Hey Everyone,
So, this afternoon, I will be off to an event (which will be talked about in my next entry), but time for a new blog entry now!
First, my classes are over for this week, and I believe they went quite well. The picture is of the guys in my oldest class working together to answer questions, as I have them do every day at the start of class (except for Friday since it was a review day.)
On Friday, for both the middle and oldest groups, I did a revised version of the game fishbowl to review. For this, I had a bunch of vocab words that I wrote out on flash cards and went through them in 3 rounds. In the first round, the kids could say anything in Polish, but no motion. In the second round, they could do motion and sounds, but no words. Finally, in the third and last round, they couldn't do any motions, and could only speak in English (except couldn't say the word.) I think it worked pretty well.
Thursday afternoon, I went to an outdoor classical music concert with my host family that was quite nice. They did songs from different Polish operas that were apaprently quite funny (or so I was told.)
Yesterday afternoon (Friday) I went into the main town in the area, Sanok (more on this later) and then played volleyball with my host family and some relatives. I have to say, playing volleyball just before the thunderstorms come in such that all the bugs are out is not a very good idea. I know that I inhaled at least one bug, ate a couple more, and had a couple fly into my nose. Also, I managed to lightly sprain my left thumb (because it is that double jointed.) Otherwise, it was a very fun game, and I rather enjoyed it.
So, a couple of entries ago, I promised to make some remarks on Polish culture and Poland in general, so now is my chance to do so. I will just go through a couple of observations that have occured to me or that I have reached through talking to Polish people (especially my host sister.)
First, a few notes on Polish roads, especially considering that a few Polish people have apologized to me for the conditions of Polish roads. However, in my opinion, the condition of Polish roads, on average, is better than in the United States (which shocks Polish people.) The real difference is in the different kinds of roads. Whereas in the US, there are many freeways or at least expressways, almost main roads in Poland are just one lane in each direction. In fact, these roads are very narrow (making the bus ride on them a bit scary.) Although there usually is not too much traffic, on such roads (that go through all the city centers) there is only a certain slower speed one can go. Then, for other less important roads (even if they are heavily used), there are undivided even narrower roads, such as the one below. These are the most common roads, and are by far the most scary to be on as cars go 35-40 mph past each other (just like the left lane on the Golden Gate Bridge.) Furthermore, since these roads go to many of the small (and even meduim sized) villages, there are trucks and buses. In fact, yesterday, while going and comming back from the concert, there was a really bad car accident of two cars running into each other on this kind of road. Lastly, there is a lot of construction happening on Polish roads which can be seen everywhere, in large part due to the fact Poland is co-hosting the 2012 Euro with Ukraine. The following picture is of the road just outside my host family's house (you can notice two things: the good condition of the road, and how narrow it is for two cars to pass each other.)
Next, a few notes on the Polish bus system, which I had a long experience with when taking the 5 hour bus ride from Krakow to a town near where I am now. For me, as an American, I find the number of buses available in rural Poland just incredible, and especially the fact that almost all of the companies are privately owned! It is amazing that there is such demand for buses that private companies can fill in the void even in rural areas. Hence, students are able to go to school by regular bus no matter where they live. Also, it makes being able to drive less necessary compared with many parts of the US. The following picture is of a bus in the small town I teach in (Poraz, about 1,200 people) going on one of these street-sized roads (along with road contruction in the background).
Before my last thought, I just wanted to write a quick word about the influence of communism in current day Poland. The most obvious effect of communism is with the old communist apartment buildings/flats that can be seen everywhere around the rims of city, including in the photo of Sanok below (where I will be staying in a hostel next weekend.) So far, the most interesting thing about the communist-style housing is how it went out of use immediately after communism ended, but is now beginning to make a comeback with the new apartment buildings being build, especially around Krakow. The picture below includes some of the buildings built in the 1960s and 1970s. Also, in the background, you can see the Bieszczady mountains.
Lastly, I have had several conversations with different people about whether Poland is a developing country or not. My inclination is to say that Poland is most definitely a developed country, but my host sister classified it as a developing country. During these conversations, I came to the realization that it was imporant to define 'developing country' in order to properly classify Poland. So parting question is, 'What is a developing country?'
-Andrew
(Note: I picked blogger over wordpress so that anyone can comment, so answer the question/comment away!)
I like your lesson plans. Perhaps you should teach me a few Polish phrases by the time you're back with that method.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the pictures you took. Poland's quite scenic.
Lastly, let's hear more about these Polish operas! I've avoided answer your socio-political questions because I have no idea how to answer them.
Good to see you taking note of everything you're experiencing over there. It sounds like the Poles have a little bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to their roads, their economy, etc. Have you talked with many of them about the fact that you're Jewish? That was one of the most striking things about my time in Latvia teaching English: the rather broad range (to put it nicely) of views about the Jews...
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the detail about the roads. One reason that they are in better condition is perhaps due to their infrequent use, at least compared to many American roads. Buses likely do not chew the asphalt as thoroughly as heavy trucks. Country roads in America that are not major truck routes are likely in similar good condition. American truck and vehicular traffic can be overwhelming! I love the photo of quiet country roads (even though the narrowness can be hazardous) - something we often enjoy when we travel outside major urban areas.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the blog entries chock full of information and observations!
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ReplyDeleteI'd be curious to find out how much the government subsidizes the private busses. There must be some main bus union that makes the deals necessary to not charge large amounts to each passenger.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of music do they play on those busses?
Victor:
ReplyDeleteYes Poland is very scenic. At some point, I will be able to go to the nearby Bieszcady mountains, which I am very much looking forward to.
Nate:
The fact that my ancestors from Poland were Jewish is not something that I mention, but if asked (very rarely) will will answer. A few points to make on Jews in Poland, however. First, the general feeling I get is that Poles tend to see the situation now as the Jews left some time in the past, and it is not something to really worry about. For example, many of the opld synagogues were converted for other uses during communism, which is just the way it is. Although there are some skinheads (who kill any Polish people on trains and so forth), most Polish people strongly resent this behavior (as in any country.) Second, with respect to Auschwitz, the tour guide was always very pointed about the fact that 90% of the people killed were Jews, but he also wanted to make sure people knew about all the different people kept at the camp. This is also partially because the Jews were not as well kept track of because often they were sent directly to the gas chamber from the trains, meaning that the people who actually spent time at Auschwitz were far less likely to be Jews.
Steven:
I'm not sure about subsidies, although I believe they are likely very minimal. I tend to see these different bus lines as a bunch of different Greyhound lines. Unfortunately, no music, just like Greyhound.
I look forward to more questions!