Week 5 & 6: The Grass is always Greener

Coming to the understanding that things are MUCH bigger than me.

Yet, I STILL don't strive to get out of my community as proof to say that I "made it", nor do I seek to sit back and compare myself to others and declare that I or my community are better than another. To travel, and experience other cultures is one thing, but to use my disdain for my own community as motivation to move on to "bigger and better" things; that's never been the case. 

In coming overseas, I see what dedication and possessing a caring soul can do for a village community. It isn't my attempt at hinting that the Poles have community development down to the T; however, in working, educating, and inspiring their incoming generations, they promote ambitions, multiculturalism, and giving back to their community for all the right reasons. I may be speaking from two months of limited interactions in Poland, but the cliché of "actions speak louder than words" couldn't hold more truth at this point in time. 

I think back to all the times I sat and talked with my friends, my classmates, and my teachers. And the question never failed to surface, "When do you plan to leave the Valley?", "How do you plan to leave?", or the resounding question of "Why stay in the valley? There's so much more you can do else where." My decision to make a commitment to my community was not so I could become a self proclaimed martyr of my hometown, but because I see so much potential in my community. The notion of educating my students to become assets to their communities as opposed to opponents of bettering their community is something I hope to effectively convey to all my students, regardless if it's my community or not. 

In discussing this with a fellow coworker in Poland, their idea of community struck me. Community, and community engagement for that matter, is seen as necessary simply for the ripple effect it soon creates after it is started. For them, any progress is improvement, and any improvement is good. 

In shaping our communities we should aspire to leave them in good conditions so future generations can do the same. If we never teach our kids to strive to improve, and appreciate the community around them, we will continuously fail to have that "greener side" everyone seems so eager to attain. Sowing the landscapes of our communities is must if we hope to reap the benefits of a thriving community there after. 

It's no wonder Poland is such a green  country... (yes, that was another corny joke)

Well, till next time, Happy Thursday :-)

Week 4 Poland: Home is where the... wait, what?

There's a lot of those moments where you find yourself dumbstruck by the serenity of it all. The greatest aspect of these moments are the simplicity you find at the core. 

Coming to Poland I came with an open mind. Opinions, thoughts, experiences, and contrasting ideas were all fair game. I enjoyed every moment of this cultural saturation. As I brought the fourth week of my service in Poland to a close though, I found myself blind sided by a gripping sense of missing everything I had back home. My friends, my family, the daily routine perks I indulged in back home- I wanted it; I missed it.

Coming to the realization that I couldn't walk out the door of my apartment in Łukow only to be greeted by all my loved ones was such an awkward feeling. And I say awkward, because I think further back to when I first made a commitment to Poland, I wanted it so bad. In fact, I still do. I'm sure there's this notion that the appropriate thing to say would be that I realized, " home is where the heart is", or "you don't realize what you have until it's no longer in front of you", but to be honest, living in Poland has taught me home is whatever you want to make it. And prior to Poland I already knew what I had. I didn't need to go to another country to acknowledge that I have some dedicated mentors, amazing friends, and a loving family. I've been aware of that for some time now.

It has been a blessing in disguise though, going through these mixed feelings of being homesick yet still trying to immerse myself in the Polish culture. I remember trying to google tips and advice to avoid, remediate, and even combat homesickness while abroad, and the same message kept creeping its way back into the articles- keep busy, establish routines, find things to get your mind off these feelings.

Reading this was helpful to an extent, but I didn't want to numb, disregard, or barricade myself off from the things I was clearly thinking and feeling. I think back as to why would anyone want to "get their mind off of being homesick". What in fact made it so scary to acknowledge that I did indeed miss home? Would that make me weak to those that looked up to me? Would it frustrate those that had personally helped me get to Poland? 

I thought about it, and I credit a lot of my being homesick to the fact that I'm comfortable back home. I have the luxury of getting instant access to a sense of comfort to just about anywhere I go or anything I do. 

Excluding the language barrier, there are so many other types of things, difficult or not,  I encounter in Poland. However, there are many more possibilities for me to make connections here - from connections with my students, to my host family, and even the connections on my train rides (cheesy, I know, but I couldn't help it) All the lectures, and instances where I was constantly being told that I was part of a vast global community hadn't quite hit home till I got here.

