Eleven months have passed and this is going to be my last blog post as an ESC volunteer for Robert Schuman Foundation. I will try to sum up my thoughts and feelings in things I learnt during this mobility and I hope is going to be useful for you.
Before diving into my thoughts I will give you a general view about my project. During these eleven months I was responsible for making workshops on different topics such as my home country and environment and I presented them in schools all around Poland together with my colleague from Austria. Additionally I was involved in actions for the local community and in the office work at Foundation.
What have I learnt from these months?
1. Having a back-up is important- crucial sometimes. And this is something I found out in the hard way during my workshops and than I understood it’s important in the other aspects as well. One thing I do since than is that when I plan something, I always think about two ways of doing it.
2.Most of the times it’s up to me. Yes, you red it well. Most of the times it depends on you if something goes in a way or another. It depends on what motivates you and how you use your resources.
3.You can have a lot in common with people who you’ve just met and they seem totally different than you. During the entire mobility you’ll meet a lot of people and even if it might seem that you are very different at the very begining you will discover that somehow we are all the same when it comes to whishes, or expectations.
4. Togetherness is a power, a way and an aim. This is one of the most powerful lesson I learnt while being here. At first it was because of Corona and than it just became our way of acting and it helped me grow, a lot.
5. Whatever you do for a living, as long as you do your job, you help someone- your work matters. At the very beginning of the mobility I had a lot of doubts about the impact of my activities as a volunteer, but until the end of it I understood that once I took the responsibility of doing something is more important to do it well than to wonder myself if it’s going to be useful for someone.
6. Adaptability is a key ability. When you are part of a multi-cultural team the diversity of perspectives is a normal thing and understanding one’s point of view and acting accordingly is a precious skill.
7. Live in now, but don’t lose the bottom line. As an European volunteer, you will take part in a lot of different type of activities, most of them will be new and exciting and you will have a lot of freedom and independency, but keep in mind that this experience is designed to make you grow, it’s not a travel, not a job, not a language course. Take the opportunities that fit you and make the best out of it!
8. Connect! Connect! Connect! And stay connected. Be it new people from the hosting country as your Hosting Organization, your volunteering fellows and locals or people from your country as in your family, friends or Supporting Organization, do not hesitate to keep them close- it will help you integrate faster, work better and have a valuable ESC experience.
Over all, I am glad I was part of such an opportunity, I gained a lot from it on a personal level, I have friends from all over the world, a lot of professional clarity and a place where I will always feel like home.