We begin our 2nd week with just a bit of change. A second camp is starting in Zakopane and Dorota must be with the new volunteers, so I'm the "deputized" team leader as the others are calling me. Our day begins 10 minutes before breakfast with the reading of the journals, this time long because it covers Saturday and Sunday, and then announcement, primarily about today's and upcoming events and activities.
My students are all anxious about having to write a "matura" -- a test they take on 4 subjects in order to qualify for leaving high school and earning a spot in a university. One activity is to write a descriptive essay, so I brought some photos to class and had them do that. They don't need to worry. They are doing fine now and have the whole next school year before the exam.
In the afternoon many went hiking through valleys with students. I took one of the volunteers chocolate shopping.
In the evening the students presented Polish night. They gave oral presentations about the history and geography of Poland, described the important cities of Poland with an emphasis on Siedlce, the city in which many of them live. They gave we volunteers a Polish history quiz. They also sang what we might call folk songs associated with different eras of Polish history.
As you can see we are having a wonderful time.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Weekend Adventures
Yesterday, Saturday, 5 of us joined the students in a visit to Krakow. I, frankly, got more than I wished. Something got lost in the translation. I thought we were going to do a tour of the Wawel Castle and Cathedral at some point in the day and have free time the rest of the day. Instead a very pedantic guide met our bus and proceeded to give us the tour of everything! We started at 10:50 and went until 4:00 PM without more than a 30 second break. By the time we got to the Castle most of us were frankly too tired to appreciate it. I'm so glad I have done this before. And when I did before what we did in those hours, I spread out over two days so I could enjoy everything rather than feeling force marched. We arrived back about 7 PM meeting up with other volunteers who had gone to Auschwitz on Saturday. Fell into bed and slept hard after climbing bell towers and then down in to burial crepts and all sorts of points in between. I must say I was impressed with the good manners and grace of the students throughout this experience. There was no complaining and they did their best to translate for us.
This morning Sunday I took the funicular up Mt. Gulbawovka (spelled phonetically, but there were still some rural homes and haystacks. . It is much more commercial than I remembered, but the view of the mountain ranges are still there. Back for the mid day meal and then I walked with one of the other volunteers back to Krupowki Street to sidewalk cafe where we sat for a good 45 minutes just people watching. Now we whiz into the 2nd week.
This morning Sunday I took the funicular up Mt. Gulbawovka (spelled phonetically, but there were still some rural homes and haystacks. . It is much more commercial than I remembered, but the view of the mountain ranges are still there. Back for the mid day meal and then I walked with one of the other volunteers back to Krupowki Street to sidewalk cafe where we sat for a good 45 minutes just people watching. Now we whiz into the 2nd week.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Kids are cute!
Today is July 4 -- a holiday for most of you that may read this blog. We taught our regular classes for 2.5 hours and then did a program explaining what is the July 4 holiday. Then each of us shared something about our states. By the middle of the day it was pouring rain. Late this afternoon the rain let up a bit and I went out to the fruit stand and then also to check out a shop with nice crafts rather than tourist bric-a-brac. I ended up with a cute ceramic frog that has a tongue made with a 1 gorcz coin. When I got back to the lobby I encountered a boy and his mother who have been staying at the hotel and eating at a table next to us.
Most of the time this 6 year old has been carrying an Eeyore. Yesterday when he had something different -- a little ceramic sheep-- a very characteric souvenier of Zakopane, I asked about Eeyore. He had no idea what I was asking about. He knows the animal as an osciol -- Polish people forgive my spelling - I'm aiming for the word that mean donkey. I tried to explain to him that he was a boy but he also had a name. Eeyore was a donkey, but Eeyore was his name. Oh! Then he explained he has a hamster at home, the osciol, and now this new little sheep and the name of each one is Brut. Today when I showed him my zaba (frog), I asked if I could call him Brut. The boy said no, and explained my animals are not in his animal family! Kids are cute everywhere.
Most of the time this 6 year old has been carrying an Eeyore. Yesterday when he had something different -- a little ceramic sheep-- a very characteric souvenier of Zakopane, I asked about Eeyore. He had no idea what I was asking about. He knows the animal as an osciol -- Polish people forgive my spelling - I'm aiming for the word that mean donkey. I tried to explain to him that he was a boy but he also had a name. Eeyore was a donkey, but Eeyore was his name. Oh! Then he explained he has a hamster at home, the osciol, and now this new little sheep and the name of each one is Brut. Today when I showed him my zaba (frog), I asked if I could call him Brut. The boy said no, and explained my animals are not in his animal family! Kids are cute everywhere.
Photography Adventures
Yesterday, July 3, most of the student campers and three of the volunteers, left at 8:30 to go climb the mountain,Giewont. The rest of us walked to the area of town that has ski jumps. Much to our delight, there were jumpers out practicing. Obviously there is no snow, but as probably everyone knows there are ways to use surfaces that make the jump slippery in the summer. We could not see the landing place but thought perhaps hay or other types of padding are at the bottom. Then we walked to a branch of the Tatra Museum. Much to my delight it held an exhibition from an international wildlife photographers contest. The photos were terrific! They were also a good source of English conversation.
I walked back to the hotel with camp staff and had a bit of a conference about becoming the substitute team leader while Dorota moves onto another camp about 25 minutes away next week.
In the afternoon we walked to a market area I've not seen yet this year. What a change in 6 years, and perhaps not the best in my opinion. Six years ago it was truly native crafts. Now I'm guessing most everything is either machine made or comes from China. Also six years ago no one spoke English and now even when I ask in Polish, the response comes back in English.