To be honest, the only thought or image that instantly came to mind when I thought of a "global community" was the dingy blue carpet I used to sit on in kinder- the one with a cartoon world printed on it and all the multicultural kids of the world in a circular embrace around this world. 

Feeble minded, maybe, but was I content with that image as my idea of a "global community"...of course not.

I've found that my personal solution to being homesick though, has been seeking, embracing, and identifying those connections. Thriving off these personal connections has not only aided in shaping my perception of what a global community may or may not be comprised of, but it's now my driving force in seeking more opportunities that'll allow me to connect with other people and experiences from other parts of the world. Plus, when I make connections at all the right times, I don't miss my train departure times either :-D...OK, I'll stop. Till next time folks, Happy Sunday btw!!!

Why Poland, you ask...

Before Poland, or even the thought process of going to Poland came my way I don't think I had any preconceived notions about the country. Now that I'm here I find myself constantly answering the question of why did I choose Poland, or as some my students have asked, did Poland choose me? On a surface level I can honestly say I chose Poland. When I initially heard about the program through WordTeach, the country's  mystique instantly garnered my attention. I wanted to be able to formulate my own authentic answer as to why indeed did I CHOOSE Poland. I was fortunate enough to be placed in my 4 schools close to another WorldTeach volunteer, and we've come to the consensus that when in Poland you never know what you're going to get. As the great Forest Gump once said, "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna' get." Well despite Poland having many chocolate options, let alone dessert varieties, one rarely knows what is to come their way while in Poland. From accordions at teacher staff dinners, to competitive games of table tennis, and even the revelation that someone's dad makes their own beer or Vodka, it never ceases to amaze me how pleasantly blindsided you can become (in a good way though). For my 1st host family, I was blessed to be placed in a home that had an innate desire to make me feel like part of their family as soon as I set foot in their home. I was humbled by my host mom's ability to genuinely make an effort to speak to me in English, and admired her patience with me as I pestered her about how to pronounce various street signs I'd see along our drive. It came to a point where she or I would gesture to something in broken English or Polish, and we could nod in agreement, acknowledging that we understood the gist of the message. It didn't always occur this way (For example, I try to avoid translating American hip-hop lyrics for all the right reasons as you might assume lol) Aside from the great food and people, I try to avoid condensing or limiting my rationale as to why I chose/like Poland for those two mere things I mentioned. Poland is so multi-faceted. There's a deep sense of community present-on a much larger scale though. The Poles I've met have willingly opened their homes to me in a number of ways. There's an unwavering notion that social bonds and relationships, in general, are golden amongst the people of Poland. Although this many social gatherings aren't to often the norm for me back home , I can appreciate it. I've come to see that despite the hardships Poles have encountered, they are adamant about holding on to their values and keeping their history alive, because despite these things having a collective impact it also molds their identity as Polish individuals. I may never come to predict my daily encounters in Poland, but I know that regardless of where I happen to find myself I can count on being humbled by the hospitality of the Poles, and continue to maintain a sincere appreciation for the many experiences Poles have endured and the things they are relentless in pursuing (such as my 1st host dad being relentless in trying to get me to try some of his "Jerry Daniels" Vodka that he made- he claims it to be Poland's version of Jack Daniels :-) ) So why Poland, you ask...why not, is all I have in response ;-)

Week 3 in Poland 

My Monday was off to an exciting start. My students and I visited the lovely White Lake. Polish pizza, splash wars and vulgar shirts were in the mix of it all.

With the exception of a run on Tuesday with my host family, I did a lot of nothing :-) Wednesday brought about a quick game of "football" with my host dad and his two sons. Needless to say, I got my butt kicked lol.

 Please excuse the appearance of my crusty/scabby knee...

So Thursday was a LONGGG day...of fun though :-) It consisted of a visit to the former capitol of Poland, Lublin. From historic villages, to renovated castles, a trip to KFC, and finally a stop at the cinema, I had the chance to finally crawl into bed close to 11 lol.

