On July 31st, Bozena introduced me to the director of the SkidzinPrimary School and her husband and daughter, who translated for us as we drove to Wisła , the town where Adam Malysz was born. He is a hero of Poland known for his ski jumping awards. "Lots of people have never heard of ski jumping," Justina told me, "But around here, it is a big thing!
We drove through thick forests and small towns as the landscape changed from flat and spacious to hilly and tightly crowded. The architecture changed too, from the cement and "fish-scale" tiled houses of the '60's Communist era to wooden houses with steep roofs and gingerbreading decor. We passed several roadside ski jumps, and finally stopped at a huge one that looked for all the world like the skier would sail down the mountain right into the highway, expect that first he would smack into a huge building standing right over the road itself. We took a ski lift up the mountain -- me carefully avoiding a glance down because I'm terrified of heights -- and at the top we climbed many stairs up another tall building. From the top, we could see that the huge building over the road was actually a stadium full of grandstands surrounding a grade onto which the skier lands, which slopes so steeply upward that he stops naturally before he ever gets a chance to sail into the road or smack into the stadium.
We ate a huge feast of many kinds of meat and sausage and potatoes fried and baked, cabbage raw and pickled, and pierogi topped with bacon, all served in a ginormous wooden platter with a sparkler sizzling out the top of an apple. It looked like something Robin Hood would have appreciated. We started courteously selecting pieces of meat with the serving spoons, then conversation lulled as each person fell to serious consumption. Before long, we were nabbing pieces with our own forks or bare hands as the mood relaxed and conversation started flowing again. I didn't feel hungry at first, but the food was so savory and delicious that I found myself scarfing it up as fast as possible so I could taste everything before the feeling of Totally Stuffed. Afterwards, of course, I was totally stuffed. And sleepy, too.
After dinner we took a delightful stroll outdoors through the Folks Festival area -- which is going on all this week -- admiring local costumes, breathing in the aroma of pork and sausage grilled on the open fire, eyeing the arts and crafts in small booths in the park, and then along the Wisla river itself. We stopped at a bridge over the river, one of the most famous rivers in Poland (aka Vistula). It is cemented along the sides as it tumbles through this town, with many breakwaters forming small waterfalls at regular intervals as far up and down river as the eye can see.
On the way back, Justina told me some of the local fairy tales. There's the dragon of Krakow who exploded when he was tricked into eating a sheepskin stuffed with sulpher, and his resulting thirst drove him to drink the WislaRiver dry before exploding. Then there's the story of the dragon of Warsaw who had a look that could stop a train -- whoever looked him in the eye turned to stone. He was thwarted by someone who held a mirror up to his face, and he turned himself into stone. There's also a Snow White-like story of a maiden who got lost in the forest and lived with dwarves, but she was not a princess.
Later in the evening, I went to their house for a supper of Razone, a traditional dish of cabbage, sausage, potatoes, onions, parsley and carrots all cut small and grilled over a fire in a covered pot. They showed me their lovely house, at the front of which sits a little plaster troll. "My father is like a 5-year-old," Justine told me, "He enjoys everything, and especially this troll." "My father is similar," I told her, "The things he likes, he really, really likes."
It was a new addition to the family, this troll, and Justine's father was very proud of it. After we had been eating Razone for awhile, Bozena and her husband Pawel arrived. Almost immediately, they were escorted to the front of the house so they could be properly introduced to the troll. After the meal we reviewed the photos of the trip to Wisla on their digital camera. Among them were close-ups of the troll. "He's going to end up as a magnet on the fridge for sure!" Justine told me.
Photo courtesy of Caileigh Paddock
English Lessons, by Caileigh Paddock, July 2010
So when I arrived the first day to teach, I had a proposal from the assistant principal for me to give her and three of her friends English lessons three days a week. WorldTeach did give us a heads up that these types of requests were likely, so I was prepared for it. However, I was a little reluctant to say yes simply because I wanted to spend my free time getting aquatinted with the town and to do some hiking. I did agree, however, since I felt it was part of what I signed up for. The first day we met in the building, and it was a very formal lesson and was pretty boring. At the end of the lesson they suggested to go someplace else in town and it could be very informal, basically just chatting, and I would help them put together sentences, with verbs, etc…I thought that sounded much better!
When the next meeting came, we walked together and we talked a bit and they asked me questions, both about English and then just about me and my life. Next thing I knew we turned into a bar and at 12:30 in the afternoon got a .5 liter of beer (w/ juice, of course!) It turned out to be a great way to spend the afternoon and I even learned a little Polish!
As for my other classes, those are going very well. I am so grateful for my previous teaching experience. Making my lesson plans has been fairly seamless and the students seem to enjoy being there. I had been warned that students do tend to drop the class and by the end of the session I may end up with just a couple students so not to be disappointed if that is the case. However, I have not found this. Now, almost at the end of my first session, the number of students has stayed the same, or maybe even has grown. I had a student stop in today asking if he could join…I'm so glad the students are interested and really seem to want to be there. I had a great conversation today after playing some beach volleyball with some of the students all afternoon. They told me how helpful it is to have this opportunity to hear American English and to be forced to speak English with me since I cannot understand and speak Polish. I'm glad they feel like my time here is important to them. In addition they have even taught me a few Polish words!
I am looking forward to this Wednesday when I have arranged a "field trip". We are going to be leaving in the morning for the town Zakopane which is at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. It is only about 30 minutes from here. I can see the mountains in the distance from my window and they look like what I would expects the Alps to look like. I can see snow on parts of them still! On Wednesday, we will spend the whole day in Zakopane. The reasons for the trip are partially selfish, I just really want to do something different and check out this area I have heard so much about. However, I intended to go sometime after school one day or on a weekend, but the students really pushed for going as a class. They seem excited to show me around the area. They told me today, "You seem a little bored and we want you to have fun." As much as I long to hang out with some people my age, considering these students are all 17 years old, they have been good company this past week and a half.
On July 4th, Bronislaw Komorowski was elected president of Poland. This year's election had been pushed earlier due to the tragic death of the former president, Lech Kaczynski, who passed away in a plane crash earlier this year.
We drove through thick forests and small towns as the landscape changed from flat and spacious to hilly and tightly crowded. The architecture changed too, from the cement and "fish-scale" tiled houses of the '60's Communist era to wooden houses with steep roofs and gingerbreading decor. We passed several roadside ski jumps, and finally stopped at a huge one that looked for all the world like the skier would sail down the mountain right into the highway, expect that first he would smack into a huge building standing right over the road itself. We took a ski lift up the mountain -- me carefully avoiding a glance down because I'm terrified of heights -- and at the top we climbed many stairs up another tall building. From the top, we could see that the huge building over the road was actually a stadium full of grandstands surrounding a grade onto which the skier lands, which slopes so steeply upward that he stops naturally before he ever gets a chance to sail into the road or smack into the stadium.
So when I arrived the first day to teach, I had a proposal from the assistant principal for me to give her and three of her friends English lessons three days a week. WorldTeach did give us a heads up that these types of requests were likely, so I was prepared for it. However, I was a little reluctant to say yes simply because I wanted to spend my free time getting aquatinted with the town and to do some hiking. I did agree, however, since I felt it was part of what I signed up for. The first day we met in the building, and it was a very formal lesson and was pretty boring. At the end of the lesson they suggested to go someplace else in town and it could be very informal, basically just chatting, and I would help them put together sentences, with verbs, etc…I thought that sounded much better!
