I like to be in America.

So I've been home for just over three weeks now. I'm finally sleeping regular hours, I have found my room and discovered many lost items, I have said hello to the my family, boyfriend, and most of my friends, and overall I'm thrilled to be here. Of course it all hasn't been easy. I've been overwhelmed with English, both when it is spoken and written. I've been challenged with explaining what this year has meant to me succintly, a trait I don't usually posses. I've had to decide which relationships in my life are worth fighting for.

The hardest thing, as I knew it would be, is being without the people that I wedged out places in my heart. I miss my students! I miss the friends I made in Cieszyn. I miss the other missionaries. It hurts my heart to be talking about someone and have to translate their name into English. Asia is not just a continent any more. Kuba is not just a country we have an embargo with. They are not Joanna or Jake or Peter or Maggie or Mike. They are Asia, Kuba, Piotrek, Magda, and Michal-people who taught me so much and encouraged me to keep going through the year. And most of them I will never see again. (I just felt like I twisted a knife in my own chest.) They are the ones who changed me, who made me laugh, who made me cry, and made my year in Cieszyn everything that it was.

It was a beautiful year. And it's over. And I'm home. And in one month I'll pack my life up and move again. And though I will never forget this year in my life and I will always carry these memories and lessons with me, it is time to end here. Writing this blog has been a great release for me, an outlet for me to express myself when I was in a place that made that very difficult to do. Thank you for reading. Thank you for praying. Thank you for caring.

Love and prayers, always,
Colleen

The End

I am sitting in my flat. All of my bags are packed. My towels and sheets are spinning in the washer. There are just a few dirty dishes left in the sink and some last bags of trash to be taken out. Yet I still can't really wrap my head around the idea that I am going home. But it's true. I am.

I have said goodbye to my students, my teacher friends, my salsa friends, my school. I will say goodbye to my flat and my director today. Tomorrow in Stockholm I will say goodbye to Sarah, and then some odd eight hours later say hello to America and my family. I have cried tears of varying emotions every day this week, this morning, and without a doubt I will shed many more tomorrow.

Making peace with this year is something I have been trying to do for a few weeks, but I am sure this process will continue for many months. I am not the same woman. I do not understand all of who I am or the ways in which I have been changed. But I know that I am done. I am finished with my work here, and I am ready to come home.

I will post here just once more after I am stateside. Then it will be time to move forward and to start thinking about seminary.

So I'm off. To Ostrava to Vienna to Stockholm to Newark to HOME!

Peace,
Colleen

The Last Days of School

This week is probably the loosest, weirdest, unexpected week of the entire school year. As I wrote about before, the marks have been in for about two weeks. This being said, I'm unsure what the incentive is for the students to come to school. Because they love it? Out of their goodness of their heart? They have nothing better to do? I don't know, and let me assure, for the most part the students have not been coming to school. I have seen fewer students in the last three days that I would have on my busiest day earlier in the year. I have played more Scrabble than I ever have in my life. While it is nice to be able to relax with the students, it is sort of frustrating because I feel I have a lot of other things that need my attention. It's been difficult for me to focus on them completely while I my flat is a wreck, my hot water heater is broken (it is fixed now), and while I stress about saying goodbye and then saying hello.

The week has look something like this. Monday I "taught" two lessons to a total of four students. Tuesday I "taught" four lessons, but had no students for the first two, and then only about 15 for the last two. Today the students "had" three lessons, and then the liciuem students had a talent show and a concert from a local Christian rock band. The show was attended by MAYBE 30 students, including some students from other schools who are fans of the band. The talent show consisted of myself and then another female student doing karate. Though I am proud of myself, she by far was the star of the show! She was able to take down one of her classmates and then a teacher, both male and over six feet tall! It was amazing!! Tomorrow we have the graduation of the 3g students, and then Friday is the end of the school year ceremony.

Needless to say, it's been a really strange few days and I feel like getting closure on teaching has been difficult. Ceremonies really help me mark achievements and the passage of time so I hope that I will feel more at peace with all of this come Friday. The next five days are otherwise filled with errands, packing, cleaning, and goodbyes. It's going to be an exhausting few days, but I figure I can sleep on the train, plane, and car that will eventually take me home. Home. It sounds better and better every time I say it.

Blessings,
Colleen

A Big Surprise

So when I had the choice of going to either Germany or Lithuania with students, I didn't think too much about the decision. I figured that I was already planning on going to Germany with Kerri, and I would have never planned to go to Lithuania on my own, so Lithuania it was! I thought it was sort of crazy to go on a trip during the second to last week of school, but it turns out that it was perfect timing. Traveling to Lithuania is important for LOTE students because they have a shared history from when they shared a king to the back and forth control of Russia. I was looking forwarding to going, but I never expected to love it as much as I did! Lithuania is a beautiful country and it is exactly what I needed!

We left early on Tuesday morning to make the 14 hour bus ride to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania . It was just about as much fun as it sounds, and it really made MISS interstates and rest stops with more than one toilet. Wednesday was essentially non-stop sight seeing. The students were really worn out by the end of the day, and they were going to mutiny if they were forced to go into one more church. Thursday we visited two other cities, Kaunas, the old capital city, and Kėdainiai, a city that is important to Polish-Lithuanian history. Friday was a mix of one last walk around Vilnius, touring Trakai, and visiting the sister school of LOTE. Oh, and of course 13 hours on a bus to get home at 6am.

