Weekend in Krakow

On Saturday morning I took a shower in the walk-in shower and when it was done I had soaked the whole bathroom. When I went downstairs for breakfast I stopped at reception and explained the problem, thinking there was something wrong with the drain in the shower. Instead, the man at reception said, "We will clean it up. It's an architect problem. It happens all the time, not just in your room." That answer really surprised me!

The next step obviously was breakfast and it was very good.

After breakfast I started to wander to the Old Town area. On my way I found an outdoor exhibit -- no longer surprised about that because I've seen outdoor exhibits like this many times in both Poland and Hungary. It was called Emotions in Sports, and at first I thought it was a bad translation of some sort into English. But then  I discovered the photos displayed all kinds of emotions. I took a photo of each photo along with the caption in both Polish and English for words such as perseverance, cooperation, and joy. I still plan to use it for a lesson yet this week.

I wandered into the Old Town area. Often there is a stage for evening outdoor concerts and when I went to look for that I found outdoor shops there instead. One place that intrigued me was a stall selling Polish pottery. Outside the stall the owner had a tea pot that is about three feet high. On Sunday another volunteer and I went back and asked for the cost, just out of curiosity. We found it was about $500!

I did find some jewelry I liked, rather ceramic. I felt proud when I figured out "metal bez nikel" meant there was no nickle in the earrings hoops! I also figured I could squeeze a couple pairs of earrings into my small apartment when I get home.

About this time it started to rain so I found an outdoor cafe with good umbrellas -- usually used for sun, and had a long, long cup of coffee. The skies cleared and I took a walk down Grodzka Street as far as Wawel Castle.

A church I've also called the Twelve Apostles Church was open for visitors. Much to my surprise this church is actually named as St. Peter and Paul Church. Here are some views from inside the church.

Side Altar

Detail from the Altar

On my way back I stopped at Wesele Restaurant for lunch.

After lunch the weather had warmed so much I wanted cooler clothes and also wanted to get into my suitcase to get batteries for my camera. So I walked back to the hotel. There I put my feet up and read for about an hour.

Meanwhile in the plaza between the hotel and the train station there was a basketball tournament underway.

 It was fun to stop and watch this while I walked around to the hotel and the shopping center.

Later in the afternoon I headed for the shopping center for an ice cream, but took my time enjoying the novel things I found in the stores.

About 6 PM I walked back to the Rynek and went to St. Adelbert's Church to get a ticket for a concert. The concert started at 7 PM. A small chapel with a dome was used. There were four musicians and it was possible for about 30 people to attend. Oh, live music is still a great experience. I could feel my purse vibrate with the music.

After the concert I wanted something more to eat. I was walking towards a groups of restaurants, trying to avoid the pigeons, little toddlers running around, and the horses carrying carriages that loaded and unloaded in this area. As I approached the tables I could see people laughing and looking just over my shoulder. A mime had been following me about one step behind for all the time and I had no idea he was there. I just laughed and said, "He got me good."

When he came around the tables with hat in his hand to collect donations for the show, I didn't donate. I figured I was part of the show!

I went back to the hotel after this just about as dusk changed to darkness.

Sunday morning I avoided the shower, for one of the volunteers was coming up from Zakopone by bus and meeting me in the lobby of the hotel. I thought perhaps she might like to use the bathroom and didn't want it to a swimming pool!

I relaxed until she arrived.  We then went to the Galica Jewish Museum because she knows the director for this museum. I really enjoyed this museum. After this visit we went back to the rynek for more shopping. We finished the afternoon with cold drinks and then walked back to the hotel to meet the van shuttle that brought us back to Zakopane.

So all in all it turned out to be a nice weekend in Krakow. 

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Katowice

On Friday, July 5, after we were done teaching, eight of us piled in to a van we had engaged from the hotel and went to Krakow. Seven of them planned to stay in Krakow for the weekend and I planned to take a train to Katowice in order to see a new location in Poland.

