An adventure in Georgia

Our local volunteer, Sylwia Regulska went to Georgia for a week and now, she's sharing her experience with us, thanks to Erasmus+ projects.

Sylwia is a very talented artist and she has been collaborating with us for a few years.

"Lately, I participated in an Erasmus+ training course, which was held between 8 and 16 September in Bakuriani, Georgia. The project was named “Dismantle Disinformation”, as its main aims were focused around media literacy, propaganda and social media/cybersecurity. We got familiar with several tools and ideas, to increase awareness on the topics via non-formal education in our environments/NGOs, and there was a lot of space for creativity and personal expression.

During the workshops, we could test ourselves a bit to check if we can spot and recognize fake news and manipulative techniques used for disinformation. I got familiar for the first time with techniques like “participatory photography” and “forum theatre”. At the final, we had a very informative presentation and exercise about project writing and the logistics behind it. We were introduced to several funding sources and I’m very happy with the outcome of that day. We did a great group work and hopefully, we will hold our own project someday in the future.

As the group was very multinational, I enjoyed conversations about biases and their links to our various socio-cultural backgrounds. The participants came from Portugal, Spain, France, Poland, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, and Georgia, so it was a great opportunity to have meaningful talks and first-hand opinions from citizens of such different geographic regions of both European Union and The Eastern Partnership (EaP). Obviously, on the top of everything we had great cultural exchange, and for me it was also very first direct contact with Georgia and its heritage! 

We visited historical places, had chances to talk with locals and had an amazing traditional dinner with lots of khinkali and khachapuri

Very positive experience, worth recommendation. Big thanks to the hosting organization Closer Europe Institute and MasterPeace Eastern Partnership and Central Asia Regional Hub ".

So, go and check all these amazing organizations and don't forget to follow us on social media. 

Pikniku Europejskiego

Septemeber 7th, 2019

Last Saturday, we participated in the European Picnic at the Multimedia Fountain Park in Warsaw to promote our volunteering activities, our organization programs and to play some intercultural games.

We prepared the games with interesting facts about our countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, and Honduras and from all Europe. 

So, people could throw a dice and make a quiz to test their knowledge about the European Union countries, answer some question about different facts of our countries, guess the capital cities of each European country, identify the countries in the map from Europe or Central/South America and for the food lovers, they could guess the culinary specialties from different countries. 

It was a very pleasant experience to share with people of different ages and the language didn't stop us to communicate with them.

For more information about our programs, visit: 

WORCAMPS IN POLAND

FACEBOOK:  workcamps.pl

INSTAGRAM: workcamps.pl

WEBPAGE:workcamps.pl

FIYE - POLAND

FACEBOOK: fiyepolska

INSTAGRAM: fiyepolska

WORKCAMP SEASON SERIES

Aneta and Justyna's journey

France

This time, Aneta and Justyna, local volunteers from Pułtusk are writing about their experiences. 

They went to France and participated in a workcamp together with the organization Solidarités Jeunesses.

SJ International workcamps develop useful project for the local community. They were working in the community located in the Hautes-Alpes in the long-scale project that connects the water to the cottages with pipes.⛰🏞

Aneta Kuczyńska:

“My trip to France was full of new experiences. For me, it was my first time traveling by plane and first time abroad so, this trip was accompanied by large amounts of stress! The worst part was when we missed the train but as we sat down the stress disappeared.

That night we stayed in a hotel near the train station. After putting together the luggage in the hotel, we went out and explore the city of Grenoble.

The next day we arrived at the workcamp and of course, there was stress, we didn't know anyone, we were afraid we wouldn't get along with the group.

Several days passed as we started talking to the group. Sometimes the work was hard, because most of the days were really hot. A really hot summer in France! Many of the volunteers were tired but no one gave up.💪

In our free time we talked about trips and our countries.🌍

When it was time to return, there were tears but also smiles😁. After the work was finished, everybody was happy to back to their loved ones and their home countries.

As our plane landed, we felt a great relief that the journey was behind us. When I got home I just wanted to sleep after a day trip. Memories will always be remembered.”

Justyna Ciszkowska:

“It was such a long stay away from home for me and the first time for me. I learned independence. I learn new cultures and wonderful people and visited a lot of places. The landscape was beautiful. I quickly became attached to places and people.

I think that in the future I would like to go to a similar workcamp, because it was great. The atmosphere there was indescribable, so amazing”.

Thanks! 

