strangers ın warsaw
Since the beginning of my EVS project I have heard tales about the on-arrival training, it did not matter if it were past or current volunteers everyone had an opinion or a experience to share, be it good or bad. Needless to say I was quite excited by the time my turn came around.
The trip for me and Tamara ( my roommate and fellow volunteer) came at the perfect timing, mainly because we were already in a bit of a routine of classes, tasks and going home ( as it happens generally) , we needed a breath of fresh air and there was nothing better than going to the capital city of Warsaw to see what it had to offer.
For us the journey began earlier as we went a day before our training was to begin. But it gave us a chance to explore a bit more of this young capital. I must say my expectations for Warsaw were a bit low due to some people saying it was too new of a capital and it was more of a concrete jungle with modern buildings and with few historical sites compared to it’s old capital of Krakow, however for me there was something about Warsaw that I found compelling specially after hearing it’s history, the struggle of the people but also their strength for they built this city again from the ashes. Warsaw is a
true phoenix, a capital destroyed but reborn from the blood, sweat and tears of their inhabitants that today breathes life and beauty to the people who visit it.
On the first night we spent in Warsaw it is also important to note it was one of the most important events for volunteers and solidarity in Poland. I am talking about the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, on this day cities in Poland show their solidarity and give money to this charity which is one of the biggest, well-known, non-governmental charity organizations in Poland. We saw the people wearing the symbol of the organization everywhere and it was a beautiful feeling seeing everyone engaged in helping and being a part of this event. After exploring for the whole day it was time to rest
for the upcoming training which started the next morning.
On the 13 th of January the on-arrival training officially begun, we arrived at the Hostel excited and a bit nervous as we did not know what to expect. All volunteers gathered in the dining room to eat lunch and get to know each other, it was super interesting to see people from all corners of the world chatting with each other. Amusingly I even got the chance to meet another Portuguese volunteer which studied the same degree as me and in the same University, we even had friends in common which was super surprising for the both of us, it is funny sometimes how the world can seem so big and yet so small. After lunch there was a small presentation of the volunteers and the trainers who were going to guide us through this week of activities, Wojtek and Asia.
For the rest of the day we walked in Łazienki Park, with the help of our trainers we played some games in groups mainly to get to know each other, the reason we came to Poland, what are we doing in
our projects and what were we doing before this. It was apparent that everyone had their story and experience however we were connected by common things: we were strangers in a different country, with different food and language and without our loved ones and so it was easier to connect to everyone
because we all had similar struggles.
The rest of the week we planned activities according to what we wanted to learn and some ideas we might have, there were activities to better understand Polish people and their culture which was
something everyone was interested in and wanted to participate. For this category there was even a day we had the possibility to see some Polish dances from the Napoleonic times (Polonaise) and other more
traditional dances like the Krakowiak. Everyone had a fun time watching this and then trying to dance ourselves.
Another interesting activity to better understand Poles was to initiate our own projects with questions we had of their culture or of their daily life and going to the streets of Warsaw and interviewing people, we then had to present it to the other volunteers as well which was entertaining. There were also activities more focused on our projects, how to use our skills in help of said projects or how to incorporate games and other events that we were doing on the training on projects that had informal teaching. At the end of our journey everyone already knew each other in a different way, we were comfortable to share our thoughts and spent many afternoons playing music or simply talking which also helped us in one the activities were we had to communicate and arrange ideas to pass the game, we could see there that we were able to really connect our ideas and share without overriding each other.
The last day came quickly and unexpectedly , we had to say goodbye, but we knew it would not be the end, we would be in touch after this week as we were now linked. I loved being surrounded by these diverse people whose cultures and languages could be so different from mine but in the end we
were more similar than different which goes to show that everyone be it from Portugal or Georgia or Turkey we as people just want the same things in life and the small differences we have are not an obstacle but what makes us unique. This was an experience I will never forget, I will tuck it inside my heart forever and share it for many years to come.
