Six months have passed like a blink of an eye since we arrived to Katowice, the capital of an industrial region of Poland, Silesia. A city that hides a lot of colors under their grey walls.
Six months since we were completely strangers for each other and we didn’t expect the friendships and support that we would built when the weeks were passing by. Six months since we started our journey surrounded by snow and cold, something not very familiar for us. But that made us enjoy and appreciate the beginning of spring and the sunny days of summer. But half year was enough to get used to the Polish culture and the new life as a volunteer abroad. We have experimented a big progress from the start till now that we are halfway of the project.
In the beginning we were confused and excited at the same time. We didn’t know what to expect from this experience, and now Katowice has became our home, a zone that we always are happy to come back. We suppose that is the magic of this place.
In this months we manage to get experience volunteering with different groups of people. From young kids to seniors. It looks that it was ages when we met the “people” from different organizations that we collaborate with.
It’s always nice to go to “Arka Noego”, school for children with special needs where u always get a gratifying feeling from the moment you arrived in. This is not the only place where we are working with kids, we are also collaborating with “angels house” and two orphanages, where we are always welcome with a smile and love, and that’s the biggest reward that you can get out of volunteering in this project. Because even going few days per week we have became a part of their lives, and they have became a part of our lives.
Moreover, we think that every youngster has to experience a year like that, for that we always try our best spreading our culture when we are doing school presentations about our countries and the EVS. Where we always get a curious and grateful feedback from the students.
During this months we have gained skills as a teachers as well, teaching our own languages to Polish people, a big challenge that has developed in a very interesting activity for some of us.
And we can’t forget the “Seniors club”, a weekly English lesson with retired people. A moment to teach, but also to learn from people who have more experience about life than us.
Most important part of this project is the monitoring of tourist attractions in Katowice and Silesia, an activity that is getting us to know the history and evolution of this region, exploring and discovering places that could be interesting for foreigner visitors and expats. While we are getting positive energy and life long experiences collaborating with other organizations, monitoring activity is giving us other skills for our professional and future.
Besides of the volunteering life, living abroad gives you the chance to meet people from all around the world, travel and visit other countries and places, especially when you have the luck of living in the middle of Europe, as us.
Six months are ahead.
Six months to continue growing, giving a helping hand whenever somebody needs us, facing our fears and discovering our limits, spreading our culture and absorbing others, gaining new skills every day… but the most important, trying to be the best version of ourselves.
Here and now, this journey continues.
DAVISA (Davit from Georgia and Isabel from Spain)