I kicked off my weekend with a trip to Illusion Farm and extending my stay in Warsaw. 

 The translated name of this castle is "Bathroom Castle". I've yet to gain any desire to swim here...

 Warsaw cityscape 

 The breathtaking Warsaw Uprising Museum

 Street art of Warsaw- My guess is that Colonel Sanders is kind of a big deal here

Poland: Week 2

So this is a continuation of last week's post. I don't think I included specifics on my trip to the Baltic sea and Stutthoff Concentration camp. So without further ado, here are the deets :-)

Welcome to Gdańsk

Despite the three hour commute to this beautiful town, I could honestly say it was worth the wait. We started our day with a historic tour of the town.

It's amazing to think back about how much we were able to see on this tour though! From the minute we got there, it was really great to see Poland's version of "street musicians" (See photo below) To be honest, I thought the music would have made for a pretty good substitute for the opening scene of Harry Potter.

Before closing out the tour we had a chance to also learn about some the pivotal locations and events in regards to Poland's Solidarity movement. 

According to the guide, leaders of this powerful movement often met at the shipyards to conduct business and make plans amongst each other.

As you walk past the gate, and into the shipyard, these pictures line the fence further describing some of the photos in detail.

After the tour we were afforded the opportunity to do our own sight seeing. The lovely Mishal and I managed to navigate through the streets and came across a lot of really neat hidden gems throughout the town. I think my favorite spot to stumble across was, "Cafe with a Soul". The coffee and desserts were delicious.

 Disregard our shiny and dishelved appearances.

We found this undercover art gallery by chance...

Saturday-Fun day!!

So our day started with a walk on the longest boardwalk in Europe and a quick dip in the Baltic Sea.

On my way out I even met Spider-man :-D

To close out our Saturday, we visited one of the first concentration camps created in Poland by the Germans. It was a beautiful exhibit and a breathtaking experience.

Sunday was pretty uneventful with the exception of a trip to the store. On Monday, however, I taught for the first day and learned to make a modified version of Pierogis. 

Tuesday came and went. It was quite a blur, and I was tired from teaching. I did get to indulge in some pastries made by my host mom though :-)

Wednesday can be best described with one photo and a few words- An accordion, vacation eager teachers, and their relentless tolerance for their Vodka was involved lol.

On Thursday, we took our students bowling and swimming. Despite my lack of bowling skills it was a real treat to see the kids having a good time as well. I finished the day with some Polish zumba. If Zumba alone wasn't difficult, attempting to decipher it in Polish was even harder.

Friday was quite the busy day! I not only met one town mayor, but a neighboring town mayor as well. I got to hear more about Poland's need for a quality education in English, and my principal's thoughts on having me at her school. I was not only humbled by her gratitude towards my methods of teaching, but grateful I got to start my placement with her and my current students. After the interviews and "meet and greet" with the local officials I finally had a chance to redeem myself in a game of soccer with my host dad and his buddies. And I say redeem, because the night before I "attempted" to keep pace with my host dad on one of his night runs, and failed miserably lol. It resulted in sporadic shortness of breath, one too many butt cramps, and an alternate method of getting back home (I cheated and had my host mom lend me her bike). Overall, our game of soccer went well, and I even managed to score two goals :-D (See sweaty photo below) 

I woke up Saturday to find myself in the historic town of Casimir (I might have mispelled), Poland. A couple visits to remains of castles, the town square, and some palaces I found myself transformed to a human pillow as my host sister and another teacher attempted to try and sleep comfortably on the drive back. Check out the pics :-D

Ruins of castle that was currently under construction ( We still went in as per my host mom's persistance lol)

The Vistula river in all it's glory!

The palace of some of the royals of Poland

And last but not least, the town square :-)

Sunday has proved to be a pretty mellow day. I went to church with my host fam, witnessed my host brother's first driving lesson, and am currently prepping for a feast of a BBQ with my host family and their friends. 

Till next time...Happy Sunday folks :-)

Ps: FYI I do in fact miss all my friends and fam back home. I'm certainly counting down the days till I get to see everyone again!!