Here are some of my favorite tidbits of my trip:
-There is a bridge next to an old church that has a cool fence. Couples who get married in this church bring with them a lock. They lock their lock onto the fence and throw the keys into the river to symbolize that they are together forever. The fence is JUST covered with so many locks.
-I was able to sneak away on an evening walk to get some solo time on Wednesday. After so much Polish, I really needed some time to myself. I walked to the panoramic view of the city. The weather was beautiful and I felt so content sitting on the hill, looking out on the city. I loved each second I spent there.
-Realizing that English is a popular language in Lithuania and that it was is a joy to read English on menus and speak it to waitresses. PLUS hearing the students share stories about their English interactions was fun too!
-On Thursday night we literally dragged the students out on a walk. The director and the history teacher had a meeting to go to, so it was just me and the chemistry teacher. Both of us wanted to go out, so therefore all of the students had to go. (Sorry, kids!) I ended up walking around with her, and though my Polish is awful and she described her English as terrible, we had a really nice time! We talked, laughed, shared tea, and took some great pictures.
-On a store there were signs telling what was appropriate behavior for inside. There the normal ones, shirt and shoes required, no ice cream. However, there was also one that said no guns. Why? Is this a problem? People need to be told NOT to bring guns into stores?
-The last church we saw in Vilnius was St. Peter and St. Paul's Church. It is said that if you have not seen this church you have not seen Vilnius. Inside of the church, there are over 2,000 statues! Everything is white, except for Jesus, and it was stunningly beautiful. The statues were built to help explain the love and word of God to the congregation. There was a time when Lithuania and Poland were united, and though both nations were Catholic and services were conducted in Latin, the sermons were all spoken in Polish. Therefore the poor Lithuanians were lost. I really connect with this feeling. So the church commissioned all of these statues to be built in the sanctuary to show the people what Christ did for them. Being in this church was very moving, and I wish that I would have learned about it early in the year.
-Finally, I want to share about Trakai, a city just outside of Vilnius. It is home to beautiful lakes, the most well-preserved castle in Lithuania, and wonderful parks. This town was absolutely beautiful. I wanted to stay forever. It's a popular weekend getaway destination, I could see why. I wish that I could have spent hours just walking around and exploring. Getting on the bus after my time in Trakai was very difficult.

Again, this was an unexpectedly wonderful trip. I truly hope to go back to Lithuania someday! But now that I'm back in Poland, I really need to focus on my last days here. I've got so much to do over the next week. Packing, cleaning, teaching, saying goodbyes, and above all else, leaving. I think this week is going to be challenging but also wonderful. I hope to be able to write at least one more time before I'm stateside, but we'll see!

Blessings,
Colleen

A Word of Thanks

One of the coolest things I've learned about and experienced in Polish culture is the tradition of thanking. This ritual takes on many different forms. Couples thank their parents when they get married with big gift baskets and speeches. Choir conductors are thanked with bouquets at the end of concerts. Teachers are thanked by their students on Teachers Day and at prom and graduation. Hosts are thanked with a small gift from their guests. Needless to say, thanking is a big part of the culture here. I have taken some time over the past week preparing to thank the people here in Cieszyn who have made a difference in my life. However, I also wanted to thank some people who are not here in Cieszyn for what they have done to support and encourage me in this journey. So at the risk of this blog sounding think an award acceptance speech, here goes.

Thanks to the ones who raised me to be the woman I am today. For all of the love, trust, learning, discipline, and encouragement you poured into me. I would not be who I am today, and I certainly would not have made it here, without all of your hard work. I am continually amazed that I was able to get on a plane and come here alone without you, but I know that's the whole point of everything you have done for me.

Thanks to the one who loves me loads. For all of the patience you've given me this year, through the good times and the bad times. When I made the decision to come here, you were graciously on board, despite what it meant for us. Thank you for never telling me not go, and for telling me not to leave and not to give up.

Thanks to the ones have watched me grow from a little girl and whom I have watched grow. For your love and encouragement via snail mail, packages, and facebook. I'm blessed to have a family like you.

Thanks to the friend who knew ahead a time what I was getting myself into. For warning me that I would hate all of my clothes (which turns out is not true, I just dream and fantasize about all my other clothes) and for giving me advice every step of the way. For listening to me, for encouraging me, for opening up her arms for me to run into like a screecher monkey. For the taco seasoning, Ranch, Reeses, and Cosmos. Oh, and the feather boa and crown. Duh.

Thank you to my most faithful pen pal. Each letter, whether it was from Flordia, Virginia, or Iowa, made a difference in my daily life. For your visit and adventure here, though I'm not sure we should be allowed to travel around Europe alone.

Thank to the one who loves to guard princesses with me. For our Skype dates and twitter messages. For always listening to my good, bad, ugly, embarrassing, inappropriate, and secret thoughts.

Thank you to the one who came into my life like tornado and turned my life upside down. For not choosing Roanoke, so that we could meet here and start our story in Europe. For every crazy adventure we've embarked on, for talk time and face time, for helping me with my problems (real, imagined, and blisters). For inspiring me to be a better teacher here and a better pastor in the future. (cough, come to Philly, cough!)

Thanks to the ones who serve with me in other places. For the wisdom, comfort, hospitality, laughs, beers, stories, and friendship you have shared with me. For touching my heart and my life with yours.

Thank you to the ones at ILC who continually pray for my well being since I was little up to now. For raising me in a community that taught me strong Christian values and for supporting my ministry from FootSteps to Lutherlyn to Poland to Philadelphia and beyond.

Thanks to the ones who have written me and sent me tokens of their love this year. For each postcard, letter, card, key chain, and pair of Crocs. For each Skype call, facebook post or message, or tweet of encouragement. You have seen me through more dark days than you know.

And finally, thanks be to the One who made me, loves me, forgives me, and saves me each and every day. Thanks be to the One who has blessed me and who stands by me. Thanks be to the One who died so that we all can live and love.

Blessings,
Colleen

High Five!

So I've been doing some reflection to help me get ready to return to America. One exercise was making lists of five. I thought I would share.

Five things I have missed about home:
-drinking water from the tap
-people
-being able to participate in the church service
-a proper bathtub in which I can extend my legs properly.
-understanding measurements, though I am pro-Metric system in life, a year has not been enough time to understand what 11C means or how tall I am in cm. I also want to include clothing/shoe measurements with this too!

Five things I am content to live without, but am still really excited about:
-screens for windows
-food labels I can read
-a working microwave
-cheddar cheese
-my cellphone!

Fives things I will NOT miss about here:
-having to light a match every time I want to do something on my stove.
-writing lesson plans
-always having to walk uphill with groceries, no matter which grocery store I go to
-being paid in cash
-not being able to communicate properly with shopkeepers/waitresses

Five things I will miss about here:
-my students
-the people I have met
-random acts of Catholicism (monks, nuns, JPII statues)
-my salsa class
-being able to walk everywhere I need to go, including to the train station that connects me to the rest of Europe

At this time in two weeks I will be somewhere in the air over Europe, working my way back to America. This is a crazy thought, but it's also crazy thinking about what all I have to do in the next two weeks. I'm going to Lithuania, I have to say goodbye, I have to pack, I have an end of the year dinner with the boss, and somehow make peace about leaving. I am going to be busy!

Blessings,
Colleen

A Week of Parties

This past week has been marked with several different parties that I would like to share.

