Day 2 of May Teaching Program

We started this morning with another of my favorite Reymontowka breakfasts-- a pancake adorned with plum sauce. Oh yum!!!

Our next work activity was learning about how the Polish language works and then learning some useful Polish words. Then we spent time organizing our first classes. This is really "a shot in the dark" for one just takes the best guess at the ability of the students, tries to plan some interesting things for the first day of teaching, and then readjusts considerably for the second day after meeting this students.

We had an early mid-day meal and then departed for Siedlce at about 12:30. We arrived at the county government building about 1:15. One volunteer went off to change money at a kantor's bureau, I used the ATM at the government building, and then we walked about for a just a couple of minutes to a main square in the city.

We returned to the government center and went to the Governor's office for a delightful conversation. Below is a photo of our team with the Governor. I felt highly honored to be greeted with the three-side Polish kiss.

 After our visit with the Governor the other volunteers when shopping for amber jewelry and Polish pottery. Then we took a short drive around the city so the other volunteers could see various sights in the city. Our next destination was the train station where two volunteers bought tickets for a transportation to Krakow. Then we went two blocks down the street to Chopin Vodka. There I bought a small gift for a friend as a surprise. Chopin makes three kinds of vodka and only type is sold in the United States.

 The bottles in the photo above always intrigue me. I think they are for display rather than drinking. They stand nearly three feet (1 meter) tall, and cost over $300 each!

Our last stop for the day was at a little store in the country that had some Polish pottery. Nothing there truly tempted me.

Then we returned to Reymontowka where we had a Hungarian dish, lecso, for supper! After that most were in the work room doing the final preparations for tomorrow's classes.