First Week in Poland

Sarah and I safely made the journey across Slovakia and the Czech Republic to Poland! The train ride went as well as could be expected. Getting all of the luggage on and off the train was somewhat stressful, but the worst part was making the transfer. We got off the train in plenty of time to make the transfer, but they did not post the platform of our next train until it was IN the station. Luckily we just had to walk to the other side, but we were really worried that we weren't going to make it. Our Pani Director, Lidia, was right there with her daughter to meet us and drove us across the border to our apartments. We do not have to show a passport to cross the border because both are a part of the European Union. It's really cool and so convenient.

The apartment situation is really nice. We share a foyer and then we each have a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom/living room. I also have a coat room and then a little balcony. The ceilings are nice and high, and we have big windows with the really cool hinges that open parallel to the window sill and also tip the top. The natural light is really nice. All of the views look down on courtyards. Slowly everything is coming together. We had LOTS of things to sort through, countless books, VHSs/DVDs, cooking stuff, papers, toiletries, and many other things. In fact, we have yet to conquer the coat room closet. . . .

We have figured out how to get food and have successfully cooked several dinners! There are lots of little food shops along the main street of which we have explored two. We also found a large grocery store that is about 15 minutes away. This store shares a parking lot with something akin to a Home Depot; we went in hoping for a Bed, Bath and Beyond. Little fail. Needless to say there is a lot still to explore in the beautiful city of Cieszyn. Each day we try to walk in a slightly different direction to see what we can find. Sometimes we find more shops, a pretty view, or the Czech Republic! There are a lot of hills, so it good for getting bearings but also to get some exercise.

The situation at school has come along some, but we still have a lot of questions to figure out. The facility itself is nice. Each floor is a different color! The most noticeable difference is that teachers do not have their own classroom, but instead travel in between. The classroom that we will probably be in the most has the English library in. Good news: It is full of Nancy Drew! These students are clearly getting a wonderful education! When teachers aren't teaching they have two options, either go to the teacher's lounge or go home; they are not required to be in the building the whole day. The system is a little different took, but I will explain that in another post. The short gist is that Sarah has most of the junior high and I have most of the senior high.

The adjustment is going well, and I am very thankful to have such a long time to adjust and get settled. Each time we stop by the school we figure out a little bit more about what exactly is expected of us. And fortunately we have lots of resources available. On Saturday night we went to a classical music/opera concert at the theater. It was beautiful music, but we have no idea what it was about because there was no program and all narration was given in Polish with all of the opera sang in Italian. Sunday evening we found “Fright and Haunting Games on Castle Hill.” It was sort of like a Halloween costume contest for little kids; there was also a clown magician. Lots of families were out for the show! It was fun to get a taste of town life in Cieszyn and to see something so special to the town.

And a quick note. Our internet situation is not the best right now. We have a fussy connection at home that will not let me post here, which is why it has taken well over a week to get this up. Skype is difficult at best. So if you want to get in contact with e-mail is the way to. I can just play Solitaire while I wait for it to load.
We’re excited to dig into the teaching and to finally meet our students! I’ll try to let you know about it as soon as I can!

Peace,
Colleen