Visit to Szkoła Podstawowa Nr 1

Hey everyone!

This week, we had the first snowfall of the year, finally! I was really scared that we will not see the snow this winter, which is so sad and shows the seriousness of the global warming. However, fortunately we could enjoy a lovely and white view. Pułtusk is even prettier when it is all in white J

Besides snowfall, we were also honored by an invitation from Szkoła Podstawowa NR 1

im. Konstytucji in Nasielsk this week. It is a primary school in Nasielsk, which is a small town close to Pułtusk. We went there to meet the students from 4 to 8 grade and introduce our projects, countries and have a quiz afterwards.  Firstly, we were welcomed by the director accompanied with nice conversations and coffee. We introduced ourselves to them and got to know about the school. She introduced the school to us and we visited some classes. We didn’t stay very long not to interrupt them, however the students and the teachers were very nice and welcoming. We had a chance to see how they have their classes so we could compare if there is a difference between their system and ours.

After visiting the classes, we went to the room that we met students. First, the voluntary club of the school had a presentation about their activities. It was very inspirational to see what they’ve achieved as the voluntary club. They are responsible young people who are trying to have an impact on society, which is really impressive.

After their presentation, we had introduced ourselves, our countries and our projects. When we finished, we wanted to see what they have learned from us so we had an interactive quiz with them. Results were surprisingly good! I can say that they were really interested in different cultures and they asked a lot of questions to us when we were having conversations with them. At the end of the meeting, they gave us diplomas which were designed under our names. It was very nice of them, thank you once again 😍

We all had a great time in Szkoła Podstawowa Nr 1. Also, they want to host a volunteer in future which means that we will be in touch 😊

This is all from Pułtusk for now. 😋

Have a great weekend!

-Hande Ozdemir

A Day at Akademia

Hello everyone!

After a long break, we got back to work. I can’t lie, I thought that it was going to be very difficult to adapt working after the holidays, but once I got in the atmosphere I realised that I actually missed it. So I started working on our meetings excitedly💪 Since it is the beginning of a new year, we have a lot of events on our list. Last Saturday, we have started with our meeting with Akademia Humanistycza im. Aleksandra Gieysztora w Pultusku.

Akademia Humanistycza im. Aleksandra Gieysztora w Pultusku is a school which provides higher education to their students in many different fields. We have visited a class of Education Studies department whose graduates will be teachers and pedagogues.  The aim of the meeting were to introduce ourselves and our projects in Pultusk, present our countries in general and talk about the education system in our countries. For me, it was a very interesting topic since I am an English teacher. I was curious about the current situation of education and the status of teachers in different parts of the world.

We had presentations about Croatia, Honduras, Taiwan, France and Turkey.  All of us talked about the examination system, schooling years and how they are divided, universities and etc. We had a chance to compare and contrast the education in these countries. It was really interesting to see how the system differs from each other. The students listened to our presentations interestedly. The teacher, Joanna Popielska helped us with the translation when it is needed, and also asked us some questions about the things that she found interesting.

After our presentations, the class has been divided into smaller groups where we can have conversations. The aim was to discuss about education but they were also curious about our project and our opinions about Pultusk, Poland and Polish people it was a nice opportunity to learn about each other better and talk about volunteering. Then, we have discussed on some controversial issues about education such as uniforms, examination and social status of teachers. These discussions enabled us to see the differences and similarities of the current situation of education and to explore each other’s opinions on diverse topics.

I can say that it was definitely a satisfying start to a great year thanks to this meeting. It was very informative for all of us. Thanks to Akademia and Joanna Popielska for welcoming us in their class😊 We hope to see them again for another occasion in the future.

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- Hande Ozdemir

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

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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The new volunteer, Hande!

Hi!

      

         I’m Hande. I am 24 years old. I’m from Izmir which is the third biggest city of Turkey and it locates in the west part of Turkey by the Aegean Sea.  I have studied English language and literature and I have graduated a year ago. I have worked as an English teacher at some private schools in my city Izmir. I have gained experience with kindergarten, primary and secondary school students. I like working with both age groups even it may be difficult to communicate with the kindergarten kids sometimes J However we had so much fun together, even they don’t understand me all the time. We were singing songs, playing with flashcards, making handcrafts and sometimes watching animations in English. They really liked the activities we had done and they started learning the language eventually. At least, they were familiar with the basic daily words that I was using every day and they were able to answer my questions in English.

               

          In my free times, I like reading books and watching series. Since I have studied literature, I am familiar with most of the masterpieces of English and American literature. I also like to cook. I really like to try new recipes. Mostly, I cook Turkish traditional dishes but I also like to try something from different cuisines. Sometimes I can fail but at least I try to do my best J Another thing that I like to do is taking a walk or running in fresh air. I try to go and take a walk by the sea every day. Also I like to travel and explore new places. I like to meet new people from different cultures and introduce my culture to them.

        I really like to participate in cultural exchange activities. I went to Romania as an Erasmus exchange student and I lived and studied there for one year. I have met lots of great people and we had so much fun together. Also, last summer, I went to USA for work and travel program. I worked there in a restaurant as a waitress. Again, I have had very good friends and I have learned a lot. Each day, I was exploring something new. I could have the chance to compare my culture and the new culture that I’m living in. I also had chance to introduce my own culture to people from different countries.

        After one year of working as a teacher, I wanted to participate in a voluntary project. I have heard about European voluntary services when I was in Romania for my Erasmus. Then, I have started researching about it and decided that it is very interesting for me since I really like social interaction and intercultural environments. After I decided that I want to be a volunteer, I have started looking for projects on the database of European Solidarity Corps. I have applied for some of them. I wanted to find one which works with students mostly. Then I finally have found which really attracts my attention and luckily they accepted me. Now, I am a volunteer at International Youth Exchange and Voluntary Service Centre in Pultusk. We are promoting volunteering and we do activities with the kindergarten and high school students and seniors. I believe that it is a great opportunity to take part in such activities because it brings people together as a community and improves us in many ways. It is a good way of self-realization and also a nice opportunity to learn how to be respectful to the differences. 

     
        I am so excited for this 11 months :)


        -Hande Ozdemir



       This project is funded by European Union.

Language café

Last Thrusday we organized a language café in the Magdalenka Restaurant, so that local people could practise their English and get to know something about our cultures. It was a perfect day for the first language café, because that day pretty much everyone was happy due to Fat Thursday, or as we foreigners called it, the National Pączki Day, when everyone eats lots of tasty Polish Pączki. Before the event I was a bit worried if anybody would show up, but my worries proved unnecessary as a nice bunch of people eventually strolled in.

Pedro's Game

There were three tables, each of them hosted by a volunteer leading the discussion. We had some truly pleasant conversations, and the topics varied from our homelands to disco polo, trains and pączeks. After having talked for about an hour, we united the tables and played some games in order to encourage also the shyer people to use English. Everyone got a sticky note with a name of a renowned person on their foreheads. Then they had to figure out their identity by asking questions that can be answered with a yes or no only. The game was a lot of fun and everyone got a chance to speak. Time flew, and suddenly the clock was already 6 pm and it was time for the linguistic after-party.




What's more, next week it's happening again, so don't miss it!

Yours,

Petja