Teaching Underway

Greetings from Tarnow!  It is hard to imagine that just three days earlier, I was riding the train to Tarnow along with my fellow volunteers.  We were the only Americans on the train, and we got some laughs and dirty looks from the Polish because we were talking a lot while they were trying to sleep! 

Arriving at the train station was very nerve-racking.  As we stepped onto the platform, we saw many excited faces and families, waiting to meet their new American friend.  After a few moments of searching, I spotted Mikolaj, my 19 year-old host brother.  Then I met his father, and together we drove back to their house.

Soon I met Bartek, his 18 year-old brother; Kuba, his 13 year-old brother; his mother; his dog, Fufi; his cat, Garfield; his chinchilla, Fred; and his parrot, whose name I cannot remember.  They are all very welcoming, and after a few days of translating and discussions, I feel like I'm part of the family.

My first day of teaching was Monday, and I was a bit nervous when I first stepped into the classroom.  I didn't know any names, very little Polish, and many of my students were shy.  I have four classes from 9am to 1:30pm.  On the second day, the children opened up and became more comfortable with my foreign presence.

Eventually, me and David, a fellow volunteer from New Jersey, decided to combine classes and teach together.  I think this strategy is working well; it is easier to control the class and come up with new, exciting ideas for lessons.  For example, today we went outside and played Simon Says to review body parts, directions, numbers, and commands.  We all had a great time!  Teaching is still difficult, but it is slowly become easier and more natural.

Tonight the volunteers are meeting in Tarnow square, where we can hopefully discuss our experiences so far.  See you later!!

Orientation in Krakow

Wow!  Europe is awesome!  We have been in Krakow since Wednesday and soon we are going to depart for our host villages (mine will be Tarnow - about an hour away by train). 

After landing at the small Krakow airport, I walked to my hostel and was pleased to find that we had an entire floor all to ourselves!  No sleeping with creepy strangers this week!  It was a little bit frightening, however, to see the check-in/security desk being manned by two young teenagers (probably 15 at most). 

Krakow is a great city; people here are very friendly and we have all gotten along very well.  The food here has been awesome, too!  On our first night, I tried some delicious lamb sausage and kapusta.  We have also had pierogies, nalysnyky, and Polish pizza. 

The weather has been fantastic as well!  Although it was supposed to rain for most of the weekend, the skies were fairly clear and we got very lucky!  Krakow is a big college town (over 200,000 students here) and we spent most of our night checking out the popular clubs and pubs in the area.  The town square is always bustling; it's the biggest in Europe, and its medieval, baroque architecture makes it a fine tourist destination.  During our tour of the city, we visited the giant castle that was the home of many Polish kings.

On Friday, we also toured Auschwitz, an experience that is hard to put into words.  On Saturday, we also got an orientation on Polish customs and culture, and brainstormed lesson ideas and strategies.

For 5 days we have been tourists.  Now the real work in the classroom begins tomorrow!

PHOTOS OF KRAKOW:

PHOTOS OF AUSCHWITZ: