GOODBYEs...

We are at the end of the second summer school and I don’t know what to feel right now!

I’m happy about how it went the all school, children opened to us and changed from the ones we met the 11th of July.

I’m sad because I was getting used to all of them and say goodbye is always a little bit sad. Starting from the youngest ones Oliwia, Łucjia and Hubert to the oldest ones, the two Julia, Michał, Hania and so on…I will miss all of them and I’m sure this is going to influence the way I will look at the new incomers. J

I have also to say that I’m proud of myself because I was able to manage the actitivies and to involve everyone in the actitivies. I don’t say it has been easy, on the contrary this put me to the test and measure what I can and can’t do. So, yeah, I’m proud!

Anyway, despite everything we collected good memories and learnt new things for sure. From the day about tolerance, when we watched one of my favourite cartoon Zootopia, to the anatomy day, children had the chance to go deeper about topics that are important in daily life but no one is paying too much attention on them. Tolerance is a concept that is given from society but not everyone can explain the real meaning and what really surprised me was that while we were talking about stereotypes, children could give a perfect definition about what a stereotype is but actually they didn’t really have any!

The week run so fast but thanks to Mariam we also had the chance to know something more about our bodies, from the organs and their functioning to the way we should eat to live a healthy life.

After almost two weeks of bad weather we also had the chance to go outside for some outdoor activities, we played a lot on the playground usually making team-games so that through competition they were improving their skills to cooperate inside the group.

We ended the summer school in the proper way! Everyone brought some sweets, snaks and drinks so that we could do a goodbye party, but the “party” could start before the tasks of the city game were done! J Everyone made a good job so we awarded them with diplomas designed from ourselves and children were really happy to receive them.

The day and the school so was really over, last group pictures as memories and last hugs and kisses. I will bring all those children in my memory and I wish all of them good luck! 

First week

15th of July. On the way to Berlin with Vanessa and Tamta, I’m looking back to the last two weeks since I came to Poland, Wrocław precisely. I arrived from Bologna after a crazy week between my last exam at  the university and packing for the new challenge of this year: volunteer in a summer school for children in Poland. When I told to my family that I would pack again to go away for other two months they stared at me asking “why?” but as soon as I explained what the project was about they were as enthusiast as was I. So I finished my exams, I packed, said goodbye to my Italy and landed in the wonderful coloured city of Wroclaw. I spent the first days to get used to the new city but it was love at first sight, the colours, the people, the atmosphere, the food…everything was so different but so familiar at the same time (probably because of the hundreds Italian restaurants in the city centre!). I spent the first few days waiting for the other three voluteers that would have become my flatmates, roommate, collegues and friends for the next two months. I was wondering about these georgian girls and the other italian, if they would have been cool, friendly and so on, and I have to say that I’m really lucky because we are going well along til now.

One of the hardest part of these two weeks has been the training week. For one week, with the girls and the coordinators, Justyna and Sebastian, we prepared the activities to do during the summer school. The days were going around topics, energizers, expectations, fears, activities, games, and so on. I have to confess that it has been really exhausting for me because I never had to organize nothing like that, if I had to prepare a summit about international relations, I think I could have done it in a blink of an eye, but non-formal education has never been my major or my field. After the first two meetings I was really demotivated, I knew nothing about this kind of job but then I took it as a challenge and finally after one week everything worked out and we had a sort of “agenda” to follow for the first summer school.

Like that it could sound that the hardest part was gone, but I was completely wrong, because during the weekend before the beginning of the activities I was really nervous. Doubts like what if the kids wouldn’t like the activities, what if they would get bored, what if we won’t be able to manage them...any kind of possible problem was rising in my mind. Then Monday came, alarm set at 8, breakfast, get dressed, out of home at 9 so that we won’t be late, arrive to the Ekozentrum (where the summer school is taking place) and waiting for the children. After some minutes after we arrived at the centre, the kids started to arrive one by one, shy and curious about us. As first day, it didn’t go so bad, til the end I was worried that they would get bored but at the end, when we asked them about the day, their responses were almost positive. Monday was gone and all my worries with it; of course, the following day we still had some esitations but nothing that couldn’t be forgiven for such beginners like us.

Right now one week of summer school is gone as well, and we spent really good days with the children. We had the day about our countries, the one about cultures and those about ecology, sometimes has been difficult to communicate with the children but those were marginal limits at the end and everything worked out and we had also fun. Of course, we are still not professionals but I want to be optimist and see that there are ways of improvements from us and the next weeks will be easier to manage.

From now that’s all and Berlin is calling!

Michelina

Czas zacząć zabawę

Już po raz trzeci organizujemy letnie warsztaty dla młodzież z Wrocławia. Warsztaty w pełni są przygotowane przez naszych wolontariuszy. W tym roku zaprosiliśmy do współpracy Tamte, Mariam, Vanesse i Micheline. Zapraszamy do śledzenia ich relacji na naszym blogu. Dzisiaj zaczynamy