Next month, I will be going to Poland to take part in the Angloville volunteer programme. It will be my first time visiting the country and I'm excited to see what it's like. (I did a language course in Berlin in 2016, and a trip to Poland was offered by the language school, but unfortunately, it took place on the day I went home! So it's great to have the opportunity to go now.) I mentioned on my Year Abroad blog that I have a bucket list goal of visiting every country in Europe (as well as visiting every continent on Earth). I'm also trying to visit at least one new country (in any continent) every year, which is something I've done since 2014. I'm glad I can continue the streak for another year!
I originally applied to do the programme in Malta, but there weren't any spaces left. However, it's just as exciting to be going to Poland instead, especially as the programme will start in Kraków, which looks like an amazing city to visit. I'm interested to see how it compares to cities I've visited in neighbouring countries, such as Prague in Czechia, where I spent a family holiday when I was ten, and Bratislava in Slovakia, which I took a day trip to during my Year Abroad.
The day after I arrive in Kraków, I will attend a city tour with some of the other Angloville volunteers. The following day, we will travel to the venue where we will be volunteering, a hotel in the countryside in the same province as Kraków: the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, also known as Małopolska Voivodeship. Here we will spend a week conversing with Polish teenagers learning English, before heading back to Kraków on the final day. The day after that, I will return to England. I'm looking forward to helping young people gain more confidence speaking English, and teaching them a bit about the culture of the United Kingdom. It should be a very valuable experience, especially because I'm considering teaching English as a foreign language again in the near future.
Only English is allowed to be spoken at the venue, because Angloville is a language immersion programme. However, I have started learning some Polish on Duolingo, which will hopefully come in useful during the few days I'll have in Kraków. As a lover of languages, I always find it fun to learn a bit of the local language every time I visit a new country! Since finishing my languages degree, I've been able to have a more fun and relaxed time learning languages. I've restarted Italian, which I started learning on the Year Abroad, and have also learnt a little bit of Russian. However, both of these have been put on hold for the time being since I found out I was going to Poland! Polish is quite a difficult language and all the words seem to have lots of consonants, but I'm enjoying getting to grips with the basics.
To sum up, I'm really pleased that I got my wish I made in my previous post: to go abroad again soon! There's definitely going to be lots for me to write about on this blog...
Do zobaczenia wkrótce!
Image by Kaboompics.com from pexels.com
