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:

Closing session in Krakow...onward to Prague!

After leaving Tarnow, most of the volunteers traveled back to Krakow for our "closing session." We talked about what strategies worked and didn't work in the classroom, how prepared we were for our experience, and changes that we would make to the program next year. One thing that I suggested was to pair up the volunteers as co-teachers; David and me teaching together was simply the result of coincidence - we were teaching at the same time in the same school, and we thought it would be more fun to combine classes. It worked out great! However, we were the only volunteers that were able to do this, and I think others would have had an even better experience by teaching in pairs.

Another concern was the lack of information about host families and students. Although I had some contact with my host family before I met them, many volunteers did not and had no idea what to expect when they got off the train in Tarnow. Understandably, the first few days were quite unsettling for them. In addition, some volunteers got incorrect information about the age and skill of their students, so they could not adequately brainstorm any lesson plans before they left the States.

One final observation: our trip was technically one of the more well established wings of Learning Enterprises; after all, volunteers have been teaching in Poland for about 10 years. In contrast, there were a few "pilot" LE programs in countries where students have never taught before (like Turkey and Cambodia). However, at times our trip to Poland felt more like a pilot program than anything else; although Jackie (our trip leader) did a fantastic job organizing, it felt like a lot of trip was spontaneous. I guess this feeling is a result of the great independence we had both as teachers and travelers; we could teach our students almost anything in any way we wanted. We had a lot of freedom during our breaks in Krakow and Zakopane as well.

In the end, I think this spontaneity was for the best! I even enjoyed not having a cell phone for the first time in my life! I've been on trips before when there was a specific iternary and detailed plans for every day. However, I believe overplanning can prevent you from getting fully immersed in the culture, and that it ultimately ties you down.

Consider our first day in Prague; after touring the Prague Castle and parts of Lesser Town, we walked over to the monastery where monks brew their own beer. Since we had nothing planned for the rest of the day, we ordered a few beers and just talked for a few hours on the warm patio. We even met some friendly British college students sitting at the table next to us. It was probably one of the most enjoyable dinners I had while in Europe. Indeed, our "pilot" program worked out well!

Goodbye Tarnow!

School has ended, and now my last days in Tarnow have as well! It was an exciting, busy weekend! On Friday night, David and I met two of our students at the speedway. Tarnow is famous for its motor-bike racing team, and we watched them defeat a team from Częstochowa by a big margin. The atmosphere reminded me of my high-school football games, and there were lots of loud, raucous fans crowded into the tiny stadium. (The sport is similar to NASCAR, except the track is much shorter and there are only 4 bikes racing at a time.)

After the race, I was happy to join the party that Mikolaj was hosting at our house. I've met most of his friends before, and they were all very happy to see me! I'm really lucky to have host brothers who the same age as me, because I'm able to meet a lot more Polish high schoolers and college students. We grilled a lot of food and I talked with lots of people! It was a great way to begin the weekend.

On Saturday we went to a ropes course, which was quite an exhilirating experience! Afterwards, we saw the ruins of an old castle on the top of a hill overlooking Tarnow. We got a great view of the town! Since Bartek and Mikolaj stayed up super late the night before, it was just me, Kuba, and Pan/Pani Pisarski. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time!

When I got home, I realized my final hours in the house were dwindling, so it was the time to perform the "lasts"...the last chess game, the last family picture, the last supper (with the last amazing kielbasa and salami!), etc. etc. It was a bittersweet evening, and I saved my packing for the late hours of the night.

Sunday morning came, and it was time to say goodbye! I gave my family a small parting gift, which I'm sure can never adequately compensate them for their generous hospitality. Nothing I can say or do can really show how much I appreciate what they have done for me over the past 4 weeks! I can only hope that they visit the States soon, so that it'll be my chance to reciprocate hospitality! Farewell Tarnow! Farewell Pan, Pani, Mikolaj, Bartek and Kuba...for now!

Surprises and my last days in the classroom

I knew there was a "picnic" scheduled for Thursday night at my school, but what happened was far beyond my expectations.  After eating some grilled kielbasa, the school directors went up to the front of the room and began to thank David and me for volunteering for the past 4 weeks.  Then they showered us with gifts; we received books about Poland, coffee mugs, and many other surprises.  Best of all, each of our students signed their name on a large certificate, and soon the children sitting next began pointing to where their names were written and giving me high-fives. 

Then David and I said a few words of thanks and appreciation to all of our students in the room (with the help of a translator).  I don't know if any of them really understood the idea that we learned just as much from them as they learned from us! 

Friday was another bittersweet day; since it was the last day of school, we spent most of our time playing games and, with the older students, talking about school and social life.  The younger students showed their emotions the most, and they started drawing "Nick and David" on the board and writing their names on Post-It notes so that we would remember them.  When we said "Do Widzenia" for the last time, all the kids started to hug us and would not let go!  We were both sad and happy at the same time; I was sorry to see them go because we had so much fun, but I was happy for all the memories and lessons that I would take home with me.

