Płock (Pwonsk)

Hello from Ciechanów!!!!


I am going on day 2 with my host family.  It has been a little awkward, but it has also been getting better with each meal that goes by.  Muni and I really get to talk during our meals so we get to know each other much better, and I feel a lot more comfortable around him and Diana.  


Muni- father
Izabela- mother

Diana- daughter (my age)

Milena-daughter (also my age)


Diana and Milena are in college and live in Warsaw.  Diana just happens to be home for the weekend.  Izabela just got home today; we went to pick her up at her teaching conference.  She had to give exams.


Anyway, today, Muni, Diana, and I went to Płock, which is about an hour away.  We went to visit a cathedral there that was built in the 13th century.  It was stunning!  It was huge!  It had a lot of interesting paintings on the walls and ceilings; the dome was massive.  There was a door of the church that was stolen by the Russians during WWII that was made in the 12th century; so the church made a replica of the door because the original was stolen.  It was kind of cool to see it--I wish I could have seen the real one from the 12th century!!


  After we looked around the church, we decided to walk through town.  It was a very gray day, but it was nice to walk around the shops.  Most were closed on account of it's Saturday (Sobota).  Then, we went to pick up Izabela in the town near by.  We actually got lost a lot because Muni isn't familiar with the town! 


We met Izabela, who speaks very little English, along with some of her teacher friends who also speak very little English.  We had dinner at a hostel, where Izabela was staying.  I felt pretty isolated during dinner since everyone was speaking Polish.  It was a strange feeling that I didn't like.  I picked up a word or two every once in a while, but I was mostly in the dark.  I guess I'll just have to learn more Polish while I'm here!


We got home around 8:30, and I called my parents and chatted for a while.  It was splendid.  I've been watching Glee to remind me of home so I don't get too homesick :)  


I asked Muni if I could get a shower, and he told me I don't need to ask because I'm a part of the family.  It was so nice to hear him say that I was part of his family.  It made me feel very welcome and warm.  Tomorrow I hope to go to church with Izabela!


Love,
Katie

Ciechnów (Chee-hahn-oov)

Hello all!!!! I am finally back on my blog!  I have been TRAVELING all over Poland this past week!  I didn't bring my computer, so I wasn't able to update much.

I decided to make a video blog for this entry instead of typing out a week's worth of journal entries!
It's kind of long, so just be prepared for that!  :)

I couldn't upload it here, so I put it on Facebook...check it out!


Love,
Kasia

Maków (Ma-koov)

Hello!!!

I am in Maków right now, the home town of our coordinator, Ola.  We are staying at the boarding school owned by Ola's mother.  They have been treating us like royalty with the meals.  There is so much food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner it's unbelievable!  Everything I have tasted I have absolutely loved.  


Today, we made our own dinner--pierogies! It was delightful.  We had ricotta cheese in half, and then blueberries in the other half.  So really we made dinner AND dessert!  And if I do say so myself, they were delicious.  It was so much fun making them in a big group.  There are 15 volunteers, so we had quite a kitchen goin'!  Not to mention the five Polish women teaching us!  How do they look?!

We also starting learning Polish today which of course was amazing!  I feel so much more confident now.  I think we all feel a lot better about our ability, not to mention the fact that we can practice with each other now! Polish is such a beautiful language, and it really makes me feel connected to my family's history.  I cannot WAIT to speak to my Dad and grandparents in Polish!


Something interesting and mildly hilarious that happened was when some of us girls went on a walk after dinner.  We were walking past a small circus, and as other people were walking away from it, there was a group of middle school aged boys.  I started hearing little thuds here and there, and when we looked back, we saw them throwing apples or tomatoes at us!  They threw a few more, but we got out of throwing distance soon.  It was pretty interesting.


So that was my spectacular second day in Poland!  All of the other volunteers are great--we are all getting along very well!  Tomorrow, Gdańsk.  I can't really tell you how to pronounce on here, I'd just have to say it! 


Love,
Kasia

Warszwa (Vor-sha-va)

Friday, June 24th

Hello all!  I have OFFICIALLY made it to Poland!!!!  It has been one long day...and it isn't over.  It is only 2:05pm here, six hours ahead of the US.  I basically lost a night's sleep because I couldn't sleep on the plane or the bus we rode to get to the boarding school.  Also, my carry-on bag had to be checked in Germany (our layover), but no one put it on the plane.  So, my carry-on is in Germany right now.  I'll get it back tomorrow (I hope!).  On the plus side, we just finished an amazing lunch with potato soup, mashed potatoes, little fried pork balls, cucumber salad, and strawberry pastries.  I am so full and sleepy!

We'll be at the boarding school for two days (including today), then we're headed to Gdansk which is by the shore!!!!!  Then we'll go to the Lake District for two days, then back to the boarding school.  By next Friday, our host families will come to pick us up!!!!

I am still in shock to the fact that I am in Poland.  I'm so tired that it's hard to really feel any excitment or bewilderment just yet.  I think once things get goin', I'll settle into where I am.  So far, I have loved hearing all of the Polish being spoken around me--it reminds me of my family. 

Anyway, I will update as much as possible.  We're all going into town shortly to get some essentials and I'll get a cell phone.

Love ,
Kasia

Four Days

Hello and WELCOME! to my very own BLOG.


If you did not guess already, this will be my blog for...you guessed it (hopefully by now) POLAND! 
My clever name for the blog may have confused some of you.*


Anyway, I now have four days until departure!  I leave THIS Thursday at 3:40pm.  I need to pack still...well I mean....finish packing.  I need to find out about my cell phone coverage so I can call people while I am abroad! Speaking of people, if you'd like me to send you a postcard while I am there, please email me your address!  Now, I am not making any promises, because it may be expensive, but hey, I say why not just give me your address anyway?!  My email is just my first and last name @gmail.com.


So far here is what I know about my host families (I will be staying with 3):


Muni--  Muni is the English teacher at the school where I will be teaching.  He is from Sri Lanka which means he cooks a lot of rice and curry (he told me this).  He has lived in Poland for 33 years and has a Polish wife named Izabella.  He has two daughters that are my age, studying in Warsaw.  He also has a dog named Mika.  


Jozef--  Jozef has five kids; three are in "college" and two are at home.  Tomasz (Pronounced "Tomash) and Ewa (Eh-va), ages 16 and 15 respectively.  Jozef speaks very little English, while his kids speak a lot of English.  He is the religion teacher at the school.  I am hoping by the time I get here, I will have learned some Polish from Muni and Izabella!


Katarzyna--  Kasia (which is Katie in Polish) has a husband and one son, Mikołaj (Mee-ko-why).  Mikołaj is 15 years old.  Kasia is the Principal at the school where I will be teaching.  I talked to her last Wednesday or Thursday over Facebook chat!  She seems so wonderful.  She gave me A LOT of information about where I'm staying and what I'll be doing.  I feel so much better about going now that I know more about it!


So, that's what I know so far. I will be in a town called Ciechanów (chech-a-nov) which has about 50,000 people.  It is in North Central Poland, 60 miles away from the capital, Warsaw.


I'll keep everyone updated through my blog.  Check in for updates and pictures!






*I will probably include sarcasm in every entry.