunteering at the World Choir Games 2014: working at an information centre
Being the central event of the Riga 2014 programme, World Choir Games brought together thousands of singers and musicians, welfare of which was provided by volunteers. Although, due to still being underage, I could not sign up for becoming a choir assistant, which - despite how challenging - would have been far more exciting, I joined the volunteer team in hopes to give a helping hand wherever it would appear necessary. Yet, having met with the organizers to find out some specific details about the responsibilities, I was able to prioritize, deciding on the tasks I was truly willing to perform. For instance, comparing work at an information centre and at the concert locations, I much preferred the former, for - instead of carrying bottles of water and handing out brochures - I wanted to communicate with foreigners as much as possible. To my delight, my wishes were taken into account, and, after arranging the working hours and the location as was convenient for both parties, I spent five days at a Riga 2014 information centre at Vērmanes Garden.
day one | six hours
As I had not received any further instructions apart from arriving on time and preferably familiarizing oneself with the general programme, finding the workplace in havoc on my first day was not a pleasant surprise. Everything - table, chairs and stands, made out of metal or cardboard, - were placed in the very corner among many boxes, most of which were either empty or filled with trash. Having no idea how exactly should an information centre look, I set it up as I thought best, struggling quite a lot to move the heavy table and the metal stand. Since my colleague, Kristīne, and our coordinator - who checked up on us soon after 10am bringing additional hand-out materials - did not seem to have any objections, I suppose, I had set up the information point acceptably.
Yet, in those couple of minutes while I was alone, the first person already managed to stop by asking particularly for the list of choirs participating in day's friendship concerts that were scheduled to take place at Vērmanes Garden and Esplanāde. While such a question was absolutely understandable, I had sought for this kind of information and knew it to be unavailable on the internet. Thus, I had to admit my lack of knowledge and apologize only to soon, upon our supervisor's arrival, learn that the programme was made on the specific day's morning. In fact, she brought us a single exemplar of the programme, which throughout the day disappointed many people who wanted to have their own copy.
In addition, at the beginning of the day, I skim-read the available brochures and other materials in order to make appropriate suggestions according to each individual's needs. By doing this, I learned that my colleague who had worked there on the previous day and, for some reason, was very intent on giving away one particular type of booklet, did not recommend the most useful materials, rather falsely claiming that the other contained everything people needed to know. So I attempted to make the situation right even if it meant stepping into some of her conversations.
Still, in general, my first day working at the World Choir Games information centre turned out better than I expected because of the society's great interest about the event. Highlights of the day certainly include a British man who greeted me so clearly in Latvian that did not suspect it being the only word he knew. Also, two Chinese women asked me to teach them how to properly express gratitude in Latvian. My biggest challenge, however, was informing a foreigner about the possible ways in which he could get from Vērmanes Garden to Ziemeļblāzma, and from there to the Stradiņš University. Since I do not live in Riga and, hence, am not familiar with its public transportation, fulfilling his request took considerable amount of time and certainly more than I would have liked. Thankfully, having expected to encounter situations like this, I had prepared an answer to the first part of his question beforehand, and had to find transport only from Ziemeļblāzma to the University.
Yet, in those couple of minutes while I was alone, the first person already managed to stop by asking particularly for the list of choirs participating in day's friendship concerts that were scheduled to take place at Vērmanes Garden and Esplanāde. While such a question was absolutely understandable, I had sought for this kind of information and knew it to be unavailable on the internet. Thus, I had to admit my lack of knowledge and apologize only to soon, upon our supervisor's arrival, learn that the programme was made on the specific day's morning. In fact, she brought us a single exemplar of the programme, which throughout the day disappointed many people who wanted to have their own copy.
In addition, at the beginning of the day, I skim-read the available brochures and other materials in order to make appropriate suggestions according to each individual's needs. By doing this, I learned that my colleague who had worked there on the previous day and, for some reason, was very intent on giving away one particular type of booklet, did not recommend the most useful materials, rather falsely claiming that the other contained everything people needed to know. So I attempted to make the situation right even if it meant stepping into some of her conversations.
