Three down, tutu go

Dominika and her friend Magda are the cutest little ballet dancers. They made up a silly routine and keep doing the opening leap whenever anyone is looking their way. As they were dancing around the house one night before dinner, I shared that I had been in ballet classes when I was younger, and that I had also taken a course in ballet in college. They got really excited and started showing off their moves. Then they got out the DVD player.

Just last year the two of them were in a rather large ballet recital together. And I got to see the whole thing! Even the interludes and segues between scenes. Which were completely in Polish. Every time they were on stage they'd point and say "it is me" and leave a greasy little fingerprint on the screen. I was really surprised that these young girls are already en pointe and doing pretty well at it! I couldn't even manage that. Then again they probably had months of professional training while I only had one college semester and a fairly casual ballet class over ten years ago. I was impressed!

Did you like that title? Aren't I clever? I can't believe I only have two weeks left here in Tarnow, and then just a few more days in Krakow. I'm gonna miss you, Poland!

I'm sitting outside in the garden right now and it's so lovely. The bench I'm on is shaded by some curly vines, and there are wonderful colorful blooms surrounding me. The only ones that I recognize are a bleeding heart basket and a white orchid. Other plants have hot pink flowers which, if not for the color, blend right in to the rest of the foliage. They have the same shape and texture. There is another plant that I recognize but can't think of the name...I feel like it starts with an H though. Its leaves are low, wide, and lined with lighter green than the rest, and the flower shoots up tall over the leaves and has delicate purple blooms. 10 points to whoever can guess it! My mom has these next to the driveway in the fairy garden.

I love the smell and feel of the air right now. The sprinkler is running near me and I can smell the grass. When the wind blows I feel a little mist from the water and it feels good on my skin. Agnieszka keeps bringing me little treats and delicious coffee. Really amazing coffee. Will I be a coffee snob when I get back home?

I can't wait to be back at my Mom and Dad's house and wake up early when it's foggy and wet from dew. I'm going to take a long walk in the garden and eat some vegetables right from the earth, and then pick a flower to wear in my hair. I'm sure the dogs will come along to keep me company.

Yesterday I toured another palace. It was originally from the 13th century but had since been rebuilt many times by its many different owners. It was forbidden to take photos but I have a nice guidebook to show you. There was an orchid house which was the most memorable, in my opinion. After the tour, we visited a restaurant within the castle. It was very elegant and equally delicious. What I really want to tell you about, though, was the dessert. It's supposedly famous and was a favorite of the princess. We have to figure out how to make it.

It consisted of a small apple, peeled, and either baked or boiled. The core was removed and the remaining space was filled with some sort of fruity jam and a single walnut. Then it was turned upside down and covered with a white vanilla sauce, and garnished with some fruity thing and a mint leaf. This is now my new favorite dessert.

After the castle tour, I was tired. It had rained all day and was cold, and I wasn't prepared for the weather. The train ride to get home took about two hours, but luckily we had a car that had closed off seating so we had our own little section and I took a nap. It was not fun planning the lesson late at night once I got home.

I think my lesson today sucked. Some girls yesterday asked about learning animals, so that's what our lesson was. Turns out they all already knew all the animals I had pictures of, so I tried to teach them about the food chain and animal habitats. I think it failed because my translator wasn't there today and they didn't understand, or were excited for their three day weekend. I tried doing an activity like hot potato and even brought in my laptop to play some music. We had three balls going around the circle and it ended with the boys throwing them at one another as hard as they could. I told them to sit down because they obviously couldn't handle it, and then realized I was running out of material with at least half the class period left.

I felt myself waning today. This is partly chalked up to me being a little sick, but mostly I'm losing my patience with these kids. I don't know how I'm going to make up stuff for another two weeks of class and keep them interested. I only have so many ideas for lessons! It's a real test on my endurance and my patience. I don't like to yell at them and have only had to do it two or three times, but only because they were having fun and forgot to pay attention to me. I yelled at them twice today, and the boys really were rough on me. They kept throwing things at each other and just would not listen when I was talking. I took away some of their bean bags and football, and singled them out when I saw who was misbehaving. Why is it that the boys are always the awful ones!? The girls are so pleasant and kind, and always attentive. But the goddamn boys... This is a message to any boys reading this to be nice to your teachers!

With that said, I am so glad there is no class tomorrow. I could technically still have class and be able to make it to Warsaw on time, but I seized the opportunity to sleep in and not have to plan a lesson. I'm SO glad I don't have to make a lesson tonight, you have no idea! Hopefully this weekend in Warsaw I will be able to garner some successful ideas from other volunteers.

We're taking a three hour bus tour of Warsaw on Saturday. That's a long time! Hopefully there is a break scheduled in there somewhere. After that, we'll have free time to explore the city on our own and see what interesting things we can discover. I guess there is a real tension between people from Warsaw and people from Krakow, so I'll see how it measures up. I guess I'm on Team Krakow right now, but how can I choose when I haven't explored Warsaw as well?

Tonight there is a birthday party for Kinga. It will be Gaga-themed. I got her a pretty birthday card and a gift card for a store at the mall. I really hope I can take a nap before the party, otherwise I'll surely die. This sinus problem I'm having has really got me dragging today.

Send me your love! And comments! Who is reading this thing, anyway? Anybody?

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