And what about work?

It should be noted that I do have a job here, and it keeps me fairly busy. Gallivanting around Poznan’s parks is just a perk of the gig.

My cooperating professors have been wonderful. Mike has really allowed me to be integrated into his class. All the assignments from Objectives in Proficiency (doesn’t that sound like an absolutely fascinating text?) are mine for the teaching. His instructions were to take what the book presents and to make it interesting. So, that gives me a good amount of room to play…as long as I stick with teaching by Mike’s format. There are times and instances that I really like the directness and simplicity of the way Mike has the students write…and there are days that it annoys me. Those days, I feel as though I am shoving the five paragraph essay down my students’ throats. And let’s face it, no one really wants that. But, as Lacey so eloquently put it, it’s not my class. Therefore, I am obligated to play by someone else’s rules. Sometimes, I am a little jealous of Fulbrighter Leanne and the eight classes she teaches solo…but those moments only last about 2.5 seconds. If nothing else, I get to suck up everything Mike has to teach about linguistics in general (this is where my inner geek rejoices). So, I play the game. And I really like my students. We’re finally starting to get to know one another, which makes my day much more enjoyable. They’re at the point where learning English is fun…and they can have fun with the language. (For more stories about random things in class, reference Maggie’s tandem partner Mirek who once asked to write a ransom letter for his assignment, and insisted that Americans eat “hot cheese” on Thanksgiving. He is one of my favorite people. Though, I am attempting to defer him from calling everything “retarded.” His vocabulary is better than that…though this task is proving more challenging than I originally thought.)

Last week, we were making the students do impromptu speeches (sort of like high school extemporaneous speaking). I gave one group the topic “which is better, cats or dogs?” and ended up with a three minute presentation which included a key point about “shit.” We then had a conversation about alternative language. For Mike’s class, the students are required to bring outlines and drafts of their writing assignments into the office to be checked over before they can continue working on each writing project. In the past few weeks, the students are beginning to frequent my office hours—nine of them stopped in on Tuesday. It’s a lot of work to go through that many outlines in an afternoon, but I truly do enjoy it. It’s like being back in the Cooper Center at Wesleyan…just without the candy jar.

Ann, my other cooperating prof, is completely different from working with Mike. She actually has a Master’s degree in Engineering from West Point. She and her husband are here for three years, so he can finish his dissertation. She and I are sort of navigating our way through the Polish university system together. She does the majority of the talking in class, with me sort of chiming in here and there. It’s a strange co-teaching dynamic…but it works for us. Plus, I have really enjoyed getting to know her. I’m spending Thanksgiving with her and her husband tomorrow…and a bunch of other Americans.

Marcin is still around. I met with him today, and we discussed all the exams I will help grade in late June as well as the class we’re teaching on Saturday. He also had a spread sheet of American sports metaphors that he had attempted to translate into some sort of Polish equivalent. He’s writing an article about it (in English) so I get to proofread that in the near future. I enjoy him. He’s definitely got the “scruffy, absent-minded professor” thing going on. I can always tell when he’s diligently working on something because he forgets to shave.

Maggie’s Polish is improving…slowly. Though, I did help a Romanian at the grocery store. I explained that he did not have a “Family Card,” the water on the conveyor belt was his, he needed a bag for his things, and that the bag cost 30 grosze. If nothing else, I get by.