Suffiently Oriented

I am pleased to report that I have survived orientation...all 10 days of it. So now, I am anxious to actually begin my position as an English Teaching Assistant. However, nothing will really start until Monday, so I have the next few days to myself. There are some meetings I am supposed to attend...and I need to get my stove fixed. Other than that, the business of orientation week has subsided. There is a lot to blog about, so let the fun begin:

I shall begin my introducing my new friends, the 2009-20010 US Fulbright Fellows to Poland. On Sept. 16th, we gathered at the US Embassy in Warsaw for a briefing (and several lectures on security, visas, medical insurance, etc.). Afterward, we had a small "luncheon" at the ambassador's house...though there was no real food, just random finger food scattered around the room. We were all rather disappointed in that--we thought the US government would care enough to provide a real meal. Anyway, here's the group photo taken with the ambassador.
There is a slide-show of the entire reception here. It includes a wonderful photo of Robert from Ohio and I discussing Fight Club (mostly the book, which we both believe to be significantly better than the film. Though, it should be noted that I am not knocking the movie. It has both Brad Pitt and Edward Norton--no reason to complain.). And just as a strange side-note: Robert is Larry McClain's (an NWU English professor) double ganger. They look alike, both have written papers on Fight Club and sexuality, and they have a very unique, slightly off-beat sense of humor that makes me smile. So in conclusion: Robert is cool; Fight Club is awesome; I need more Flannery O'Connor in my life.

Moving on...After we finished in Warsaw, the majority of the group (with the exception of the three senior Fulbrighters who had either grown up in Poland or spent their PhD studies in the country, and therefore, were not in need of orientation) took a bus to Poznań, where we spent the next 10 days attending language classes, lectures, and taking small field trips. It should be noted that the group was devided into three categories of grantees: Senior Lectures, Junior Fulbrighters, and ETAs. The Seniors have PhD and make more money than the rest of us shmucks. The Juniors are cunducting independent research and are associated with some intitute, university, or other organization (ie. an NGO). And the ETAs are assigned to a faculty at a univeristy (I'm in the Institute of Linguistics) where we assist in some way with English teaching.

And now, it's picture time. Field trip to Ostów Tumski (the Cathedral Island):
Here was have Radio Dave (who will be making a radio documentary in Warsaw--he's worked for NPR, which is rather cool) using his broadcasting voice to explain why the Cathedral is pretty. Or he's just talking. I don't know; I just like the picture.
Over the weekend, the university rented a bus and took the group to a few of the smaller surrounding cities. This is the open-air museum in Dziekanowice. It's basically a Polish version of the Sturh Museum in Grand Island, Nebraska.
And then we took a short trip to small island outside Gniezno to see the remains of a medieval church and a small museum. We had to take a ferry across the river to get to the island. Leanne was very excited to be on a boat while wearing her flippy-floppies (if that reference goes over your head, then you don't watch enough SNL).
A Polish flag on the island.
The Cathedral in Biskupin.
We stopped at a Rennisance fair on the way back to Poznań.
There was a firetruck there, just in case the fort burned down.
As I mentioned earlier, my window faces east. So here's the Sunday morning sunrise. There's also a church just down the road from my dorm, so I hear the bells every hour during the day. I like it; it reminds my of being home in Ashton.
The castle in Kórnik.
Wandering through the arboretum outside the castle.
This is Barkley and his son Langston (Langston's sister's name is Zora--all African American Lit/History geeks rejoice). Langston spent the day with us on Sunday as we explored the castle and the surrounding parks. He was specifically on the look-out for ghosts. Here, he'd gotten bored with the park, and was occupying himself by making smiley faces on his dad's head with leaves. Later, he stood up on the bench and was asking everyone if they pronounced "depart" da-part or de-part. Very cool kid.
Me at the mannor house in Rogalin.
The oldest oaks in Poland. I found it rather ironic that the trees were being held up by wooden poles--one tree was sacrificed to save another.

After our weekend of traveling, we returned for more lectures and Polish lessons. We learned about everything from Polish Foreign Policy to Polish History to the University system and the changes it is undergoing. My personal favorite lecture was in regards to Polish Cinema. Instead of just talking at us about the history of Polish Cinema, the prof showed us several short films. My personal favorite was this early Roman Polanski film that he made as a student in Łodz. It was shot in Gdansk and Sopot in the early 1950s. The music was composed by the same guy who did the score for Rosemary's Baby. Two Men and a Wardrobe

Here's the intermediate Polish class (basically, anyone who had previously had some form of Polish instruction, but didn't grow up speaking the language) with our teacher and certificates of competion. It's very kindergraten granduation--I like it. On my left is Mike from Kansas; we represent the Midwest very well.
A few shots taken just outside Poznań's old town. On the left is the firestation.

And that's all for now. I am meeting with my mentor in the next few days and we're trying to get the details of my position here worked out. I'll post more details in the very near future.