Siema! Mam na imię Luisa. I am 22 years old and half of my family is Czech and half is Austrian. I was born and raised in Vienna and have lived there my whole life. Vienna and Kraków seem to have a lot in common (from what I’ve seen so far) – a lot of nice bike routes, great and sometimes very niche events that you can attend and a lot of parks!
For the last three years I have been doing my bachelor’s degree in psychology which I officially finished a few days ago! During that time I worked and volunteered a lot with children and teenagers from all around the world. I celebrated birthdays with them, taught them how to ice skate and was even invited to join them for dinner at home with their families. Because I formed so many special relationships and learned so much through them, I applied to volunteer at Special School nr.4 in Kraków. 

In my free time I love to crochet, journal and spoil the people around me with homemade food. I can also get excited about almost any random and niche activity (like the Celtic Festival in Kraków)! In the past few months I also started running and I would love to sign up for a 5k while I’m in Kraków. 

Even though it’s only been about a week since we arrived, I surprisingly feel a lot less scared and a lot more grounded and grateful to be here. I am slowly learning, finding my way around and hope to explore
what the city has to offer in the next months! 

Article by Luisa
European Solidarity Corps Volunteer
Welcome article for European Solidarity corps volunteers from 11/09/26