What Poland gave me? - Volunteers from Austria, Spain, Slovenia, Ukraine and Georgia try walking in Polish people's shoes

Gave me a smile of a poor fellow

* Stephan Koubowetz from Austria, 25 years old

I don't want to make bad advertisement to my homeland, but we say that you are thieves, gloomy and dirty. As we say about all other immigrants. Austria doesn't take the inflow of another cultures so well, mainly from Croatia, Turkey and Bulgaria. And from Poland, too. On one hand, some of them don't want to adopt to the conditions in my country and this is what is irritating us. On the other hand, majority of Austrian people is withdrawn and introvert and maybe this is why we get annoyed by the people from abroad. Because we don't cope so good with anything that is new. Even if it is valuable.

That was the impulse, which made me think about Poland, I know from history classes, how much your country suffered during the II world war and I had to learn, who are Polish people now.

Poland thought me, that the neighbor has the right to be different and each one of us should accept his distinction. Let him live, even if he is taking jour job.

I come from a rich country. What was completely ordinary for me, in Poland is considered a luxury. Here people are able to live for the amount of money, that the Austrian kids get as a pocket money from their parents.

Seeing all the poor people in Poland is a big change in my life and a lesson of humility. I have finished technical faculty, after which I went directly to work in a concern producing aluminum elements. I was a project manager and each year I had to fulfill a plan of sale of one of the elements. The boss used to give the limits. It was a stressful job, which didn't give me any satisfaction. I was working 10-12 hours per day and I had no idea what for. And one day I met a Spanish guy, who was working as a volunteer in a centre for children. I saw, how much joy he was getting form his work. In the evenings he was not tired, even though he was running whole day long. I have decided to try my chance. I didn't want to work in my own country, because it would be too easy. I wanted to go somewhere, where people have it more difficult than in Austria.

Immediately after coming to Poland I saw dirty streets and plastic bags flying everywhere around. The night made the impression even stronger. In the beginning I couldn't understand, why people don't care for the tidiness. It was a shock for me. I felt like grabbing a broom and starting to sweep. Now I don't even pay attention to it anymore.
In Garbowek (part of Gdynia), where I am working, every day I meet a man collecting metal cans. Probably it is his only income. He is dressed up very simple, every day wearing same clothes. And every day I see him smiling. I thought, if he is happy, I definitely can be happy, too.

I can see that despite the discomforts you are not losing your spirit. Less sometimes can mean more. Kids, with whom I work in the centre, usually have access only to crayons and some paints, but it is enough for them. To create, you don't have to have Barbie dolls.

I've learned one important thing in Poland - to listen to other people. It is difficult, but worth it. Because sometimes it is enough for them to make others happy.

I don't have children, but if I had and one day they would come to me and said that they want to live in Poland, i would answer: why not? I fell good here.

Stephan Koubowetz in a volunteers in the Centre for Youth Cooperation in Gdynia, he is working with children in the Centre of Social Prevention and in Socio-therapeutical Day-Room "Mrowisko" ("Ant hill"), he doesn't speak Polish

Gave me silence on the bus

* Fatima Jimenez Gomez from Spain, 30 years old

Poland gave me a new life.

In Spain I used to work really hard. Sometimes I was getting depressed, because people under my charge, after detoxication and curation were coming back to the streets. I was not able to understand, why they refuse to live normal life and prefer to chose the bottom. I was collapsing. All my work and faith in possibility of helping other people were breaking down. One day somebody tells me, that he wants to have a home, next day he refuses the help and runs away.

Seeing, that I am facing a crisis, a friend mentioned a possibility of going for EVS to me. I have decided to consider it a new challenge for me. And thanks to Poland I got my rest. Here I gained a new view for my life and finally I understood, who am I and what I actually can do for another person.

I work with physically and mentally disabled people. Helping Hand is a facility for disable people, who's close persons either died, or they need care themselves. I help them to wash themselves, dress up, I exercise with them, clean their noses, organize their time.

