January 27, 2026
DECEMBER
This first month has been really intense in every way. I have been fined, I have travelled, I’ve met incredible people and discovered cool things about this city. I also had time to fly back to my hometown for Christmas, which was amazing and also very emotional, because my family and I are very sensitive. I could see some friends, my hometown full decorated and of course I could eat Spanish food and enjoy Spanish traditions.
As for volunteering, I had very interesting meetings which showed me the topics that I could work on in my hosting organization, and now I’m very excited to start the planning and see how they end up.
JANUARY
During this month, I started new activities in the organisation, such as:
- Presentations in 2 schools: We went to two different schools in the outskirts of Lodz for kids between 10 and 16 years old. The presentation was about our cultures, the ESC program, and our mission in LEVEL UP, but we also added a Kahoot for the kids. This activity was really cool because we met a lot of nice and kind kids who were really interested in our cultures, and we also had the opportunity to meet Magda, the ESC coordinator, who was also super friendly with us.
- Online workshop about the best 3 AI designing apps: I was able to organise and lead my own workshop for the graphic team about something I enjoy, so it felt great to teach how to use those apps.
- Design express game: I was assigned to design a draft for the European express game
FEBRUARY
Some important events have occurred during this month, such as the discussion panel day and delivering ideathon invitations to companies.
Finally, people came to the English talks and we were able to lead the meetings and teach them some vocabulary about different topics (movies and films, social media, and pets). I went to the office in my work shifts to advance in my task of designing the Europe Express game, and after some feedback with the main coordinators, I sent the final draft. The 27th was Paczek day, when Polish people have to eat at least one paczek for good luck as tradition. I also had Polish classes and learnt new vocabulary and common expressions for communicating with Polish people, which were really great. I could use some practice with strangers and people were shocked and excited about my Polish skills. I was sick for a week with stomachache, toothache and a cold.
MARCH
During March we had multiple events as Idealna Mama, where me and the rest of the volunteers helped by taking care of the children, playing games with them. We also helped in the Ideathon event, taking pictures and videos and setting everything before the participants arrived. We had our office shifts every week and we also had some presentations in schools. During Polish classes we learnt new vocabulary related to clothes and food.
The most significant event of this month was my trip to Rovaniemi, which was an amazing and unbelievable experience. I went with Marta and we could visit Helsinki, Rovaniemi and Santa Claus village.
APRIL
I started the month with the mid-training in Torun, which was a great opportunity to meet other volunteers and also think about my next step after volunteering. During the month we did a lot of presentations in schools with different age ranges. I planned my own workshop and finally managed it on the 22nd, which was about how to create a good CV and it was a success. Last but not least, the Spanish day was also celebrated, and after a month of preparation for it, there were a lot of guests who had fun and enjoyed the event.
I went to Vienna and Budapest, it was completely amazing, with lots of landmarks to see and cool places to visit.
MAY
I celebrated my birthday in Berlin with Marta, and my friends got me a voucher for a tattoo here in Łódź. The first week we also had a session with Ada (my mentor) to talk about my experience and how I am dealing with everything. Marta and I got our final Polish lessons where we reviewed all we learnt during these months. Related to trips I also travelled to Krakow and Warsaw because one of my friends came to visit me, and by the end of May I went to Copenhagen with Marta and Ada because I have another friend living there.
Connected to work the new office was open and we started our first shifts there and we also had two training sessions with Monika about planning events.
JUNE
This month has been really intense, because I did a bunch of things and also because I had to say goodbye to my friends who were leaving. I had my tattoos done, one of them is the Ł of Łódź, I saw my family in Prague and I travelled to Gdansk and Zakopane.
I wrote an article for LEVEL UP about “How use of digital tools changes our work”; I worked in ŁCP; prepared everything for “Travel around the world” and “Summer in polesie” and participated in the event “Get the net” talking about ESC and my experience. We also had a call with coordinator from NA.
JULY
During this month, I worked in LCP, I helped send the statues to the winners, and also helped during the city game in Łódź of Ada. I had time left to finish the ESC promotional video and also to write the Spanish version of the Travel guide. I could join in the interview of one of the candidates coming in September and lead my workshop about travelling tips. I had to do my last tasks such as my youth pass and sign all the paperwork, cleaned all my room and prepared all my suitcases, I said goodbye to all my friends left and of course I ate my last pączek.
FINAL RECAP
After 8 amazing months of volunteering I can say that it has been an experience I will never forget. During these months, I’ve learnt how to live abroad for the first time, I have worked in an organisation that helped me grow as a worker but also as a person, I travelled all around Europe and I met amazing people on my journey that I will never forget. I remember the first day I got here, full of excitement but also a bit scared of this new stage of my life, wondering how Polish people would be, how I was gonna face the cold winter, if I would meet good friends within the months or if I would miss Spain that much. I can say now that not having a lot of expectations made this period even better than I could ever imagined and I would recommend it to anyone for sure. This season of my life is ending now but I’m happy to say that I lived it with joy, and why not? Levelling myself up.
This article was created as part of the Individual Volunteering project – LEVEL UP with volunteering (2023-2-PL01-ESC51-VTJ-000173505) implemented by the European Solidarity Corps program with European Union funds.
Author : Sofia Bernard