Przytaczamy jej ostatni wpis.
Do widzenia – Arrivederci – Goodbye
It seems absurd to say this now, but the end of this train journey has come, but still the school certainly made sure I had a memorable departure!
We started these last two weeks by creating beautiful personalized bookmarks, where everyone could use the images they liked best to decorate their own as they wished: we could choose from letters and numbers, space elements, animals, cartoon characters, and various figures! The children had so much fun personalizing their bookmarks and filling them with as many stickers as possible, and then they all rushed to put them in their backpacks! I’ve already told you that there’s a strong reading culture here, so they were truly excited!
To continue the theme from my last post, where I said you don’t always have to run when you’re outdoors, here’s another great example: a little girl and I ended up reading two texts, me in Polish and her in Italian. It all started playfully because I was trying to read something in Polish, but soon I realized she was also interested in trying to read something in Italian. So I decided to share this song you can see in the video, called “La bella lavanderina”, which is part of my childhood. I vividly remember singing and dancing to it with my friends in the schoolyard, so it was a truly emotional moment for me.
We also played the game Chinese Whispers, where you whisper a word into the ear of the person next to you, and hope it reaches the end without getting distorted. We started with Polish words, then moved on to some in English, and finally ended with Italian words! I think it’s a wonderful game, because through the fun of playing, we can learn and even absorb new words in different languages. And it really seemed like the children enjoyed trying it out!
In these last two weeks, to wrap up my time here, I also visited several classes from Grade 4 to Grade 6 to do a quiz about Italy! The kids had a great time showing me what they already knew about Italy and discovering new things about my country, and they were all really engaged! I love being in the świetlica with the younger children, but having the chance to connect with some of the older students and being able to communicate with them more in English was really enjoyable! And judging by their reactions, I’d say it was a great experience for them too! I taught them some basic Italian words, and we even practiced a little conversation in class where they asked each other their names, said “nice to meet you,” and asked how they were doing.
One day I proposed two games to the kids: a revised version of Rubabandiera, a game I always played as a child, and the game you see in the video, Fruit Basket. In this game, players are in a circle and are each given one of four elements. One person in the middle calls out an element: everyone with that element gets up and switches seats, while the player in the middle tries to take a seat. If the general category of the theme being used is called out (in this case, animals, as shown in the video) then everyone has to get up and find a new seat! They really loved this game, I could see the excitement and joy in their faces as they got ready to run and secure a spot!
This last week also featured a special event at the school: a talent show! The children had the chance to showcase their hidden talents in front of a jury made up of several teachers! And I must say, all the kids did an amazing job! There were performances of singing, dancing, skating, and many more! In the videos, I decided to show you two girls dancing to the notes of Shut Up and Dance, a boy demonstrating karate moves and a girl singing Pedro by Raffaella Carrà. I didn’t know she had chosen this Italian song, and hearing her sing it in Italian was such a sweet surprise!
And here we are, on the final day, we’ve officially reached the end. Now that I’ve finished writing this post, I must admit I’m feeling a bit emotional, and that shows just how powerful and moving this volunteering experience has been for me. I left for this ESC project looking for answers within myself, and I’m returning with an infinite amount of new knowledge, about the world around me, but also about myself.
I’m truly proud of the journey I chose to undertake here, and I’m endlessly grateful to the people who surrounded me, supported me along the way, and made this experience even more special.
If you’ve read this far, I think I’ve managed to pull you into my world, and I really recommend, if you feel this is something that could interest you, to learn more about the ESC world and try to find a project that speaks to you. I promise, if you go, you won’t regret it!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This experience filled my heart with joy, made me a more responsible person, showed me the beauty of stepping out of my comfort zone, and truly made me feel part of something special.
Thank you again!
