Poland – AIESEC Exchange

lucas aiesec poland

About a year ago, I was joining AIESEC Sorocaba. For those who don’t know, AIESEC is the world’s largest youth-run organisation. We are present in over 113 countries and with over 86,000 members. AIESEC provides a platform for youth leadership development. AIESEC offers young people the opportunity to be global citizens, to change the world, and to get experience and skills that matter today.

When I joined AIESEC I’ve already had a dream in mind, go abroad for an international exchange. I’m really passionate about presentations and teaching, so I applied for Global Citizen Program. I started to search for an exchange in Eastern Europe, to be more specific, in Poland. Fortunately, I was accepted for an educational program in Katowice – Silesia. My mission was present about brazilian culture for teenagers from public schools.

Before leave Brazil I couldn’t wonder what was waiting me. I had only a special thought: go to Poland and teach teenagers that Brazil is not just about carnival and soccer. It was my main goal.

I’ve spent seven weeks (jan/feb – 2013), it couldn’t have been better, I was pretty well received by polish people! They are very hospitable. If you think you are hospitable, you should meet a polish family, they are very kind. I want to say thank you, for every family that hosted me (for free), you rock :)

It’s amazing the amount of people who speak english, everyone speaks english! Definitely, language isn’t a barrier in Poland. By the way, many poles are studying other languages. I hope a similar situation in Brazil, for the future.

Most part of the time, I was presenting for teenagers. However, I presented for all ages, from kindergarten, through high school, to adults (in a private english school). Thank you all! Polish students are very polite. Beyond that, polish teachers are motivated, even earning a bad salary, keep the good work.

I learned a lot of new things, I taught a lot of things, I’m sure I lived the best experience of my life. It’s impossible to explain in a blog post.

I would like to thank all people that helped me, other trainees, AIESECers, host families, teachers and students, you guys are doing a great job and you are helping the world to be a better place. I’m proud of you!

And you, what kind of experience do you want to live?

ps. sorry for my poor english, if you find any mistake, please correct me :)