When my last class ended and the last students walked out the door at 1:30pm, I was in a state of disbelief.  How had it gone by so fast?  And had I really made a difference in such a short period of time?  I think so.  Where was the proof?  In both the first and last weeks, we held a contest where the students had to write down as many words as they could in English.  In the beginning, the winner in one of our classes wrote 52 words.  At the end?  121!  That's a 133% increase.  Wow, that makes me feel good.

But my impact hopefully has more to do than just words on a page.  I hope my students learned more about American culture and understand what it's like to live in Rochester, NY. 

Most importantly, I think I made friends with most of my students.  David and I were certainly not normal English teachers.  Since we were younger and more entertaining than the school's normal faculty, I think our classroom was a lot more fun.  After all, it is the summer!  I remember that every time the school director walked in, the students would immediately sit down and behave like little angels.  But when it was just David and me, things could get chaotic.  We played a maze game once where I was blindfolded and the students had to give me directions to my chair.  They quickly took advantage of my vulnerability and surrounded me and started tickling me to death!  Would they do that to their regular English teacher?  Probably not.  But was the regular teacher their friend?  Probably not.  But we certainly were!

PHOTOS OF MY STUDENTS AND CLASSROOM:

Birthdays and bonding

This week, we celebrated three birthdays!  It was Mikolaj's 19th on Monday, Miriam's 21st on Wednesday, and David's 22nd on Thursday.  Some of the volunteers (about ten of us) got together on Wednesday night near the square to celebrate; we went out to eat and hung out for a few hours afterwards at a local pub. 

This evening reinforced one of the things that I cherish most about my trip: the people.  My host family, my host brothers' friends, and all my fellow volunteers have all been amazing people.  Whether we are traveling around Poland, going to parties, or just talking, the people I have encountered have been so unbelievably friendly and inviting.  I have rarely felt uncomfortable or out-of-place, even though I am living thousands of miles away from my home.

Awesome weekend in Warsaw

This Saturday, my host father and my 2 host brothers, Bartek and Kuba, traveled up the highway to spend a day in Warsaw, the capital of Poland.  Although I have heard many people say that Warsaw is not a very nice city, I think my experience has proved them wrong!  Yes, most of the city was destroyed by the Germans in WWII, but it was masterfully rebuilt in the decades after the war.  The simple fact that the city exists is a miracle itself!

Our first stop was the Warsaw Uprising Museum, which is dedicated the Warsaw Uprising - one of the final battles in WWII (which I have to admit I've never even heard of!).  In late 1944, the Polish revolted against the Nazis occupying their city.  It was a valiant underground effort, but after many casualties and the virtual destruction of the city, the Polish effort eventually collapsed.  Inside the museum, we saw a breathtaking video which illustrated the sheer destruction of Warsaw.  Before the war, some 1.3 million Poles lived in the city; in 1944, only 1000 remained.

Next we visited the Royal Castle, the former home of the Polish monarchs.  Built in 1619, it contained many brilliantly decorated rooms, which were pillaged and destroyed by the Nazis.  Fortunately, the Polish rebuilt their castle piece by piece after the war.  The castle housed many important meetings and events, including the signing of the Constitution of May 3rd, 1791, which was the first constitution of its kind in Europe (inspired by the US Constitution).  My favorite room was the Marble Room (you can guess how it was decorated).

After walking around Old Town for a while and admiring the square, street performers, churches, the President's offices and more, we headed to Lazienki Park, where a giant monument of Chopin was erected amidst a beautiful rose garden.  There were even peacocks walking around! 

By 8 o'clock we were all exhausted, so we hopped back in the car and drove home.  We got back around 1:30 in the morning, and a delicious supper was waiting for us!  After having our "midnight snack," we happily went to sleep.

Another adventure!  And with that, our last week of teaching is here!

PHOTOS OF WARSAW:

Getting some publicity

This week, Learning Enterprises got some serious publicity, and David and I were made into celebrities!  On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, three different groups of news reporters (and some cameramen) paid a visit to our classroom.  They asked us questions about why we were in Poland, how our lessons were going, and if we liked out experience so far.  Some of our students were interviewed as well! 

My favorite piece was the one that showed up on a local Polish news channel.  Unfortunately, the entire piece was in Polish so I could not fully understand what they were saying.  But it was still an awesome feeling, and it seems like the entire town really cares about us and appreciates our contributions to their community.  I think we've made a difference so far!

Midpoint in Zakopane

Our midpoint break in Zakopane was short but sweet.  We spent a day and a half in the beautiful mountainous countryside of southern Poland.  Although we arrived in the pouring rain on Friday afternoon, the weather soon cleared and we enjoyed hot, sunny weather for the rest of the weekend! 

It was great to reunite and talk with all the volunteers, and everyone had some interesting stories to tell.  Even though we are all teaching in Poland, each of our experiences was a little different.  For example, some people are living among cows and farmland, while others are in the heart of Tarnow Square.  And although we were already providing feedback and lesson advice on our Facebook page, communicating face-to-face was a welcomed change.

