Week 13-14: Monday 3rd – Sunday 16th May 2010

A few weeks ago I said that time was flying in…I had no idea what it meant for time to fly back then! These past few weeks have gone by so quickly that I’m actually confused about how I have come to be at this date in time. Honestly, I’m so confused. I think my problem is that I’ve been thinking ahead a lot to the future and what I’m doing this summer. Last week I was busy with university work much of the time as I had a presentation on Thursday. I’ve been in school for a few weeks now although I still haven’t really got into a rhythm with teaching or with a particular class.


In school on my 13th week here I taught a couple of lessons. On Wednesdays I am with Grade 5 and their topic at the minute is to do with children around the world so I taught a lesson on Afghanistan! I learned so much myself. I find the style of teaching that the children are used to very difficult to work with. I had two hours probably to teach and I was surprised to find that we actually filled that whole time. At home I am very used to neat little sections of time where there is some teaching time followed by the children working on something – usually on worksheets or from textbooks. What I’m doing here requires more effort and allows a lot of time for children to discuss and ask questions. It is not so divided up into different subject areas as at home so this allows more flexibility throughout the day. Having said that, the children have separate Maths lessons with a different teacher, and on Friday I took a Maths lesson. It was really good because I had the class to myself for the first time as there was no one else to cover the lesson (so I got it!).


Last Friday night I went out with a large group of Erasmus ones for a spontaneous night out. We had dinner in an unusually themed restaurant with waiters dressed as aliens and loud music you would expect to hear in horror films…which was slightly strange…however we had a good night together. The following evening I went out with the Spanish ones to the ‘Dragon’ and got back home very late, but it was such a lovely, funny evening. I love those people!









On Sunday of last week I visited the Botanical Gardens here with Asta. I love gardens so I enjoyed it a lot! It was a great chance to get to know Asta and to help her with her English too.



This week I really did very little due to the presentation I was working on. However, on Tuesday I had an exciting trip across Poland to the capital, Warsaw, where I met up with some Northern Irish girls from Stranmillis. It was a great day. The weather was good and the company was better! It was nice to be able to catch up with some people from home, especially as they had also been on Erasmus. We spent much time comparing our experiences and talking about how they have changed our lives. Interestingly, we’ve had some similar experiences and learned similar things, but I think the main thing to note is that everyone seems to have learned so much. We saw some of the main sights in Warsaw but we spent so much time talking that we didn’t have all that long since I had to leave quite early in the evening. However, I didn’t mind! It was just so nice to be with people who know the ‘world’ that I come from and discuss things with them. Going on Erasmus certainly has quite an impact on your life.


On Thursday evening we had a birthday to celebrate! So, after a shopping trip for some presents, we headed to another student dorm to Ainara’s birthday party. I hadn’t seen this group of Erasmus ones as much recently so it was great to hang out with them all again. We’ve all been busier and I’ve been with different people so sometimes it feels like I’m just visiting them again, but I’m glad that I know lots of people in Poznan. I have to be thankful for that.



On Saturday I was invited to a graduation! A Polish friend of ours had Cris and me as her guests as her family couldn’t make it. It was quite an honour really to be asked to something so special and it was my first time at a graduation so it was really nice to be there. We had a lovely day. Well, that was just the morning! The rest of the day turned out to be quite busy too. In the afternoon I went shopping for a bit and went out for coffee with a friend before going around some of the museums in the city.
It was a special night where all the museums were free to enter and they were all open until about 1am. It was a crazy night because the local football team had won a very important match as well, so that, along with all the people who were out to visit the museums, made for a VERY busy city centre! There were so many people everywhere. I really enjoyed the day because I spent time with so many different people. After the museums we met up with some other friends and then whilst getting some dinner (at 1am) we met more Erasmus students. I love it when you randomly bump into people in the streets, and although it happens to me quite often at home, I never expected it to happen here. Now that it does, I feel even more at home!


So, I’m still having an interesting, enjoyable time here. I’m learning lots and have been challenged more and more about my life. This has been a very necessary experience for me to have and I’m very glad I’ve taken it. Now the only difficulty will be going back to the world that I came from in Northern Ireland and applying what I’ve learned here to that situation. I think there will be a bit of a culture shock going back actually, although, I’m going to Spain for a while between Poland and home which I think will help ease the transition! …Do widzenia!

