How it started?
After finishing my musical education and working in a tea shop in Poznań, I had a strong
need to rearrange my life and needed some time to think – what’s next? I decided to fulfill
one of my dreams, namely – to live for a longer time in another, preferably sunny country. I
had been planning to volunteer for a long time, and I found out about the European Solidarity Corps thanks to my research some time earlier. I immediately started looking for the organization and type of volunteering that best suited me.
I chose Italy – or more precisely – Sicily and the Enjoy Sicily organization, based in Messina,
which is located on the north-eastern coast of the island. I sent my CV and cover letter through a supporting organization Fundacja Rozwoju Społeczeństwa Przedsiębiorczego) and after some time I received a positive response! Thanks to this, I spent 8 beautiful months on a sunny island.
Messina
From the very first day, it surprised me in two ways. On the one hand – beautiful views,
proximity to the sea, amazing nature, as well as the view of Etna on the way from Catania.
On the other hand – after getting off the bus, I immediately fell into the deep end – total
chaos, the omnipresence of very noisy scooters, the practical lack of road rules, noise,
garbage and a long distance from the nearest beach. How difficult it was for me to walk the supposedly 10-minute walk from the station to the apartment – it took me about half an hour to navigate through the mazes of cars. However, from the perspective of eight months, I smile at this memory, but also at another one – my first purchase in Messina – earplugs :D. I fell in love with Sicily and Poznań already seems awkwardly quiet.
Enjoy Sicily
My hosting organization was Enjoy Sicily and my supporting organization was Fundacja
Rozwoju Społeczeństwa Przedsiębiorczego.
At Enjoy Sicily I was writing articles and working on monthly magazines – also visual work;
posting on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, and I also recorded a podcast. I
created presentations for digital marketing workshops and participated in events involving
the local community.
Here are some examples!
-“La Coperta di Beatrice”- crocheting with the local community. This project was intended to draw attention to violence against women.
-NGO Village Project – participation in organizational meetings that introduced me to the
work of non-governmental organizations.
-Working at the “Info Point” – informing international tourists about what can be visited in Messina.
– Active writing and inventing the content of articles and working on their visual part. This job was really enjoyable and gave me the opportunity to explore the graphic part of the
magazine and posts for Instagram and Facebook.
-Working on the podcast – from preparing materials to recording and editing episodes.
And many others…
Other activities
Thanks to the project, I managed to visit a large part of the island.
I visited places such as Taormina, Catania, Palermo, Cefalu, Syracuse, Rome… and climbed
Mount Etna with my mom! In addition, I met new people from different countries, including international students of the University of Messina and other volunteers. I learned the basics of Italian language and had a real opportunity to learn more about Sicilian history and culture. All this made Sicily my second, much sunnier, beloved home.