When we weren't busy chatting, we were hiking and sweating up a giant hill (I forget the name), one of many that is part of the Tatra Mountains chain.  Although there was a trolley that could have whisked us to the top, we chose to make the daring climb in order to get the full experience.  On the way up, we stopped to gape at some picturesque views.  Across from us we could even see Giewont, a chiseled peak that resembles a sleeping knight (with a cross in his mouth - how it got there is beyond my imagination!). 

At the top of our climb was a long series of shops, restaurants and street vendors.  The sight of sizzling kebobs and kielbasa on the grill was a massive relief!  In the village at the base of the hill there were also many vendors selling animal furs for very cheap prices, like 60 or 70 zloty (around 30 US dollars).  I doubted if they were real, but they felt like it!  Since I had no practical use for a giant animal skin, I had to leave them behind for now.

At night, we wandered around the main street.  It summer tourist season, and the village was bustling!  Various artists were performing on the sidewalks, and locals were selling their famous mountain cheese (it's very hard and I didn't care for it; I tried it smoked at dinner and it tasted somewhat better). 

The weekend flew by and before we knew it we were back on the bus headed to Krakow, and then on the train to Tarnow. 

What a wonderful midpoint trip!  But hey, my whole time in Poland has been great so far!

PHOTOS OF OUR TRIP TO ZAKOPANE:

Poland feeling like home

As I looked at the calendar today, I realized that I only have 10 days of teaching left! Woah! Where has the time gone? The days now follow a comfortable pattern; I wake up, greet my smiling mother downstairs, entertain a few jokes from my father, teach 4 taxing hours at school, come home and eat some delicious Polish soup and kielbasa, eat some more, talk, talk, talk, and play chess and cards. My family is great! I have 3 brothers (19, 17, 13), and although none of them are into sports, I get my weekly dose of exercise by playing volleyball with my father's co-workers two nights per week.

Teaching has been a lot of fun, especially since me and David (Sisbarro) decided to combine our classes and teach together. The children can definitely get rowdy at times, but we are pretty good at inventing new games. I feel like I have to be a teacher and an entertainer at the same time! I come to class with lots of candy and prizes too (they love Dum-Dums). When they get out of line, I snap my fingers and say "chiho" and "ovaga." But sometimes I feel like I just need to let them go; when they really want to have fun, I think there's not much you can do to stop them.

I feel like I've become a better teacher over the past week or so, even though most of our lessons and games we play are thought of on the spot! I am especially more comfortable with the oldest class; I try to treat them more like adults (and play less games), so we do a lot of reading comprehension, especially with news videos and stories. On Fourth of July, we even read through the Declaration of Independence and had a pretty sophisticated discussion about rights and freedoms. Having access to the internet in class really helps!

Outside of class, I spend most of my time hanging out at home and talking with my host brothers and dad. We talk a lot about politics (I have the feeling that most Poles love the USA and Reagan!). My father's English is limited, but he has a great sense of humor. I've been to Tarnow square a few times too, and I think I've mastered the bus system by now.

First week almost over

I cannot believe that my first week in Tarnow has come to an end!  Although I am supposed to be the teacher, I certainly learned a lot this week from my students and my host family.  Since Monday, they have all become less shy, and most of them are now outgoing and like to participate in class.  The children especially like to play games!  David and I invented (and shared with other volunteers) games about months of the year, days of the week, spelling, body parts, and many other topics.  We have to remember that our classes are voluntary, so the students may not come back if they feel like they are not learning anything or not having fun! 

The oldest class (age 15+) has clearly been the hardest to teach.  I feel like I am teaching material that they already know; vocabulary and spelling don't seem to be a problem for them, and maybe the first few days were not as engaging as I would have hoped.  However, last class we spent more time on reading comprehension.  For example, they listened to song lyrics and a related story, and then had to answer a series of questions about the reading.  We also will start a "current events" portion of class when we talk about current topics and watch news videos on YouTube (some anchors talk very fast though! We need to find a way to slow it down!)

I also got my weekly dose of sports action!  On Friday we played football (aka soccer) outside after my third class.  The students loved it!  However, many of the girls did not want to play, so David took them inside and reviewed English words for makeup and jewelry.  When it comes to gender, we must be very sensitive to differences in taste.  Obviously, we cannot just play soccer all the time (although I would love to!).

Volleyball is another popular sport in Poland, and on Thursday night I joined my host-father's co-workers for some intense volleyball.  I haven't played competitively since high school, and I had so much fun!  Even though the guys I played with were between 30 and 50 years old, they were incredible, most of them better than me!  I will definitely join them again; they play every Monday and Thursday.

Last night I met up with some other volunteers to discuss travel plans and catch up on our teaching.  Poland is great, but it's nice to be able to connect with my fellow Americans.  In class, I hear "tso to jest" (what is this?) all the time when students are confused!  I must slow down my pronunciation and use simpler language.  Although my host brothers are mostly fluent in English, talking normally with my friends still feels like a luxury!

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: