A couple of people have been asking me how I did in Poland last month so I thought I’d write a little précis of what took place. Let me begin by saying it was the best experience of my life…and let me continue from there.
For those of you who don’t know, I volunteered to teach Polish children conversational English. I read an article in the Trenton Times in January 2003 about an organization called Global Volunteers (GV) (www.globalvolunteers.org). Check out their web site for more information. Anyway, the article was about a retired NJ teacher who just spent three weeks in Poland teaching Polish children conversational English. It intrigued me, so I contacted them for information…and I got hooked. I sent GV my $350. deposit check.
GV contacted me and said that if I wanted a room with a private bathroom, I would have to commit myself to the deal by paying them the balance due: $1,745. Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, by I like a little privacy now and then. To speed things up a bit, I called GV within the hour and charged the balance to my Amex card…I was committed.
That’s when anxiety set in and I began to lose a lot of sleep…you see, I never taught children before this endeavor. As a matter of fact, my only teaching experience was with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office teaching co-workers about this and that. Get this, the people at GV, the Team Leader in Poland, Dorota Wierzbicka, and other volunteers who already “done it, been there,” kept telling me, “Don’t worry about it, the kids will love you!” Yeah, right.
Left the USA on September 3, 2003 aboard LOT airlines. This was a couple of days earlier than I had to arrive in Warsaw, but I thought it would be better to arrive earlier so I would get acclimated to the time change (6 hours). Jet lag was not that bad.
Cousin Roger Budny asked me if I could try and find a book that was written by a Michal Budny in a warehouse called Palac Starej Ksiazki (literal translation, the Palace of Old Books), in Warsaw. Well, first of all, it wasn’t a palace, and secondly, an armed bodyguard, or two, should have accompanied me, because it was in a kinda war zone. I had no success finding the book. I spent a couple of hours going through piles upon piles of old books, but no success. The Palace was dank and smelled, well, like a warehouse. It was an experience, however.
I was picked-up at the Warsaw airport by Dorota and the driver of the van. Together with four of us volunteers we were on our way to Siedlce, Poland, location of the 100+ year-old Manor House (Reymontowka) that we’ll be calling home for the duration of our teaching exercise. This was Saturday, September 6th. Siedlce is located about 1-1/2 hours east of Warsaw. Siedlce is also the city where Frederick Chopin potato vodka is made.
Unbelievable…when we arrived at Reymontowka, on the front steps of the Manor House was a singing group of about 20 women accompanied by two men who played the accordion and violin. They greeted us with Polish songs and a ritual of “breaking bread,” a Polish tradition that was new to me. An elderly Polish woman held a loaf of fresh baked bread on a plate and we had to take a piece of the bread, dip it in salt, and eat it, as a toast to our arrival. Are you kidding me or what? I said to myself, I’m gonna like this place…but where’s the Polish vodka?
We were escorted to our rooms (I was given #13 and thought, “Oh Boy!”…more anxiety), unpacked, and had to report to a meeting room for an initial indoctrination. My room was clean and kinda small, but adequate. The bed was not big enough for me to spread my legs out, but it was okay.
We were welcomed to Reymontowka. The volunteers introduced themselves, gave a little bio on each other, and spent some time talking to each other, sort of a group therapy session. I volunteered that I was extremely nervous about being in front of a class of potentially violent children who loathe American males, I needed a vodka terribly, smiled a lot to everyone disguising my anguish, and so forth.
GV hires a Polish professor to talk to the volunteers about what to expect in class, customs of the Polish people, some do’s and don’ts, some basic Polish conversation, etc. More anxiety. The first class begins tomorrow, Monday, 8:00 a.m. We have three or four hours to prepare a lesson plan for tomorrow’s class. Anxiety is really getting heavy at this point.
I was told that I should follow a particular instructional booklet published in England. Only one problem, there is an accompanying “Teacher’s Lesson Plan” that, unfortunately, won’t be available until the following week. Cool. The heart was really pumping and sweat was beginning to form on my brow. I said to myself, “I can handle this.” My Team Leader (Dorota) gave me some tips on what I should do the first day of class. She said just keep it simple and get to know the students. She suggested telling the kids (all in English, by the way) where I was from, about my wife, Randall, our puppies, work, education, etc. In essence, a lot of b.s. I said to myself, “I can handle that.”
Didn’t sleep too well Sunday night. Got up, shaved, showered, dressed, off to breakfast, and the first day of class.
I was driven to Cisie (name of the school) and was introduced to the Polish teachers in the teacher’s lounge. They served me instant coffee and some miniature donuts. I wanted some Polish vodka. They were very friendly and didn’t speak a word of English. The class bell rang and I was escorted to my classroom. I asked for a wastepaper basket in the event I had to use it. I opened the door and said, “Good morning class!” The response was “Good morning, Mister.” I wrote my name on the blackboard and started talking to the kids. Well, they warned us that things would be a little different in the Polish classroom…and they weren’t wrong! While I’m talking to the students everybody is ignoring me and carrying-on conversations about who knows what. I got a little concerned and yelled-out, “Prosze, Cicho!!” (“Quiet, Please!!”). When the kids heard me speak Polish they became quiet…well, almost quiet. One of the kids asked, “Czy pan jest Polakiem?” (“Are you Polish?”) I answered, “Tak jest!” (“That’s right!”) You should have seen the looks on their faces! They were surprised and excited. I was in like Flint. Thereafter, I stumbled through with a little Polish when I saw they were having difficulty understanding me in English. It was really neat. The kids were really great. I was accepted. The English-Polish dictionary was within arm’s reach…and I used it often.
