EVS volunteers from different foreign countries in Poland. (part4)

Today we want to share with you the fourth part of interviews with foreign volunteers who came for EVS projects to Poland.
(Previous parts can be found here -part1, here -part2 and here -part3 )

There is always written volunteer's name, age, country where he/she comes from and the city where he/she lives in Poland.

Veronika, age 24, Belarus, Olsztyn 

 1. Why/how did you decide to do EVS project? And why in Poland?

I didn’t have that much choice about the country. I found a project in Poland and I got accepted. I wanted change. I wanted to change a place and work. I wanted to do something useful. So for me the decision didn’t depend that much on country and neither project.

2. What is your project about? What are your daily tasks?

I work with children, I participate in some activities of youth organizations and I also do workshops for students.

3. What did you gain from your experience here, what did you learn while participating in the project?

I realized that I can live in another country, I can survive in any situation. I can do things. I can do work I have never done before. I am also not afraid to communicate – in general and in English. Now I can also speak Polish a bit. And I know principles of NGO – what is it, how it works. After my EVS I would maybe like to work for some NGO in Belarus.

4. What would you say or advice to future volunteer/s? (It can be someone already selected or someone who is considering EVS project...)

Don’t be afraid to go somewhere and don’t be scared that you don’t speak the language. Just try it!

5. What do you miss the most from your country? Something you cannot find in Poland?

My boyfriend and my friends.



Charlotte, age 25, France, Bydgoszcz 

1. Why/how did you decide to do EVS project? And why in Poland?

My friends went for EVS to Romania for 11 months and they told me about it. I could have done Erasmus with my studies but I wanted to see the country from another point of view. I think if you do Erasmus connected with studies you stay more with the people of your own nationality. But if you do EVS you can have better perspective. You work with people from Poland. I also wanted to have work experience. I meet people, learn language. So I have traditional reasons.. And I came to Poland because of the project, I would actually prefer Turkey or Greece but Poland came as a chance. (Poland was my 3rd choice of countries.)

2. What is your project about? What are your daily tasks?

I started here as English teacher for unemployed people, but now I am coordinating short-term EVS projects.

3. What did you gain from your experience here, what did you learn while participating in the project?

A lot of things. First of all – languages. I am more fluent in English for instance. Then work experience – some knowledge in IT, social work with unemployed people and with that are connected also social skills. Being with unemployed people, speaking with them about different topics like religion, politics, home country…

Living and working with volunteers from another countries also taught me a lot. And also important is travel experience.

4. What would you say or advice to future volunteer/s? (It can be someone already selected or someone who is considering EVS project...)

Open your eyes, put your stereotypes in your pocket and you will find some stuff you were actually not looking for.

5. What do you miss the most from your country? Something you cannot find in Poland?

 

Red wine, baguette and cheese.

Hanna, age 22, Ukraine, Leszno

1. Why/how did you decide to do EVS project? And why in Poland?  

I had finished my Bachelor studies last year, but didn’t want to enter Master studies immediately, so I decided to take a gap year, and I thought that EVS will help me to understand what I want to do in future. In June I was selected by an organization in Gdańsk, but, unfortunately, that project wasn’t approved. But still I hoped to do EVS so much, that I found another project in October – it was an open call because visa application of a selected volunteer was rejected. So, on the 1st of November I’ve started my project in Leszno. I chose Poland because I was learning Polish at university, travelled to Poland before, so I fell in love with this country and wanted to live here for some time.


2. What is your project about? What are your daily tasks?

 

Here I mostly work with kids. I have different presentations in kindergartens and schools about Ukraine (traditions, language, culture, politics etc.), different workshops (for example, about human rights, recycling), and day rooms (świetlica). Also I teach adults English, edit a blog and have different paper work.

 

3. What did you gain from your experience here, what did you learn while participating in the project?

 Due to a project I became confident in public speaking, became more communicative, learnt how to live and work in multicultural environment and solve problems there. I’m not afraid of kids anymore and understand behaviour of different age groups better. And, of course, I improved my English and Polish very much.

The most valuable for me are my personal changes (I became more open-minded and communicative), teaching experience, and friends I made here.

4. What would you say or advice to future volunteer/s? (It can be someone already selected or someone who is considering EVS project...)

 

I’d advise to choose a project, not a city, check carefully what organization is doing and probably ask for contact details of current or previous volunteers. Also be mentally prepared that you may live or work together with people you don’t like, or have some other problems, so sometimes it takes time and affords to deal with some situations.

5. What do you miss the most from your country? Something you cannot find in Poland?

Ukraine and Poland are not so different, so I can’t say that I miss something from there. For sure I miss my friends and family, but nowadays we are happy to have Skype, Facebook and so on, so communication is not a problem.