Missionary Reunion
In total there are 27 missionaries serving as teachers in Slovakia and Poland. Sarah had the great idea of inviting everyone to visit us in Poland! Though we had had a few visitors over the year, not everyone had made it out our way yet. Plus, we haven't had a large group gathering since Thanksgiving. I was really excited to have them all come and to show them what life is like here. Overall, it was a wonderful weekend. It was such a joy to catch up and get to know more the wonderful people that are a part of this community. I even found a sorority sister from a different chapter! We shared stories, laughter, and tears. Though I did not know some of them before this weekend, I was sad to see everyone go. Especially because these people understand what I'm going through because they are going through it too. It was so good being able to talk with this group about the joys and anxieties connected with going home. The weekend was very special and I'm so thankful for the time spent with such a support and inspiring group of people.

Community Taco Party
My Monday afternoons have been spent with three students from a neighboring high school working on their English conversation skills. In order to celebrate the end of our time, I decided to invite them over for tacos! Mexican food is a new thing here in Poland, so it was a special treat of them. Only two of the three students were able to make it, but we had a great time eating tacos off of my ironing board. I have really enjoyed working with this small group because they are motivated to speak with me. Another reason I love this group so much is that I can be more informal with them. I am their tutor more than their teacher, so I don't have to use all the usual classroom formalities.

Best. Salsatek. Ever.
Of course you know that Tuesday is salsa night! This past Tuesday was no exception. I went to class per usual and was just planning on coming home after since Maria wasn't able to go the party. However, I was surprised and excited when the university students who are in my class invited me to go out with them! I said yes in an instant and ended up having a great night. It was so fun to sit and laugh with this group. They really made me feel welcome. Dancing with them was also super fun because we're all beginners, so we had nothing to be embarrassed about. I hope that I am able to go to one more salsatek with them before my time here is up.

3g Stromboli Party
Making stromboli has been a beloved tradition for my home group of friends for many years. We make it for birthdays, Christmas, hello and goodbye parties. I shared this stromboli with some fellow teachers, but never with students. Since this group of eight girls are "graduating" from middle school and since they love to cook, I decided this would be the perfect group to make stromboli with. I woke up early on the day of the party to start the bread. In America, we use frozen bread loaves, but those don't exist here. This was the first time I made it by myself, but it turned out really well! The girls came over around 1pm and we started to work. They thought it was a really funny food, and of course they loved being in a teacher's home. They asked all sorts of questions about the pictures on my walls. They brought cake and other treats to share. I knew the party was a success when then 1) asked for recipes and 2) asked if one of their friends could come because they had to work on a project and they didn't want to leave.

Needless to say this past week has been a whirlwind, and by the look of things, nothing is going to slow down. So here's to the marathon/sprint (it feels like both depending on the day) to America!

Blessings,
Colleen

FYI

After reading my latest blog post, a dear friend of mine sent along something that helped her when she transitioned back to America after being in Jerusalem for the year with the ECLA's Young Adult in Global Mission Program. I've adapted the list to fit my situation and have added some reflections. (I also replaced YAGM with Colleen!)

Some Suggestions for Helping your Colleen Return Home

1. Don’t ask the question, “So how was it?” Your Colleen cannot function in one-word answers right now, especially ones intended to sum up their entire year’s experience, and being asked to do so may cause them to start laughing or crying uncontrollably. Ask more specific questions, like “Who was your closest friend?” or “What did you do in your free time?” or “What was the food like?” or “Tell me about your typical day.” I feel its common knowledge that I don't tell stories quickly, so if you ask how it was, you had better pull up a rocking chair. It may be a while.

2. If you wish to spend time with your Colleen, let her take the lead on where to go and what to do. Recognize that seemingly mundane rituals, like grocery shopping or going to the movies, may be extremely difficult for someone who has just spent a year living in a country that does not speak English. One former YAGM, for example, faced with the daunting task of choosing a tube of toothpaste from the 70-odd kinds available, simply threw up in the middle of the drugstore. I do not anticipate vomiting anywhere, but I did almost cry when in the SMALL grocery section of a Mark & Spencer's in Warsaw. Suddenly being able to read and understand everything is very overwhelming. I have not been able to understand most of my environment so complete comprehension is going to be sensory overload

3. Expect some feelings of jealousy and resentment. Relationships that form during periods of uncertainty and vulnerability (the first few months in a foreign country, for example) form quickly and deeply. The fact that your Colleen talks non-stop about her friends from Poland doesn’t mean that she doesn't love you, too. It simply means that she is mourning the loss (at least in part) of the deep, meaningful, important relationships that helped them to survive and to thrive during this last year. In this regard, treat them as you would anyone else mourning a loss. I know that I couldn't have made it through the year without the support of my both my home and Europe people. I love everyone.


4. Asking to see photos of your Colleen’s year in service is highly recommended, providing you have an entire day off from work. Multiply the number of photos you take during a week’s vacation, multiply that by 52, and you understand the predicament. If you have an entire day, fine. If not, take a cue from number 1 above, and ask to see specific things, like students, travels or friends. Better yet, set up a number of “photo dates,” and delve into a different section each time. Given the high percentage of people whose eyes glaze over after the first page of someone else’s photos, and the frustration that can cause for someone bursting with stories to tell, this would be an incredible gift. I've included a good spread of my photos in my presentation to be shared with my congregation and at camp. Maybe ask to see this, even if it feels silly because it is just the two of us.

5. At least half the things that come out of your Colleen’s mouth for the first few months will begin with, “In Poland” (which is ironic because all I talk about here is "In America. . . .") This will undoubtedly begin to annoy the crap out of you after the first few weeks. Actually saying so, however, will prove far less effective than listening and asking interested questions. Besides, you can bet that someone else will let slip exactly what you’re thinking, letting you off the hook. I feel this is similar to the "At camp. . . ." stories that everyone has already put up with from me. I have also tried to keep up with some American pop culture things so we can talk about this too, mainly Glee, Grey's Anatomy, and The Bachelorette.

6. That said, speak up when you need to! Be assertive enough to create the space to share what has happened in your life during the last year. This one is really important to me! I want to know what is happening in your life! I know several friends have said, "I feel so connected to you because I read your blog." I'm so thankful for that fact, but at the same time, if I'm not reading your blog, I don't necessarily feel so connected. And I want to be! Your stories are JUST AS IMPORTANT as mine.


