I work in Laski, the school for the blind. It`s a bit outside of Warsaw and near the national park Kampinoski, but within 40 minutes you`re in the city centre. I have different parts of work: Most of the time I’m working in the girls’ boarding house in a group with 9 girls, who are between 10 and 13 years old. Some of them are completely blind, some are strongly visually impaired, but still, they see. I help with their English homeworks, play different games with them or try to talk in English. One of the main aspects in the group is to help the girls improving their English, some are already really good in speaking, some not, so it’s also important to at least try to talk in Polish with them. I really like dancing with them and they love to teach me Polish or Braille, the letters for the blind and they’re always looking forward to seeing me again the next day.
I work as well in the liceum, the high school there. I give German konversation for two small groups and for one guy, who’s gonna do his matura this year in German. Sometimes it’s very funny, because they do (of course) funny mistakes and I realize how difficult the German language actually is.
As I really love music I work in the music school there, but only since three weeks: important is to get to know the people who work there, because then you have different opportunities and can work in that part of the boarding school you like the most.
For me EVS is a completely new experience and I love it. Although I have never worked (or even had contact) with blind people before it’s not difficult for me to help them or to find out what they need. Warsa wis a city with so many possibilities, you just have to take them! (If you’re courious what I’ve already experienced in details, here’s my blog (unfortunately it’s only in German,…)).

I'm working in special Kindergarten for visually disabled children. I help teachers and play with kids.
My mother was born in Poland so I learned a bit Polish in my childhood. My aim was to improve my Polish and to discover the country where part of my family comes from. Also I didn’t know what to do after school and wanted to have more time for my decision. I wanted to spent that time abroad and in a sensefull manner.
My advice for future evs-volunteers is: Be flexible.

I’m working directly in the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation office with Guénolé. My project contents from few parts. The first one – is making order on web-page of Foundation, adding new materials, translating and office work at general. The second one it is school visits in hall Poland with lectures, presentations and workshops about different topics for pupils, and also there is help with organizing and providing different kinds of other Foundation projects like European School Clubs Meeting or Schuman parade in the Day of Europe.
I was looking EVS-project in Poland, because I’ve learned language before and have been here already few times. From all the descriptions this passed to me the most, because of Warsaw, because possibilities to travel and making interesting things do not forgetting about my specialty.
After my project starts I wasn’t very surprised by any differences, hadn’t culture shock, but still there are a lot of unusual for me things in Poland. For example Polish people do not eat bread with soup or borsch but they drinking beer with raspberry syrup using cocktail tube. And there is no expression “Good morning” in Polish language. Probably people here thinking that it couldn’t be good :)

I work in European Integration Club in the Complex of Schools in Wojkowice. My daily activities includes tandem lessons with high school students, participation in English lessons, workshops in local youth center, making presentations on various subjects (Latvia, women rights, etc.), participating in conferences devoted to different issues. During my EVS here in Poland, I've learned a lot (already). I've improved my skills of appearance before an audience. I've practiced my English and now I hope to learn Polish. Volunteering abroad gives me great international and multicultural experience. And I think one of the best things about my EVS is the chance to meet a lot of new and interesting people. My blog is still on its way to be ready…

I work in the Special Kindergarten no. 393 in Mokotow. I accompany children in the daily program of the kindergarten. Children have varied handicaps, most of them do not speak. I assist them in playing, eating and different therapies. Later I want to try to come up with ideas to create own projects for children. Until now it is quite difficult, sometimes I have the feeling to be under challenged. The communication is also difficult, but topically I notice that my Polish becomes better from day to day. Living here in Warsaw for nine months I enjoy the city's cultural offer and to meet people from many different countries. Although I am not always content with my work, I like my EVS. It gives me a lot of freedom, which I really appreciate as a diversion of the formal learning in high school.