Still, in general, my first day working at the World Choir Games information centre turned out better than I expected because of the society's great interest about the event. Highlights of the day certainly include a British man who greeted me so clearly in Latvian that did not suspect it being the only word he knew. Also, two Chinese women asked me to teach them how to properly express gratitude in Latvian. My biggest challenge, however, was informing a foreigner about the possible ways in which he could get from Vērmanes Garden to Ziemeļblāzma, and from there to the Stradiņš University. Since I do not live in Riga and, hence, am not familiar with its public transportation, fulfilling his request took considerable amount of time and certainly more than I would have liked. Thankfully, having expected to encounter situations like this, I had prepared an answer to the first part of his question beforehand, and had to find transport only from Ziemeļblāzma to the University.
day two | six hours
My second day began with a call from my supervisor, Evita, saying that for the first four hours this day I would be working alone, since my colleague had cancelled at the last minute. Knowing that there was hardly work for two people, I must admit feeling somewhat delighted about the news, for it meant more opportunities for me to communicate with people speaking languages other than Latvian. Considering that it was Saturday and the programme was truly colourful, I predicted this day to be full of events and was not mistaken.
First of all, as I arrived at 10am , I found a British tourist in the information tent, interested in buying tickets for a concert on July 15. We had a very pleasant conversation, and being aware of the nearest Bilesuparadize location at the National Opera I was able to help him. Throughout the day I was also frequently asked about the availability and prices of tickets as well as about the concerts and other events on the particular day. To me, I realized, the most challenging task was either showing and explaining the directions to places outside the city centre or suggesting public transportation options, for - whilst I had studied the schedules - I could not be ready to answer every possible question regarding this. A peculiar question I could answer, however, came from a woman asking for location of the fountain in the Vērmanes Garden when the information tent was right next to it.
Still, I was very glad that information centres were equipped with a computer and wi-fi, enabling me to use Google search in case I did not know the answer to somebody's question. And even then, at one point, our access to electricity was jeopardized, as a man, who claimed to be from Riga City Council, accused us of illegal use of electricity. As confounded as I was, I contacted my supervisor who then reached out to even higher authorities, leaving fixing the problem to them, which they did.
Overall, my biggest disappointment of the day was the attitude of other volunteers, my colleagues, for - apart from the late dropping out by the scheduled companion - her replacement, Ineta, arrived more than an hour late. Having been asked to be at the information centre at 2pm so that I could finally go for a lunch, the girl was on her way to lunch at 2.15. It was not her first day of work, meaning that she was indeed aware of the time getting to and from the Olympic Centre, where we could have our free lunch until 2.30pm, took. Thus, due to her irresponsibility, this was the second day I missed my free lunch, which was not pleasant on principle.
First of all, as I arrived at 10am , I found a British tourist in the information tent, interested in buying tickets for a concert on July 15. We had a very pleasant conversation, and being aware of the nearest Bilesuparadize location at the National Opera I was able to help him. Throughout the day I was also frequently asked about the availability and prices of tickets as well as about the concerts and other events on the particular day. To me, I realized, the most challenging task was either showing and explaining the directions to places outside the city centre or suggesting public transportation options, for - whilst I had studied the schedules - I could not be ready to answer every possible question regarding this. A peculiar question I could answer, however, came from a woman asking for location of the fountain in the Vērmanes Garden when the information tent was right next to it.
Still, I was very glad that information centres were equipped with a computer and wi-fi, enabling me to use Google search in case I did not know the answer to somebody's question. And even then, at one point, our access to electricity was jeopardized, as a man, who claimed to be from Riga City Council, accused us of illegal use of electricity. As confounded as I was, I contacted my supervisor who then reached out to even higher authorities, leaving fixing the problem to them, which they did.
Overall, my biggest disappointment of the day was the attitude of other volunteers, my colleagues, for - apart from the late dropping out by the scheduled companion - her replacement, Ineta, arrived more than an hour late. Having been asked to be at the information centre at 2pm so that I could finally go for a lunch, the girl was on her way to lunch at 2.15. It was not her first day of work, meaning that she was indeed aware of the time getting to and from the Olympic Centre, where we could have our free lunch until 2.30pm, took. Thus, due to her irresponsibility, this was the second day I missed my free lunch, which was not pleasant on principle.
day three | six hours
Considering that no friendship concerts took place at the central parks, fewer people came to visit the information tent and I had comparatively little to do. Thus, the most valuable gain from today, I think, was the additional experience of working out problems and disagreements whilst working in a team. Finding a compromise often proved quite difficult as calling my colleague simply "bossy" would be a terrible understatement. Apart from impolitely jumping into my conversations, she was unwilling to consider my suggestions for managing our working hours so that both of us could have our free lunch. Also, she insisted on setting up the stands differently and wanted to bring them outside, ignoring the wind and the probability of rain. Unfortunately, she had to learn the hard way when the stands got knocked over by the wind. And even though I was glad for not having to work together with this particular girl on the other days, this was an entirely different experience and I am aware of its usefulness.