7. Perhaps you had hopes, dreams, and aspirations for your Colleen that were interrupted by her year of service. If so, you may as well throw them out the window. A large percentage of returning missionaries make significant changes to their long-term goals and plans. Some of them have spent a year doing something they never thought they’d enjoy, only to find themselves drawn to it as a career. Others have spent a year doing exactly what they envisioned doing for the rest of their lives, only to find that they hate it. Regardless of the direction your Colleen takes when they return, rejoice! This year hasn’t changed who they are; it has simply made them better at discerning God’s call on their lives. Don't worry- I am still seminary bound! LTSP here I come!

8. Go easy on yourself, and go easy on your Colleen. Understand that reverse culture shock is not an exact science, and manifests itself differently in each person. Expect good days and bad days. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Pray. Laugh. Cry. This too shall pass, and in the end, you’ll both be the richer for it.

I hope that this is helpful and that it can provide some insight into what I will be going through over the coming weeks and I move back to America. It's going to be a beautiful, joyous, exciting, but messy time! And today I can say, that I am truly looking forward to it!

Blessings,
Colleen

The Beginning of the End

First, I have an announcement. THE SUN AS BEEN OUT FOR TWO GLORIOUS DAYS IN A ROW!!!

Second, the end of my time here is Poland has truly begun. Today alone I have said see you later to over 10 people that I may or may not ever see again. This coming week is my last full and normal week of classes. And I need to tell you something: I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to come home. With each passing day I realize that this is going to be a messy process, both making my peace here in Poland and then again becoming comfortable again in America.

This is what I know I need:
-To be actively working on crossing things off my "Before America" list

-A charged camera battery to capture precious moments.

-Patience. For myself to let myself feel and embrace each emotion and each moment. And patience from my people (European and American) to let me find my words.

This is the beginning of the end.

Peace,
Colleen

Salsa Successes

Other than church and school, salsa class is that situation where I am most surrounded by a group of Poles that I am expected to interact with. Truth be told, it is the most demanding interaction I have with anyone here. In church, people do not really pay attention to me and they couldn't care less what I do as long as I am quiet and am sitting and standing on cue. At school, everyone knows that I don't speak Polish so I am forgiven for any blunders I may make, and in my classroom my students are expected to keep up with me. Salsa class is the exact opposite of these situations. Not everyone knows that I am American, I have to keep up, and everyone is watching what everyone else is doing. Therefore this hour and a half is the most demanding chunk of time of my week, but it is also the best time of the week. I am recognizably slow on the uptake because I have to wait to watch what the teacher does instead of just responding to what he says. But once I've got the moves down, I really am able to relax into the music and enjoy myself.

Here are some stories about my salsa adventures over the last week.

On Saturday night, Maria and I decided to go to a town outside of Katowice for the party of the Primavera Salsa Open, which is a national salsa festival. Some of the best dancers in Poland were at this festival and at the party. It was so cool to watch the skilled dancers let loose and have fun with their friends. I even braved the dance floor twice with two different partners. My first partner said that he didn't want to be my "master" so though he was a good dancer, he was a poor leader. My second partner was definitely my master and it was so much easier to dance with him! I am still a beginner and I've realized that I really need a strong hand to follow if he wants me to do more complicated figures than what I have learned thus far. This salsa party was by far the biggest I have been to yet, and it was a great night.

In case I haven't mentioned it, it has been raining here, incessantly, since April. It's still raining. So to go to my class yesterday, I suited up in my long raincoat, duct-taped rain boots, and umbrella. At the first crosswalk I came to a car started blowing his horn at me. I was very confused because I don't really know that many people here and I did not recognize the car. After a few more blows and some awkward staring, I realized it was two of my acquaintances from class! They pulled over and gave me a ride to the studio! I was so appreciative of their kindness. One of them also said something funny. He said, "Anna just told me last week that you are from America. I just thought you were shy and that you didn't like me. I didn't know you spoke English!" It was really sweet and very nice. And after that he had a lot of fun chatting with me in English.

My last story is from the Cesky Tesin Salsa Party. Maria and I went after her salsa class with a Polish couple who lives on the Czech side. The husband spoke in English to me, but the wife was shy and quiet. They invited us to sit with them and their friends. When Maria was dancing, I introduced myself, in Polish, to the woman who was also left at the table. I soon divulged that I'm American and it turns out that she and her two friends spoke English. Her one friend, spoke very well and we talked for quite a long time even after the other two lost interest. Also, one of the instructors from my studio, not my teacher but one of the others, asked me to dance. He knows I am a beginner, but he was a wonderful leader. After we finished he said that I was a fast learner and that he was impressed. I was flattered to know that my craziness in taking this chance is paying off.

When I came to Poland, I struggled with how to get involved and how to make friends. Everything was so overwhelming that I didn't know how to reach out. Because of this initial challenge with getting settled, I am even more thankful for my friendship with Maria and how she has encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone. I am also grateful for anyone who is willing to speak in English with me-regardless of their level. Though it has taken many months, I finally feel like I have some small niche here. I finally feel like I have a place where I belong.

Blessings,
Colleen

The Marks Are In!

I have officially entered all of my marks for this semester into the class registers. Well, almost all. I have three students who have missed EVERY class that a grade was given, so they have no grade. They have two more days to come and find me, or they will get a 1 or a 2. So other than that, I am done. This is a wonderful feeling, though somewhat frustrating because it is still only June 1st, and school does not end until June 25th. Why am I done so early, you ask? My grades are due before the regular teachers' grades because my grade is just a part of their English grade. So my grades are due on Monday and then their final final grades are due on that next Friday. I realize that it is still only Tuesday but we do not have school on Thursday and Friday because of Corpus Christi. So basically I needed to get them done and in, so I did.

Now I am somewhat puzzled as to what I am going to do for the rest of the month. I'm very thankful and very excited that I am leaving for a week to Lithuania with the first graders. I am looking into just playing some fun games and relaxing with the students. They have worked hard and I am more than okay with having less structured classes these last few times.

The other project I am currently working on is a Talent Show that will take place on the last Wednesday. In order to encourage the students to participate and break out of their comfort levels, I have agreed to perform if 10 student groups sign up. So far 2 people have, one dancer and then a "comedy show." Both of these groups signed up today, so I think I had better start practicing something! Yikes!

Oh, and the weather here. Still raining. We have sun here and there, but not enough to break through the gray that has been here since APRIL. Hopefully the sun will come out and stay out soon!