„I dlatego lubię mówić z Tobą”
With Best Regards, Ana
The trip for me and Tamara ( my roommate and fellow volunteer) came at the perfect timing, mainly because we were already in a bit of a routine of classes, tasks and going home ( as it happens generally) , we needed a breath of fresh air and there was nothing better than going to the capital city of Warsaw to see what it had to offer.
For us the journey began earlier as we went a day before our training was to begin. But it gave us a chance to explore a bit more of this young capital. I must say my expectations for Warsaw were a bit low due to some people saying it was too new of a capital and it was more of a concrete jungle with modern buildings and with few historical sites compared to it’s old capital of Krakow, however for me there was something about Warsaw that I found compelling specially after hearing it’s history, the struggle of the people but also their strength for they built this city again from the ashes. Warsaw is a
true phoenix, a capital destroyed but reborn from the blood, sweat and tears of their inhabitants that today breathes life and beauty to the people who visit it.
On the first night we spent in Warsaw it is also important to note it was one of the most important events for volunteers and solidarity in Poland. I am talking about the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, on this day cities in Poland show their solidarity and give money to this charity which is one of the biggest, well-known, non-governmental charity organizations in Poland. We saw the people wearing the symbol of the organization everywhere and it was a beautiful feeling seeing everyone engaged in helping and being a part of this event. After exploring for the whole day it was time to rest
for the upcoming training which started the next morning.
On the 13 th of January the on-arrival training officially begun, we arrived at the Hostel excited and a bit nervous as we did not know what to expect. All volunteers gathered in the dining room to eat lunch and get to know each other, it was super interesting to see people from all corners of the world chatting with each other. Amusingly I even got the chance to meet another Portuguese volunteer which studied the same degree as me and in the same University, we even had friends in common which was super surprising for the both of us, it is funny sometimes how the world can seem so big and yet so small. After lunch there was a small presentation of the volunteers and the trainers who were going to guide us through this week of activities, Wojtek and Asia.
For the rest of the day we walked in Łazienki Park, with the help of our trainers we played some games in groups mainly to get to know each other, the reason we came to Poland, what are we doing in
our projects and what were we doing before this. It was apparent that everyone had their story and experience however we were connected by common things: we were strangers in a different country, with different food and language and without our loved ones and so it was easier to connect to everyone
because we all had similar struggles.
The rest of the week we planned activities according to what we wanted to learn and some ideas we might have, there were activities to better understand Polish people and their culture which was
something everyone was interested in and wanted to participate. For this category there was even a day we had the possibility to see some Polish dances from the Napoleonic times (Polonaise) and other more
traditional dances like the Krakowiak. Everyone had a fun time watching this and then trying to dance ourselves.
Another interesting activity to better understand Poles was to initiate our own projects with questions we had of their culture or of their daily life and going to the streets of Warsaw and interviewing people, we then had to present it to the other volunteers as well which was entertaining. There were also activities more focused on our projects, how to use our skills in help of said projects or how to incorporate games and other events that we were doing on the training on projects that had informal teaching. At the end of our journey everyone already knew each other in a different way, we were comfortable to share our thoughts and spent many afternoons playing music or simply talking which also helped us in one the activities were we had to communicate and arrange ideas to pass the game, we could see there that we were able to really connect our ideas and share without overriding each other.
The last day came quickly and unexpectedly , we had to say goodbye, but we knew it would not be the end, we would be in touch after this week as we were now linked. I loved being surrounded by these diverse people whose cultures and languages could be so different from mine but in the end we
were more similar than different which goes to show that everyone be it from Portugal or Georgia or Turkey we as people just want the same things in life and the small differences we have are not an obstacle but what makes us unique. This was an experience I will never forget, I will tuck it inside my heart forever and share it for many years to come.
„I dlatego lubię mówić z Tobą”
With Best Regards, Ana