May 11, 2026
September 2025
I arrived in Łódź, Poland on September 4th, and it was my first time in the country. I’m really enjoying the feeling of discovering everything around me. Things that might seem ordinary in our home country suddenly feel much more exciting abroad.
A few days after my arrival, we had a training week, which was an incredible experience. I got to meet people who were going through the same experience as me and who shared similar feelings. At first, I did feel a bit lonely and wondered if coming here was the right decision, but now I genuinely enjoy my time. I’ve been meeting new people and having a lot of fun.
In the beginning, I wasn’t entirely sure about my tasks and responsibilities, but the meeting I had with Ania afterward reassured me. The projects with the association are slowly starting to take shape, and I’m really excited about what’s coming next.
Overall, this first month has been a mix of excitement, learning, and adaptation, and I’m looking forward to continuing this journey and discovering more of what Łódź and the projects have to offer.
October 2025
October has been a busy and exciting month! We had a study visit here in Poland with participants from Ukraine and Moldova, and I was pleasantly surprised by how kind and engaged they were. They really participated in all the activities, which made the whole experience even more enjoyable. It was an intense week, but also very interesting and fun. I keep really good memories from it.
I also took part in a job fair, which was a lot of fun and a great opportunity to practice presenting the Compass project, a project that Ania entrusted me with. I’m really happy because after the fair, three new people signed up for the project! I’ll start conducting the interviews soon, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops.
My tasks are now more defined, and I feel more confident in what I’m doing. I’m also excited because we’ll soon have several trainings focused on project management, which I think will be super useful.
On a personal note, I’m very happy with how things are going. I’ve built several groups of friends that I see regularly, and I even went on a solo trip to Poznań, something I’m really proud of ! The city was lovely, and I enjoyed it a lot. I already have other weekend trips planned to explore more of the country, and I can’t wait.
Besides that, I had to travel back to France twice for some job interviews, which was quite exhausting, but I’m glad it’s finally over. Overall, it’s been a full and rewarding month, and I’m excited to see what November will bring !
November 2025
November has been a month full of travels and discoveries. I had the chance to explore Poland from different angles, and I learned so much about the country and its culture. We were supposed to have an online presentation on November 4th (“Europe and Us”), where I was meant to introduce the Volunteer’s Compass project, but it was postponed to December 4th due to a low number of participants.
On the first weekend of November, my friends from the Warsaw training came to visit me in Łódź. It did me so much good to see them again. We explored the city from a different perspective, and I even took the opportunity to buy some souvenirs for my family. On that same Sunday morning, we had a “Train the Trainers” meeting and got to meet some of the participants. My friends left that evening, and even though I was tired, I felt very energized and grateful.
I also went to the Polish post office for the first time to send a postcard to my grandparents. I was a bit scared (I had been told the postal workers weren’t very friendly), but it went perfectly well, the lady was actually very kind. My grandparents received the card and were really happy, which made my day.
The following week, I had my first Compass meeting with a participant. She thought it was an interview, so I’m not entirely sure how things will go, but I will keep contacting her. The others haven’t replied yet. I also finished the marketing planning for 2026 and received new tasks for the Compass project, which I actually enjoy working on. New volunteers are arriving soon, and they will also join the project, which is exciting.
The next weekend, I travelled to Wrocław with friends. The city is stunning, so far, it’s my favorite in Poland. I also experienced my first Christmas market there, which was amazing. The mulled wine was delicious, and Wrocław has these adorable boot-shaped Christmas mugs… I just had to buy one!
The weekend after that, I visited Kraków with a friend from EU training whom I hadn’t been able to meet earlier. I also took the opportunity to visit Auschwitz. It was a sad and intense experience, but also extremely important and meaningful, I think preserving memory is essential.
And… It snowed in November! I was so happy. Coming from the south of France, I never get to see snow, so it felt magical.
December 2025
December started with our first ESC presentation that I did on my own with Giovanni. On the same day, I was also supposed to take part in an online “Europe and Us” presentation to talk about the Compass project. Unfortunately, the session didn’t really take place, as no one joined despite five registered participants. I was quite sad about this, especially for Julie, who had been organizing everything for months and had put a lot of effort into it.
Shortly after, I travelled to Berlin to visit some friends. I was really happy to see them again. For some of them, it had been more than two years since we last met. It felt very special and refreshing to reconnect. Unfortunately, because of this trip, I missed the office Christmas events and the gala, which I was a bit sad about.
During the month, I participated in several workshops, including one especially focused on Christmas. I absolutely loved it, it was really well done and very fun. I even won a Kahoot quiz about Christmas traditions!
Unfortunately, the English Talk and the Growth Spot were canceled, as there hadn’t been many participants for a while.
After that, I returned to France for the end-of-year holidays. It did me so much good, and I was truly excited to go back home and spend time with my family. I came back to Łódź on January 14th, 2026, feeling rested and re-energized.
Overall, December was a quieter and more emotional month, marked by reunions, reflection, and rest. It allowed me to recharge and start the new year with renewed motivation.
January 2026
January was a quieter month, as I only arrived back in Łódź on January 14th and quite late, at 3 a.m. My flight was delayed due to bad weather, which meant there were no trains left. I had to take a FlixBus instead, and thankfully, once in Łódź, there are always night buses to get back to the dormitory.
During the month, I met the new volunteers, and I’m really happy about it. In terms of work, all the Growth Spot activities were canceled, while the English Talks have started running again which is great to see and very encouraging.
February 2026
February was my last month in Łódź, as I’m returning to France on February 27th. Even though it was a shorter and calmer month, it was still filled with good memories.
During the month, I went on a day trip to Toruń, where I met my friends who were having their end-of-volunteering training. It was really nice to see them again and share this moment together. I also spent a weekend in Lublin with friends, and I was pleasantly surprised the city is absolutely lovely and definitely makes it into my top three cities in Poland.
With the association, February was relatively calm. The main activity of the month was the study visit that took place at the end of February.
This month was also marked by extremely cold temperatures; it went down to minus 21 degrees. Unsurprisingly, I got sick and stayed ill for almost three weeks, right until my departure… and I’m still sick now. Because of that, I’m really looking forward to going back to the south of France, finding some sunshine, and finally recovering.
Overall, February feels like a month of closure, quieter, colder, but full of reflection. As I leave Poland, I’m grateful for everything I experienced, learned, and discovered during these months.
Summary
These six months of volunteering were a valuable and reflective experience. Having already lived abroad for more than a year and a half, this experience was less about gaining independence and more about taking time to think about my future and professional direction.
On a professional level, even though the tasks did not fully correspond to my initial expectations, I still appreciated the experience. This period also allowed me to focus on my career path and help me clarify my goals.
Overall, this experience helped me gain perspective, confirm my professional direction, and leave with meaningful memories and connections. Living in Poland allowed me to discover a new country, culture. I had the opportunity to travel across the country, meet people from many different backgrounds.
Author : Ambre Vervelle
This article was created as part of the Individual Volunteering project –Lead, Help, and Grow: LEVEL UP (2024-2-PL01-ESC51-VTJ-000288846) implemented by the European Solidarity Corps program with European Union funds.