Blessings,
Colleen

Crunching the Numbers

As of today I have exatly one moth left in Poland. One month! I sat down to calculate some numbers that I thought would help me to put this all into perspective. Though I am admitedly counting down the days, I am doing this for two reasons. First I am excited to come home, but I also want to ensure that I'm getting the most out of my days here. I don't want to leave any stone unturned or come back thinking, "Gee, I wish I would have. . . ." So this is what my next month, my last month, is looking like:

-28 more lessons to teach.

-13 more lesson plans to write.

-8 more groups of students to assign final grades to.

-3 more afternoons with Zosia, my beloved four-year-old stead.

-3 more salsa lessons.

-4 more opportunities to worship at my Polish church.

-1 class trip to Lithuania with 40 first graders.

-17 dozen cookies to bake.

-2 class parties to host at my flat.

It's honestly very scary to look at these numbers. I feel like I've come a long way and it's weird to think that I've almost reached the end of this journey. I'm still trying to figure out how to tie up lose ends and how to leave knowing that I'm truly ready and done. Leaving home was scary, but sometimes I think that coming home will be even scarier.

Blessings,
Colleen

Reason #87401 Why Volcanoes are Annoying

I'm sure that you have heard about the volcano that erupted in April causing countless travelers to be stranded all over the world and in general causing mass chaos and confusion. Over the past few weeks, Europe has been sorting itself out. All of those who had been stranded have made it to their desire locations; the mail that had been backed up is again flowing in a normal pattern. The airlines have re-designed routes to avoid the small amounts of ash that are still being put into the air. Basically, we have coped. However, the volcano is not done with us yet. It has more tricks up its sleeve.

I have learned that as volcanic ash travels in the air across the continent of Europe it causes a lot of rain to fall. A lot of rain. Flood inducing rains.

It has been raining here in Cieszyn for well over a week now, and it shows absolutely NO signs of stopping. Last week the rain was just annoying. It was on and off, and was in general depressing. However, the rain has taken on a new identity since Saturday evening. It has not stopped raining for more than a few minutes and everything is officially flooding. The river has come up onto the pavement, and other smaller creeks and streams have flooded as well. More and more roads are being closed off every day. Increasingly more students are staying home either because of the roads being closed or because they need to help their parents help with their flooded homes. The flooding has claimed six lives so far in Poland. The weather forecast shows no break in the rain until Monday. . .and I'm not sure I can even believe that.

I was inspired by this weather to talk about natural disasters with my 2nd graders. They are a fun group, and I really enjoyed how they responded so creatively to some of my questions. Here are some funny quotes from them:

-"What is a mudslide? Like a mud avalanche?"

-"Floods destroy you."

-Two students were fighting about whether floods or droughts were worse, and it came down to where the person was: Africa or Poland. In response to this one student said:
"But she doesn't say its in Africa."

-Miss Colleen: "How can we help people survive a flood?"
Student: "You need heat absorption skills."

-Miss Colleen: "What is something that you could invent to stop a volcano from erupting?"
Student: "A cork. Made of cement. Or give the volcano tablets for a runny nose."
(Apparently a Polish comic book hero theorizes that volcanoes are just the effect of the earth's runny nose.)

-Miss Colleen: "And what about mudslides? What can we do to stop mudslides?"
Student: "We can build an anti-mudslider."
Miss Colleen: "What does an anti-mudslider look like?"
Student: "Like a normal anit-mudslider."
(The student then goes to the board to draw a picture of the anti-mudslider.)
Student: "And it has a pipe to take the mud away to a spa. And there are ogórki there too. Cucumbers. Cucumbers at the spa."

-In response to a question about whether the students would like to chase tornadoes for a living: "It's dangerous, but they are nice."

-After students have debated for several moments about how to make volcanoes safe, one exasperated girl says:
"But it's stupid to live by a volcano!"

And this is by far the winner of all the quotes:
-Miss Colleen: "Would you rather be in a flood or a drought?"
Student: A flood because we can stay home from school."
(I WISH!!!)

But do not worry, so far I am safe and dry. My flat is on top of a hill and is on the second story of my building. Hopefully the rain will stop sooner rather than later!

Peace,
Colleen

Miss Hetrick's Quotebook: Chapter 4

It's about time for another installment of silly quotes. Most of them are from my delightful students, but a few are from other local Poles and my friends. Enjoy!


-My 3g had the assignment of writing an interview between a journalist and a famous person of their choice. The first question asked to a famous singer:
"Why do you write your songs? For your grandma?"

-While practicing Matura conversations, one girl student was describing her fear of spiders. She said they make her scream, "I scream". While going over mistakes one of her classmates said:
"What does ice cream have to do with spiders?"

-During one of the same practice sessions one student said these words of encouragement to another:
"She needs to learn to trust herself. She speaks very well, but she needs to relax and let her words come out."

-In a television show on how-to make fruit salad, Michal instructed us to:
"Get out your crossbow and steal fruit from your neighbor."

-When out at a jazz jam session, a man sitting at the next table over said to me:
"You have a very impression American accent."

-Today I played pictionary/charades with my 2g girls at the end of class using words connected to travelling and holidays. This is one of the exchanges:
Marcelina: What does that say?
Karolina: Louvre.
Ola: What's that?
Karolina: It's French.
Ola: Why is it in French? I don't understand French.
Marcelina: What is it?
Karolina: The LOUVRE. The LOUVRE. The LOUVRE.
(No matter how times she said it her teammates still remained clueless that it is one of the most famous MUSEUMS in the world- which was the answer.)

-Finally, I want to share some of the reactions I have received when I confess to my salsa dancing partners that I in fact do not speak Polish. I pretend to be shy for the first few sentences, but once they ask me a question or say too much I say in Polish: I don't understand Polish; I am American. These are some of the things they say:
"Oh. Hello! Hello! Hi!"
"Well, let's speak English then."
"Ohhhhhhhhh, wow!!!" (said by a short man, doing a body roll at the same time)

I hope that you enjoyed these quotes as much as I did!

Peace,
Colleen

Matura Season

Now that the Maturas are in full swing, I thought I ought to take some time to explain the madness that are the exit exams that my third graders are being subjected to at the moment. In America, we take the SATs or ACTs to prove to colleges that we are up to snuff and that we can handle the academics rigor of higher education. We can also chose to take Advanced Placement tests in certain areas of expertise. (I know that the IB program exists as well, but I don't know that much about it, so I'm intentionally leaving out.)

