POLONCA (BELGUIM)

VOLUNTEERING FROM FEBRUARY 2025 TO APRIL 2025

Teaching is hard work. Being an example, a mentor, a leader, a safe space—it’s all hard work.
I’ve learned to prepare better, to understand where my students come from, to figure out how
to pass on even a little bit of knowledge in a way that sticks. I’ve learned to balance discipline
with passion. And I’ve learned that, well… I’m not great at everything. But more than anything,
I’ve learned about attachment. That almost-instant connection. That gut feeling that pulls us
together, even across different languages and experiences. Until. Until one of them disappears
overnight.
And then comes the void. Managing the void. Sitting with it. Processing it. Moving on. But here’s
the thing—I love it. The chaos, the unpredictability, the emotional rollercoaster of it all. The rush
of making a breakthrough, the frustration of feeling like I’m failing, when half of my class fails
their test, the sheer absurdity of trying to teach the days of the week (in the right order) for the
27th time. It’s raw, it’s real, it’s exhausting, and it’s everything.
I had a gazillion of doubts when I first thought of doing this, going there. So many reasons that
sounded like excuses. Today, as I reflect, all I can think of is: Just Do It.
I came to teach life skills and English. But I’m the one learning. And the lessons are so much
bigger than language. Do. Go. Be.

🙌🏻