Week 12: Monday 26th April – Sunday 2nd May 2010

This week I experienced what it is like to be busy again. It is a well known fact that Erasmus students are usually not overburdened by academic work to allow time for their personal development and for experiencing new cultures, languages, people, etc. However, as the end of semester draws nigh, I find myself with a larger workload and less time in which to complete it. The key to success is good time management and not getting stressed. I’m failing on at least one of those already (the former!). This week I began teaching in school, I collected assignment titles, I began preparing presentations and I realised that I need to be careful with my time now, especially as there are still many places I’d like to visit and discover in Poland and in neighbouring countries in the 6 weeks I have left. I am learning that I have not appreciated my country and my island back home and am now actually quite excited to return and discover it! At the beginning of the week I read a lot of material about Northern Ireland because I was preparing for a presentation that I have to do for one of my classes on my home country and in school the first lesson I taught was on N. Ireland. I learned SO much this week about things that I should already know!

I have one class in the week which continues to be useful to my future career – didactics of science. In this class I feel like I’m back in Stran’ whilst making telephones out of paper cups and string and ‘experimenting’ with different fabrics! The class is in English just for me so sometimes the other classmates speak in Polish and the worksheets are always in Polish but it is such a practical subject that it is fine, especially as the teacher tries to speak in English the entire time. I’m happy to be in a class with Polish people as all of my other classes consist of other foreigners as they are all taught in English. I think I am also useful to the class because I can help them with their English.



On Tuesday I thought about Northern Ireland all day!! During the day I met with my group to discuss our presentation on Northern Ireland. The class has a lot of Spanish people and actually quite a lot of Poles as well, but we had to form groups of four…so, as I am the only person from Northern Ireland, I got some Polish girls and a Spanish one to bulk up my group! I am excited to present my country to the class which is the Sociology of Multiculturalism, a very multicultural class indeed. The presentation is supposed to be on multiculturalism in N. Ireland, however, with quite a significant lack thereof (it is something like 99% White Christian), we may have to go down a different route for the main content of our presentation. It is so nice to see other people researching and studying your own country. Later on that evening I was preparing for my first lesson with G5 (P7) which was on N. Ireland as their theme at the minute is ‘Finding peaceful solutions to conflict (and the privilege of a good education) leads to a better quality of human life’. Northern Ireland seemed like a good introduction to the topic. I should mention at this point that the school is hugely focused on ‘topic-based’ learning. The children learn almost everything through whichever topic they are studying at a given time. Every ‘subject’ relates to the topic as far as is possible.



Every Wednesday I’ll be in school from now until I leave. School starts at 8am so that means me leaving the flat at 07.20, catching a tram at 07.27 and a bus at 07.48! (However, this will change from now on as a great neighbour from Church has offered to drive me to school everyday...and so the benefits of meeting the locals continues!!) The first thing I thought when I first made this journey was that I couldn’t believe how many people were up at this time of the morning…clearly I have been disillusioned to the reality of early starts by the student life! At this time of the morning it is difficult for me to get on the tram. Sometimes you have to force your way in the door! Once at school I think I spent nearly a couple of hours teaching my lesson. There is certainly not as much structure as in the classrooms at home. Because of the importance of topic learning, you don’t have the rigidity of subject separation so I had a long time to talk to the children about N. Ireland. It was so exciting to teach other people about my country. I had such a good time doing it and the children in my class were really eager to ask questions and discuss things and could do so for a long time! The school day finishes at 3.20pm for G5, so in total, one hour and 20 minutes longer than primary children are in school at home. For me, this is crazy. It is too long. The children get a 5 minute break between each 45minute ‘session’ but personally I think it only disrupts them more and lengthens the time they have to spend in school. Also, they are only allowed outside once a day for half an hour at lunchtime and if it rains they are forbidden. At primary school I was forced out no matter what the weather! I think it is connected with the fact it is a private school and the children being slightly overprotected. The discipline procedure in the school is minimal, mainly amounting to some marbles which are passed from one container labelled ‘teacher’ to another labelled ‘pupils’! The aim for the pupils is to fill their container by behaving in an acceptable manner because if they do they win a prize. I don’t think I’ll be in the school long enough to judge its effectiveness. Being from ‘Ireland’ people generally expect me to play Irish music because I play the flute! So at the end of my lesson I played some traditional Irish music for the children in class. It was very funny. I wasn’t great but the children were encouraging nonetheless! I like this type of music now and I want to get better at playing it but it is very fast paced and will require lots of practice! That evening I had a few visitors and the briefly attended a birthday celebration in my kitchen for some friends before helping another friend with English.

