Sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn’t it?
But this time, instead of a punchline, there’s a story - about how cultural differences don’t divide people, but bring them closer.
In December 2023, three of our volunteers - a Portuguese, a Georgian and a Greek - packed their backpacks and headed to Cisna, a small town in southern Poland, to spend three days working with local students. There was supposed to be a French volunteer as well, but travel plans had other ideas. In the end, the Portuguese volunteer joined the team at the last minute - and that’s how the adventure began.
The students were waiting with curiosity, and the first minutes at school made it clear that these would be intense and energetic days. Each volunteer was assigned to a different class, sharing stories about their home countries: the Georgian alphabet, Greek islands, Portuguese dishes with names that are almost impossible to pronounce. Between presentations, however, the real spirit of the visit showed itself in unexpected moments - like epic ping-pong battles with the students. The result? The volunteers lost spectacularly, but with plenty of laughter.
During their stay, the volunteers were hosted by the Ślimak family in Wetlina. Three children, parents who had spent years living in England, and a big-hearted dog - it was a place where language barriers simply didn’t exist. Evening conversations over dinner moved naturally from serious topics to everyday details that no search engine could ever explain. And when they weren’t talking, the volunteers were playing hide-and-seek with the kids, as if they were ten years old again.
Time passed quickly. By the last day in Cisna, the conversations were no longer about presentations, but about invitations: “If you ever come to Georgia…”, “You’re welcome in Greece!”, “We’ll host you in Portugal too.” As a farewell gift, the Ślimak family gave the volunteers small fridge magnets - souvenirs that still hang on their refrigerators today, including the one in the Portuguese author’s apartment.
Giannis and Rati stayed in Poland for two more weeks, visiting other schools and towns. The author returned to Rzeszów to continue his volunteering until July. And now, as this chapter slowly comes to an end, he looks at that magnet from Wetlina and knows it’s more than just a souvenir. It’s a reminder that borders are only lines on a map — and that real encounters happen between people.
A Portuguese, a Georgian and a Greek walk into a Polish school…
and leave richer in experiences, friendships and stories that stay with them long after the journey ends.