We’ve reached the first half of the volunteering experience and what a roller coaster it has been!

Unfortunately, my actual volunteering experience only began in October due to delayed medical test results (luckily, I didn’t test positive for salmonella!), an arrival training inWarsaw and a full week at home because of streptococcus. Especially at the beginning, the language barrier turned out to be a much bigger “bump in the road” than I had expected. This challenge is still very present. However, I now feel much more at ease, both with thechildren and the staff. Not only am I trying to learn Polish, but the children and teachers are also slowly but steadily improving their English, as well as their Italian.

My main activity at school, in fact, is teaching English and Italian vocabulary, which gives me the chance to really be creative with my teaching methods: the Christmas-themed bingo I organized this past December is a prime example of that. Besides these rather limited teaching moments (no more than 20 minutes a day), my role also includes helping with the preparation of school events, such as Independence Day, Christmas and Grandparents’ Day.

These months have also been an opportunity to explore the beautiful city of Kraków. I love how it manages to feel like a big city while still maintaining the cozy atmosphere of a smaller town. Thanks to its many activities and cultural offerings, Kraków has allowed me to expand my social life and interests, making friends with people who were complete strangers just a few months ago and discovering new hobbies. I finally decided to start a Brazilian couple dance class (forró) at the Multicultural Center of Kraków – something I had always been interested in but never quite had the motivation to begin – and to take up journaling, which, above all, will help me remember this experience.

Article by  Sara,

European Solidarity Corps volunteer

Point of view of European Solidarity Corps volunteers from 18/02/2026