This year last two weeks of January were the winter break, which is why many schools and kindergartens were closed. For this reason, most of our volunteers gathered in Nowa Huta and had a unique two-week experience. 

First week 

The first day we did some activities together and we created a name for our group of volunteers – Zabcie. We played some ball games, and we also wrote compliments in the mailbox about each other. This activity was repeated every day during our winter break. On Tuesday we went to the National Museum of Kraków (Museum Naradowe) where we saw some art exhibitions. 

On Wednesday and Thursday, we were taught how to do a workshop, and we prepared some of them for the upcoming week. Lastly, on Friday we went ice skating in Park Jordana, where Nisa, Nada and Ana skated for the first time in their lives.  

Second week 

On the second week we presented our workshops to the children and the rest of volunteers. On Monday we conducted a workshop about nonviolent communication, we played Mafia and we practiced our Polish vocabulary through various games. Tuesday was the day dedicated to recording some TikTok trend videos and learning about intercultural competence while on Wednesday, we learned about theater and improvisation. Thursday was the day that Nisa and I led our workshop for the kids. Our topic was art and we gave them some drawings to be colored and Nisa painted their faces and hands. 

On Friday it was Annette and Nada’s turn to organize the workshop for the children about magic. The rest of us did a cooking workshop lead by Giacomo who showed us how to prepare some Italian pizzas. They were delicious! 

In the afternoon, we all came together and went to a bowling alley to play for an hour. For some of us it was their first time, and they did an amazing job! At the end of the time, Giacomo was the volunteer with the most points and he was our winner. 

Article by Anna,

European Solidarity Corps volunteer.

Winter break by European Solidarity Corps volunteer from 04/02/2025.