"Where should I begin? A lot happened this week, we learnt some very useful information about the project, about Polish and each other’s cultures and overall health. But probably the most meaningful are the friendships that were formed" -Fanni.

Arriving to Warsaw

On the first day, we arrived at the training hotel in Warsaw and met the volunteers from all around Poland. We introduced ourselves to each other, and we exchanged our cultures. Then we had different and different workshops. We talked through the essence of volunteering, and the significance of solidarity.

Exchanging cultures and Polish course

“On Tuesday, the activity I liked the most; we were divided into groups of 3-4 people and everyone talked about the topics they wanted to talk about related to their country. I had the opportunity to have an idea about the countries in this conversation. This activity makes me very happy because I am very happy to get to know new cultures and new people”- Bünyamin.

We also had an introduction to the Polish language, about letters and how to pronounce them.
We have learnt some useful phrases, such as:
’Hello! I’m Fanni and I’m from Hungary’ –  ’Cześć! Ja jestem Fanni i jestem z Węgier’.

Get to know from local people!

“On Wednesday we had a fun activity. We were split into little groups and we had to go to the city center, to ask local people to get to know the Polish culture better. From Taboo topics or Holidays, to Warsaw’s mermaid legend there was everything to chat about.

The topic that interested me the most was the art and artists in Poland. I had the chance to learn more about it” – Bünyamin.

Creative problem-solving together

Thursday we had a special guest from the National Agency, so it was all about the formalities of the project itself and our possibilities through it.

We as well had a task to choose one of the possible problems we can experience through the time of volunteering and made a small theater about it. The topic chosen by our group was about feeling dysfunctional while working here and solving this problem.

Forest wandering…

Since Friday was the last day, we remembered what we had done for the week and talked about it. We talked about what we learned here. It was an emotional environment because it was the last day of our training. We talked about the emotional effects of moving abroad, and in four different elements and groups we talked about some solutions, while walking in a nearby forest. 

"In summary, I had an amazing week, I learned a lot, and it felt great to talk to other volunteers living in Poland and share the same things. I am looking forward to the next training, see you soon"  - Bünyamin.

Article by Fanni and Bünyamin,
European Solidarity Corps volunteers.
On-Arrival training for European Solidarity Corps volunteers from 15.01.-19.01.2024.