Matura tests are similar to the SATs because all students are required to take Polish, Math, and English, but they are also similar to AP tests because the students can chose to take tests in areas that they wish to study at university. For example, if someone wants to be a doctor they would chose to take biology and chemistry. However, one unique attribute is that students can chose whether they would like to take the test on the basic or advanced level. They can pick their poison. But if they chose to take it on the advanced level, they must do BOTH the basic and the advanced tests.

Last week the students took their Math test and the written portions of Polish and English. There are also speaking components to the Polish and English (and other foreign language) tests. The speaking for Polish consists of each student making a presentation and then being asked questions about it by a committee. From what I understand it is sort of like a shorter thesis defense.

I have become intimately connected with the English speaking component as I worked it countless times with my 3s and now with my 2s! For both levels the students have to talk about pictures and have conversations. On the basic level the student engages in three short conversations with the examiner. The first conversation is about asking for/giving information. The second is about relating some type of story. The third is a negotiation where the student is trying to convince the examiner to change his/her mind. Following these conversations, the student must describe a picture and answer two questions about it.

On the advanced level students describe and answer questions about a set of pictures, quotations, and a chart of some kind. These pieces of information are all connected in some way and the student is to explain their relationship and the problem that they represent. The students then must create an argument answering one of two questions. They must talk for at least three minutes without stopping and then answer questions related to structure and content.

These are some of the other subjects that students can choose to take tests in: French, German, Spanish, Russian, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, WOS (Society Studies), and Music. I think there are others, but I'm not sure. I also don't know much about the structure of these other tests.

I do not envy the students in all of the testing they have to go through. I remember vividly how stressful the two weeks of AP testing were, so I can hardly imagine having this last for three weeks! Despite this, I am happy to report that they seem to be in good spirits and with each test they complete they smile a little bigger. Just a week and a half left until they are completely free!

Blessings,
Colleen

Warsawa

I have officially survived my first chaperoning experience. I traveled to Warsaw for three days this past week with the 3g classes. Usually travel means that I am free of my students can be silly and act however without worrying about anything, however that was not the case this time around. Despite this it was fun to travel with students and interacting with them outside of the classroom was nice. We crammed a lot into our visit! Warsaw is a very historical history and has been through a lot over the years. Most notably the destruction by the Nazis during WWII. The latter part of the XX century was spent rebuilding this city, so most of what we saw was reconstruction and replacements, not the actual original structures. I was impressed with the liveliness of the city and how it has grown and healed over the past 60 years.

On the first day we toured the Senat (Polish spelling). We saw the rooms where different committees meet and where the whole Senat gathers. Overall it was very similar to the various senate buildings in America. The most noted difference were the crucifixes found in some of the rooms. Poland is VERY Catholic. After this we went on a walking tour of the Old Town that included Warsaw University, the old city walls, and the old Market Square.

The second day started with a tour of the Zaziekni Palace, which means Palace on the Water. The palace is situated within a huge public park that is expertly maintained and manicured, and it is also home to peacocks. (I think that students had more fun with the peacocks than the tour of the palace!) The inside of the Palace was beautiful, which is a compliment to the artists and architects who restored it. Next we went to an exhibit at the Palace of Culture and Science, a gift from Russia. The exhibit was about conservation. Lunch was at the nicest mall in Warsaw, "Golden Terrace." The mall had every major European store, plus a few American. Most importantly there was Greek food!! in the food court and a Mark & Spencers grocery shop. I just about cried reading all of the English labels. The remainder of the afternoon was spent at the Warsaw Uprising Museum that documents the way that the natives of Warsaw fought against the Nazi occupation. It is hands down one of the best museums I have ever been too. Every caption and description was written in Polish AND English. I would highly recommend this museum to anyone to travels to Warsaw as an important step to understanding the history and character of the city.

There was a damper on the last day of the trip because of a steady rain, but we fought through and still saw a lot. We went to the oldest cemetery in the city to see some of the most famous graves. The cemetery is divided into two parts, one for military and one for civilians. The graves were beautiful. Next we went on a tour of the Royal Castle. This castle had been completely destroyed by the Nazis, so everything had to be rebuilt after the war. Many countries donated valuable pieces to the new castle, including America. What we did we give them? Bust of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin. (?!?!?) The Palace is a true testament to the strength of Poles to overcome and work through adversity.

After this we piled back on the bus and drove back to Cieszyn. I really did enjoy touring Warsaw. I went in expecting to see communism at every turn, but instead I was greeted with strength, color, and hope. The Poles have not had an easy time of things, but through it all they push forward. This is an important message for the world to hear. Myself included.

Blessings,
Colleen

Kino Na Granicy: Cinema on the Border

In many ways Cieszyn is a small town. Yes we have a market square, but if you walk ten minutes in any direction from there you are in the suburbs and then shortly there after villages. However, every year it is host to several festivals and other such exciting events. This past weekend was the film festival named Kino Na Granicy, or in English, Cinema on the Border. The Polish side of town works together with the Czech side and together they organize a 6-day schedule of films of all types and music. The films range from animation to documentary and from Polish to Czech to Slovak to Hungarian. There were new films and classics. There were four different viewing locations: the theater and cinema here in Cieszyn, the cinema in Cesky Tesin, and the border. Literally the border. For the small fee of 70 zl (just about $25) I got a full 6-day pass, a tote bag, and a t-shirt! Considering to go to one film costs 20 zl and a t-shirt would be about the same, it was a great deal!

So over the past five days, Sarah and I have seen a lot of movies. Some were great. Some were weird. Some I'm dying to see in English. Some I could have lived without. Overall it was a lot of fun, and it was great fun to feel the excitement of the crowd. AND, a free t-shirt. How cool! Here are some snip-bits about my favorite films and fun moments:

The Moon Inside You
This was a documentary about menstruation. Though not all of it was in English, a majority of the experts were American, British, or Australian so their expert testimonies were given in English. It was an innovative and interesting look at what it means to be a woman and how we should take pride in our bodies instead of feeling shameful about a completely natural process. Also, be rest assured that there was funny animation because after all what film about menstruation is complete without it!

Kinematograf
This was a short computer-animated film, and honestly probably my favorite of the whole weekend. It was about a man who was trying to invent the kinematograf and his wife who was secretly suffering from tuberculosis. The animation was uniquely done and the film featured fantastic music. I am always surprised when animation makes me feel so much in my heart.

