So our first 2 months of living and working here in
Zamosc are almost over. The truth is that things are moving so fast every day
and every week that it's not possible to gather and summarize all which is
happening just in a single post. It's kind of difficult to talk in details
about all the experiences and impressions we had in these two months. But I'll
do my best to do it and to present my thoughts and feelings about the situation
and how things are going on here. J
·
Our
pretty and quiet town – Zamosc!
So
as you already know, the town where we are with my friend, colleague and
roommate Fani (from Spain) is Zamosc.
Zamosc
is a small polish town situated in the south-east part of Poland, very close to
the border of Poland with Ukraine. What can I say about it…hmm first this is a
small town mainly full of students (I mean high-school) or old people
(seniors). There aren`t so many people in the middle age here, because of the difficult economic situation of the
region. So this is the biggest reason why someone may start
asking questions like - “why there aren`t so many places for going out at the
evening?” or “why nothing is happening here?”. Honestly if you decide to live
here or to stay a little bit longer these are going to be the first questions
in your head, but after all Zamosc has its benefits too. Life here is simple,
quiet and well-arranged. For a person
like me who is a fan of craziness of the big cities and crowded places,
especially about night life, probably a town like that is not going to be so
exciting and easy living. And yes, it is true in the beginning of our
settlement here it wasn`t easy at all for me but over time and of course with
some patience from my side things started to work and I start finding out the
positives and the beautiful parts of this place. Mainly these are the people in
it, the marvelous Old Town (Stare Miasto) and the architecture in it, the
greatest parks ever, especially about a small town areas - seriously Zamosc has
the best green areas that I ever saw, and the nature and national parks around
it. By the way if you need and want something from the big city living like a
huge shopping mall, or night life and crazy polish parties you always can
choose to go for a weekend to Lublin. This is the closest big city that you
have near to Zamosc and its only one hour travelling with a bus or BlaBlaCar.
·
About
our project… “Voluntary service in a local community”
The
main idea and purpose of our EVS project is to help and open the local
community here for more international experience, visitors and most of all to
help the young people with learning and practicing foreign languages.
Our
work here covers all major spheres of social work and activities. We are
participating in different kind of workshops (about painting, sewing, theatre,
music and etc.), meetings, trainings and etc. The two main groups of people
that we are working with are seniors and children. But the most important ones,
and mainly our own ones, are the language activities that we are organizing for
the youngsters in Zamosc. These are called “Tandem of languages” and “The
Language Cafe". The main idea of them is to help the young people
(students mainly) to practice more and not be scared of speaking and practicing
foreign languages. We already have two main groups of polish students with whom
we work every week during these activities. I can proudly say that I am so
happy to see them getting better and advancing with every following week and every
other meeting with us. This is the best feeling and success till now for us,
when you see that your work is meaningful to somebody`s life and future!
In
the beginning of course nothing was so easy or great. This is the first
international EVS project of our polish local NGO – Centrum Wolontariatu and
like you can guess anything at the start was little bit messy and nervous for
both sides in the first month. My personal opinion and feeling about the
project so far is that – “The project just started to work and everything is
still in its early beginning… we have so much more in front of us!”. But YES
the best part is that I found the right way to enjoy it and to put all of me
and my previous experience in it! So I keep going and keep growing… J
· The people here… and country of Poland
My
impression and feeling about Polish people till now in general, if I have to
use only one word, is “Good People”.
I
was thinking and observing a lot in the last two months living here and in the end I came to the
following conclusions about what defines the culture and behavior of the people
here : the historical heritage of Poland, the religion, the
weather and the fact that they are slavs. For the record my nation and my
country are also part of the Slavic ones, so because of this I am feeling close
to them at some point and I can understand a big part of their behavior,
language and etc.
About
the history of Poland I think every one of us who is quite educated about the
new part of the world history knows how much Polish people suffer and lost in
The Second World War. So you can imagine what kind of past they had and what
they’ve been through. And trust me this is still an important part of their
present in nowadays. Religion is one of the strongest factors in the country
and in the way of living of Polish people. For me sometimes it’s hard to
understand it , but for sure I respect their belief and the fact how much it’s
important to them. About the weather here I will share you my thoughts later in this
post. But yes the weather and climate here are not easy at all so this is an
important part of their habits and way of living, too.
For
me Polish are friendly, smart and hardworking nation. Till now all my
impressions in general from the talks that I had with the people here are
really good, especially their education and culture. Yes, probably they are
little bit more closed at some point than us (I mean the Bulgarians) and you
definitely have to be patient if you want to get closer with them. But trust me
the best way to have fun and getting to know them well is just to go out and
drink with them J
About
Poland what can I say… this is a huge country with a lot of benefits. They have
great nature and land (may be not so much mountains, especially in this region,
but yes they HAVE mountains for the record!), a lot of history and traditions, well doing
economy (because from all EU member states Poland did the best during the
crisis years from 2008 to 2015). Polish people are hard workers and they truly love
and appreciate their country and nation!
·
About
the weather and living here…
Defining
the weather here with one word - the weather in Poland is just “crazy”. When
you talk about Poland and the climate everybody is expecting just cold, but
honestly since we are here we experience all kind of weather and also a lot of
sun (especially in September when we arrived). The weather is crazy because it
is changes fast from one extreme to the other and sometimes
in only one day, but one thing is for sure - when it’s cold it can be really,
really cold!
About
the food and the cuisine of Poland – this is not my kind of food for sure! My
experience with the food here is not very “successful” till now, but
generally you can find everything that you need about your taste ( I mean if
you have to cook and prepare food yourself at home) in the stores and
supermarkets. One of the most popular and cheap supermarkets in the country are
Biedronka and Stokrotka (our favorite one with Fani and the closest one to
home). Actually shopping in Poland is a
huge and exciting thing for us (especially it was so in the beginning of our
living here). It was the only thing that we can do even if we don`t speak
Polish and the only way to explore the new country and environment. We still love to do that I
think! J
For
a conclusion to this first part of my diary I would like to say that I will
never regret that I choose this project and the fact to become a European
volunteer and also that I choose Poland and this project in Zamosc. Yes, it is
hard and I knew that nothing is going to be easy, because trust me going abroad
and trying to fit in to a new society and to a new culture is always not an
easy task. But the things that you can find out about yourself, your
perspective about the rest of the world and the things that you can experience
doing that are going to be the most precious and meaningful ones in my life
till now!
P.S.
Keep dreaming… working and growing! Step by step everything is possible no
matter where you are (dedicated to my new Spanish bestie – Fani J )!
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