Yet, regardless of the overall tediousness of the day, I had a couple of interesting encounters while my co-worker was gone. For instance, although the process - with all the internet problems - took us at least 15 minutes, I managed to help a woman wishing to sign her daughter up as a Riga2014 volunteer. Additionally, I made a few frustrated people's day better by giving them the information about the ticket windows that are open on Sundays.
Sadly, the number of people, who - unaware of the day's programme - were disappointed to find that the choirs were not singing at the parks, exceeded that of people who left our information centre satisfied. To pour salt on their wounds, tickets to the two champions' concerts at 3pm were all sold out, leaving them only the major concert at Mežaparks in the evening. The same as on the previous days, I also received complaints about things that were not my responsibility, the most memorable being one lady's five-minute monologue on 'the absolute disgrace' of Latvia's best choirs not participating at the WCG. While I did my best to listen and nod politely, I could neither appease her nor explain the reasoning behind the choirs' decisions, especially since I was not certain that her claims were true in the first place.
Yet, regardless of the overall tediousness of the day, I had a couple of interesting encounters while my co-worker was gone. For instance, although the process - with all the internet problems - took us at least 15 minutes, I managed to help a woman wishing to sign her daughter up as a Riga2014 volunteer. Additionally, I made a few frustrated people's day better by giving them the information about the ticket windows that are open on Sundays.
Sadly, the number of people, who - unaware of the day's programme - were disappointed to find that the choirs were not singing at the parks, exceeded that of people who left our information centre satisfied. To pour salt on their wounds, tickets to the two champions' concerts at 3pm were all sold out, leaving them only the major concert at Mežaparks in the evening. The same as on the previous days, I also received complaints about things that were not my responsibility, the most memorable being one lady's five-minute monologue on 'the absolute disgrace' of Latvia's best choirs not participating at the WCG. While I did my best to listen and nod politely, I could neither appease her nor explain the reasoning behind the choirs' decisions, especially since I was not certain that her claims were true in the first place.
day four | seven and a half hours
Even though on the previous days I could predict the society's interest in the World Choir Games with relative precision, I had no clue about this day. First, it was Monday, which meant a significant reduction in the number of clients who live and work outside Riga. Second, no friendship concerts were scheduled to take place at the parks until 6pm, decreasing even the number of elders who would have spent the whole day wandering around the city centre had there been anything for them to see. Third, as we had reached the middle of the event, some choirs were leaving, others were only.arriving, and I did consider Vērmanes Garden, and much less the information centre, among the first places they would choose to visit. Generally, my reasoning proved true, for - while people did come asking questions - their activity could not be compared to either of the first two days.
Contrary to the day before, this time I had a rather pleasant colleague, and, having mutual respect, we worked very effectively together. Once again I had several opportunities to practice English and Russian, doing decently even with the latter as long as the question were simple. When the conversation revolved around more complex issues, however, one Russian-speaking lady, seeing that I struggled with the language, gave me the permission to speak Latvian assuring she would understand. Thereby, as queer as it seemed at first, we talked each in our own language but understood the other nevertheless. As for my English, I feel I have to take every chance I get to speak the language, for I could not answer all the questions with the ease I would have liked.
Overall, most of the questions, of course, were about the day's programme as well as about the tickets for the night's big concert at the Arena Riga. Much as I expected, the number of people stopping by the information centre increased only in the evening - around 5pm when the keenest fans of choral music arrived to ensure they has a first-row seat at the friendship concert. If I ought to name the disappointment of the day, this time it would be the work of our supervisor who, by bringing the concert programme only in the afternoon, disabled us from answering many people's question about the participating choirs. Still, the joy from helping people prevailed everything, and one old man even bought a wooden knife for allowing him to use our electricity cable to charge his phone.
Contrary to the day before, this time I had a rather pleasant colleague, and, having mutual respect, we worked very effectively together. Once again I had several opportunities to practice English and Russian, doing decently even with the latter as long as the question were simple. When the conversation revolved around more complex issues, however, one Russian-speaking lady, seeing that I struggled with the language, gave me the permission to speak Latvian assuring she would understand. Thereby, as queer as it seemed at first, we talked each in our own language but understood the other nevertheless. As for my English, I feel I have to take every chance I get to speak the language, for I could not answer all the questions with the ease I would have liked.