We arrived in Krakow a few minutes after 4 and then I walked over to the train station. I was so happy to be there already thinking I could catch the 17:25 train rather than having to wait until 18:30. I looked at the departures board and couldn't find any train to Katowice. I explored and explored and kept looking in my guide book to make sure I was reading the Polish word right for departures, not mixing it up with arrivals. When nothing had appeared for the 18:30 as other train departures were being announced on the digital boards, I went to a ticket booth. The woman there spoke only Polish but I surely understood that she said I had to take the autobus. At this point I called Dorota and said I thought I had a problem. She told me to take my phone with me to the main information booth and when there hand the phone to the attendant. No need this person spoke very good English and again told me I had to take an autobus. Well, I had not interest in tackling the bus stations on both ends.

I decided to walk over to nearby hotels to see if there was a vacancy. After last summer I had become a big fan of Andels, so I walked in there and asked if there was a vacancy. Yes! Once the receptionist had my name she entered into the computer and said, "Oh, we have all your information. You have been with us before." Yes, but actually my stay was with the one in Lodz  I checked into a lovely room. I truly like the modern design in this hotel chain. The first thing I looked at was the bathroom and I was disappointed.

Above is the tub area and what appears to be a long white light simply would not photograph correctly. It actually appears to be purple. I can't remember the last time I had a hotel room in either Europe or the United States that had both a tub and a walk-in shower (not pictured).

Then on the opposite wall is the glowing orange bathroom mirror. The mirror over tub opposed to the mirror over the sink made it appear as if the reflections went into infinity.

On the opposite side of the wall, here's what I saw in the bedroom area.

This shape was mimicked by the headboard on the bed.

I phoned the hotel in Katowice to share that I would not be coming there due to some kind of problem with the train. (Dorota called information the next day and they said the 18:23 was to go by bus -- we remain mystified about what happened -- probably some temporary problem with the track or equipment, for the trains to Katowice were running on schedule the next morning.)

Then I wandered over the nearby shopping center and had a sandwich.

I followed this up with a drink at an ice cream shop. This drink has very sharply flavored citron sherbert with orange juice poured over it.

Went back to my room and just crashed and didn't wake up until 8 AM the next morning.

Since all this happened I've been in touch with StayPoland, the organization through which I booked the hotel in Katowice. I was advised by e-mail that I did not owe for a night in Katowice even though I cancelled quite late -- almost 7 PM.

July 5 Adventures

On Friday I tried a homonym game that came to me once in the middle of the night in my Minnesota bed. I took words such as write/right, to/two, and cent/scent, altogether 40 words and then had each students draw out 8 words from an envelope. Each would announce the chosen word and how it was spelled and then ask their fellow students who had the partner word. Then each would put the words into a sentence. This worked quite well and wasn't really too hard at all to create.

For the 2nd lesson we played Halloween Jingo. This is in preparation for a Halloween party that one of the volunteers is planning to coordinate for next week. Lacking pumpkins this time of  year, we plan to make jack-o-lanterns with watermelons. This lesson should have gone from 10:00 - 10:45, but by 10:30 we were frustrated with the wind blowing everything away, so we quit early, taking our break from 10:30 - 10:45.

Then we headed off for town. The first stop was church. Since last year I've been curious to know what the signs on the monuments said. I was certain they were military/veterans monuments, not religious ones and I was right. We were especially delighted when we realized one was for men who had been part of the Polish Underground during World War II and that the monument now also included their code names such a tiger.

Polish cemeteries are amazingly beautiful places compared to those in the United States. They were equally intrigued by a gravestone that included a beautiful etching of a deer. All graves are covered with flowers -- it's quite common to go at least once a week to care for the flowers on a family's graves.

I had the students picked out a gravestone and then tell me in English when that person was born and the date on which the person had died. A birth date on the gravestone may be written something like this: " u 29 IX 1942r." Thus this is not exactly an easy assignment. Then we all hit the grocery store.

I found one of the favorite purchases is American Cziken. I think in the United States we would call this ramen noodles!

Right after obiad 8 of us left for Krakow. We arrived at the hotel used by those who would be staying in Krakow a few minutes after 4 PM. I then walked over the train station intending to take a train to Katowice. However, nothing was listed. I went to a ticket window and was told I must instead us a bus. When I waited a bit more and nothing appeared for Katowice, I called Dorota explaining I had a problem. She suggested I go to Information (Informacja) and when there hand the phone to the person behind the counter. I found, however, this person spoke good English telling I had to go by bus, even though I ticket clearly written for the train.