Rewers
This was a film that was to capture the dark side of womanhood. It is a newly released Polish film, set in post WWII Warsaw. In the story, a young woman who is living with her mother and grandmother falls in love with a man and then the story takes a dark turn. I was surprised at how well I was able to follow the film, despite there not being any English. I would really like to see this movie again with subtitles so that I could better understand what was happening.

Boze Cialo: Corpus Christi
This was a documentary made by Adam Sikora, one of the most famous people in Polish film. It told the story of Silesia, the state in which I live here in Poland. It featured both the young and old. The young sharing their dreams of a better a life through rapping, and the old wishing for the days of communism, for the days when they could feed their family. I was shocked to see the poverty and depression of this area because it is nothing like what I live in here. I was reminded that I really am working with the upper class in Poland.

All in all, participating in this film festival was a great experience. The only regret I have is that is rained on Saturday night so I didn't get to watch a classic Polish love film over the river. I was going to sit in Czech and watch a movie in Poland. How stinkin' cool would that have been!!! I hope another opportunity presents itself to do this before I come home. And regardless I will wear my cool new t-shirt and carry my sweet new tote with pride.

Blessings,
Colleen

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Now that warmer spring weather has settled in Cieszyn, there is a new epidemic among the students. It has spread like wildfire through every class and I hear the symptoms of this epidemic in every corner of the school. The students are constantly saying, "Can we go to the park?" Sometimes it is just one student asking, but at other times it is a chorus of little voices saying not quite in unison, "Can we go?" Hearing this obnoxious chorus immediately puts me in a sour mood because I don't like whining. I have tried to be creative in my planning so that students are engaged and forget about the park.

On the other hand, I also have some students who are difficult to engage in class. Their English skills are not as strong as some of their counterparts, or they are very shy. Often these students are very gifted in another area of learning (art, math, computers), just not English. In my gimnasium classes most of my quieter girls are very artistic, so I wanted to plan a lesson that would give them a chance to express themselves in this way. I decided on doing an "April showers bring May flowers," lesson.

I started the lesson by teaching my girls what this phrase meant. Lucky for me, we had been having A LOT of rain making the phrase even more appropriate. Then I explained that I wanted the girls to make a flower that represented who they are as individuals. I did not want them to make boring daisies, roses, poppies, or lilies. But instead I wanted a Karolina flower, and a Dosia flower, and a Jane flower. I provided paper, scissors, glue, and lots of colored paper and let them get to work.

Now, I realize this was not the most English-focused lesson of the year. But it was fun! Most of the girls really took ownership of their flowers and made unique and beautiful creations. To tie some English in at the end, I made each of the girls explain their flower to me and tell me about how it connected to their personality. To up the pressure just a little bit more, I told the girls that I would be displaying their flowers in a garden for the whole school to see. I loved watching them piece together their flower and think about what things are important to them. They are such intense workers! The garden turned out beautifully, and I was happy to bring a little spring to the school.

Blessings,
Colleen

Lewo, Prawo. . .Arriba, Abajo

We should consider every day lost in which we have not danced at least once.
-Friedrich Nietzsche

For those of you who know me well, you know that I love to dance. It is by far one of all my time favorite activities. I started taking tap and ballet lessons when I was three years old, added pointe at age 11, and jazz at age 14. By my senior year of high school I was dancing 5-6 hours a week and practiced many more outside of class. Even during my normal school day I would tap out combinations with my feet during boring lessons. Going to dance class was my favorite way to relax and at the same time challenge myself in a new way. My parents were always so supportive of my hobby, even though it meant carting me around several days a week, sewing costumes and pointe shoes (no Richard did not sew my pointe shoes), or watching me practice. I breathe easier when I dance.

When I went to college I was hesitant to take formal lessons. I was nervous about dealing with studio drama and finding the right class. I also was unsure of how much time my college classes would take and wanted to make sure I was putting enough time into my education. The only dance class I took during college was a modern class that counted as my gym credit. I would let out the rest of my dancing in my dorm room or when I was out with friends.

I have struggled to find opportunities to dance here in Poland. Finding an eager companion has been a challenge, so I mostly just prance around my little flat or do the occasional work out video online. Prom has been my only major outlet of the year. This made me sad, but I was not sure if there was anything I could about this. However, a few weeks ago, Zosia's mother, Maria, told me that a new dance studio was opening and they were starting a beginners salsa course. She was going to take a class as well, but she is on a more advanced level, so we would not be in the same class. I thought it over for a few days, and then I decided I needed to be brave.

Two weeks ago was my first class. I was so nervous! I didn't have any Polish friend to go with me and help to introduce me and get me settled. I wrote some key phrases in Polish and took them with me just in case. I made it to the school (it is located above a bar and under a bowling alley) and took a deep breath. I walked in and went to the desk and introduced myself, and explaining how I don't understand Polish. Luckily the man said, "Okay, so we talk in English." I let out the biggest sigh of relief. I explained that I wanted to take the salsa class, but that I probably wouldn't be able to understand what the instructor was saying. I told him about my experience and that I hoped I would be able to just follow along. He said it would be fine, as long as I was comfortable with it.

I love this class! Of course I am super confused whenever Daniel, the instructor, speaks, but he is very good at showing the movements with his body as well, so I am able to follow. Conveniently, most of the names of steps and commands are in Spanish, so I am able to understand them. It was so funny the first time he said, "Abajo!" I thought, "Okay, backwards, no problem. Wait. How did I understand that? There is NO WAY I know that word in Polish. What language is he speaking? OH! Spanish. COOL!" This is also helping with my Polish skills as well. I'm getting really good at left (lewo) and right (prawo) and counting (ras, dwa, trzy, cztery). My favorite part of course is that it is just fun! It's so different from everything else that I do during my week. I get to just sit back and participate. It's wonderful. I'll post an update after I have some more lessons under my belt.

Your Dancing Queen,
Colleen

A Week of Mourning

Now that some more time has passed, I feel ready to write more about the plane accident and what it means for Poland now and in the future.

