Closing thoughts...

In the past few weeks since I came back to the States, people have asked me a lot of questions.  Do you know Polish?  How could you possibly teach Polish kids English if you don’t know Polish and they don’t know English?  I keep going back to that word game where students were able to write 53 English words the first week and 121 the last week.  This is supposed to be proof that I actually taught them something, that I actually made a difference, that I was a halfway decent teacher and not a bumbling, misfit American who got on the wrong plane to Poland. 

But that doesn’t seem to really answer the question.  A 108% increase in vocabulary is just a bunch of numbers and words on a page.  The things I taught (and learned) over those 4 weeks in Tarnow cannot be captured by a few silly exercises in the classroom.  Now that have had time to think about my experiences, I laugh at the irony of the situation.  I was supposed to be the “teacher,” yet in my 6 week stay in Europe, I learned so much more than I could ever teach!  Sure, I picked up a few Polish phrases here and there, but I’m talking more about the exchange of culture than the exchange of language.  I learned how the Polish perceive the United States; how the education and political systems compare to America’s; what kind of music and sports people enjoy; how delicious Lecho and goulash are; how much Poles love party rock, New York City, Wipeout, Hatchi-Patchi, kebob, bread, nutella, Pope John Paul II, and Ronald Reagan; how much I love Krakow and Prague; what Poles think of religion and major social issues…and so much more.  I have definitely learned a lot.  At the same time, I think I was able to teach everyone I encountered a thing or two about the American way of life. 

I had a lot of conversations with a lot of people.

We talked about economics, politics, football, beer, food, Georgetown – pretty much everything under the sun.  It’s amazing how much you can learn about people just by talking.  And from what I’ve experienced, I don’t think I met a single nasty jerk in all of Poland.  The people are absolutely incredible.  Without a doubt, they are what made my trip the best 6 weeks of my life.

I have a lot of people on my mind.

I express my deepest thanks to my host family.  To Pan and Pani Pisarski, for taking me into their home and making me feel like I was a part of the family (and to Pani Ala too!); for giving me everything I could ever ask for and then some (like 4 sandwiches to school!); for cooking me delicious food day after day (I always looked for to an awesome dinner after a tiresome day at school); for helping me gain 7 pounds; for taking me to Warsaw; for cracking jokes and always making me laugh (yes, I wrote a list of my favorites!); for teaching me so much about US economic policy and political relations with Poland.

To Mikolaj, for treating me like a brother and introducing me to so many wonderful friends. 

To Bartek, for playing endless games of chess and watching epic soccer games; for always being willing to talk to me and keep me company. 

To Kuba, for loving Nutella, going on bike rides, and being an awesome little brother. 

To Szymon, Cieju, Tripka, Mateusz/Piotr (with their crazy red afros), Jędrzej, Dominika, and all the other Tarnow friends I met, for showing me that Polish and American college students have a lot in common.

To Sebastian, Philip, and all you other little trouble makers, for always making class fun, exciting, and a challenge.  I will never forget the time when you escaped out the window or attacked and tickled me to death.

To Kuba, for always wearing your rollerblades to school, even when we’re playing baseball.

To all our other amazing students (some names I have regrettably forgotten), for giving me a reason and mission to come to Poland.  There was not a single day that I dreaded coming to school.  Thank you for making it fun!

To all those Polish news stations, for making us celebrities!

To Pani Czernia and the rest of the staff at Zglobice Tarnow, for providing us with such a wonderful classroom and directing us when we needed help.

To David, for suggesting after the first day of class that we combine classes and teach together; I’m positive that we made the right choice!

To Zac, Taylor, Chris, and David, for so many memories in Tarnow, Zakopane, Krakow and Prague; we were the only guys on the entire trip, and I think we developed an excellent camaraderie.

To Jackie, for being such an amazing trip leader; things sometimes did not go according to plan, but we had so much fun!

To Miriam, Bekah, Becky, Evelyn, Zoe, Serena, Steph, Laura, Jaclyn, Liz, Mara, Margarita, Emily, Hilary, Anna and Ximena, for being part of such a great group of LE volunteers; I will never forget all the great times we had together.  We 22 Americans took Poland by storm!

To the countless number of fellow travellers, waitresses, flight attendants, hostel workers, florists, bus drivers, bartenders, and everyone else who fostered our experience in Europe.

To my family and my parents, for giving me the opportunity to embark on such an adventure.

To my camera, for capturing an adventure that words can never really describe.

I will never forget those 6 weeks.  Thank you.  

The gorgeous city of Prague

After saying some final goodbyes to many of my fellow volunteers, 8 of us departed from Krakow on Tuesday afternoon. Our destination: Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

Compared to Krakow, Prague is a much larger city, and there was so much to do there! The city is divided into 3 "sections" - Old Town, New Town, and Lesser Town. From Wednesday to Sunday, we spent a lot of time touring the sites and attractions, walking the cobblestone streets, and eating delicious Czech food and beer. We climbed up to Prague Castle and were awed by the massive St. Vitus Cathedral; we walked through the Jewish District and the famous Old Town Square, and passed by the famous Astronomical Clock (which tells over 20 different things, including the location of the tropics and signs of the zodiac); we stood by the giant metronome that counts down the time lost to communism; we visited the Kafka Museum, the Lennon Wall, and so much more!

The greatest thing about Prague is that it's so well preserved and original. Unlike Warsaw, Berlin, and other prominent cities that were destroyed during WWII, Prague was left mostly unscathed. In fact, Prague was one of Hitler's most beloved cities, and he wanted to make it his capital after conquering all of Europe. He spared it from destruction.

The beer/pub culture in Prague is also fantastic. Three days in a row - Friday, Saturday and Sunday - we had three unique experiences that revealed this fact. On Friday, we ate at a restaurant where the mugs of beer were delievered on model trains; the tracks wind all throughout the restaurant! On Saturday, we visited a place where each table had its own draft, and we could pour our own beer. There was also a big screen at the front of the room that listed all the tables in all the franchises around Europe, and how many liters they had poured; somehow, a table in Berlin had over 65 liters of beer! On Sunday, it was just Taylor and me (the rest of the group had left Prague to go home or travel further) and we stopped by the Prague Beer Museum (which we found by chance!). There was a huge bar with over 30 kinds of beer (mostly from microbreweries in the Czech Republic), and we had the opportunity to taste-test several of them.

However, Prague also has a downside. The city is very touristy; in fact, if you ask a question in English, there's a good chance that someone will understand you. Many restaurants and parts of the city catered to the tourist culture - overpriced food, tacky souvenirs, etc. In addition, the people in Krakow/Poland were more friendly and open (perhaps not because Prague was much worse, but because Polish people are so much friendlier than anywhere else I've been or anyone else I've encountered). In addition, the nightlife in Krakow was more exciting, but maybe that was because we had a group 22 Americans walking from club to club at the same time! Nevertheless, most of my friends agreed that Krakow was the favorite city we visited.

Eventually, my LE friends left one by one, until it was just Taylor and myself wandering through the streets of Prague late Sunday night. Around 2 a.m. it was my turn to go, too. With one last goodbye, I left the Chili Hostel, walked down to the bus stop (towing a suitcase that had grown heavier day by day), and made my way to the airport with Coldplay melodies whispering in my ear.

PHOTOS OF PRAGUE: