ESC story - Ana Margishvili

I am Ana, from Georgia an ESC volunteer in Poland, Bialystok. I am a Bachelor of  Psychology and I have Master’s degree in Special education. In my country, I worked as a special education teacher and I have the experience of working as an ABA therapist in abilitation center with children who have different disabilities. At present, I am focused on special education. I wanted to learn more about the situation in Poland in regards to the field of special education. I was looking forward to discovering more about achievements and activities which are offered to adults. I knew that Poland had great practice with adults with different disabilities, which was the reason I chose this country and this school.

So, everything started like this: That was my first visit in Poland. I was a little afraid of what would happen here, new country, new culture, new people, new school and etc…But I can say that it was the best experience of my life, especially the school. My expectations came true. In school I had new practice, which is going to be useful in Georgia. It was quite interesting for me to see all this differences between the two countries. I participated in activities such as: Gardening, cooking, hoteling, revalidation and so on… The school opens new doors, lessons prepare the   students   for   the   future,   they   give   them knowledge, teach them how to live independently and show them activities they can do after school. However, what I like the most is the relationships between students and teachers. The love and respect they have for each other makes them very friendly.

I can confidently say, that the experience has shown me that, the support of students at the school is huge, this helps them to prepare for international days, there are different workshops for students, where they are able to prepare handmade things, work on zero waste activities, make exhibitions and so on... The most valuable experience for me was the friendship I built with students, these people have become very dear to me.

I can say that this project increased my knowledge and also improved my language skills. my personal and professional skills have also got more advance. Here, with the help of ESC project I got to know new incredible people and we became really close friends. 

In addition, I enjoy travelling, so it was a fascinating opportunity for me to get introduced to Poland. It was a great pleasure to get deeper knowledge of the culture and traditions of Poland. Also my hosting organisation “ANAWOJ” was really hospitable, attentive and thoughtful.

For me it was big challenge to go to another  country and live with other people. So it changed my life and views about many things as it broadened my horizon. I'm very grateful, that I was able to take part in this project.