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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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.