I have learned, that goodness doesn't need any words. Before that I used to talk a lot, I was explaining, telling stories. And it didn't work. Now often it is enough, that somebody looks at me, and I know what he needs.
But I miss touching. I have noticed that you are afraid of touching strangers or newly met people. I am used to hugging others. In Spain I cuddle with my homeless, we exchange kisses. And here, in the centre, people approached me with fear. When I was trying to hug one of the first person who was under my care, she simply run away. It was a huge fear, that I have never seen before. I had to work quite a lot to break through it. Even today I sometimes have to watch out with touching others. And it is not only about people from the centre, but all the others that I get to know all the time.

Long time has to pass, before sometimes will clap my shoulder. You are smiling, but the smile is not being followed by a gesture.

Poland made me more quiet, I appreciate silent busses and tramways. Here everything is subdued. The buildings, the weather, the nature, and people as well. But I appreciate it, because when I stay silent, I have time to think about myself.

Fatima Jimenez Gomez from Spain used to work with homeless people and drug addicts in the streets, in Poland since 5 months, she is volunteering in Society for Promoting Voluntarism in the centre for mentally and physically disabled people Helping Hand, she knows few words in Polish

Gave me a Christmas wafer frm the supermarket

* Maja Selan from Slovenia, 30 years old

When I came here for the first time, I had an impression that I am in Romania. Same kind of buildings, same sad people, even the language seemed similar.

But I guess you are distinguished by a specific voluntary spirit, not noticeable in any other country. In Slovenia I haven't met so many people eager for selfless help.

From the beginning I am working in the project "Understand the refugees", with which we are going from one school t another. We teach to young people the tolerance towards other nationalities and races. I think you really need this. Especially that since Poland entered European Union there are more and more immigrants here. And it is god, that we, foreigners, are leading the project, not Polish teachers. Kids can see, that we are not that scary. More and more schools ask us to come and present our simulation game.

The game allows the participants t learn, what can force the refuges to leave their countries and what kind of emotions they have to face, staying here without their families. It also encourages to think of possible solutions to the problems that the refugees face. The problems mainly concern integration with foreign culture and people living in Poland. Young people develop in themselves more positive approach towards immigrants. They get rid of xenophobia, which is often a problem amongst their parents.

What confuses me about Polish people is your loose relation to religion, even though you claim t be one hundred percent catholic.

Not often I can see people following the Ten Commandments. The wafer one hand represents to you something holy, and on the other hand you can buy it in the supermarkets. Then you go to consecrate it in the church. A circle like that.
Or you go to one shop. The selling lady is doing absolutely everything to please you. You go to another one, and you are treated very badly. Because f that mood swing, I can never know, what I will encounter. I can leave home in a great mood, and in five minutes somebody will spoil it. Through the first months I just felt like telling everybody: live and let live!

Poland thought me real, sincere openness - everybody is different and I should be ready for any possible behavior scenario. I can even laugh at in now.

Maja Selan comes from Ljubljana, she finished social pedagogic, since 15 months she is a volunteer in Robert Schumann's Foundation, she speaks Polish really well

Gave me a look from the top

* Hrystia Pavlutska from Ukraine, 21 year sold

Coming to Poland, I considered it an ideal country.

I used to think: Poland, wow, big world. A lot of my fellow-citizens come to work in your country and they always come back with only compliments on their lips. I've decided that I also want to see that country, which is only few hundred kilometers from my yard.

I took dean's leave for one year and here I am. I knew that you consider us the poor neighbor, but I have never felt like one.

Already the first trip reveled to me that the Polish ideal has some defects. I was going together with my Italian friend to one school in Lebork. At night we came to Gdynia and it occurred, that there are no train, that could take us further. In the information shelter nobody could explain to us, what have happened.

We visit different schools in Poland. We tell children about our people, customs, history. We try to change your ways of thinking, that is conserved even in the jokes about the "stupid Russian". Because for a lot of you we are simply Russians.

