Poland - the weeks that followed

A lot has happened since my last post. In fact, as of last night, I am safe and sound back in the US. In an effort to break up information about the trip, though, this will be more about the weeks in the middle of my time in Poznan.

The trip overall consisted of a fairly regular skeleton of a schedule. Work in primary schools Monday through Friday, travel on the weekends. But looking back closer at each week and day, it was anything but routine. Every single day was a new adventure, with something different to discover and to learn about Poland, or even to learn about the US.

Before anything else, work in schools comes first. What an amazingly rewarding experience. Every single school I taught in, the teachers and students were so welcoming and so excited to have us visiting them. A typical class would probably be about 45 minutes, taught to a class anywhere from 6 to 13 years old (Polish kindergarten finishes around age 6, and primary school goes through about 13, after which students move on to gymnasium/junior high, and then on to high school). Learning to interact with the students was a continuous process - I learned more every single day about fun and better ways to engage them, to learn from them, and to help them learn from me. Not a single week went by that I didn't tweak my plans a little bit to make my lessons more and more exciting for the kids, and fun for us to experience together. A normal class could have been anywhere from 10 to almost 30 kids, who spoke a range of almost no English to pretty proficient English. With the youngest kids, who have only been learning English for a couple of years so far, the teachers did lots of translating for me. Either way, I found that a great way to get the kids to open up to me and ask questions was to have them teach me some Polish! My Polish pronunciation isn't the greatest (some of their sounds don't exist in English) but sometimes that made it even better for the kids to laugh at me and with me, and really open up to see me as a friend. (For a little bit of fun, try this Polish tongue twister, like one of the ones my kids taught me! -- Spod czeskich strzech szło Czechów trzech. -- just ask Google translate to read it out loud! The 'sh' and 'ch' sounds are so difficult!)

I think the most interesting things in class, though, were seeing not only what the kids already knew about the US, but also what they wanted to know about the US. It was honestly just as exciting for me to learn from them as it was for them to learn about the US from me. And some of the questions are priceless! I got an enormous variety of inquiries, ranging from normal things like 'What kind of food do you eat?' and 'What is the weather like?' to much more imaginative things like 'Do you have green french fries?' and 'How old were you when Apollo 17 launched?'. Beyond that, there were tons that related to their knowledge of US media and films, which is a large part of what they know - things like 'Do you know Batman?' and 'Where does Eminem live?'. I never failed to find the most creative and curious kids, and to be impressed and amused by the things they wanted to know.

Outside of school, my time was spent in two big ways. The first was exploring Poznan with the rest of the interns. Poznan is full of beautiful charming places to visit, gorgeous churches, and endless numbers of cute streets with shops and fountains and beautiful squares. After school each day, we'd meet up to explore another new place, see Poznan, and trade stories with each other about our lives at home. I think I've learned even more about Azerbaijan and the Philippines than I have about Poland! It was so interesting getting to talk with the other interns, find the similarities and the differences between our lives at home, and start wanting to come visit each other at home! Such an amazing experience getting to sit in a beautiful open air cafe in the middle of the old square of Poznan and enjoy the summer weather with new international friends.

The other huge portion of my time was spent with my host family. With the exception of one week, I lived with a family of four in a small but beautiful flat right near the city, and they really became my second family. My host parents, Johanna and Piotr, really began to treat me like part of the family, and were more welcoming than I could have ever hoped for. We'd have dinner together as a family of five, hear about how each other's days went, and talk about Polish traditions or American traditions or any number of things. And then after dinner I'd usually end up spending a few hours just talking with my host parents, about the kids or their jobs or the way Poland used to be, or anything at all. They're such wonderful people, and such great parents to their kids, both of whom are brilliant and are going to do huge things some day. Michal, at 10, speaks fantastic English, and he and I became great friends over the course of my time there. Maciek, at 5, speaks almost no English, but when he runs up and hugs me after I come home from work, words really aren't necessary! They're the most amazing kids, and the most welcoming family in the world.

Erin: Enjoy My Origin - Beginnings in Poznan, Poland

After the first four days in Poznań, Poland, I can finally say (and pronounce!) cseść [hello, in Polish] from one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen! The past few days have been an incredible adventure of traveling across several time zones, discovering a city that probably never would have been on my radar, meeting interns from all over the world, and trying to produce all kinds of new sounds in an attempt to communicate with people on the street!

The first weekend has consisted mainly of training our new group of 20 or so interns, spread across four fairly similar projects, and of helping us get our bearings in a foreign place. Among our group, we have interns from Singapore, China, the Philippines, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kenya. Several sessions with the LC in Poznan have introduced us to the Polish culture, and to the ins and outs of teaching in Polish schools. In between, we've gotten to hang out, have tons of laughs, explore the city around us, and get to know our new homes.

 

Starting in schools yesterday, I don't think anything could have prepared me for the welcome I'd receive from the teachers and children. Although most adults in the school (essentially everyone except for a couple of English teachers) speak no English, they have been so kind and helpful in showing us around. The English teachers we are working with are absolutely wonderful, helping us translate to their classes and connect with the kids, and giving us everything we could have wanted or needed. The kids themselves are really incredible too - so excited to see us and hear what we have to say. I think for many I am one of the first foreigners they have ever seen, and they are fascinated by this strange human being who looks differently from them and who doesn't understand their Polish! But as the other interns and I discussed as we caught up at a pub after work yesterday afternoon, the stories we'll have of the kids are really priceless. We've been asked for autographs, we've been forced to sing and dance, we've been stifled by crowds of kids all rushing to hug us, and we've even been offered small amounts of Polish money! Depending on the age of the kids, we're teaching them about our cultures and the countries we're from, along with encouraging them to learn and use more English. I teach anywhere from 1st to 6th grade, and while the older kids are really engaged and have lots of questions about America, the youngest ones are really much better served by hands on things like drawing. So they've been learning while making American flags in their notebooks! (Another strange realization -- our flag is great for this! A Polish flag, which is divided into two sections, red and white, is very simple to draw, but an American flag is a real challenge if you're 6!)