On Thursdays I have a couple of classes: Statistics (which I still enjoy lots) and Environmental Sociology which is a little less fun, although I’m sure some people will be wondering why Statistics is ‘fun’…but it is! Later on I discovered a new part of the city, found a new supermarket store and ate some lasagne outside in the park by the pond with a friend. And, yes, the weather was nice enough to have dinner outside!

In school on Friday I was mainly with Grade 3 who are a fun little class but could do with staying in their seats more and talking less! For some reason, though, I enjoy being in with them and look forward to taking some lessons. On Fridays I’m still not quite sure where to be because it’s not like Wednesdays when I am with one class all day. On Fridays I take G2 for readings and will do so on a regular basis, and then I get to leave a little early at 2.15pm. The rest of the day I just observed but next week I will start teaching on Fridays too. On Friday night we were planning to go camping but then the weather seemed as if it wouldn’t be in our favour so we changed our plans for the weekend. I went to Tesco to stock up before the holidays in Poland but I was also feeling a little sick so I needed some medication and an early night.

Saturday was Labour Day holiday in Poland so everyone was off work and all the shops were closed (hence the late night shopping trip to Tesco the previous evening). It was a lovely day and it was a good job too because we had planned to go for a day trip. We got on a 1950s style bus and headed off to a destination near Kornik where we visited a 14th century castle and toured the extensive grounds of its park-arboretum. I went with 4 Spaniards so the day was at least useful for my Spanish but, after a long time, it gets tiring trying to understand/not understanding! It was a very good day nonetheless. After lunch in the park and the trip home I went out to a park in Poznan and sat and read for an hour or two. At 8.30pm the same group, plus a few extra Spaniards, started out for a Chinese restaurant. We arrived at 9.45pm (lol) because it was difficult to find somewhere that was open on this holiday and we just kept walking until we found one that was! We enjoyed a lovely Chinese together but as I was feeling a little unwell again and had an early start the next day I didn’t hang about long.

I was supposed to be in Church on Sunday at 08.10 to set up for the service and to practice...I arrived at 08.45, but it was OK! I was playing my flute in the band on Sunday so we practised for some time before the service began at 10am. The service itself was a little different as we had people share their experiences of the previous Sunday when they were out serving. After International Church we stayed for the Polish Church which I get translated directly to my headphones. It is a great system for non-Polish speakers and I love attending the Church so I’m thankful for it. It was a little longer than usual so we didn’t leave until after 2pm which meant I had been in Church for about 5 hours! Afterwards I went to Cris’s for lunch and spent some time there. Last Sunday was possibly my favourite day in Poland so far because of our visit to the nursing home in the morning and the Baptism in the evening. It was just a lovely day which I will remember, but walking home this Sunday I was thankful for another great one. I like Sundays! However, I only have 6 more to look forward to…

Week 11: Monday 19th - Sunday 25th April 2010

A celebration of all things Basque!

A Spanish dinner at Cris's house

Service Sunday in the old people's home

The older people were very happy to see us!

Playing some hymns for the residents to enjoy

Week 10: Monday 12th – Sunday 18th April 2010

This week I finally arranged my main school placement in the International School of Poznan (www.isop.pl). I met with the Primary Years Co-ordinator and we decided upon me being in school every Wednesday and Friday, as these are the only days I am free of classes and can be in school. This means that from now on I will be much busier! I will have lessons to plan for Wednesdays and Fridays and I’ll be in classes the rest of the week. I have a few presentations that I will shortly begin work on as well so my easy-going Erasmus lifestyle is slowly slipping away! However, I am thoroughly looking forward to getting into school on a more regular basis, and I hope to return to the High School to teach some English lessons at some stage again too. I have just worked out that I’ll need to get up at 6.15am on the mornings that I have school to be there in time for the commencement of lessons at 8am. This is something I have not been used to for a long time! The school caters for children of all ages, from 4 year olds in kindergarten to 18 or 19 year olds completing their ‘diplomas’. It follows the programme of the International Baccalaureate which you can find out more about at www.ibo.org/pyp for the Primary Years Programme in particular. The school is located in a big, old building about 10 minutes from Poznan city centre and welcomes pupils from Poland and International students, however, all are taught in English. For the Polish students at the school it is quite prestigious (and no doubt expensive) but it provides children with a great, internationally acknowledged education. As time goes on I’m sure more information and some photographs will follow as I become more accustomed to the school.