When I travel, I usually sleep at the local teacher's place. I have noticed that Western Poland knows much less about Ukraine then the Eastern part. I sometimes meet the statement, which used to bother me a lot. When People hear that I come from Lvov, they sigh with relieve and explain, that after all it is a Polish city, so I am Polish, too. After hearing something like this, I asked them, how would they feel if they would hear from a German, that Wroclaw is a German city, so they are German, too.

I was trying to explain, that ex. Bohdan Chmielnicki was considered a traitor by Polish people, but for Ukrainians he will always be a hero. And that they shouldn't be outraged by this. Thanks to all those conversations I managed to se myself - Ukrainian girl - with your eyes. I have understood, that I can be proud of my own nation.
I am trying to explain t young Poles, that Ukrainians are also normal people. For two years, together with my friends, we organize on a border crossing Dołhobyczów-Uhrynów a concert "Europejski Most - Granica 803" - European Bridge - Border 803 (the number of the border pole standing there). Three bands from Poland and from Ukraine perform. We are no worse than you are, because young people during the concerts is having same great fun anywhere.
My stay in Poland thought me to look differently on my own country. I understood my own country. Ukraine is conventionally divided into two parts. Eastern, where the extractive industry rules, considers us, Western Ukrainians, as lazy people. According to them we just sit in the pubs and smoke cigarettes. On the other hand we think of them as of a bit retarded.

It is a bit similar to the situation in your country. You also have nonchalant opinion about people from Eastern Poland and you make fun of their accent. And only in Poland I have noticed, that I am no better than that. I look from the top on those, who have less luck in life that I do, as after all I could have been in their place.

Hrystia Pavlutska since September 2008 is a volunteer at Roberta Schumann's Foundation, student of the applied linguistics, she travels around Poland with the program "Invite a volunteer to your school", she speaks Polish

Gave me appetite for children

* Gvantsa Grigalashvili from Georgia, 20 years old

I wanted to come to country, where the culture is at least a bit similar to my culture. Western Europe would be to big change for me. Africa haven't even slipped through my mind. Too hot and too big cultural differences. And Poland seemed somehow similar to Georgia. Warm people, helpful. "So familial", I thought.

And suddenly a surprise, because I have noticed, that young people want to get independent from their parents as soon as possible. They don't want to learn from their experiences. They don't want to listen. Sometimes it even happens, that parents don't know that their son is living with some girl.

This observation made me realize, how Georgian culture is important for me. We are very familial nation, strongly connected to tradition. Inseparably. Girls my age, and even 16 years old, are often married and it's not weird for anybody. Here it would be a great shock, because I can see, that pregnant teenagers arouse indignation.
And in Poland I understood, that I want to live like that, too. That I want to have a family for sure, give birth to a lot of children, depend on my husband. Because in my country a woman can depend on her husband and at the same time work with satisfaction. Multi-generational families live together under one roof and it's unthinkable for children to move out without a clear need. And in Poland every married couple has to have a house of their own and leave their parents as soon as possible. Polish girls want to have children later and later. You usually have one or two children. In my country about families so small we say that they are poor.

In Poland I understood how important it is for me to be Georgian. Georgia is not only a place on a map, in which I was born, but my reference point for everything. With a neighbor like Russia we are able to keep our independence and we don't allow them to interfere in our internal policy.

I like Poland, I have a lot of friends here, but it would be difficult for me to live here.

Gvantsa Grigalashvili - student of international relations, volunteer in Center of Youth Cooperation in Gdynia, she speaks Polish a bit, but she prefers to speak in English

In Poland there is around 360 international volunteers.

We have 70 non-governmental organizations, that host volunteers. Depending on the project, they work from 2 till 12 months. Biggest amount of them work in homes for elderly, centers for social care, taking care for physically disabled people, deaf-mutes, organizing free time for children from poor families. Organization in which the volunteer works, provides accommodation, food and medical care.