In May, June, July I’m applying for projects. Based on their content, projects I’m really motivated for, not based on a specific country. Sending motivation letters, resumes and having Skype interviews with Portugal, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia… and turning down their offers for different reasons (too long a project, too many working hours, different tasks than described or simply the fact that it ‘doesn’t feel good’) It’s already July and time is running out, because I can only participate as long as I am still 30 at the start of the project… Which means: only two to three months left to get everything arranged!
One or two days before my Skype call with Poland I really hope this will finally be ‘it’. When I enter Albert Heijn for some groceries and take a peek into the give-and-take bookshelf, all of a sudden I see a really old German-Polish language guide… Of course I know that now that my brain is busy with Poland, my attention will be drawn more quickly to things that have to do with Poland. But still, sometimes – even against all knowledge – I have a tendency to see a sign, something special in certain events. And that’s fine. I mean, a lot of people do it and for good reasons: to give meaning to their lives. Isn’t that a beautiful thing? So, I have a good feeling about Poland. As if it is meant to be… And then I hear that I’m accepted to the volunteering program. I’m happy and nervous at the same time!
August. With only a few words of Polish and even less than a few hours of sleep I leave for Warsaw, destination: Adventure. For the coming 4,5 months I will be volunteering here in the so called European Solidarity Corps: a European program that promotes volunteering amongst young people in projects all over Europe. The aim of the program is to let youth (age 18-30) engage in projects of solidarity by helping out in kindergartens, schools or eco-villages, meanwhile developing useful skills for both their personal and professional lives.
After all the stress of applying and getting everything ready for the trip, the only thing I have to do now is to sit in the train all day and carry my way too heavy suitcase around, in and out of trains. Luckily with the help of some kind fellow travelers. ‘Dziękuję’ is my best friend 😉 The day I leave for Poland the weather is hot, as it has been almost all the time lately. I have a few transfers before Berlin; after Berlin only one, in Poznań. In the Polish trains that take me to Warsaw there’s no wifi and it’s very hot, but I meet really nice people that make up for all of that. A girl that studies in London and is now visiting family back home, and later on a mum with two kids and an older woman. They all write down some nice tips what to see in Poland, and I learn to write and pronounce some Polish words. The kids are 8 and 11 and have English at school. They are playing ‘Boter, kaas en eieren’ (lit. Butter, cheese and eggs), which in Polish is called ‘Kółko i krzyżyk’ (noughts and crosses). I stumble over the zj-sounds while trying to read and pronounce it correctly.
The landscape around us is flat and very similar for a long time, which I notice because it’s different from the landscape in Germany, with some more variation of hills and fields. After a whole day of traveling I arrive at Warszawa Centralna, where my two flatmates will pick me up. I look around, but I’m not sure if I am at the place were we agreed to meet. Then I recognize one of my soon-to-be flatmates from the drawing she made for the Info Kit for new volunteers. She looks exactly like her drawing, so at least I’m in the right place then! After crashing at Mcdonald’s the girls welcome me into the apartment. This will be my home for the coming months.