At the zoo with Asta.

I started a new class this week – Environmental Health Hazards. I believe the lecturer was a little taken aback when she found out I was a native English speaker, and I could tell it made her a little more nervous especially as it was her first time teaching in English! However, she rarely needed my help and I made sure never to correct her before being asked! A couple of my other classes were cancelled this week for various reasons so, in reality, I had quite a relaxed week. One nice story that I should share tells of the kindness of the people here, and not just anyone, one of my lecturers! On the day I was going to visit my school I was in class just before it and I was still trying to work out how to get to the school. I spoke to my teacher and she offered to take me there in her car. If I hadn’t accepted her offer I would have been very late for my meeting with the school so I’m thankful to her! It feels really good to get to know some staff as well as students here, especially after hearing how bad an opinion most of the Polish students seem to have of university lecturers. Another tutor, for my only Educational class, is carrying it out in English just for me!! The 25 other people in the class (all of whom are female!) must dislike me very much! However, they are all studying Primary Education with English so it is useful for them too.


On Thursday night I went back to the CU that I’ve been to once before with a group of Polish people. It was a good night although, with everything being in Polish, my friend had the hard job of translating for me. I like to show my support for the group though by attending so I’m unsure whether I’ll return or not. They only meet once a month so I may only have one, or at most two, more opportunities to attend. I am having to start thinking about leaving Poland as it will not be very long before I go and I still haven’t booked my flights! At the moment I’m trying to find out when I will be finished exams so that I can leave after that. It will most likely be in the middle of June. I went swimming again this week and I keep meeting more new Polish people there because the class I joined is really only known by local students. Being in this group really makes me feel part of the community here and it is a good feeling. I’m glad I’ve built up such a good group of Polish friends. I really feel like I’ve got such a lot out of this Erasmus experience; probably more than many other students I know.


The weekend was busy but the weather was lovely, as it seems to be most of the time now! On Saturday I went to the New Zoo with a Lithuanian friend, Asta. It is huge and I loved it. It was, as far as I can recollect, the first time I have ever seen an elephant, rhinoceros, bison, so many varieties of Eagle and many, many other creatures. We had a lovely day and it really felt like summer with the heat and the sunshine and lots of walking in new places! After my visit to the zoo I joined a group of people from Church for dinner in Milenium Pizza where you can order the most gigantic pizzas! Great night had by all I reckon. Sunday began with Church as usual followed by a little snippet of the Polish Church where we only stayed for a while because we were going out for dinner with the pastor and his family and a few friends. It was also the President’s funeral this day so everywhere was very quiet and in fact most shops and restaurants were closed for the weekend as a mark of respect. After dinner I sat for a few hours in the park reading, but when I got home I realised it was still too nice and warm to be inside so I went back out to another park and started another book! This time I had a random conversation, if you can call it that because it was in Polish (!), with an old man with one leg…he may have been homeless, I’m not sure! I just wanted to be nice and talk to him and it was good to put my Polish into practice. I hope that I don’t forget about my Polish when I get back home, but I know that I’m going to have to keep practising it if I’m to remember it for any length of time! That’s all for now.

Candles at a major focal point in Poznan in remembrance of those who died.

Week 9: Monday 5th – Sunday 11th April 2010

During this week the Polish people experienced a great loss on a national level. On Saturday morning a plane crashed killing the Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, his wife and the 94 other people onboard, many of them significant leaders in Poland’s government. A week of national mourning was declared and I’ve seen first hand how the Poles are reacting to the tragedy. From almost every balcony in the city you can see the Polish flag flying with the poignant black strips hanging alongside it as a mark of mourning. This was a hugely significant event which has really shaken up the people. Shops and businesses closed on the day of the accident and the day which followed, and the rest of the week many forms of entertainment such as concerts and performances have been cancelled as a mark of respect. In terms of the university, classes have been cancelled on Wednesday as some special ceremonies and services will take place, however my schedule hasn’t been changed. I think that no matter how the population felt about the President during his time in office, they are all shocked and saddened by his death especially as it comes along with the death of so many others. While I’m in Poland I try to keep an eye on the news in Northern Ireland and for the first time this week I kind of felt like I was looking at Northern Ireland from a foreigner’s viewpoint and my objective outlook made me really see the difficulties that we still have in our own country. For some reason I didn’t think about it so much when I was in the country!