I work as EVS volunteer at the Schuman Foundation, where I do different things: I help with everyday tasks in the office, I write texts for the website www.treaty.pl (an Internet game about the European institutions), sometimes I help organizing seminars and right now I’m organizing a trip to Strasbourg with Polish students to visit the European Parliament and meet some deputees… It depends what I’m asked to do! I like that it changes everyday and that it’s very diverse. But the most important part of my project, and the one I like the most, is that Ofelya and I travel everywhere in Poland to visit schools, gimnazjums and liceums. We make presentations and workshops about our countries, the EU or human/children’s rights. This is for me the best part of the project, because we get to travel for free and to discover ‘real’ Poland: indeed, as Paris is not representative of France, I don’t think that Warsaw is representative of Poland. For me, living in Warsaw is not very different than to live in Paris, where I come from. Lifestyles in big cities are all more or less the same everywhere! Thanks to my project, I travel to small cities and even villages and get to see how people live there and what the traditional Polish lifestyle is. In these small places, they don’t see foreigners very often, so we are always welcomed like stars! We get to meet great people, I still can’t believe how nice and welcoming they are, everytime we are treated like princesses… We always get too much food and too many presents! Of course it’s also very interesting to meet the students and to speak with them. When I tell them about my country, it’s funny to see what they know in comparison to what I thought they knew, or the stereotypes they have on France. For example, they are always convinced that the French people eat frogs and snails all the time, which of course is completely false: I’ve never eaten frogs or snails in my entire life! We don’t give lectures, we also want to learn things from them so we ask them to teach us about Polish language or culture. They are always very enthusiastic and happy to help! Before to start this project I was a little afraid because I had never worked with children before, but until know it’s been great, and I feel like I know already so much more on Poland than the other EVS volunteers staying in Warsaw… I already can’t wait for the next trip!

I work in two Kindergardens in Warsaw. In the first kindergarden, i work with disable children. They are they are between 5 and 10 years. I take care about this children during the class and during the kindergarden's activities. It's just the biginning and i can't wait to learn polish because really need to communicate with the children. In the second kindergarden, i work with disable teenagers. The teenagers have a disability more heavier and we are one to one in this kindergarden. I take care of teenagers during the class, meal, the activites and everything. For me EVS it's a real new experience because in France we have not same organization, not the same system and not the same methods. My real problem now is the language barrier but with polish lessons it will be better!!!

I am volunteer from Czech Republic. I am working in Warsaw in Special kindergarten for children with visual impairment. I am taking care of children with different types of visual impairment. Mostly I am working with one blind girl. So I am learning how to develop and support development of this children.

Hi! I am Natia Mzhavia from Georgia. I'm doing my EVS in European school club in 1st Adam Mickiewicz high school in Kolno in Poland. In this project I’m with Spanish girl Veronica. We are working together in European school club. I have lectures and presentations in Adam Mickiewicz high school, in junior school and in different cities about Georgia, Georgian culture an nature. I am co-operating with local newspaper, also with daily school in Kolno. I have workshops also. I’m teaching the wishers to make manual accessories and decorative things from different materials (from wool(thick felt), clay, papers etc.) and also I have workshops about Georgian dances in different schools. From January I’ll have weekly classes in Georgian dances and Georgian language in junior school and in culture house for wishers. I like my project very much. I'm happy that I’m part of EVS.

My work is in the Kindergarten No.245. This is a Kindergarten for children with a visual impairment; I work in the group with the youngest children. They learn to be independent (to dress, eat, play, etc.) and I help with the tasks that are related to that. Before I came to Warsaw I hardly had experience with working with children in the age of 3. Because of my Polish language skills I can't understand much of what they say, but I am taught by the teachers and the children, so my vocubalary is growing bigger. This is just the beginning of my EVS and I have to learn many things, but I am looking forward to it and I am positive, because so far I like it! :)

I work in Schuman Foundation. My project is divided into two parts – work in foundation and school visits. In foundation I help EVS coordinators with everyday tasks in the office. The most interesting part of my project is visiting schools all over Poland upon invitations from schools, giving presentations, lectures and leading workshops for Polish pupils on different topics depending on requests from schools such as workshops on "Children's rights", "Money of European Union", "EU", presentations of Armenia or Armenian holidays, Youth in Action programmes, forms and possibilities of volunteering and workshops on other topics. Besides above mentioned I also help the project coordinators with organizing study visits, conferences, seminars, trainings and meetings. It's worth to say that EVS is a everyday learning process. It is a good opportunity for the volunteer to develop personal, interpersonal and why not professional skills.