:) 

AROUND POLAND

Discovering  Przasnysz

Last mont I went to Przasnysz to help in the Public Library with the summer activities for kids.The kids were travelling to different places around the world by videos, presentations, food and traditional activities of each country. 🌍

I helped for three days. So, in my first day, we visited USA and ate ham and cheese sandwiches. 🥪The second day it was my opportunity to taking them to Honduras. So, I made a presentation of my country with exotic and beautiful animals. Their favorite animal was the jaguar.🐆

I was amazed how creative and intuitive kids are. I found different puppets: animals, characters from videogames, people and even a scissor! And for the masks, each on was unique and stylish.

For the last day, they were going to Egypt by dressing up as mommies, a crazy but fun idea! I was laughing all the time! 

Then, we made a fashion show, because we were visiting France, too. All in the same day!

At the end, the kids got a diploma and a book with interesting facts of the countries they visited. 

During my stay and after work, we went to Opinogóra Górna and visited the museum of romanticism. It’s a beautiful place with a castle, a mansion, a huge park and a pond with fascinating exhibitions: polish paintings, photographs, documents and independence memorabilia. They even have a place with birds! I was surprised to see a guacamaya, it reminded me to my country. 🐦

Also, we walked around Przasnysz and did sightseeing of the most important places: the church, the park and the museum of history. Przasnysz is a town full of history. Przasnysz was one of the most important cities in the Middle Age because its location and it was one of the most destroyed during the World War I.

I’m very happy and thankful to work with the people in the library. They’re an incredible team, interesting humans and since I came to the library I felt at home, it was a nice atmosphere.🥰I really enjoyed it!❤ I discovered more about the polish culture, food, people and their work. Libraries are a whole world with tons of activities to offer than just books.

Again, thank you to the library’s team, to Joanna Ciesielska-Lipka - an English teacher from ZSP for helping with translation, the kids and the director, Pani Małgorzata Sobiesiak, for having me.

*Photos were taken from the official website of the library

Go to their web page to learn more about their work, the summer activities and their offer for the public.

Website: Miesjka Biblioteka Przasnysz

Facebook:Miejska Biblioteka Przasnysz

:) 

-Jennifer Soto

WORKCAMP SEASON SERIES

9th edition of the Beaufiest'Yval

Workcamp in Mazeray, France

Hey, I'm Begüm  and I was in a workcamp last month in France for 3 weeks.  

So, let’s get started!!!

What did I do during my workcamp? 👀

My journey began with a flight from Warsaw to Paris. In Paris, I stayed around 3 days. It was my first time in France and I visited some places there. I had a great time there and I met new people. 

Then, I went from Paris to La Rochelle by bus. It was a 4-hour trip. In La Rochelle I took a train to Mazeray, a small village in east France. After two hours, I finally arrived! 🚊✌

While I was waiting at the train station, I met my camp mates from Spain, France, Mexico, Russia and Morocco. 
Finally, after a long journey, our camp leaders picked up us from train station to the place where we would be living and working. 

When we arrived to the camp area we set up the tents and met all the volunteers, all before dinner. 😁 

My workcamp was about children festival, so we had the opportunity to join some of the  workshops, and visit with the kids some exhibitions about art and history and some places nearby, too.

In our spare time we discovered different beaches around the region. 🌞🏖🌡İt was pretty good idea. ⭐

The second week, I participated in activities with children of different age groups, played games and ate lunch together in the garden. And for our meals, we prepared traditional dishes and for that, we made different groups every day. 

In the morning, we were working at the festival area. We had set up the tent for the Festival, bring the required items and do some cleaning jobs. We were a team and we liked to work that way. For instance, the first day I prepared some sandwiches and I made crêpes. It was so good and funny experince for me also.

One day we were preparing some internatıonal dishes and then sold them at the local market. It was amazing! And the other, we were going to a famous french cognac festival, in the night. 

The most amazing part in this workcamp was the circus training. During the festival circus, one of the instructors taught us some acrobatics like tightrope walking and some ball games. Finally we had some internatioanl performances with all the volunteers. We did a Turkish dance with all the participants. 

There were many events and art shows the last days. When it was over, we cleaned the festival area and removed all the tents. 

I hope next year I join this summer workcamp again! It was fun all the time. 🙌

Thanks :) 

By the way, go to the website of beaufiestyval to see the pictures. 

WORKCAMP SEASON SERIES

Lato w Teatrze: What squeaks in the grass? 

My workcamp experience

For two weeks I was in Zambski Kościelne volunteering in the summer project Lato w Teatrze: What squeaks in the grass? an artistic project for kids from the local community.

This year, the  kids discovered what the meadow hides: animals, insects and flowers, visited a few places nearby and got inspired and did a final performance with all these elements.

We were three volunteers from different countries: Almaz from France, Anna from Italy and me, from Honduras, also, we were working with local volunteers.