Anyway, back in Poland, the week began for me with a few days of holidays after the Easter weekend. On Monday I took the opportunity to visit the old zoo in Poznań (we have two zoos here, one called the ‘old zoo’ and one the ‘new zoo’!). Anna and I visited the aquariums and reptile enclosures which were very cheap to visit. Everywhere else in the zoo was free to visit! It was actually quite an amazing experience for me because I can’t remember the last time I was in a zoo! For me, seeing all the different varieties of fish especially just had me in awe at the creativity of their maker. However, seeing all the different snakes just made me want to leave the building! I spent the rest of the evening in a friend’s flat until we went out for dinner in the stary rynek.


The next day was not so eventful as practical things like the washing had to be taken care of! However in the evening I went out to the cinema with a friend to see ‘Remember Me’. It clearly wasn’t very popular though because there were only two other people in the entire room! The film was good but the journey home was more entertaining! When we got out of the cinema, which is in a shopping centre, we were directed out through various doors and down long corridors and eventually through an eerily quiet and dimly lit shopping mall. It soon became clear that we didn’t know how to get out of the building - we were trapped! In the end we walked through the car park and just kept walking until we reached the nearest tram stop. It was a humorous adventure for us both.


Polish classes continue to be the main academic focus of my week and my Polish seems to be progressing sufficiently well in comparison to the rest of the class at least. I love my class because they are such a varied bunch with interesting stories to tell. However, I’ve resolved that it is impossible to learn Polish grammar in Polish. Words and phrases I can grasp but to try to learn grammatical structures in anything other than English is too much for me. Having said that, I’m not sure that having it explained in English would be of much benefit because we just don’t have anything like it. I say it every week, but I still need to spend more time studying Polish outside class if I’m going to keep up and remember it when I get home.


On Thursday I attended my statistics class in which we are jut getting on to Normal Distribution. It shouldn’t excite me as much as it does but I can’t help it; I love it! Statistics always brings back very fond memories of maths classes in school days because I studied many of the same things back then. It is all proving very useful to me in this course and it helps me to stay ahead of the rest of the class, however, this means that I’m often having to wait for help to move on and it can get a little boring actually (but only when I’ve got nothing to do). That afternoon I broke my trend and went to Carrefour (a large French store available all over Europe) instead of Tesco! I love Carrefour! You can buy anything you want there, quite literally. Anyway…I got what I needed!


Finally I have something school related to discuss again because on Friday I visited a Polish ‘middle-school’ (gimnazjum) because I wanted to experience what it would be like to be a teacher of English as a foreign language. Children in Poland have to start school at age 6, they attend primary school for 6 years and then move to the ‘gimnazjum’ for 3 years before going on to high school for a final 3 years. Therefore the school I visited was for children aged 12-15 and it was located out in the suburbs of Poznań in a beautiful open area with picturesque views over the Polish countryside. It was idyllic. I could easily work there! One of the girls in my Polish class is a French language assistant in the school and so she put me in touch with one of the English teachers. I spent the day observing in the English classes and I really enjoyed it. It has made me consider teaching English in another country for a while before I teach primary school children. Also, I used to feel like I couldn’t teach children older than those in my primary classes but I now feel confident and old enough to do so, and think I would really enjoy it. Teaching a language seems like a lot of fun! The school has about 300 pupils altogether and was very modern looking as it was only built in 1999/2000 after the education system was reformed to include this new age range they call gimnazjum. After getting the bus home I headed out to lunch with a bunch of Spanish students, had some good conversations and then went to the gym which I only started going to because it is free and is in my building! That evening I went out with some friends from Germany and Finland who were in the mood to dress up judging by this photo!



On Saturday I had a lovely afteroon with Cristian and the Spaniards which began with a very kind host providing me with an amazing tuna and pasta dish and fresh salad followed by dessert. I reckon I could start to like tuna after that! [ :-) !!] . It was delicious and I was very appreciative! The rain came on but that didn’t dampen our spirits as we explored the museum in the town hall. Unfortunately, it was near closing time and we didn’t get to see everything. Luckily, I had already seen everything on a previous visit so I was happy enough! That evening I had to spend some time preparing for Sunday School which Cris and I were leading the following day. It was great to be able to help out in church by taking Sunday School and it was exciting to find out some things behind the scenes like where certain things are kept, etc, because it made me feel more involved and part of the Church. After a restful afternoon I joined some Erasmus friends in a quaint little café. It makes me so happy hanging out with these people. It has been good to meet so many great people from around Europe and to simply spend time with them. I hope I spend the rest of my time wisely and keep building on these relationships which are so important to me before I have to leave them all behind in Poland. :-(

Week 8: Monday 29th March – Sunday 4th April 2010

Now that I’ve been in Poland for two months and am approaching the halfway mark for my time here I can see that I really don’t have long left, judging by how quickly the first half went! This week was a bit different because of the Easter break on Thursday and Friday. Easter is very important to Polish people so there were a few different events on over the holidays and the shops were closed on Easter Sunday and Monday. The city and my dormitory especially have been very empty because many of the students went home for the holidays. It has been a good time of reflection for me too.


On Monday in my Sociology of Multiculturalism class I found out that I will have to do a presentation on Northern Ireland, but we are in groups of 4 so I have some Polish people with me. We also got to discuss a little about the Polish migration to the UK and Ireland since they entered the EU in 2004 and I got to hear their views on it, most of them having a relative or friend there! That evening it was my roommate’s birthday party so Cris and I went for a quick shopping trip to Tesco (where the best birthday presents are sold, of course) before coming back to the flat to join the party. I found out that having a roommate is particularly unhelpful on their birthday – it was a very late night – but, as it was his birthday, I had to be understanding.


On Wednesday I began to plan my trip over Easter. Kaja helped me to get the train tickets and I was able to book the hostels myself. It turned out to be a rather costly day as after paying for hostels and trains I went shopping and paid for my accommodation! In Poland you can get very cheap food but some things, if not most things, are a very similar price to that at home. I’m really bad with handling money and I find it really difficult to consider how much I’m actually paying for things because often I just expect things to be cheaper, but it’s certainly not always the case!


The Easter holidays began on Thursday and classes begin again on Wednesday but in reality it made very little difference to my schedule especially as I’m off on Fridays and Tuesdays every week anyway! However, I still took this opportunity to do a little travelling around Poland. Having had little time to myself what with sharing a room and meeting lots of different people, I wanted to go away by myself for a few days just to stop, think, reflect and pray. And so I did! On Thursday morning I stood for 2 hours on a crowded train to Toruń but it was completely worth it. It was a beautiful day and I just fell in love with the city. The journey itself wasn't too bad either because for me it was nice to see the countryside of Poland (as above). After checking in to my hostel, Hostel Orange, I spent the day seeing all the sights of Toruń when my trusty guidebook of Poland was most useful, and so I must thank Andrew for that! I had such a lovely day strolling through the pretty streets and reading by the Vistula river. After this day I realised how nice Polish people are. I met complete strangers who went out of their way to help me. At one viewpoint of the city at the top of the tower in the Town Hall the security man told me ALL about the city, although I reckon he just wanted to practice his English! Another lady in the gingerbread shop (Toruń is famous for its pierniki) could see that I couldn’t decide what to buy so she placed lots of them out on the counter and told me all about them! It was so lovely of her and really made me happy! In the evening I chatted with the four Erasmus girls from France and Turkey in my room for a couple of hours. They were also travelling to take a break from their studies in another city in Poland.


The next morning, Friday, I got up early to catch a train to Gdańsk, a city near the coast at the Baltic Sea. This time I got a seat and had the opportunity to practice my Polish again because I was in a room with a couple of students and also an older lady who wanted to find out about my life and tell me about hers! It was very endearing and I enjoyed our chat even though we didn’t understand each other all the time! Going away by myself was the first time I’ve really been forced to (try to) speak Polish and I’m glad I forced myself into that position. In Gdańsk I spent a few hours going to see all the sights outlined in my guidebook and taking photos of them, but I got bored of that quite quickly so I jumped on a train to the neighbouring town of Sopot. Sopot could be the holiday destination of the rich and famous judging by its grandeur and, of course, it has the beach! I loved this town and, although it was very cold that day, I ventured down the famous pier, Molo, Europe’s longest wooden pier, and then on to the beach itself. It was SO nice to be back on a beach but I couldn’t stay long. Strangely enough, it actually is rather baltic beside the Baltic sea! Back in Gdańsk I met up with a Polish friend who lives there and a Spanish friend who was with her. We had another look around the city, taking lots of photos. That evening the other guests in the hostel weren’t quite as friendly as the previous night so I just watched a film I had bought earlier that day in the living room of the hostel which was really quite nice. I have to recommend Zachariasz Zappio House to anyone travelling to Gdańsk!


