Justyna posted some pictures on the school website here. Just scroll down the page a bit to see my shining face. If you click on the hyperlink below the photo you'll be taken to a gallery of photos of me in action from today and yesterday.
Today's classes were awesome! I had a ton of fun and the kids did too. We talked about the household, different rooms, which items are found in what rooms, and made family trees. We did lots of moving around and active games around the classroom. I was hoping to start the photo project but ran out of time, which is a really good thing actually. I'd definitely rather have too much material than not enough.
A few posts ago I mentioned that a few of the older girls were a bit intimidating for me. Today at the end of class I heard them asking Justyna how to say "you are a very nice person". Then they all came up to me a giggled a lot and said it in unison. I can't tell you how awesome that made me feel! We had a group hug and took a picture together. A few girls decided they wanted to stay and participate in the second class (the younger group) too. After all the classes were done Justyna told me that I'm a very good teacher. What an injection of confidence that was!
I didn't want to admit how homesick I was feeling last night because I don't want anyone to worry about me being bummed out way over here in Poland. After today, I feel so awesome and totally excited for the rest of the classes. That's not to say I don't miss you all though.
After class today, Agnes, Justyna, Dominika and I went for a drive to see an old 15th century chapel that still holds services regularly. There is a narrow enclosed area that circles around the church, and Agnes explained that people who traveled from very far away would sleep on the floor in those areas on Saturday night to wait for the Sunday service. Its walls are carved with the names of hooligans (as Justyna called them) from the 19th century who visited the church and wanted to leave their mark.
Then we drove a few minutes down the road and up a huge, steep hill. Atop the hill were ruins from a castle that was constructed by the first founders of Tarnow. We walked around on top of the castle ruins and I stood on a high point for a minute to absorb the breathtaking view of the city. I imagined that if I were a more dramatic person, I would walk there to reflect on life and think about enigmatic things.
Agnes has been cooking some kick-ass vegetarian food. I'm a little worried that I'm eating way too much though. She made some toasted buckwheat thing, broccoli in a creamy sauce, breaded and pan fried zucchini slices, seasoned lima beans, and soups soups soups. They have soup with every meal. The soup I just had definitely had ham in it. And lots of bread. Today she had homemade bread with coconut. They eat yogurt on the bread. And pineapple and banana juice with sparkling water. So many delicious things. I really want to photograph them all but fear that it might make them uncomfortable. AND I got to do my laundry! It's drying outside right now.
You know what I miss the most? Water. Straight up water. I want to walk in the house and take the biggest glass from the cupboard and fill it to the brim, then stand in front of the sink half hunched over while I chug it and let it drip down my chin and on to the floor. I'm so glad I brought my canteen so I can discreetly fill it from the bathroom sink at night.
In a little while my family and I are going to a barbecue to celebrate someone's wedding. Hopefully they have some vegetarian options! I'll be sure to report back; I know you're all itching to find out. :)
Czesc,
Page
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Srsly?
Come on, guys! No comments?!? I'm feeling pretty homesick tonight so somebody better send me a nice e-mail or leave a damn good comment on here for me to read.
No xoxo for you.
Page
No xoxo for you.
Page
Fight apathy... or don't
There was so much cool graffiti in Krakow. I should have photographed it. That's where I got the title for this post. There was one with a tag of a manatee and underneath it, it read 'oh, the huge manatee' which made me laugh out loud. Get it? Huge manatee? Humanity?
My classes went well today! I had two groups. The first was a very large group with mixed age kids, but apparently it was so large because there was a misunderstanding about the times at which the younger kids should show up. Tomorrow will be more organized. The second group was comprised of younger kids and we had so much fun! I was really surprised at myself for how well I handled both classes and didn't get flustered or too nervous. Some of the older kids intimidate me a little because they're too cool. They just stare at me when I talk to them. I'll win them over. It's so hard to tell what kids think is cool and what's lame! There is a fine line.
