Warsaw O Week

I know you would normally associate an Orientation Week (or O Week, for some) with university, but  as many of my friends and others at my age head off to tertiary education, I can't draw parallels between what they are doing and what I am doing, except for maybe this one week at the start where you learn a whole lot on both an academic and social level.

I got very excited every time it snowed for about the first two weeks...

For me, 'O Week' started on Sunday at Warsaw Airport, where all the Australian and New Zealand volunteers from their long haul flights met with our in-country co-ordinator, Beata, and some previous volunteers, who were happy to share their stories and advice from their Lattitude experiences. Bleary-eyed and nervous, but keen to get stuck in, we all made hesitant conversation as we were transported to Wilson Hostel, in Plac Wilsona, which was to be our accommodation for the next seven days.

Our training started the following day from 9 till 6 at the British Council in the centre of town. The first day everyone's body clocks were confused as the sun went down at 4:30 - it felt suddenly like 9pm, as that was when the sun had set back home, in the height of summer, that the others had left behind only a few days ago. Our day of training usually consisted of 45 minute lessons in the morning which covered teaching topics such as classroom management or how to incorporate picture books into teaching English, but also more background knowledge like Poland's education system. Monday after lunch saw us split into two groups and observing english lessons at the British Council (teaching English is their primary concern, after all) then constructing lesson plans for the following day, where each of us had an activity to lead in the lesson. On every other afternoon of the week, the group of volunteers would collectively lead the lesson, then the English teacher would provide feedback and together we would construct the lesson plan for the next day.

A strawberry marshmallow from the
bubble mall

The morning lessons were usually fun, if not informative, but the afternoon lessons, when we actually got to be in the classroom, were probably the most valuable. They gave us some confidence in teaching before we got plunged in the deep end at our placements.

But O Week, of course, is perhaps 40% about what you learn, and 60% about who you meet. Our group of volunteers is a great bunch, who all got along really well from the start. We spent our lunch breaks in the "bubble mall"(a.k.a Złote Tarasy) across the street from where we had our course, and whiled away our evenings dancing, yarning and generally having fun in the hostel. Everyone is friends with everyone else, and there aren't any cliques or anything at all. Everyone just wants to get along with everyone else and have a good time. So that's what we do :)

Neon above the Polish restaurant we went to

On one night, Beata took us to Fotoplasticon, a place where you can see old photos of Warsaw from the post-WWI period. Street scenes, pictures of parades and the Fire Brigade give the viewer a unique insight into the bygone days of the capital, and gave me a newfound appreciation for the place and its history.

Another highlight of the week was iceskating. The rink was housed inside a massive stadium - a concept never even considered by the majority of us. My friend caught a very well-timed video of us skating - check it out below... :P (I'm the one in the yellow jacket on the right)

We also had the chance to sample Polish culinary delights with a dinner at a traditional restaurant on the Tuesday night. Appetisers consisted of cheeses and sausages, a caprese salad and sour cabbage. After this I was pretty full, but main was tasty enough to squeeze and extra bit in: marinated chicken or fish and salads. A top time, I'd say. The group (which we soon came to call the Gap Family) had known each other for just three days by this point, but awkward silences were far from our minds. It's surprising how quickly you get to know people, when you're with them all day every day.

By the end of the week, we had made promises to visit each other around Poland, as a way to see both the country and each other. As we each went off to our respective host families, or caught trains to other parts of Poland, any speed wobbles we may of had at the start were now more or less eliminated. With ties firmly established in this country and clear tasks ahead of us - to teach English - I think it's fair to say that we were ready for the real adventure to begin.

Love,

Addie xoxo

How it All Began...

My adventure isn't going to start when I get on the plane, oh no. It started waay before that, in March, would you believe. I remember frantically rushing around trying to complete my application form to Lattitude only a few days before it was due. Yeah, that was a little stressful.

But I guess I should go back even further, and explain why I ended up applying to Lattitude anyway. A couple of years back my parents began talking about the possibility of my taking a gap year after high school and before I go off to Uni. I made sense for many reasons. I am young for my age group so to start my degree aged 17, my parents thought, was too young (I had my own reasons... what about O week?!). They made another good point that an experience such as this, to live independently, to take once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and to see some of the world will help me to grow up a bit and set me up well for when I knuckle down into study the following year. For me, a major attraction of taking a gap year was (and still is) the opportunity to travel, and Europe has consistently been high on my priority list.
But, fearful that I may not want to come back and study after a year out, my parents urged me to find something which will give my gap year structure and direction. Working with overseas relations was an option, then Mum told me about a daughter of her friend who had recently done a gap year with an organisation called Lattitude. My Mum was impressed by the volunteer placements available and the range of countries offered, but I never actively pursued this idea until year 12 came around and we all had to start figuring out our futures fast. I looked into other exchange and volunteer programmes, but decided to go with Lattitude because of the breadth and depth of placements offered, and the solid support system they had in place for their volunteers.

After applying for a volunteer position in March, I was interviewed in April by the New Zealand manager of Lattitude and a returned volunteer who had gone to Malawi, to help them to find out more about me in order to match me to a suitable placement. Going into the interview, my top three choices were the UK, Canada, and Poland in descending order. After the interview was done the interviewers came back and said that I would be be able to handle a placement more challenging than UK or Canada, countries which are English speaking and very much part of the western world. They presented me with new possibilities - Fiji, Malawi, Poland, India, all of these were discussed. I left the interview room with a head full of information and a very big decision to reconsider.
After emailing returned volunteers from these countries, and doing other research, I settled on Poland as my first choice. Being that Polish, not English, is their native language, it would be challenging enough, while still being in Europe for those all-important trips around the continent that I am so looking forward to.

But apart from the perhaps more superficial reasons, such as travel, I wanted to volunteer to truly give back to a community, and to be able to see the difference I can make there. Doing a student exchange would be just as interesting and exciting, but volunteering I believe will give me a unique insight into the people and culture of Poland as instead of using a service of theirs (i.e attending a school) I am providing them with one, by teaching their young people necessary English skills.

One of the biggest learning curves I have been met with so far is the share amount of planning that goes into a trip such as this, and the time management needed to stay on top of it as well as my school work and other commitments. On previous family holidays, it was Dad would manage all our visas, flights, accommodation, etc etc, but now, though my parents are playing a crucial part in helping me to prepare for this trip, more of the organisation, planning and responsibility is being placed in my hands. Let me give you an illustration...

Yes, so a lot more than I had been expecting. But, all this preparation is 100% worth it. There is less than a month to go now until I fly out, and I can't wait!

Love,

Adelaide