Overall, most of the questions, of course, were about the day's programme as well as about the tickets for the night's big concert at the Arena Riga. Much as I expected, the number of people stopping by the information centre increased only in the evening - around 5pm when the keenest fans of choral music arrived to ensure they has a first-row seat at the friendship concert. If I ought to name the disappointment of the day, this time it would be the work of our supervisor who, by bringing the concert programme only in the afternoon, disabled us from answering many people's question about the participating choirs. Still, the joy from helping people prevailed everything, and one old man even bought a wooden knife for allowing him to use our electricity cable to charge his phone.
day five | six hours
Since this was the last day of choir competitions as well as friendship concerts, I expected that many people would take the last chance to enjoy the amazingly diverse choral music that the programme provides. At the same time, however, the availability of useful information had increased during the Games, suggesting a subsequent decrease in the need of information centres. Indeed, as even the friendship concert programme was finally available on the internet a day early, half of the people that came to the information centre wanted either a confirmation or simply someone to talk to.
Out of the many conversations I had this day, the most challenging was with a French pair who, wanting to buy airplane tickets, attempted to explain half of their request in English, half - in French. Hence, understanding what they wanted took several minutes, and answering them whilst actively gesticulating to get the message across was even harder. Even more so because - giving our best effort - we could not satisfy their wishes and assure that buying plane tickets outside the airport was at all possible. Google did not help at all, for only opportunities to purchase tickets online popped up, a possibility the pair - having a good reason, I am sure - categorically refused to consider.
Also, I experienced a rather interesting encounter with a lady who wanted to go to a sacred music concert and asked whether she had to buy a ticket. Considering that no tickets had ever been for sale, I guessed the event was for free, and, thankfully, because of the slight uncertainty of my answer she encouraged me to contact the organizers. Much to my shame, although essentially listing the event in the programme was the organizers' fault, the concert turned out to be accessible with an invitation only.
Furthermore, apart from the usual questions, I met a lady from the UK who, having just arrived, had not heard about the World Choir Games at all. Thus, I could finally put my extensive research to use and tell her all about the event. In addition, more than twenty people came asking for the Positivus tent, and, again, since it was out of my competency, I could neither answer nor help them find it myself.
Altogether, I believe that I - being a volunteer - enjoyed the event no less than the singers and all the people who devoted their time to hear the choirs sing. The awareness that, during these five days, I managed to help so many people is very rewarding.
Here, as always, are some photos I took during the WCG:
Out of the many conversations I had this day, the most challenging was with a French pair who, wanting to buy airplane tickets, attempted to explain half of their request in English, half - in French. Hence, understanding what they wanted took several minutes, and answering them whilst actively gesticulating to get the message across was even harder. Even more so because - giving our best effort - we could not satisfy their wishes and assure that buying plane tickets outside the airport was at all possible. Google did not help at all, for only opportunities to purchase tickets online popped up, a possibility the pair - having a good reason, I am sure - categorically refused to consider.
Also, I experienced a rather interesting encounter with a lady who wanted to go to a sacred music concert and asked whether she had to buy a ticket. Considering that no tickets had ever been for sale, I guessed the event was for free, and, thankfully, because of the slight uncertainty of my answer she encouraged me to contact the organizers. Much to my shame, although essentially listing the event in the programme was the organizers' fault, the concert turned out to be accessible with an invitation only.
Furthermore, apart from the usual questions, I met a lady from the UK who, having just arrived, had not heard about the World Choir Games at all. Thus, I could finally put my extensive research to use and tell her all about the event. In addition, more than twenty people came asking for the Positivus tent, and, again, since it was out of my competency, I could neither answer nor help them find it myself.
something besides work
As much as I enjoyed working at the information centre, to me the central event of the World Choir Games was the King's Singers' workshop at July 16. Having missed the concert at the Arena Riga, I readily signed up to a workshop of this amazing British a capella group. During the workshop they performed numerous songs, talked about the importance of breathing together and the techniques they use to achieve such a wonderful sound. Also, the singers shared their experience of singing in different languages. Regardless of imperfect pronunciation, their version of the Latvian folk song Tumša nakte zaļa zāle was simply spectacular, and the explanation of the meaning of the song (a sad story about a man who has lost his horse because of the thick fog) made the audience laugh. Sadly, the most flamboyant member of the group, Paul, who has been with the group for seventeen years, is leaving the King's Singers in three weeks, wherefore seeing him sing was almost an unbelievable luck.Altogether, I believe that I - being a volunteer - enjoyed the event no less than the singers and all the people who devoted their time to hear the choirs sing. The awareness that, during these five days, I managed to help so many people is very rewarding.
