Meanderings

It's been busy here...and rainy. But the rain is a different is issue. I've dubbed Poznań "The Seattle of Poland," even though that's not really fair. It's rainy throughout the country.

Besides the weather, things have been going well here; I'm finally finding my footing with my job. And I'm really enjoying the people that I work with. My cooperating teachers have been allowing me quite a bit of say in the way classes are run. I was completely in charge of the English 2 lesson this week. The students have to write a review in English, so we practiced by making group presentations regarding popular films. Though none of the groups chose an Elvis film, I think it was, as a whole, a success.

I also began working with Marcin and his Saturday class this last week. The class begins at 3:00 and runs until 8:00. Marcin and I met at 2:00 for lunch and to discuss the plan for the day. So, as you can imagine, by the time 8:00pm rolled around, we were really tired. This class is quite differant from my other four. These are either what US universities think of as "non-traditional" students or students who are trying to make-up for classes they didn't complete last year. As a whole, they're far less advanced than the "day students" (aka "traditional students") I work with.

As the "loyal blog readers" can probably tell, this experience in Poland has been very different than the last time I was here. This time, I feel as though I actually live here--I'm not trapped inside a "study abroad" bubble. I've made a few Polish friends who try and make me speak Polish whenever possible (My vocabulary is still really limited, so these conversations are usually limited to me telling about myself, what I am interested in, and sharing the fact that I got a postcard in the mail today. I can also ask people what they like, are interested in, etc.). My friend Mirek is constantly reminding me that "There is no silent "e" in Polish! Say n-y-e. It's the most important word!"

Moving on...I have photos!

I've been carrying my camera around and just taking random pictures of the places I wander. Here's the Poznań skyline, taken on my way home.
Ulica Neiszewska leading away from my dorm on a sunny morning.
This is my favorite bakery in the city. It's on Ulica Krańcowa on my way to the tram station. Post-midnight, a passerby on the street can smell the next day's supply of goodies baking. Though when living in Poland, it is important to remember that time spent in the bakery is directly prortional to how well one's pants fit.
Isn't Poznań pretty? The leave here are just beautiful. My friend Ela was going through my camera the other day and started laughing because I had many more pictures of trees than I had of people.
This is the stop on Ulica Fredry where I get off the tram and walk to my institute at the Collegium Novum. The Collegium Mauis where I have Polish lessons is on the left. This part of the city has a very 1940s German feel to it.

Poster translation by Blake Simpson: "The Jackson family needs more money."
This is the front of the Collegium Maius. I like how the tree is really the only color in the photo--tis rather representative of Poland. Plus, it makes me feel like I live in an old Hollywood movie.
This is my friend Ela from Wisconsin and my friend/tutor/student Mirek (He's in one of the classes that I teach. He would like to teach Polish as a foreign language when he is done with school, so he offered to be my tutor.) This is a "typical" Polish lesson: ice cream and Hurrah Po Polsku!This is the park across the street from my institute. Sometimes I go hang out there between classes. I like these stairs--they make for good photo opportunities.
And now (drum roll please) for more pictures of people! Ela and I coordinated a pumpkin carving evening with our Polish friends...unfortunately, they all had class until 8:00pm. So, we made pasta. Fulbrighter Steve joined us as well; however, you will not be seeing Steve. He is very good at escaping photo opportunities.
Halloween is not widely practiced in Poland. Actually, Marcin went off on a huge rant a few days ago about how he thinks both Halloween and Valentine's Day are stupid. There are a few signs of Americanism creeping into Poznań, but for the most part there is no true Halloween recognition. All Saints Day is the big holiday--and I will have much more to say about that after Sunday--and October 31 means nothing. It's interesting that the Poles observe the more somber holiday, but actually use it to accomplish a huge task (tidying the cemetaries).

Random "something differant from the US info": Pumpkins are sold by the kilo here. And you can even buy quarters of a pumpkin in the grocery store, just like we buy hunks of watermelon. Cooking, not carving, is the main use of pumpkins here.

Mirek had never carved pumpkins. Here's the before shot:
This may be why Mirek's mother never encouraged jack o'lanturn making.
This is my friend Marzena and her roommate Agniszka. Marzena is the sweetest person you could even hope to meet. She took me to a regge concert last week, and we meet for tea at least once a week to chat. She helps me with Polish and I read her English papers.
Finished pumpkins!The carving group, minus Mirek's unfinished creation and Fulbrighter Steve.
Marzena rode the bus and carried her pumpkin all the way back to our dorm with the candle lit. She said it was just too pretty to blow out.

In other news, I met with the coordinators of the Young Linguists' Conference which will be held in Poznań in the spring. I basically volunteered myself to help organize the shindig, and they were quite eager to accept my offer. However, they explained that actual group meetings won't begin until December, but right now they really need to advertise. They're next question went something like this, "we're assuming you have friends, right?" I really wanted to say "No. And I don't even like linguistics. I'm just lonely." But I am too nice to ever be such a sarcastic smart-ass (mędrase po polsku). I offered to e-mail my people...and by "people" I mean Lacey, Alicia, and Dr. Wolfe (aka The Ravenna Professor). If anyone has the opportunity to "actively encourage" Lacey and Alicia to submit work to this conference, I would greatly appreciate the help. Anymore, they tell me where to go and change the subject.

Thank you for listening to my rambling about a conference I am overly excited about. As a reward, here's a shot of the cathedral on my way home tonight.
Last post, I mentioned that the House of Insanity was finally recognized by NWU. Well, I think many people will be relieved to know that thanks to skype, the insanity continues across oceans and times zones.
Look ma! I updated my blog.