This is a lesson of understanding!

"Ahoj, I am Agnieszka, and now I volunteer at the kindergarten in Cesky Tesin. I have been here for two months, and I feel like a lot has changed in my mindset.

At the beginning, I was discovering what actually taking care of the children means. I watched how my coworkers do that, how they approach their attention, and how they help them to eat and learn in a fun way. Every day, I tried new things to do. First, I was pretty silent during the work, but now I can say I am a part of the team!

My supervisor, Magda, explains to me what every kid likes to do and how to talk with them. She said that to know them better, you have to be a detective, because sometimes they don't know how to tell or show things that they want. Also, everything is about being patient; don't get frustrated if something doesn't work out. Daily advice from her helps a lot.

Volunteering in my placement is an opportunity to see the goodness in people and how to enjoy simple things in life. I am amazed at how just picking the apples in the orchard or singing some songs makes me and the children so happy. As well, I love our Tuesday gym day, when we go to work out together with the school of Slezska Diakonie, where my lovely flat mate Fatma is volunteering. It is so nice that we can also work together!

Sometimes it gets hard, but challenges make that experience better. When one of the pupils doesn't want to sleep, I just have to find some way to help them. Some of the kids want some attention, maybe reading a fairytale, and some of them just need you to stay and make funny faces as long as they feel comfortable in bed.

Also, what I love about this kindergarten is that I can learn Czech very easily. All of the people who work with me try to teach me as much as they can.

It is very hard to summarize the whole two months in that, but if I have to put it in one sentence, I will say this is a lesson of understanding." (Agnieszka, Poland)