Today we started off playing name games and tossing a ball around. I taught them different ways to say hello, including 'sup which quickly became a class favorite. We wrote our names on index cards and then talked about our favorite colors, where we were from, and our favorite season. I'm not sure if they knew the word season though. I showed them a big map and pointed to Wisconsin, and was really surprised when one boy hollered out Wisconsin! before I even finished writing it on the board. I explained the photo voices project that I'd like to do with them but I'm not sure if they grasped the concept. Hopefully my ideas about that will come to fruition once they have the cameras in their hands.
So tomorrow I will have my first class of 25 10 - 12 year-olds and the second class of 16 6 - 9 year-olds. There was to be a third group of adults and parents after that, but they never showed up today. I assume they all have jobs during the day. A teacher at the school named Justyna will be there with me for all the classes. Today she sat off to the side and chimed in when needed but she let me run most of the class.
The kids are really good at English! I had them doing activities that were stupidly easy for them which made me feel a little silly. I ended up letting both groups out 15 minutes early. The candy was a big hit and I'll have to make sure to divide that up along with my other school supplies so that both two-week sessions will have enough.
Since I have two two-week sessions, I can reuse the same lesson plans for both groups. That makes my job way easier! The second group is lucky because the lessons will be tweaked and perfected and hopefully fool-proof on my part, which will make me more confident and the classes way more fun. I'm using the same structure for both levels but just switching out the activities based on their English ability.
Here's a link to the school. Did I post this already? The classroom is really adorable and a little on the small side but will work just fine. There are lots of plants and windows. Justyna was taking pictures of the class today and said she'd post them there. I just checked and they're not up yet, but should be soon. Check back!
After classes were out, I was able to hang out in the teachers lounge and organize my materials a bit. I have a rough guide for how the next two weeks will be planned, including the letter writing campaign which is a requirement for Learning Enterprises. I have to teach them specific vocab and letter-writing techniques before then, so they'll be able to complete the lesson. Of course I'll give them a template for the letter so they can fill in the blanks to easily personalize it.
Hmmm... I'm trying to post pictures here but it doesn't seem to be working. My host siblings Jarek and Dominika and I played around with the silly photo booth tools on my Mac (where you can warp the pictures) and giggled a lot. There are some cute photos and I'll try later to share them with you.
Lots of love to you all.
Page
My classes went well today! I had two groups. The first was a very large group with mixed age kids, but apparently it was so large because there was a misunderstanding about the times at which the younger kids should show up. Tomorrow will be more organized. The second group was comprised of younger kids and we had so much fun! I was really surprised at myself for how well I handled both classes and didn't get flustered or too nervous. Some of the older kids intimidate me a little because they're too cool. They just stare at me when I talk to them. I'll win them over. It's so hard to tell what kids think is cool and what's lame! There is a fine line.
Today we started off playing name games and tossing a ball around. I taught them different ways to say hello, including 'sup which quickly became a class favorite. We wrote our names on index cards and then talked about our favorite colors, where we were from, and our favorite season. I'm not sure if they knew the word season though. I showed them a big map and pointed to Wisconsin, and was really surprised when one boy hollered out Wisconsin! before I even finished writing it on the board. I explained the photo voices project that I'd like to do with them but I'm not sure if they grasped the concept. Hopefully my ideas about that will come to fruition once they have the cameras in their hands.
So tomorrow I will have my first class of 25 10 - 12 year-olds and the second class of 16 6 - 9 year-olds. There was to be a third group of adults and parents after that, but they never showed up today. I assume they all have jobs during the day. A teacher at the school named Justyna will be there with me for all the classes. Today she sat off to the side and chimed in when needed but she let me run most of the class.
The kids are really good at English! I had them doing activities that were stupidly easy for them which made me feel a little silly. I ended up letting both groups out 15 minutes early. The candy was a big hit and I'll have to make sure to divide that up along with my other school supplies so that both two-week sessions will have enough.
