Hello everyone,It’s Khatia your new storyteller from Georgia. I think it’s time to tell you about my 2 and half months’ experience in Poland.
But first, let me tell you a bit about myself. I’m a 23-year-old girl from Tbilisi, Georgia, and I had a very different life before coming to Poland. As soon as I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Political Science (in 2020), I started studying for a Master’s in Marketing. During my studies, I was part of student self-governance at my university, I was volunteering at a publishing house and taking part in Erasmus + Exchange programs in my country, so I never had time to relax and take time for myself. I always wanted to do Erasmus exchange programs in foreign countries or just travel, but I never had a chance, so I was dreaming and imagining my life outside my country. But during my last semester at university, I found out about the ESC Volunteering program, and since then I have been thinking about taking a gap year, changing my life and going to Europe for new experiences. It took me one year to decide and fill out the application for this project, because I was a bit scared of the COVID situation, thinking that there would be another lockdown and I wouldn’t be able to enjoy this opportunity as much as I had imagined. But as you see, I made it, I’m here and I’m pretty proud of myself. ??
I will never forget the moment when I got a positive answer from the Schuman organization. I started jumping and screaming with happiness?. Every night when I went to bed, I closed my eyes and imagined how I would live in Warsaw, what places I would visit in Poland, how many new friends I would make and how I would have fun with them. I haven’t seen the pictures of the office, but I imagined myself going to work every day, having a lunch break and working at the office, going to schools and making presentations. I dreamed until the day of my flight.✨
The feeling I got when I was holding my boarding pass and searching for my seat on the plane is unforgettable. I still remember my heartbeat. It was my first trip outside of Georgia, so I was a bit scared, but I also knew something great was waiting for me here, in Warsaw.✨✨✨
And I was right.
I met nice people, who made my stay in Warsaw gorgeous. I like my work and the life in Warsaw.Okay, I need to be honest here… At first, I was very scared about starting a new life here, about the people I would meet, about how our relationships would be, how I would survive living without my family, but here we go… It’s been more than two months and I can say proudly that I had the best time of my life. Everyone I met is super kind and friendly, I made new friends here, we went to lots of parties, we had our movie nights, walked in the streets of Warsaw, visited a few museums and my favorite park — Łazienki Królewskie… ?❤
The only hard part of living in Poland is the temperature. Minus degrees during daytime???? And getting dark at 3??? NO, Thank you. I’m not used to this kind of cold weather, so you can guess how much vitamin D I take… ??
Anyway, I think I will get used to it. I have to. and I believe everything will be even better on Spring, when it gets warmer (I hope, hahah).?
That was all for today. Christmas is coming soon, so have a nice time and Merry Christmas everyone!
See you in 2022.
Khatia