On Saturday morning I spent much time deliberating whether to go to a particular National Park and working out the train times, etc. However, in the end, it wasn’t possible to go so far away so I went to another town just up the coast, Gdynia. Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia are collectively known as the Tri-city area because they are so close together and the transport links between them are excellent with trains leaving frequently. When I arrived in Gdynia I needed my hat and gloves but the sun was shining and it was really a lovely day. After lots and lots of walking around the city I found a ship in the harbour called the Dar Pomorza. It is a touristic museum ship so I was able to go in and have a look throughout the ship including the engine room and living quarters. After that I had lunch in a little café on the pier where the waitress appreciated my attempts at the Polish language as she couldn’t speak English. Back ‘home’ in Poznań I think it is much more common for people to speak English, so I had to go away to actually get to try it. Most of the time in Poznań when I try to speak Polish, the waiter or assistant or whatever will reply in English because they can tell I’m a foreigner! Back in Gdynia, I walked up some hills to find the park at the top where I would sit and read for a while. It was a little haven of peace and tranquillity which overlooked the hustle and bustle of the large industrial city below. I didn’t want to stay too long though because I had to catch my train home in the early evening. I headed back to Gdańsk where I had one last look around the city, had a quick white chocolate mocha and then made my way to the station with my rucksack. At the station I was told I had the wrong ticket so I had to get a new one if I wanted to get home before 3.30am! Thankfully, another kind Polish person who spoke English overheard me attempting to talk to the ticket seller and sorted it all out for me. Unfortunately, the train that got me home earliest was one that took me eight hours to get home! So I saw most of the cities in the North West of Poland and got a lot of my book read! On my outward journey I had a few difficulties with my tickets as well because I had student tickets and in Poland I have to get my student card stamped every month to make it valid but I hadn’t known this before these travels! Thankfully, I got away with it with the support of the Polish people around me who argued on my behalf the fact that I was foreign and didn’t know!


I was rather tired come the next morning but it was Easter Sunday so I wanted to go to church as usual! The service was a little different with some of the children taking part and we had communion. After church another Erasmus girl and I got a lift in the car of one of the American members of the church, firstly to his house to collect some things and then on to the Pastor’s house where we were all meeting up for lunch. I spent a really nice afternoon eating with and getting to know the other people in the Church and other visitors from New Zealand and Sweden. We even got to participate in an Easter-egg hunt! Later in the afternoon I went for a long walk around the city with Anna, my German friend, as it was such a lovely, sunny day. After strolling through some parks and alongside the Warta river we headed back towards home where my legs desperately needed a rest after a busy weekend!

Week 7: Monday 22nd – Sunday 28th March 2010

As time goes on I am realising how much I am gaining from this experience. It is something that I needed to do and I know it will be of huge significance when I come to look back over my time here. For some reasons it was right that I come to this exact place, for example the specific people I have met and the ways in which they have helped me and continue to help me, but in other ways I could have gone anywhere and would have gained similar experiences and knowledge and wisdom of a number of things. However, I personally know that this exact place is exactly where I needed to be to gain as much as I possibly could and it is in this place that I will develop most spiritually, relationally, in confidence and with self-acceptance as I am changed and moulded into the person that I should be and as I come to terms simply with the person that I am. I am thankful to have been brought here and for what is becoming of me and the growth taking place in my life right now.


By now I really have settled into a very normal way of life. In some ways it is not as exciting and this week I certainly didn’t do something worthy of mention every day! I may not have met as many new people this week as in previous weeks but I’m beginning to think that it could be a good thing – this week three different people came up to me and clearly new me but I had no idea who they were! I think if it’s possible I have reached the limit of my ability to remember faces and names! However, it is still exciting for me that I am developing the relationships that I really care about here. That is what has become important for me now.


