Another Thursday in Poland

There is a name for Thanksgiving Day in Polish: czwartek (Thursday).

Several of my students wished Mike and I a happy Thanksgiving...but that was about it. Most of them knew about this holiday from watching American TV, but there is no formal recognition of the day. Why should there be? It is, after all, a strictly American holiday.

I was lucky enough that Ann and her husband Eric invited me to attend a Thanksgiving dinner with them. There is a Mr. Gamble (as in Proctor and Gamble) living here in Poznań. He's been here for 17 years, and annually hosts this dinner for as many Americans as he can find. He invited all the military folks in the city (which includes Ann and Eric) and they asked to bring me along. There were about 35-40 people there; most were either military (Most of whom were associated with the F16 fighter jets Poland has purchased from the US. Part of the contract involves US engineers and pilots training Polish soldiers to operate and maintain this machinery.) or from Mr. Gamble's church connections. Needless to say it was an interesting group. To add to the "interestingness," Mr. Gamble assigned everyone a number which correlated to the table he or she was supposed to sit at. Then we got new numbers for dessert. It was fun to talk with everyone...though I really don't understand why some have chosen to be missionaries in Poland; the country is saturated with religion already. In any case, it was nice to spend Thanksgiving with a group of people and enjoy turkey and a semi-traditional meal (though there was apple cake instead of pumpkin pie). I met a few people I will hopefully keep in contact with. One asked me to come to her elementary school classroom. Perhaps, I can teach them the Moose Song...

On Friday Night, Ann and Eric invited me to a party at their apartment in honor of Eric's military promotion. He is now a Major in the US Army. Both Ann and Eric are West Point graduates (as is their friend Matt, who is an F16 pilot--ironically, they all graduated the same year, knew one another in college, and are now in Poland together), and Eric served in Afghanistan while Ann was in Iraq. Eric is now a Ph.D candidate in the history department at Adam Mickiewicz University on an Army scholarship. This party was a combination promotion/thanksgiving celebration. Last year, Ann and Eric hosted a Thanksgiving and invited the only people they knew in Poznań: their Realtor and the guy who sold them their car. This year they were really excited to invite about 12 people over--including me. I enjoyed meeting their friends, and of course, their Realtor and car salesman. Eric also made a pumpkin pie--from a real pumpkin. He spent a portion of the night calling himself lepszy mąż w świecie (best husband in the world).

Saturday was my evening class with Marcin...and the group that refuses to talk. It's truly like pulling teeth to get them to make a comment. Marcin asked me to teach report writing, since that is their main writing assignment for the course. I went over the basics, and then we made a group outline for a report "regarding the quality of 203B as a learning environment." Since we had been in that room for over five hours, I thought they would have an opinion. I was half right...I started wandering the room and sitting on tables in order to get them to talk. I think the only place I really use my Theatre degree (or at least the acting classes I had to take) is when I'm teaching.

Then, after class, I met Fulbrighter Steve for dinner with a Polish woman who teaches English. We had a nice visit with her, and she fed us ridiculously well. The night cumulated with Steve and I sprinting through a little park behind Ms. Flintstone's house trying to catch the night tram. We missed it by two minutes...but the sight of us running as fast as possible with our book bags and trying not to trip had to be rather ridiculous.

In light of the holiday, I feel the need to list the things I am thankful for...because that is what one is supposed to do on Thanksgiving.

• The opportunity to be here and have this position. Fulbright is both an honor, and in my opinion, a responsibility. I think the fact that I almost didn't have this opportunity makes it that much sweeter.
• My parents--without them, I would be absolutely lost.
• Skype
• My tandem partner Mirek. He has held my hand and guided me through Polish grammar...and he answers all my stupid questions. Plus, he basically volunteered to be my friend on day one--no questions asked.
• The Christmas lights I can see from my room--they make me happy.
• Ann and Eric for taking me under their wing.
  
• The parks in Poznan
  
• The women of the House of Insanity.
  
• Polish instant soup--the dinner of champions (or Fulbrighters on a budget)

It should also be noted that my baby brother turned 19 yesterday.
Yes--he thinks he is that cool.