I found this project on the youth portal for Erasmus+ and applied. I didn’t expect to be accepted, and I was really excited to be a part of it. The project was in Leszno, Poland, for a period from the 1st of November until the 31st of December last year. I am from North Macedonia, and I traveled 24 hours from my city to Leszno.

I arrived at the train station at 11:00 p.m. on the 31st of October, where my friend Oleg was waiting for me to show me the way to the house. When I got to the house, some of the volunteers were waiting for me and helped me settle in while waiting for me to show me the way to the house. When I got to the house, some of the volunteers were waiting for me and helped me settle in. Upon arrival, it was like a little earthquake—a new country with a new language, a new working language (English), a different culture, and new people everywhere. However, we were 20 volunteers from different countries around the world, so adding the fact of living and working together made us a new family very soon.

The second day the project started, we went to the office, where Tetyana gave us instructions about the ongoing project in the organization. We were working for CAT Fondacja, working with the Erasmus+ program under the European Voluntary Service grants. This is the reason our first week also consisted of listening and learning with a lot of presentations. Also, we did energizers like name games and ice-breakers so we could introduce ourselves and get to know each other.

During the second week, each one of us made a presentation about our countries to present in different schools and kindergartens around Leszno and other nearby towns. In the third week, I made a cultural presentation about North Macedonia at the Economic School in Leszno. I was very excited that I could share the culture and some unknown facts about North Macedonia with the students and give them some perspective on life in my country. In the fourth week, we went to Osieczna and stayed at Hotel Morena for Euro Camp. We did a little presentation about EVS, playing name games, and integration games so the students can improve their English.

On my off days, I used them to travel around the city, visit some places of interest, go to some bars and pubs, and go to a closed swimming pool.

In the first week of December, I had a presentation in the kindergarten. In the beginning, I was really nervous because I didn’t know how to pass on my culture to the kids, but through games and music, it went really well, thanks to Maria, who was helping me a lot. Then, we had a Christmas meeting at the Economic School, and we were sharing how Christmas is celebrated in our countries. We went to the village of Swieciechowa for tree decorating, carol singing, and festive decorations.

On the 7th of December, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of CAT Fondacja, and each one of us cooked a meal for the gala night. In the second week of December, I had a cooking class at the Economic School. The students were cooking traditional Macedonian dishes and I was showing them how to prepare a meal for the gala night. In the second week of December, I had a cooking class at the Economic School. The students were cooking traditional Macedonian dishes that I was showing them how to prepare. In the village of Bodzewo, we had cultural presentations concerning professions and games for the younger generation in regard to job qualifications.

During the whole project, I gave presentations about North Macedonia in different schools, and my excitement grew bigger and bigger because I was able to pass on my culture to Polish students from different generations. Besides the presentations in the schools, we had some workshops at the office and around Leszno, like exercises for human rights, a healthy lifestyle, movie nights and karaoke, and making crepes and gingerbread.

After all, it was a wonderful experience that I will remember for the rest of my life, and I would definitely use any chance to go on a similar project around Europe.