In the evening we enjoyed a Polish tradition, bonfire. The traditional Polish way is to roast kielbasa and sing songs. We had enough supplies from American volunteers that each camper could make a S'More. A nice evening.
I walked back to the hotel with camp staff and had a bit of a conference about becoming the substitute team leader while Dorota moves onto another camp about 25 minutes away next week.
In the afternoon we walked to a market area I've not seen yet this year. What a change in 6 years, and perhaps not the best in my opinion. Six years ago it was truly native crafts. Now I'm guessing most everything is either machine made or comes from China. Also six years ago no one spoke English and now even when I ask in Polish, the response comes back in English.
In the evening we enjoyed a Polish tradition, bonfire. The traditional Polish way is to roast kielbasa and sing songs. We had enough supplies from American volunteers that each camper could make a S'More. A nice evening.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Continuing adventures
Day 3 teaching went just fine. We played a game called Talking Cards. The kids draw a card from a deck and then answer a question such as: What is your favorite book? or Describe your favorite teacher. We had a free afternoon and I wandered about in search of another English book for bedtime reading. Then I passed by a sidewalk cafe and couldn't stop myself from staying for the wonderful ice cream and a cold Diet Coke. After dinner we walked to nearby restaurant/tavern that had live mountain Polish music. All the Polish women/teachers and I had the traditional beer for Polish women, beer with raspberry syrup. Tastes better than it sounds. And is the way that most Polish women drink beer.
Often people ask "Why do you go there?" Well, perhaps my adventures now give back the answer, "Why don't you go there? " Hey, this is way fun. And I truly think better than the standard touring. After all would I ever have learned to put the raspberry syrup in beer on a traditional touring schedule with other Americans?
Often people ask "Why do you go there?" Well, perhaps my adventures now give back the answer, "Why don't you go there? " Hey, this is way fun. And I truly think better than the standard touring. After all would I ever have learned to put the raspberry syrup in beer on a traditional touring schedule with other Americans?
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Day 2 in Zakopane teaching
The four teaching hours whizzed by. I brought a book of photos that I had taken about St. Paul and then converted into a Shutterfly scrapbook.We spent some time looking at that. Things happen mysteriously. I had photos of houses, churches, schools, and now I have one student who wants to be an architect and he is delighted to see pictures of buildings.
During the second half one of the American teens, who came with a grandparent, brought his high school year book and the 4 teens talked about how things are the same and different in their schools. We started the second half at 11:00 AM, and I was astonished when Drew looked at this watch and said, "It's 12:45."
During the afternoon many went for a lovely hike in the mountains, but I did my hiking on the Zakopane streets. To my delight I've discovered I'm in a country where my feet are right. I went into a shoe store rather like Famous Footwear where one wanders around and tries things on. In Famous Footwear I can perhaps find 1 pair that fits. I can never do the deal with half price off on the 2nd pair. In this shoe store nearly everything fits!
In the evening several us went for a long walk again through the Zakopane streets. The sun is shining again for our third day. I'm sure there will be more wonderful adventures.
During the second half one of the American teens, who came with a grandparent, brought his high school year book and the 4 teens talked about how things are the same and different in their schools. We started the second half at 11:00 AM, and I was astonished when Drew looked at this watch and said, "It's 12:45."
During the afternoon many went for a lovely hike in the mountains, but I did my hiking on the Zakopane streets. To my delight I've discovered I'm in a country where my feet are right. I went into a shoe store rather like Famous Footwear where one wanders around and tries things on. In Famous Footwear I can perhaps find 1 pair that fits. I can never do the deal with half price off on the 2nd pair. In this shoe store nearly everything fits!
In the evening several us went for a long walk again through the Zakopane streets. The sun is shining again for our third day. I'm sure there will be more wonderful adventures.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Start of the Teaching Adventure
Yesterday we started our teaching days. I have three students, one young man and two young women. The young man wants to go to Warsaw Polytechnic to become an architect (if there are words spelled wrong, sorry, the spell check is working only in Polish and I get some funny results!), and the two young women are interested in economics. Two of them have studied English for 10 years and 1 for 4 years. We can easily talk.
In the afternoon the group was scheduled for a hike. I decided I wanted to walk to the shops and get some notebooks. By the time all of this was arranged the typical afternoon rain had rolled in. I did do my shopping, and then stopped at McDonald's for Coke zero with ice. This costs about $1.35. About two doors later I noticed a sign that said manicure so I followed it to a very lovely salon. They gave me a manicurist immediately. I overlooked a large window and another wave of rain rolled in. Better to spend that time getting my nails done! Walked back to the hotel and planned lessons for Tuesday. Then it was dinner time. About 8 PM some of us walked a couple of blocks to a winegarnia. My roommate has traveled extensively in Eastern Europe and knew to order Gerogian red. Oh my was it good. Back to the hotel about 11 PM and I surely slept well.
In the afternoon the group was scheduled for a hike. I decided I wanted to walk to the shops and get some notebooks. By the time all of this was arranged the typical afternoon rain had rolled in. I did do my shopping, and then stopped at McDonald's for Coke zero with ice. This costs about $1.35. About two doors later I noticed a sign that said manicure so I followed it to a very lovely salon. They gave me a manicurist immediately. I overlooked a large window and another wave of rain rolled in. Better to spend that time getting my nails done! Walked back to the hotel and planned lessons for Tuesday. Then it was dinner time. About 8 PM some of us walked a couple of blocks to a winegarnia. My roommate has traveled extensively in Eastern Europe and knew to order Gerogian red. Oh my was it good. Back to the hotel about 11 PM and I surely slept well.
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