I waited a bit more and still nothing appeared and when nothing appeared for a train to Katowice, I walked to the nearby Andel's Hotel. I asked if they had a vacancy for 2 nights. Yes, they did and when my surname was entered in to the computer, my info popped right up due to my stay in an
Andel's Hotel last summer. I called the hotel in Katowice and explained I could not get there for the weekend and cancelled my reservation. And then I was off for Krakow adventures. More coming about then tomorrow!

July 4th Adventure in Poland

I have spent every July 4 in Poland since 2006, so for me my tradition is almost participating in a program at language camp in which we explain July 4. Today was no different.

On July 3 my class helped to decorate the cook-out area for July 4 and on the July 4th morning, even with the damp overnight weather, most things were still in place. Only a couple had to be re-taped.

We each taught two lessons. For my first lesson I had students look at a PowerPoint presentation I had created that had pictures of food I had found around Poland as well in the Amsterdam and ask them to give me the English word -- for example I had a picture of a bag of sunflower seeds.

The students had never thought what these might be called in English. One said, "I think it may have something to do with sun." Yes, indeed, a good start.

For my second lesson we played Summer Fun Jingo. I had picked up this game and also Scrabble and gave them their choice. The students chose Jingo. The two hardest new words in this game were air-conditioning and Indianapolis 500.

Then for the next two lessons we gathered all together for July 4 program. We began with singing "This Land is Your Land," both the American version and then three verses with Polish places inserted into the melody. This was followed by presentations about July 4th as well a very cute skit presented by one group to illustrate the Boston Tea Party. We especially enjoyed the boys who got into protesting loudly, "Taxation without representation!" We also learned about Polish Independence Day customs.

I was chosen to moderate the program, so I gave my camera to one of my students. She did the best she could to take photos from her chair on the side of the room

In the afternoon one of the other volunteers and I walked down to the village center to have coffee. We met some Americans at the coffee shop, originally from Fort Worth, now living in Hawaii, who were visiting friends who lived in Krakow. The gentleman told me he feels kinship with Saint Paul, because where he comes from everyone thinks there is only place: Dallas. It's just like everyone thinks Minneapolis is the whole deal, when in fact Saint Paul and Minneapolis are indeed two different places with cultural variations.

In the evening we played some relay races.

Spoon Race using Ping-Pong Balls rather then Eggs

 The evening ended a bonfire so the students could make S'Mores.

One of the volunteers said it was the most fun she had for the 4th of July in years.

Teaching in Zakopane -- Day 3

Our day switched around. There is a new law or regulations in Poland, or perhaps the entire EU, affecting bus driver schedules. The bus driver may not drive for 24 hours twice during our two week time. So this morning we all went into Zakopane for awhile. We went to the Tatra Museum and our students were in charge of explaining things to us. Well, I think it was "six -- one half dozen the other."  They may know Polish, but they don't necessarily know about old things. We did have a good time looking at the exhibits, with their explaining to me in English what the signs said or asking me the English words for objects in the museum.

When we were done with tour I went to Rossman (think CVS or Walgreens, if you are a U.S. reader) and got some supplies for doing a manicure. I also got one of the good ice cream cones one can only get in Zakopane -- it's special ice cream, one can easily get ice cream everywhere in Poland, but not this special kind.

We returned about 12:00 and then had obiad at 1:00. In the afternoon we had 4 lessons, but my group was one that used their fourth period to put up July 4th decorations. During our lessons the thunder began to boom and there was one lightening strike in the distance, and the temperature cooled considerably.

By 6 PM the sun was shining again. The students went to a nearby school to play basketball and volleyball--a place they could go without using the bus

Teaching Day 2

We began the day as usual with the morning meeting and then moved on to breakfast. Today the weather is noticeably warmer, a nice change. During the first two class periods for class today we played a game called "Talking Cards." This involves drawing a card and then matching it to a question a student must answer or a description they must give. My students are not ready for free flowing conversation, so I will be putting my mind to activities that allow for structured English speaking.