Here, as always, are some photos I took during the WCG:
the information tent early in the morning
information centre, day one
info flag
the chaos at back of the tent
the volunteer's T-shirt and ID card
Vērmanes Garden, a Friendship concert
my ticket to the King's Singers workshop
at the workshop: the stage
the second countertenor, Tim Wayne-Wright
the first baritone, Christopher Bruerton
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My reflections
Regarding the World Choir Games as the central event of the whole Riga 2014 programme I was certain of my desire to be a part of it, wherefore becoming a volunteer was an action fully thought through. Since I was not yet 18 years old at the time, I could not sign up to the very demanding choir assistant's position, which was a disappointment. Still, I took the chance to work at an information centre in Vērmanes Garden for five days, and I must admit - due to the variety of questions people asked, the task was far more challenging and, thus, interesting than I dared to expect.
Although I was aware of the importance of providing accurate information and thus made myself familiar with the programme, prices and public transportation schedule, I rarely felt prepared. For instance, not knowing Riga as well as one working at an information centre probably should was a significant obstacle, which hindered me from answering several questions with respect to certain locations. By researching some questions afterwards I found I had made a couple of more or less crucial mistakes, especially when trying to suggest convenient transportation options. Nevertheless, having studied most of the available materials about the World Choir Games themselves and adapting to changes with relative ease, I was able to help thrice as many people as I could not. The awareness of that alone is enough to make me rewarded by this experience.
My main objective, however, was improving my foreign language skills, both English and Russian, by engaging in conversations with people from abroad - either participants or tourists - as much as possible. Considering that the approximate Latvian-foreigner ratio was 1:5, I had a plethora of opportunities. While asked questions of various complexity, including some I could not answer in Latvian, I was gaining confidence with each passing day, being rather surprised about my ability to communicate even in Russian. Also, as I had to work together with a different colleague every day, I had to adjust to certain peculiarities in their personalities, such as the need to chime in every conversation and make the work appear almost as a competition. Being a part of five different duos, I became more aware of my capability to persuasively present my opinion, which certainly requires improvements as my thoughts were disregarded as often as not. At least now I know I have to look for opportunities of similar kind in order to improve my work in a team.
Yet, despite the difficulties, I met so many fascinating people during this week and even participated in the King's Singers workshop that I do not regret a single moment of it. I believe that I - being a volunteer - enjoyed the event no less than the singers and all the people who devoted their time to hear the choirs sing.
Although I was aware of the importance of providing accurate information and thus made myself familiar with the programme, prices and public transportation schedule, I rarely felt prepared. For instance, not knowing Riga as well as one working at an information centre probably should was a significant obstacle, which hindered me from answering several questions with respect to certain locations. By researching some questions afterwards I found I had made a couple of more or less crucial mistakes, especially when trying to suggest convenient transportation options. Nevertheless, having studied most of the available materials about the World Choir Games themselves and adapting to changes with relative ease, I was able to help thrice as many people as I could not. The awareness of that alone is enough to make me rewarded by this experience.
My main objective, however, was improving my foreign language skills, both English and Russian, by engaging in conversations with people from abroad - either participants or tourists - as much as possible. Considering that the approximate Latvian-foreigner ratio was 1:5, I had a plethora of opportunities. While asked questions of various complexity, including some I could not answer in Latvian, I was gaining confidence with each passing day, being rather surprised about my ability to communicate even in Russian. Also, as I had to work together with a different colleague every day, I had to adjust to certain peculiarities in their personalities, such as the need to chime in every conversation and make the work appear almost as a competition. Being a part of five different duos, I became more aware of my capability to persuasively present my opinion, which certainly requires improvements as my thoughts were disregarded as often as not. At least now I know I have to look for opportunities of similar kind in order to improve my work in a team.
Yet, despite the difficulties, I met so many fascinating people during this week and even participated in the King's Singers workshop that I do not regret a single moment of it. I believe that I - being a volunteer - enjoyed the event no less than the singers and all the people who devoted their time to hear the choirs sing.
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