Our everyday work was to prepare the meals: yogurts (my favorite was the chocolate one), fruits and sweet bread, play with the kids during the breaks, help them in anything they needed and cleaning. But we also had the opportunity to join the different workshops with the instructors and learn from them. During the second week, we built a tent and the stage were the kids did the performance, were rehearsing and doing their costumes. It was fascinating to witness their creative process. We even participated in the performance, for at least a few seconds.

In our free days, we went to Warsaw and Pułtusk. In Pułtusk, we met with a few friends, we made a tour around the city, did kayaking, ate delicious food and ice cream and later we went to the beach for a few hours.
After work, in the afternoons, we were walking  around  the river, cooking some polish dishes and meeeting with the locals. We were invited to a bonfire with the kids in front of the river, we were eating, singing and laughing a lot, we had a great time.

The camp was about discovering but also taking caring of the community, that’s why we met with the kids and their parents to collected trash near the river. 

It was a great experience! Full of challenges and good moments. I learnt more about France and Italy, cooked and ate delicious dishes, improved more my skills in English and learnt some polish words with the kids. 

My favorite moments during the breaks were going with the girls and catch some ladybugs and small grasshoppers. We even, made a new friend, Mustarda, a little frog hidden in the grass.

I learnt that communication with kids is not that hard, even if you don’t speak the same language as them, if they want to say something, they somehow find the way to explain you and teach you. You only need to be motivated and be a little patient. So, by the  second week we were talking in English and Polish and it worked for us.

For me and my collegues it was an unique experience full of memories and new friends from all ages. At all time we felt welcomed and supported. So, I'd like to thank the instructors and special guests,the people from Zambski and of course, to the kids. 

Go to the facebook page and see the amazing picture of this workcamp: Lato w Teatrze. Zambski Kościelne.

- Jennifer Soto

SEE YOU SOON, ANN!

My EVS in Poland

Hey! I am Ann-Katrin but the most people here call me Ann. I am at the end of my proyect and I want to tell you what I did in Poland during 11 months. 

Let's start from the beginning! I am here since the 2th September, but I remember my first day as would it be yesterday. My coordinator picked me up from the airport in Warsaw. After a 45min drive, we arrived to my hometown (Pultusk) for 11 months. I felt really welcome when I saw this Czech girl standing on the balcony with a big smile. It wasn’t a surprise that we became friends quiet fast. 

On the same day I met my other flat mates and some polish people to play soccer and I found some amazing friends in them. I also realized some differences compared to Germany. When I find out that you can't go for shopping on a Sunday I was really surprised. On Monday we had to do organization stuff but on Tuesday I had my first day in Kindergarten. I went there and everything felt unusual but after a few days it was the most normal thing on the earth. 

But what were my tasks in kindergarten? 👀

👦👧
Mostly I helped the teacher during classes or to change the outfits of the kids when we went for a walk or to the playground. I learned how to deal with 20 kids at the same time and that you always have to look at them. They have a lot of crazy ideas. 
My favorite days had been the ones when we went for a trip. I think it wasn’t only me who enjoyed these days😎😁😁.  At some point, when our polish began to be better, we (another German volunteer and I) started msking some presentations about Germany. I guess the kids liked it but not only they learned from us we learned from them too and I have to say, kids can be really good teachers.

I had some other tasks as well. Sometimes we went to schools and had languages cafes with the students or we talked about volunteering.  On weekends, we went to some events to show of our projects or helped out in other organizations. 

I also went for two weeks to a holiday camp for kids and I gave some English lessons or helped during other activities.  Such a camp is always a nice option to get in touch with people and I hope I keep it.

I wrote a lot about work but don’t worry a volunteers have a lot free time too.😅
Most of the time, I spent it with my friends playing soccer, volleyball or go to a bar but I had some nice walks around ore area too. On weekends we made trips as well. I was lucky to discover Warsaw, Poznan, Torun, Gdansk, Krakow and Zakopane. I mean, it's always good to see something from the country you live in. Now I know the seaside🏖, the mountains ⛰ and some cities🏙 and I can say Poland is a very pretty country.

But not all of my trips were just for fun. My first trip was to Warsaw where I had my on arrival training. I met a lot of new persons and learned more about the people, the country I live in and how to deal with problems. My second training was one from my organization. We travelled to the country side and spend their 4 days together with a lot of work and a lot of fun. After the half of my project I had my midterm training. I went to Torun for this training. The main topics in this training were self-reflection and what will I do after EVS.

Now I only have four days left till I will go back to Germany with all memories I made. After this time I can say I will come back. 

See you, Poland! ❤