Hello, I’m Açelya. I participated in a 7-week team volunteering project in Rzeszow, Poland, with the Pi Youth Association. It was for a short amount of time, but I wanted to write this article in order to guide those who will join projects. After seeing the advertisement on the Instagram account of Pi Youth Association, I applied and 1 week later I received an e-mail from the host institution for an interview. After I passed the interview and got accepted, I sent an e-mail about my acceptance to Pi Youth Association. They replied very fast and they were very interested.
Our project was an intercultural festival. For 6 weeks, we have prepared for a festival where we will introduce our own culture, country, and food. We were 17 people from 11 different countries, and during this period, we had duties such as preparing and presenting workshops on certain topics, walking dogs, cleaning our own living space, and preparing and delivering food to those in need. Although I had difficulties in language and expressing myself at first, I gradually tried to overcome them with the help of my friends. Time passed so quickly after I came out of the culture shock I had at the beginning. Nobody wanted to go back ? It is a very nice feeling to tell people who are curious about your culture and country and to chat about it.
Pi Youth Association has been with us all these 7 weeks, we talked about how our time was spent, our problems and our health in online meetings. It shows that they stand by their volunteers and are interested and that gives you confidence. Every person you know teaches you something or leaves an impression, I’ve met so many nice people during this time and I feel very happy both to join the Pi Youth Association and to have the experience of volunteering.