During the week I finally completed the process of my Learning Agreement so I have now officially signed up to all the classes that I should continue with until the end of the semester. I am ashamed to have to admit that I am still not doing an awful lot of work here and I know now that I could be! I could be learning more Polish and I can now begin preparing for some presentations that I will have to do at the end of the term. I became very aware of making the most of my time, not just my time here, but my lifetime. Once time has passed it is gone and don’t want to be wasting it. This week I also discovered how wonderful the Polish doughnuts are! It is called a pączek here and I pass a delicious bakery on my way to many of my classes so some self-control is needed there!


On Tuesday this week I went to a quiz for Erasmus students. I met some lovely new people and had an enjoyable night. I got some Easter eggs even though we didn’t win so the night ended well! It was a rather quiet night but it was good to get out and learn some general knowledge. On Thursday I had lunch in a Greek-style café and then dinner in a more Polish-style one. Usually I don’t eat out so much in one day, that was a bit excessive, but it is easily affordable if you choose the right places to go to. There isn’t really anything worth mentioning about classes. I wouldn’t miss one and they are all teaching me something but there isn’t anything much different about them! I started a new class this week, the biggest in number by far. It is the Sociology of Multiculturalism but don’t ask me what that means! It is open to much interpretation! The class has a lot of Polish people but also a lot of Erasmus students from all over the EU. It is an interesting class with lots of discussion.


On Friday it was about 22 degrees Celsius and it was beautiful! I went for a walk in the park and it was nice enough to sit and read. It was so nice to finally feel comfortable being outside and it makes me look forward to when every day will be like that – well, that’s what I’m hoping for anyway! What I did next that day will shock most people; I went to a fitness class which included gym time and going to the swimming pool! A Polish friend invited me along to her class and so I decided it was time to put the past behind me and set my fears aside and just get into a pool! I was surprised to find that after four years out of the water I could still swim although I did find it hard to breathe in the water – and I don’t mean when my head was under the water! I think I just need to keep going and let my body get used to it again. As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day, in the evening I went to hear the philharmonic orchestra again in the Grand Hall of the university. The tickets were free for Erasmus students so I thought Why not!? I went along with a friend and met up with a lot of the other Erasmus ones that I know there. I even bumped into one of my course co-ordinators! It was a nice evening and again I was blown away by the sound that came from the orchestra. There was a special violinist playing too and he was very good also, but I have to say that the kebab I had after really finished off the evening nicely!


Saturday was a very long and busy day! I woke up at 4.30am to be ready in time to begin my journey to Berlin, the capital of Germany. It was a very last minute decision and we only spent the day there but I got a bit of a look around the city. We thought it was the cheapest way to go by three trains which took 5 hours! So we arrived about 11am and had to leave shortly after 6pm which gave us time to meet up with some friends and have a look at the main attractions. Basically we just walked around all day and looked at things from the outside! I think I need to go back and spend more time there. It was a very fun day though. The German, Mexican and Polish people that I was with were very funny and made the day very enjoyable. The weather wasn’t perfect but it didn’t rain much so we were happy enough. I would like to tell you what all we see but I really don’t know!! Maybe if you’ve been to Berlin you’ll recognise some of the things from my photos! One of the best thing from the day were all the hours I spent travelling because it gave me the opportunity to talk to my Polish friend (in English and Spanish!). I learned a lot about her and am glad we got the opportunity to get to know each other better and have some good discussions, after all, we did have nearly 10hours to talk!

















































On Sunday morning I was very tired what with the time change and the fact that I had been travelling so much the day before and got home late. Nonetheless I was at church at 10am and stayed after to have a small lunch with some of the church leaders. It was an ideal time to get to know the people in church better and it was nice to hang out with them. In the afternoon I went to my small group which I’ve been attending and it was the last one in the series that we have been studying. We had an amazing time with great discussions and fellowship with each other. It went on quite a lot longer than usual but we weren’t complaining. I love that family and the rest of the group a lot and will miss our times together. Unfortunately there is still nothing to say in terms of school based work. I am still waiting in anticipation to hear about my placement in the international school here. However, I do intend to go visit the Primary school that my Polish friend teaches in again and, also, I’ve been invited to observe/speak in English classes of a High School. I got to know a language assistant in the school and she is helping me get in to visit some classes as I’ve been wanting to see what it would be like to be an English teacher in a secondary school. Hopefully it’ll not be long until I get to tell you about these experiences. Until then, thank you so much for reading these blog entries and God bless.