After my two-hour session with the first group of kids, I was exhausted! I needed a Polish vodka, pronto. But that would have to wait. Returned to the Manor House and began preparing for my second two-hour session to start at 1:00 p.m., immediately after lunch. The lunch was out of this world! Keep in mind that the main meal is served around noon and there is soup and a light snack in the evening. Oh man, after stuffing my face with all of this Polish food, I was ready for a nap! However, I and two other volunteers were wisked off to Broszkow, the name of the second school at which I taught.
Same scenario…met the teachers in a teacher’s lounge…the Principal asked me what I would like to drink, but I didn’t have the heart to ask her for a Polish vodka…I settled for a glass of iced tea…I got hot tea…I guess it was lost in the translation…it was 75 degrees outside. Burned my mouth trying to drink the tea…the school bell rang…I was escorted to my class of six students.
They were just wonderful. They were surprised and happy that I was Polish and could speak a little of their language. The two hours went by fast. The kids fought to carry my tote bag and escort me arm-in-arm from the school to our waiting car (imagine 10-11 year old kids touching teachers in the USA, or vice versa?) What a day! Dorota was right…the children are fantastic. I loved it!
This is how it went for the next two weeks. On my last teaching day each class gave me a little present to take home with me to the USA. These were children of local farmers and they had no money. We sang “Sto Lat” together. When I was leaving, the kids weren’t the only ones crying…but it was tears of happiness and joy. What a high!
On Saturday morning, I was driven to Warsaw where I rented a Renault from Hertz ($450/week). I was going to spend a week traveling through Poland.
My first trip was north to Downary, birthplace of some of my ancestors. Visited a cemetery and saw several Rafalowski tombstones. Downary is a very small village. I spent about three hours driving around Downary. It was beautiful. Spent the night in Bialystok, at the Golembiewski Hotel ($75/night).
Oh, an interesting sidebar…on my way to Downary on Rt. 8 N., there was a number of vendors selling freshly picked mushrooms along the roadway. That wasn’t all they were selling! There were a few scantily dressed kobiety (women) also selling their wares! No, I didn’t stop and ask for directions.
Got up early the next day and drove south to Warsaw. Stopped at a beautiful church on the way and went to Mass…all in Polish…just like St. Hedwig’s, my church in the USA. I understood every twentieth word. It was beautiful.
Checked-into the Mercure Hotel ($120/night), and walked around the city of Warsaw. The Stare Miasto (Old City) is a beautiful place to spend a few hours sipping a couple of Ziwiec piwos (Polish beer), enjoying the sights, people watching…just relaxing and having a wonderful time.
Went to Jasna Gora, Czestochowa and toured the cathedral and shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, patron saint of Poland. I did some research and learned a lot. It was a great feeling. There is a lot of interesting history about Our Lady of Czestochowa. Kings, cosacks, aristocrats, dignitaries, as well as ordinary people from all over the world make pilgrimage on foot to Czestochowa.
Off to Krakow, my favorite city that I visited in Poland. Due to the Nazi occupation of Krakow, it remained untouched by bombings during WW II. Conversely, Warsaw was leveled by Nazi Germany. Krakow is beautiful. Stayed at the Polonia Hotel ($120/night). Visited the salt mines, Auschwitz and Berkenau…the concentration camps are another story.
Off to Zakopane, in southern Poland. A beautiful city that is surrounded by the Tatry Mountains and is a vacation destination by Poles and many other European countries in both winter (skiing) and summer (to escape the heat). Stayed at the Kasprovy Wierch Hotel in the heart of Zakopane ($50/night – off season). A beautiful town with unbelievable vistas. During the off-season it is not too expensive; however, in-season, it can be a real tourist trap, and very expensive.
Had to start making my way back to Reymontowka for the final going away bon fire and barbeque scheduled for Friday, September 26th. I’ve been known never to miss a party. I drove for six hours to Lublin and had to spend the night…I was tired. Stayed at the Hotel Europa ($125/night) in the heart of Lublin. Did a brief tour of the city, had a couple of vodkas and dinner, and went to bed.
Made it back to Reymontowka in time for lunch, dinner, the bon fire and barbecue. The vodka and beer were flowing on this final day…singing Polish songs (the teachers provided the words and the music), dancing, laughing, and just having a great time. It was chilly this night, maybe 45-50 degrees…but I had enough anti-freeze in me to keep me warm. A wonderful party with the volunteers, teachers, older students, guests, all having a wonderful time.
The next morning we ate breakfast, said goodbye to each other, shed a tear or two, and the rest is history.
By far, one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I look forward to the next time I can help the kids of Poland and be a diplomat for my country. I am sure there will be a next time.
There are many other interesting occurrences that took place during my three+ weeks in Poland and I’ll be more than happy to share them with you. In the meantime, remember how lucky you are…be thankful for what you have…and enjoy life to the fullest. Do widzenia.
