Wesołych Świąt!

        It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… The Christmas is almost here and we are all waiting for it impatiently. Unfortunately we won’t be able to celebrate it all together because some of us are going to spend it with our family or friends who will visit us in Poland and some of us will go back to our home. However, we had a Christmas meeting with all the volunteers this week and we had so much fun. It’s been 2-3 months that we know each other but we all feel very connected like a family. It’s great to have someone who is there for you and ready to act with solidarity.

       Even though it’s the most wonderful time of the year, it’s also kind of sad for us because we are saying goodbye to some of our volunteers. Still, we are so happy that we had the chance to meet here and spent very good time together, learn a lot from each other and shared many good stories that will stay in our memories. Also we all plan to meet sometime in the future again. So, at least we know that we are not saying goodbye forever.😊

        Since I’m from Turkey and we don’t celebrate Christmas (even though the fact that Santa was actually born in Turkey), I’m very excited to see the Christmas time, all the traditions about it and the Christmas markets! I hope to experience the Christmas in Polish way in Warsaw and of course with a lot of Christmas pierogi!😋

        We as all the volunteers from 
Pultusk, wish you a merry Christmas. I hope it will bring all of you joy and happiness! Enjoy the holidays with your beloved ones.💞😍  

LOCAL ACTION

CZAS NA WYMIANĘ

A few weeks ago, we made -finally- the meeting exchange in Pułtusk: Czas na wymianę (Time to exchange). We exchanged clothes, toys and Christmas decorations.

People from Pułltusk came and participate actively in the event, while they could get nice stuff and then enjoy tea and cookies. 

This event was part of my intercultural project in Poland, due to the program Erasmus+ Key Action 2 project “Young Leaders for Social Change: Entrepreneurship through Volunteering. The idea was to exchange items people have at home, in good conditions, but they don’t use so often, so instead of throwing them away or donate them (although it’s a good idea, too), hey could exchange them and give their items a new owner. 

As you know, in the last decades, fast fashion has become very popular all over the world, although trendy clothes are very cheap, with insane prices especially on sales, it’s very easy to throw it away and buy prettier one at the same price, but this system has negative consequences for the planet and society. And the textile industry is one of the biggest polluters of water worldwide and responsible for labor exploitation in countries like Bangladesh and India, just to mention a few ones. We wanted to address this environmental problem somehow and together we came up with this idea.

We will see the impact in a few years, it’s a small initiative, but it can have a huge impact and change our lifestyle. And nowadays when we experience fiercely climate change, is necessary to change and do something about it. 

Every small action counts!

Once again, thanks to Pub/Restaurant Magdalenka for helping us to organize the event.  

Thanks to everyone who came, participated and supported us to make it happen. 

-Jennifer Soto

International Cooking

Hello everyone!

Today, we went to Zespol Szkol im. Boleslawa Prusa to have a cooking session with the students. Before the cooking, we had a presentation about our cuisine and showed them some pictures of our typical dishes. After that, we have started making groups. We were five volunteers so the class was divided into five groups. Each group had a different recipe from different countries.

First group was Tudal's, so he had two dishes from France; galettes and ratatouille. I can tell that he and his group had a lot of work to do, but they could handle it impressively! 💪

Second group was Jennifer's and she made a soup called Sopa de Frijoles from Honduras. There were platains, meat, black beans and potatoes in it and it was served with hand made tortillas which was really delicious.

Third was Cesar's group and they made Baleadas which is a typical food from Honduras. There was smashed beans, cheese, avocados and scrambled eggs in it. He said that they can eat Baleadas for breakfast lunch or dinner, so it is very common😄


Fourth group was mine-Hande- and we cooked Lahana Sarmasi which is a very popular dish in Turkey. This is basically cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and meat. In Poland, they have a very similar dish called Golabki, so the students could compare these two dishes and see the differences.

Fifth group was Marta's and they baked typical Croatioan cookies called Vanilin Kiflice. They were the fastest group but the cookies was really tasty! 😍

Finally, after everyone finished cooking, we tasted all the foods we prepared. They were all so delicious. We also learned a lot of things about different cuisines and their eating habits.