It's so interesting to me to see America through the eyes of everyone around me, both Polish and otherwise. The kids ask the funniest and strangest questions - if I have a husband, why America is so big, if it could beat Poland in a war, and if we all eat chips all the time! Maybe just as fascinating (or more so) is talking with the other interns about our homes. Every intern speaks English more or less fluently, so except for differences in accents we have not much of a problem communicating. But it's been so interesting finding out what people know, and don't know, about our country. It's been pointed out to me several times that I don't look like an American, too! I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that what a lot of people know, they know from TV shows, but I was also surprised to be asked multiple times, very specifically, if American high school is clique-y like in the movies. I hope that by the end of this trip, I will be able to show them that most Americans, like myself, are nothing like either Honey Boo Boo or Kim Kardashian! I certainly know that I feel a hundred times more knowledgeable about so many other places in the world now, too, just from hearing the way the interns have all presented their own backgrounds. It's truly an amazing feeling being able to connect with all these friends from all over the world, and find out our many similarities, and most surprising differences! (Example from training -- how many continents are there on Earth? I never would have thought that the answer could range anywhere from 5 to 7, depending on where you're from!)

My host family, too, has been so hospitable and welcoming. I live right now with a family in their small but beautiful apartment ('flat', if you're in Europe). They have two sons, ages 5 and 10, who have been so excited to meet me. The younger, Mateusz (the Polish version of Matthew, pronounced close to matoosh), is not yet conversational in English, but has discovered that we can connect via knowledge of Sesame Street and the Muppets! He walks around singing the Elmo Song over and over, and laughing with me. I was very impressed with the English skills of the older one, Michał (Polish for Michael, pronounced close to me-how), who told me stories last night over dinner of his relatives in Italy. My host parents, Johanna and Piotr, have been making traditional Polish dishes every evening and always making sure I have plenty to eat and drink, and am warm enough when I leave in the morning! They taught me last night about a whole host of Polish festivals and holidays, and a Polish custom in which every person celebrates not only his birthday, but also his 'name's day', which I guess in English is really closer to a Saint's Day. For example, on the day of St. Michael, all of the Michael/Michałs in Poland celebrate their name's day, and eat cake to celebrate! The days are prescribed by a book of Saints, and apply to most Polish people, who are a conservative group and have dominantly Biblical names. My host father said that he'd find an equivalent for Erin, and find me a name day so that I can come home and make my family celebrate it for me!

I'm confident that every day will bring more fun and lasting memories, stories to tell, and pictures to be taken. I've only been here for 4+ days, but I already feel so comfortable in this city, and I know the next six weeks will continue that trend. I'm sure as well that each day will bring more new realizations in the realm of culture shock and differences, and that each day I'll be more comfortable and confident in my growing repertoire of Polish phrases and words! I'm beyond excited for what the next few weeks will bring.

Dictionaries and Surprises

I only have two days left here in Katowice, a city in Silesia in southern Poland with a population of two million. It feels like I just got here yesterday. In reality, it's been a little less than six weeks. My project involves working at a social center with teenagers from the ages of thirteen to twenty. Responsibilities include overseeing and participating in the activities that the teens partake in, such as playing board games, watching movies, cleaning, and preparing and cooking meals. In addition, I also spend time trying to teach the kids as much English as I possibly can.

When I first arrived a mere six weeks ago, I knew how to say a grand total of two words in Polish, the words for yes and no. When I asked Polish people for directions or something of the sort, my questions in English received varied responses. Some people just stared at me. Others smiled but shook their heads, indicating their lack of understanding. The ones who did speak some English became really excited and were eager to help in any way possible. One of my most memorable early encounters occurred with the owner of a little store. I had a huge headache and was desperately searching for medicine. I couldn't find it in the store so I decided to ask the lady if they had any. Since she didn't speak English, I tried my best to use hand gestures to get her to understand me. It failed. As I was about to give up and leave the store, she called me back and pulled out a Polish to English dictionary. Thankfully, I succeeded in getting the medicine.

At my work place, there are three teachers. Two of them understand English but are afraid to speak it, while one has good English. Initially, she served as translator whenever I wanted to say anything to the children. I made it my goal to learn how to say a few Polish phrases each day in order to be able to somewhat communicate with them. The kids love to hear me speak Polish and it also in a way motivated them to learn some English. Even though six weeks is definitely not enough time to become fluent in Polish, now I know many useful phrases and can get my way around here.

A highlight at my work place occurred last week. It was one of the boy's birthdays. Lukasz was turning seventeen. Emily, an intern from China who I work with, and I decided to get him a little present. As he is a huge fan of the Barcelona soccer team, we got him a Barcelona wall clock. He was surprised but very happy when we gave it to him. Emily and I thought that this was the end of the surprises for the day. We were wrong. As soon as we gave him his gift, the teachers and kids gave us a surprise. They gave us a shirt that everyone had signed, a bracelet, and a necklace. They even made us a delicious cake. Everyone there is extremely kind and they wanted to do something for us so that we wouldn't forget them. I never will.

With only two days left, I want to make the most of them and add to the million memories I have already made. It sure has been an amazing ride.