Since I have two two-week sessions, I can reuse the same lesson plans for both groups. That makes my job way easier! The second group is lucky because the lessons will be tweaked and perfected and hopefully fool-proof on my part, which will make me more confident and the classes way more fun. I'm using the same structure for both levels but just switching out the activities based on their English ability.
Here's a link to the school. Did I post this already? The classroom is really adorable and a little on the small side but will work just fine. There are lots of plants and windows. Justyna was taking pictures of the class today and said she'd post them there. I just checked and they're not up yet, but should be soon. Check back!
After classes were out, I was able to hang out in the teachers lounge and organize my materials a bit. I have a rough guide for how the next two weeks will be planned, including the letter writing campaign which is a requirement for Learning Enterprises. I have to teach them specific vocab and letter-writing techniques before then, so they'll be able to complete the lesson. Of course I'll give them a template for the letter so they can fill in the blanks to easily personalize it.
Hmmm... I'm trying to post pictures here but it doesn't seem to be working. My host siblings Jarek and Dominika and I played around with the silly photo booth tools on my Mac (where you can warp the pictures) and giggled a lot. There are some cute photos and I'll try later to share them with you.
Lots of love to you all.
Page
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Quick post from Tarnow
Hello lovelies!
I arrived at my host family's house today. Let me start by telling you how amazing the house is. It's pretty amazing. They have a bidet. Nuff said.
I start teaching tomorrow morning, and just finished writing up my lesson plan. I found out that I have two different groups for two weeks each instead of the same group for four weeks. That totally threw a wrench in the long-term project I had planned, so I just scrambled to reorganize that to make it hopefully work. I'm excited and anxious for my first day as a teacher, and will definitely be able to write a longer post in the coming days to let you all know more details about my classes and the school and the wonderful people I've met.
Speaking of wonderful people, I'm sharing with you the link to our group's blog. If you scroll down a bit you can see a nice picture of all of us. Don't tell them that I'm posting to this blog and not that one - the coordinators keep barking at us to post there and I haven't done it yet. Here you go! http://lepoland.wordpress.com/
I miss you folks. I am already homesick, I think!
Love,
Page
I arrived at my host family's house today. Let me start by telling you how amazing the house is. It's pretty amazing. They have a bidet. Nuff said.
I start teaching tomorrow morning, and just finished writing up my lesson plan. I found out that I have two different groups for two weeks each instead of the same group for four weeks. That totally threw a wrench in the long-term project I had planned, so I just scrambled to reorganize that to make it hopefully work. I'm excited and anxious for my first day as a teacher, and will definitely be able to write a longer post in the coming days to let you all know more details about my classes and the school and the wonderful people I've met.
Speaking of wonderful people, I'm sharing with you the link to our group's blog. If you scroll down a bit you can see a nice picture of all of us. Don't tell them that I'm posting to this blog and not that one - the coordinators keep barking at us to post there and I haven't done it yet. Here you go! http://lepoland.wordpress.com/
I miss you folks. I am already homesick, I think!
Love,
Page
Friday, June 25, 2010
Meat paste
Lucky you! Two posts in a very short proximity of time! Can you believe I have more to tell you already?
Last night was amazing. The pub crawl failed because the person organizing it didn't really get back to us. We went to a club called Klub Cien (shadow - sounds like chen) instead. Wow! I never knew I liked mash-ups so much. There were two dance floors and a few guys spinning records and people with huge SLR cameras everywhere. By the end of the night there were only a handful of us remaining and we stayed laaaate. There isn't a bar time here, leaving no opportunity for an overweight suspender-wearing bartender to holler out last call and extend his empty gaze across an empty room. We danced so hard that I may have broken a toenail. Someone nearby would flip their hair around and I'd feel a spattering of wetness across my face. Sweat. How many different people's sweat is on me? Shudder.
I had to tell everyone a fake name because Page is impossible for foreigners to pronounce (ahem ktz). It comes out sounding awkward and unnatural, and that's only after me saying "Page. No, not Rach. PAGE. Not Padge. PAAAGGGE." Even the Australian guy we met had a hard time with it. The first name that came to mind was Jessica, and that seemed to be mostly fail-proof for the rest of the night.
The hostel provides a light breakfast that so far has consisted of a baguette and some jam or soft cheese. Today they had jam and some round tins of something called Podlaski. I opened mine up and was delighted to see peanut butter! Finally some protein. The pierogi is delicious so far but is really worthless nutritionally (yesterday I had pierogi with strawberry sauce for lunch and was hungry about two minutes later). The peanut butter seemed a little discolored and perhaps more processed than I'm used to, but I tore of a piece of baguette and was ready to scoop up a big chunk -- when I got a strange whiff. It smelled like cat food. Becca (a fellow badger) looked it up in her Polish dictionary and discovered that it's actually a meat paste. I examined the package and saw the cutest little chicken smiling at me from the foil lid, summoning Suicide Food. I'll let that thought sit with you.
Today we're having a teaching meeting where we'll be practicing lesson plans and learning some Polish phrases. Then we'll spend some time in the mall and have lunch there. I guess the mall is huge and has three stories. After that we're taking a bus to Auschwitz. The trip will take a few hours each way, and it is suggested that we use that time to work on our own lesson plans. I guess I'll be sleeping while everyone else is working because I get extremely car sick if I read or write in a moving vehicle. Airplanes are okay, luckily, but reading while using any other form of transportation results in an intensely awful feeling that will not cease for the entire day. Dramamine will make me especially drowsy since we stayed out late last night, so I guess I'm having a nice long nap this afternoon.
It is freezing here today. Probably not really, but it feels like it when you get out of the shower and your leg hair instantly grows an inch from the goosebumps. And the rain just won't quit. Seems fitting for a day that we go to Auschwitz.
By the way, remind me to tell you about the showers in the hostel.
Today is Friday, and I'm sad because I can't listen to my favorite radio show. Fridays are the happiest day of the week because of that show. That, and Fridays also mean I get to go home and spend a few glorious days with my favorite people. :) Thankfully Mel & Floyd is archived for 60 days after the air date, so I'll have about five hours of listening pleasure waiting for me when I get home. I can kill an entire afternoon. Or night. Yessssss.
Before I left for the airport I had to pack frantically because I overslept that morning. I packed the worst jeans ever - only two pairs, and one of them will lose their shape after one wear. Since it's freezing here, all the skirts and shorts are out of the question. So I've been wearing the same jeans for days. Days! Doing laundry will not be an option for at least two and a half weeks. I also forgot to pack any dresses and tank tops. I suppose the trip to the mall this afternoon will turn out to be rather useful! I'll report back with what I find.
xoxoxoxo
PEM
Last night was amazing. The pub crawl failed because the person organizing it didn't really get back to us. We went to a club called Klub Cien (shadow - sounds like chen) instead. Wow! I never knew I liked mash-ups so much. There were two dance floors and a few guys spinning records and people with huge SLR cameras everywhere. By the end of the night there were only a handful of us remaining and we stayed laaaate. There isn't a bar time here, leaving no opportunity for an overweight suspender-wearing bartender to holler out last call and extend his empty gaze across an empty room. We danced so hard that I may have broken a toenail. Someone nearby would flip their hair around and I'd feel a spattering of wetness across my face. Sweat. How many different people's sweat is on me? Shudder.
I had to tell everyone a fake name because Page is impossible for foreigners to pronounce (ahem ktz). It comes out sounding awkward and unnatural, and that's only after me saying "Page. No, not Rach. PAGE. Not Padge. PAAAGGGE." Even the Australian guy we met had a hard time with it. The first name that came to mind was Jessica, and that seemed to be mostly fail-proof for the rest of the night.
The hostel provides a light breakfast that so far has consisted of a baguette and some jam or soft cheese. Today they had jam and some round tins of something called Podlaski. I opened mine up and was delighted to see peanut butter! Finally some protein. The pierogi is delicious so far but is really worthless nutritionally (yesterday I had pierogi with strawberry sauce for lunch and was hungry about two minutes later). The peanut butter seemed a little discolored and perhaps more processed than I'm used to, but I tore of a piece of baguette and was ready to scoop up a big chunk -- when I got a strange whiff. It smelled like cat food. Becca (a fellow badger) looked it up in her Polish dictionary and discovered that it's actually a meat paste. I examined the package and saw the cutest little chicken smiling at me from the foil lid, summoning Suicide Food. I'll let that thought sit with you.
Today we're having a teaching meeting where we'll be practicing lesson plans and learning some Polish phrases. Then we'll spend some time in the mall and have lunch there. I guess the mall is huge and has three stories. After that we're taking a bus to Auschwitz. The trip will take a few hours each way, and it is suggested that we use that time to work on our own lesson plans. I guess I'll be sleeping while everyone else is working because I get extremely car sick if I read or write in a moving vehicle. Airplanes are okay, luckily, but reading while using any other form of transportation results in an intensely awful feeling that will not cease for the entire day. Dramamine will make me especially drowsy since we stayed out late last night, so I guess I'm having a nice long nap this afternoon.
It is freezing here today. Probably not really, but it feels like it when you get out of the shower and your leg hair instantly grows an inch from the goosebumps. And the rain just won't quit. Seems fitting for a day that we go to Auschwitz.
By the way, remind me to tell you about the showers in the hostel.
Today is Friday, and I'm sad because I can't listen to my favorite radio show. Fridays are the happiest day of the week because of that show. That, and Fridays also mean I get to go home and spend a few glorious days with my favorite people. :) Thankfully Mel & Floyd is archived for 60 days after the air date, so I'll have about five hours of listening pleasure waiting for me when I get home. I can kill an entire afternoon. Or night. Yessssss.
Before I left for the airport I had to pack frantically because I overslept that morning. I packed the worst jeans ever - only two pairs, and one of them will lose their shape after one wear. Since it's freezing here, all the skirts and shorts are out of the question. So I've been wearing the same jeans for days. Days! Doing laundry will not be an option for at least two and a half weeks. I also forgot to pack any dresses and tank tops. I suppose the trip to the mall this afternoon will turn out to be rather useful! I'll report back with what I find.
xoxoxoxo
PEM
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Here I am!
Czesc! Hi!
It's been raining all day. We did a two hour walking tour of the city and it was cold and wet. We were all hungry by the end and wanted to go back to the hostel. We saw the recently deceased president's casket at Wawel (an old old castle here in Krakow) and the remains of a very old cloister which made me want to play Carcassonne. That's going to be the first thing I buy when I get home. Forget about food or the bus fare. I have a bus pass anyway. Netherworld, you best get ready. There is a story about Wawel that revolves around a dragon who lived in the basement of the castle. A shoemaker stuffed a lambskin with sulfur and when the hungry dragon ate it up, his stomach started on fire. He went to the river to drink (the river runs right alongside the castle and is the largest in Poland) and drank so much water that, in the words of the tour guide, he became into little pieces. Then the shoemaker married the princess. Now there is an artistic interpretation of the dragon outside the castle and it breathes out fire every few minutes, but he didn't breathe fire for us today since it's been raining.
Inside Wawel is a large courtyard framed by old building facades including one portion constructed by Nazis during the occupation. In one corner of the courtyard, deep in the earth below the castle, exists one of the seven chakra stones. The corner of the courtyard exudes radiant energy, and people go there to corral the charge by touching the wall and standing over the chakra. It isn't marked at all and I have a hunch that the devout Catholics might not appreciate this pseudo spirituality invading their sacred space. The other chakras are scattered around the Earth in places like Delphi, Rome and Jerusalem.