You can find the links for the recipes below! 

-Hande Ozdemir

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/26661/stuffed-cabbage-rolls/

https://cnz.to/recipes/vegetables-grains/buckwheat-galettes-recipe/

https://tasty.co/recipe/ratatouille

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/255917/honduran-baleadas/

https://hispanickitchen.com/recipes/sopa-de-frijoles-hondurena-slow-cooker-honduran-bean-soup/

https://www.chasingthedonkey.com/croatian-cooking-vanilin-kiflice-recipe-vanilla-crescent-cookies/

International Volunteers Day in Prus

Last week, we have visited Prus with Sylwia and Jennifer for the International Volunteers Day. Firstly, Sylwia had a presentation about our organisation and our activities. Also she talked about the importance of volunteering and what we gain from it.

After Sylwia, Jennifer introduced herself and her project in Helenow to the students. She had talked about her tasks as a volunteer in the project. She also mentioned what she has learned from her volunteering and what she will bring back to Sweden when she is going back home. 

Then two of the students of Prus had a presentation about volunteering at school and the importance of it. They have talked about what competences they have and what more can be done. 

After their presentation, a psychologist had talked about disabled people and she explained what disability is after having a discussion about it with the students. Then, the owner of the rehabilitation center, Osrodek Rehabilitacji Pio, had talked about their center and how they  work. She also gave information about people with disabilities. They also made students try to use a wheel chair to develop empathy with the disabled people so they could observe what kind of difficulties disabled people face in their daily lives. 

For me, it was a very fulfilling activity. We have learned a lot about the importance of volunteering, disability and the lives of disabled people. I believe that it was an awareness raising day for all. 

-Hande Ozdemir

Volunteers Day in Kindergarten

Today, we have visited Cesar's kindergarten, Przedszkole Miejskie Nr 5 to celebrate Saint Nicholas Day and International Volunteers Day. There were four different groups, so we were divided into four and prepared different activities for each group.

Me and Chien, taught them a game that we play in Turkey. They were a little shy at first but then they enjoyed the game. We sang some English songs and we decorated cookies. After that we have prepared the advent calendar with them. Everyone had great time. 😇

Tudal and Marine taught kids a traditional dance from their region, Brittany. They really liked the dance and learned it quickly. After that they have prepared flags of our countries with the help of Sylwia. 

Marta and Jennifer taught a song and a game to their group. They were too young but still they had good time together. Then, they have prepared cards for the Saint Nicholas day. 

Anna and Cesar sang songs with their group. Anna played ukulele for them and they really liked it. She sang some German songs and it was amazing. Also they have wrapped the cookies that children baked before.

It was a great they for all of us! We are looking forward to our next meeting with them. 😍



-Hande Ozdemir

On-Arrival

Last week, Marta and me went to Warsaw for our On-Arrival training. On-Arrival training brings volunteers from all around Poland to the same place. It is a program where you can find answers to your questions about Poland, your project and everything about it. Before I went there, I was thinking that it might be a boring week which is full of cheerless sessions. But my opinion has quickly changed once I arrived to the hotel.

First meeting has started in a beautiful park which is located right next to our hotel. Our trainers divided us into groups and gave us different topics each time, so we got to know each other with the volunteers. We could learn more about each other while exploring the park. It was a very good start to a great training week.

Shortly after, we all became very good friends. We were always given very interesting topics to discuss which I find very inspiring. I had a chance to think about many subjects and compare my thoughts to the thoughts of people who are coming from different backgrounds. Even we are from different cultures, we have a lot in common and we are all here for a good reason, solidarity.

During the training, we also had a chance to learn a lot about Polish culture. We had short Polish language classes in the beginning of the sessions and we learned many phrases which we can use for daily communication. We also had an activity where we have chance to go out and search for answers of locals for many different social topics. We decided on a topic according to our interests and were divided into different groups. Some of us had meetings with organisations and some questioned people on the street. For me, it was a very good opportunity for us to see how Polish people think and how they react to different topics.

