You honestly can’t feel lonely here. I like running into my fellow Erasmus+ colleagues at the residence, having them around, going out spontaneously for a drink or watching movies late at night. They’ve become my family here.
When you have your ‘student years’ far behind and suddenly you need to move into a dormitory, you can feel a bit panicked. Accustomed to single bedrooms in quiet neighbourhoods, I was definitely concerned with my living situation during EVS. Sharing a bedroom with two other girls and not having a proper kitchen is not how I imagined my late-late twenties to be.
Luckily I’ve been blessed with two lovely roommates and I guess it says a lot, that we still like to hang out and travel together, even though we already share a room and workplace. So it turned out not to be so bad, especially since we’re like-minded when it comes to tidiness and privacy. And quiet.
Would I still prefer to have a single bedroom, a kitchen that’s not being locked for cleaning during breakfast time and a lawn outside my window without people permanently doing fitness exercises or playing the drums? My god, yes. But I accept all that as a part of my experience. Cause it won’t last forever and I’ll miss it when it ends.
And most of all, these inconveniences are being rewarded by people who I dare to call ‘friends’ after this short time. My fellow volunteers, Erasmus students living on the same floor, next-door neighbours, roommates… It’s them who I celebrate holidays and birthdays with. They’re here to comfort me when I’m down or share moments of joy. We have our private jokes, favourite places and precious memories. And when it’s time to go for one of them, my heart breaks a little every time.
Katarzyna Kozak
Students’ Union Polish Volunteer
Project co-financed by ERASMUS+.