During the third class hour we played Scrabble. This led to the discovery of some vocabulary words such as mug and dam. I tried to describe a dam and finally pulled out the dictionary to find the Polish word which turns out to be tama. Next week we plan to go a place where there is a large dam across a river and I told Student K, I'm going to say "To jest tama" when we get there.

I knew the students were going on a difficult hike during the afternoon so I had planned entirely table activities to help them save their energy. At the start of Class 3, Student D said, "I have one question. Can we walk to the store?" So that's what we did during the fourth hour. I tried to ask questions about products in the store to continue to push their English.

After lunch some of we volunteers went into Zakopane. My goal for this trip was to get my train ticket for my weekend trip to Katowice. That involved a 30 minute walk each way to the train station. It was a pleasure as there are so many things to see.

I walked on the opposite side than usual and noticed a monument.

This monument is dedicated to and has the names of many, many who fought first again Hitler and then the Communists between 1943 - 1950.


My goal was the same train station that is pictured during World War II,  covered with Nazi flags and symbols, in my blog entry about the Katyn exhibit in Minnesota. 

 I also noticed the padlock tradition is coming to Zakopane.

We came back to the hotel around 4:00 and I keyed in a journal another volunteer had written into the computer. We take turns bringing a thought for the day or writing a journal about the day's activities. I coordinate the production of the journal doing my best to anticipate what someone may write about and take photos that may match the writing.

About 5:30 several of us gathered on the patio for happy hour. This is such a nice group of volunteers and everyone has amazing stories to tell. Our supper had spaghetti and ice cream.  Good !

I added to it a Hungarian bread called kurtoszkalacz.

Present day Slovakia is just over the mountains and years ago that used to be Hungary. In Zakopane one can find some remains of Hungarian culture and this is one of them. I always buy this at least once to share with volunteers.

The evening activity was camp initiation. New campers do this. Each one is different. For this one they had to walk through basins of ice water and then crawl on their tummy under about six chairs. Then they had to dump flour on their head. This was followed by eating a spoonful of I know not what. I went to ask "Co to jest?" However, I could see that the four bowls head four different concoctions. The Polish counselor told me it was "mish-mash" and that certainly was a good word for it.

Another good day in Zakopane. 

First Day of Teaching

We gathered early -- 7:45 -- for the morning meeting. My job was to present the journal about yesterday's activities. I brought my computer to the meeting, then walked across the room to give a book to another volunteer, and when I returned the journal was gone!! I couldn't recover it, but later after doing a reboot it came up just fine. Thank heavens!

In my class I have four girls and one boy. All know some English, but are in the stage where it they are reluctant to speak. One girl explained, "I'm shy." In response I explained they were all trying to the hardest thing in language learning. Speaking requires a high level of recall and also one has to worry about pronunciation, something one doesn't have to do when reading a language.

We started again with introductions. Then I had them write the name of their home town and spend five minutes making extra words out of it. We moved on to discussing what they wanted to do during English classes and they told me they wanted to speak English.

For our second class we used a deck of cards that has all the states with facts about each state. I asked them to draw a card and say the name of the state along with the capital, explaining places names in the United States involve English, French, Greek, Spanish, and words from American Indian languages. Amazingly they could say Massachusetts but them puzzle over Ohio or Iowa.

After the break I brought down placemats with the U.S. map and the world map. We looked at the U.S. to locate all the states we had just named. With the world map they showed me places they had visited or would visit if they happened to win the Lotto!

We then moved to Food Jingo. All in all it was a good class.

The morning had been very cool, if not outright cold. After the first hour I moved my class out of the building to a table where hopefully we would be in the sun. This worked better. When the students returned for the fourth hour class the sun had warmed their notebook covers and they cuddled with them. One knows it's cold when one has to snuggle with a notebook cover!

After obiad we met again as a team to discuss what worked and didn't work.

I spent the later part of the afternoon planning for classes for the next couple of days.

Finally late in the afternoon the sun really did come out and the fog and clouds lifted away.  I slipped out to take some photos.

Above is the front of this lovely hotel.

Above are some mountain views.

Four of us gathered on the patio for a beer and great conversation. Then it was time for supper. Afterwards we had a huge discussion planning for what we will do for the July 4th celebration.

A good day.