Of course, it was not always discussing and talking. On Tuesday evening, we had a city tour with a tour guide in Warsaw and we learned a lot about historical places, monuments and symbols. On Thursday evening, there was a surprise for us. A group of dancers and musicians came and had a performance which was full of fun. They taught us how to dance and we had a competition😂

It was an amazing week for all of us!


-Hande Ozdemir

Primary school in Przemiarowo

Today, we were invited to a primary school in Przemiarowo.

We had the first meeting with the young group. We have introduced ourselves and we gave some informations about our countries. Since they were young, they needed translation sometimes and Sylwia and the teachers helped us about it. 😊

After the presentations we divided the class into two. One group prepared sandwiches while the other group were playing games. Thanks to the activities, we could have a chat with the students and shared something together.

Then we have met the older group. Their levels of English were better, so this time, we could talk about ourselves and our cultures more.

After that, we have made two different salads, one Turkish and one Polish. Both were really delicious, so it was a good team work.✌😋

By the time we were making the salads, the other group were playing games like Tingo Tango. And they were punished with tongue twisters which was really funny. Also the students and the volunteers had a chance to talk about their lives, hobbies and so on.

At the end of the day, all of us had so much fun😊
Dziękuję bardzo!


-Hande Ozdemir

Our new volunteer, Marta!

The last member of our volunteer team has arrived in Pultusk yesterday and we are completed finally💪

Now let's learn about Marta!😋

Marta Bjeličić

Hello!

My name is Marta and I am 25 years old. I live in a small town that is one hour away from Zagreb, the capital of Croatia 🇭🇷. 

I just finished my studies in Zagreb, early childhood and preschool education so I decided to volunteer in Pultusk as an assistant in kindergarten to gain experience, meet new people and culture.

In my free time I like to read (mostly psychological thrillers), watch TV series and walking. I love travelling and hope to explore Poland while I am here. 

I am really exicited for this 9 months that are ahead of me.

Language Cafe at Prus

Today, we visited Zespół Szkół im. B. Prusa w Pułtusku with Chien for Language Cafe meeting.

 We started with an introduction of ourselves. We talked about our background, volunteering and the project which brought us to Pułtusk. We also wanted to get to know the students, so they have introduced themselves as well.

After that, we showed some pictures from Turkey and Taiwan. We have given some general information about our countries and cultures. They were really interested in the pictures we showed.

Chien talked about Taiwan and the most famous cities, foods and drinks of her country. It was pretty exciting to learn about Taiwan. 😅

Then I have started talking about Turkey. I showed them some of the cities, typical Turkish breakfast, Turkish coffee and the very popular Turkish series 😹 It was funny that most of their grandmothers are watching those series.

After we introduced our countries, they wanted to learn some phrases in Chinese and in Turkish language. It was great to see that they were really interested in our culture. Then we taught them some basic words and sentences in our languages.

They all tried to pronounce the words correctly and to be honest, they were pretty good at it! 😍

It was a great meeting for both of us! ✌ We are looking forward to meet them again.


-Hande Ozdemir

Monday-Funday at Golądkowo

Today, Tudal, Cesar, Chien,Sylwia and me visited a high school in Golądkowo which specializes in agriculture. We had a meeting with the volunteers club and some of the teachers.

First, we have introduced ourselves and talked about our background. We also shared our opinions about Pultusk and the volunteering experience. Then we have started getting know the students better and learned what they study in the school.

 We have talked about volunteering and we thought about how we can do something together with their volunteering club. 

At the end of the meeting, we played Speed dating game where we got chance to talk to the students one by one. We asked them a couple of questions to know them better. At first, they were a little bit shy but later on the game started to be very fun for all of us. 😄

After we finished, the students showed us around the school. It was very interesting and well-designed.

 

                  

😸We all hugged each other and said goodbye until the next meeting.


-Hande Ozdemir

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