Traveling abroad has been a dream of mine forever. I remember it started when I was around nine years old. I decided that after high school I would go on a world tour. Some time passed, and the idea gradually turned into going to just one country for a year. But would I go to study, volunteer, or just travel? I didn't know yet.
Then, last year, as my graduation date got closer, I had to decide what I would do afterward. I already knew what I wanted to study, but I also knew I wanted a gap year abroad. So I started looking into different options, and that's when I heard about ESC projects.
Fast forward a year, to February 2026. After graduating, I spent three months in Berlin working in a museum, while preparing for my departure to a volunteering project in Rzeszów, Poland, which was starting just a few days later.
Then the day of my arrival in Rzeszów came. I got there on a sunny morning, at the station, on 12 February 2026, and that's where my adventure in Poland began.
When I first arrived, I was a little afraid. I had already traveled around Europe before, but this time felt different. I was coming alone to a city where I knew no one. I was completely lost at the station and didn't even know how to find the office. Luckily, two French volunteers showed me the way to my apartment. It was nice that the first people I met spoke my language, I felt a little less lost. Then, at the apartment, I met Emma, one of my two roommates, a fashion lover and communications student from Italy. We talked briefly, but she already had to leave to buy some furniture. So there I was, alone in an apartment that would become my home for the next five months. But that afternoon, the other volunteers, who turned out to be our neighbors, invited me over to play games. We talked for hours, and I finally felt reassured that the people around me were kind and welcoming. Then, in the evening, I met Eve, my other roommate, from France. It was comforting to have a roommate who shared my language.
I spent a month with them. There were a few more people in their apartment too: two French girls, an Italian girl, a German girl, a Portuguese guy, and a Spanish guy. We spent so many nights and afternoons playing cards and hanging out in bars that when the time came to say goodbye, it didn't feel real. A month had gone by so fast, and suddenly they all had to go home.
Only a week after they left, a new group arrived, much bigger this time, staying for just two weeks. They came from all over Europe: France, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Cyprus, Finland, Italy, Germany, and Georgia. I made some really good friends in that group and even traveled a bit with some of them on weekends. But this time, when their project ended, I wasn't sad. I was just grateful for the great moments we'd shared.
Time went on, new groups kept arriving, and I met more and more people. I started to feel truly comfortable in this little city. I had my own routine, but I also kept traveling and discovering Rzeszów and its surroundings. With each new group I made friends, shared experiences, and often picked up new words in other languages. Summer slowly arrived, the days grew hotter and longer. I went to the lake, to coffee shops, and even watched the sunrise.
Now, as this adventure is slowly coming to an end, I find myself thinking more and more about all the people I met. Our neighbors, the people from my training course in Warsaw, the volunteer groups that came through, and everyone else I crossed paths with along the way. I honestly can't count anymore how many people I met or how much I learned from each of them.
I'm deeply grateful for everything I've experienced here, and I will remember this year forever.
Lisa, volunteer at INPRO from 12 February to 15 July.