Tonight we're participating in a pub crawl. I've been to two bars so far and they were both really unique inside. Unique for me, anyway; I'm sure they're common here. One was almost like a dungeon with low ceilings and big rough stones in the walls. There are big wooden doors with forged iron hinges and you have to pay half a zloty to use the bathroom. Modern flat screens invade the low space and the cords for electricity running around the ceiling make the whole room feel disorganized. These old places all survived WWII because Krakow was not bombed at all during that time. When the Germans invaded the area, they moved the capital of the occupied territory from Warsaw back to Krakow where it had originally been. The streets of Krakow are all laid stone with irregular spacing and uneven leveling. Evidence of this city's age is blatant and beautiful.
I took a few pictures but then got pissed at the bland outcome. This city is really gorgeous and the scenes deserve to be captured in an artistic way. We've all seen intricate carving and Gothic architecture and spindly buildings with tall towers. If I see something really special that showcases more than tourist cliches, you'll probably see it here. I'll also be posting the link to my school's website soon, which has lots of photos. More to come.
Yesterday a few of us were crossing the street and forgot to look both ways, and the tram nearly smooshed us. Now we have to hold hands when we cross the street. There are some amazing people in this group and we're having so much fun. I'm so thankful for this program and for the people who made it happen and who helped me make it happen.
Come back soon!
PEM
It's been raining all day. We did a two hour walking tour of the city and it was cold and wet. We were all hungry by the end and wanted to go back to the hostel. We saw the recently deceased president's casket at Wawel (an old old castle here in Krakow) and the remains of a very old cloister which made me want to play Carcassonne. That's going to be the first thing I buy when I get home. Forget about food or the bus fare. I have a bus pass anyway. Netherworld, you best get ready. There is a story about Wawel that revolves around a dragon who lived in the basement of the castle. A shoemaker stuffed a lambskin with sulfur and when the hungry dragon ate it up, his stomach started on fire. He went to the river to drink (the river runs right alongside the castle and is the largest in Poland) and drank so much water that, in the words of the tour guide, he became into little pieces. Then the shoemaker married the princess. Now there is an artistic interpretation of the dragon outside the castle and it breathes out fire every few minutes, but he didn't breathe fire for us today since it's been raining.
Inside Wawel is a large courtyard framed by old building facades including one portion constructed by Nazis during the occupation. In one corner of the courtyard, deep in the earth below the castle, exists one of the seven chakra stones. The corner of the courtyard exudes radiant energy, and people go there to corral the charge by touching the wall and standing over the chakra. It isn't marked at all and I have a hunch that the devout Catholics might not appreciate this pseudo spirituality invading their sacred space. The other chakras are scattered around the Earth in places like Delphi, Rome and Jerusalem.
Tonight we're participating in a pub crawl. I've been to two bars so far and they were both really unique inside. Unique for me, anyway; I'm sure they're common here. One was almost like a dungeon with low ceilings and big rough stones in the walls. There are big wooden doors with forged iron hinges and you have to pay half a zloty to use the bathroom. Modern flat screens invade the low space and the cords for electricity running around the ceiling make the whole room feel disorganized. These old places all survived WWII because Krakow was not bombed at all during that time. When the Germans invaded the area, they moved the capital of the occupied territory from Warsaw back to Krakow where it had originally been. The streets of Krakow are all laid stone with irregular spacing and uneven leveling. Evidence of this city's age is blatant and beautiful.
I took a few pictures but then got pissed at the bland outcome. This city is really gorgeous and the scenes deserve to be captured in an artistic way. We've all seen intricate carving and Gothic architecture and spindly buildings with tall towers. If I see something really special that showcases more than tourist cliches, you'll probably see it here. I'll also be posting the link to my school's website soon, which has lots of photos. More to come.
Yesterday a few of us were crossing the street and forgot to look both ways, and the tram nearly smooshed us. Now we have to hold hands when we cross the street. There are some amazing people in this group and we're having so much fun. I'm so thankful for this program and for the people who made it happen and who helped me make it happen.
Come back soon!
PEM
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