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 have 4 classes (age 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15+), and the oldest group has been the hardest to teach. 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.

Can’t wait to see you all on Friday! Safe travels!

-Nick

Advertisement