Now about Saturday, August 9 for me. I have been really busy since my older granddaughter moved in with me in early April and then I went to Poland for two weeks in May. Returning home at the end of May created a busy three weeks before I started back to Poland again. I didn't make any "tourist" plans for this weekend, and decided instead to spend the weekend at Reymontówka and go with the campers on their Saturday trip to Farma Iluzja ( Illusion Farm). Now farm is not the Polish word for farm; it is certainly an adaptation from the English word, farm. I was puzzled about the use of this word, and wondered if it made the place sound more exotic.
We ate breakfast at 8:15 and everyone was on the bus by 9:00. We drove about 2 hours and arrived at Farma Iluzja at 11:00, just when it was opening.
We were assigned a tour guide, something that made this a different cultural experience for me, since certainly one would not get a tour guide in an amusement park in the States. Our first stop was the Chata Tajemnic (Cottage Secrets).
About 10 persons at a time are admitted into the house and have fun trying to stand up.
Yes, that's me on the right hand side having fun with some of the campers.
Next we got to wonder how this girl gets her head on the dinner plate.
We then went into a building that from the outside resembles a rubric cube.
Here we encountered more mysteries.
How many of me are there? And where do I go to move forward?
And why can we see the car but not be able to touch it with our fingers, feeling nothing, able to put our hands right flat on the table?
Next the campers went into a more natural area, but I decided sitting on a nearby bench was a nice idea while they ran about.
As we continued to found areas set up for different areas of the world.
One was the American Wild West. Another was a typical African scene with drums. And another was an American Indian scene.
We had been on the go for close to two hours. We returned to the bus for lunch.
Then when we re-entered the Farma everyone had free time. I think many of the campers headed toward the area with activities more traditionally found in an amusement park.
The first thing I did in free time was find a place for ice cream. I got a two-dip cone: one dip of coconut ice cream and the other pistachio. Yummy!
I took a better look at some of the buildings and decided this place is called Farma because many of the buildings are styled after mid-20th century American farm buildings.
Earlier in day I had heard a sound like a car alarm going off. When wandering about I found instead it was a handler of homing pigeons calling them down.
When the camper above got out of this contraption, he staggered and his friends had to help him for a minute. I asked him a bit later if it was fun. He said, "It's fun, but don't eat first!"
The flyer for Farma Iluzja says it is also educational in addition to fun. I didn't quite understand that until I started to read the poster displays. These present information about artists who help us see the world in a different way.
Another artist helps us see faces in new places.
I regret that I cannot accurately connect artists to their work. I tried to keep good notes, but when I got back "home" to Reymontówka my notes didn't make good sense.
And I got so relaxed that I had fun sitting by the pond and watching the frogs jump in and swim.
And I got so relaxed that I had fun sitting by the pond and watching the frogs jump in and swim.
We walked back to the bus about 4:00 and by 6:00 we were back to Reymontówka.
I found at 6:45 that I became very popular. Since I am the only volunteer here I have joined a dining room with the campers and some of the Polish staff. The campers were anxiously waiting at one door to enter the dining room and at a bit after 6:45 which is the time for the evening meal, I was hungry too, but didn't see any of my Polish colleagues in the dining room as I was waiting at a different door. I thought I would just enter the dining room and stand quietly until they came. Then I heard, "It's Pani Lori, it's Pani Lori." The kids piled into the dining room. When the Polish staff came I asked if there was a rule that campers couldn't enter the dining room until an adult was present in the dining room. Yes, indeed, that is the rule, and that explained my sudden popularity!
It was a great day with the campers. Ours was the only large group there. Other guests were family groups. I'm very glad I did something with our campers and very glad to spend a day doing something Polish people do on a Saturday -- after all real life is not all about museums, churches, and monuments!
It was a great day with the campers. Ours was the only large group there. Other guests were family groups. I'm very glad I did something with our campers and very glad to spend a day doing something Polish people do on a Saturday -- after all real life is not all about museums, churches, and monuments!