The week following the accident was very somber. The church services were not joyously celebrating Christ's resurrection, but instead featured funeral hymns. It was a difficult liturgical shift. On Monday morning at school we had memorial services, one for LOTE and one for GTE. They included prayers, music, words spoken by our director and the Catholic religion teacher, and a slide show of pictures of all those who had died. Some students were eager to talk about their feelings and their experiences connected with this day, but others were tired of talking about it. Some said it was all anyone was talking about and that they were getting sick of it. Many were also struggling with complicated feelings of hypocrisy because many of the younger generation in Poland were not found of their former president, and they had a hard time with his veneration after his death.

However, it seems like most Poles reacted with sadness and patience to wait out this period of darkness and relative uncertainty for the hope of a better future. They have hung their red and white flags to show their pride with a special black ribbon to show their sorrow. Yes, many important and influential have passed, and for this they mourn. But there are talented and intelligent men and women who will step into these empty places and do their best to work towards strengthening and improving their country. Elections are set for June 20th, and hopefully the most qualified and best leaders will be put into places of leadership.

Last Sunday marked the end of the formal period of mourning, with the funeral for the president and his wife. They were buried in Wawel Castle in Krakow with many of the past kings and important religious leaders of the past. Though many stores and restaurants are usually closed on Sunday, even more than usual were closed to mark this occasion. The funeral was broadcast on television here so that citizens from all of the country could watch, not just those in Krakow.

I believe that Poland will move forward from this tragedy with their heads held high. Their country will remain faithful and strong as they work together to build a better future. Though the loss and grief is great, it is not insurmountable. It would mean a great deal to me if you could pray for the people here, for continued stability and peace. Hopefully the deepest sorrow has passed, but it will still be a challenge to return to a complete feeling of normalcy.

Peace,
Colleen

Miss Hetrick's Quotebook: Chapter 3

So it has been a long time since I have shared quotes. Some of them are from my students, some are from my friends, and a few of them are mine.

-Two students were acting out a scenario between a doctor and a patient.
Agata: I am going to stethascope you.
(a minute later)
Agata: You have lupus.
Slywia: But it's never lupus!

-Agata: I have a carpenter in my bedroom.
Miss Colleen: You are lucky!
Natalia: Do you mean carpet?

-In a skit where the animals start talking. . .
Aga as a goldfish in a gangsta accent: Yo man! Why did you forget to me feed? Can't you see I'm hungry? Why did you get me if you aren't going to feed me? And why am I alone? I am a sexy goldfish. I need a woman.

-Yesterday I was in a hurry to get out the door. I put my shoes on in the dark and didn't think twice about it. The first thing I did when I got to school was go to visit the director because I had a question. In her office I tripped on a cord and looked down at my feet. I saw two ballet flats. One brown. . .and one black.
Colleen: Oh my! Look what I did!
Director: You have two different shoes on! You are in love! And you are!
(In Poland there is a saying that when a person wears two different shoes that he/she is in love. My director knows about my boyfriend, so she thought this was really funny, which is was.)

-I shared my mismatched shoes with the other teachers.
Gabi: I had a friend who wore two different shoes for three days. You are doing okay so far.

-Then in class I read Oh, the Places You'll Go with 3a. I asked them what they thought, and one of the best students in the class says:
A: I don't mean to be rude, but we have a question.
Miss Colleen: Yes, of course. Ask.
A: In the story it says to be careful of knowing your left from your right. Did you wear two different shoes to show this?

-When talking about if any of the students want to be rock or pop stars. . .
Juliusz: He is the next Troy Bolton.

-Miss Colleen: What is the most dangerous thing or place in your house?
Kamila: The walls.

-Miss Colleen: Where is the safest place in your house?
Pawel: The kitchen.
Miss Colleen: Really? What about the knives?
Pawel: It's where the food is.

-Zosia, the four year-old I meet with weekly, is finally starting to grasp that I speak English. She now asks me how to say countless words in Polish.
Zosia: Jak to powiedzieć "ouwa" po angielsku?
Colleen: Ouch.
Zosia: Ja mam ouch.
(In Poland, they say "ouwa" when they are hurt. She was asking how to say "ouwa" in English, and then told me that she had an ouch.)

-I tend to forget that there are a decent number of people who speak functional English in Poland. Many young sales associates at the mall speak enough English to communicate. Last weekend I went shopping with a friend. . . .
Colleen: Look at this purse. It's huge. You could fit a child in it. (As I unzip the purse to look in) Hi, mom!
The sales clerk busts out laughing. Whoops! Forgot she could understand me.

I hope you enjoyed reading some of the ridiculous dialogue that happens in my life.

Blessings,
Colleen

Where were you when. . . .

John F. Kennedy was assasinated.

Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.

the first, and then second, plane hit the World Trade Center.

These are the moments in American history that are a huge part of our collective memory. Everyone who was alive for one of these events knows where he or she was on these days.

Today is one such day for Poland. Today their president, along with his, and many other government and military officials died in a plane accident in Russia where they were going to a WWII commemorative ceremony to honor the 20,000 Polish officers that were murdered in Katyn.

I think life is going to change here.

The country has already gone into mourning, with flowers and candles being laid out in the capital city, Warsaw, and in various other locations. Monday has been pronounced an official day of mourning, though I am not sure what this means quite yet.

I have not yet spoken with any of my Polish connections, though I have spent some time on facebook looking at the profiles of my students. Many of them have changed their statuses to messages of mourning and there is already at least one facebook group dedicated to today's happenings. This group already has pictures from Warsaw and the various events and memorials that are happening there already. It's astonishing how technology enables these teenagers to express themselves and unite themselves.

Please keep this country in your prayers. The next few weeks are going to be a challenge.

Peace,
Colleen

Easter Anecdotes

As I mentioned I spent Holy Week and Easter in Bratislava visiting other American teachers and getting a healthy dose of English. Here are some stories and reflections from my holiday.

English Liturgy
Over the six days I was in Bratislava I attended worship four different times. The first time was in Slovak and was a service held by the Lutheran school there to celebrate Easter. The final three times were to celebrate and mark the death and glorious resurrection of Christ. I didn't cry as much as I thought I would. Okay let me rephrase that, I saved ALL of my crying for Easter Sunday when I lost it. On Easter Sunday I was asked to help with some of the ushering duties. It was beyond cool to be needed in that way. One of the challenges of this year has been being so disconnected from the church. Yes I am a missionary, but my main purpose here is to teach. The church here has not intentionally welcomed me and although I attend church every week, I am not able to participate in any formal way. (However, the church service is very different and not many people other than the pastor do anything during the service.) So to pass out hymnals and say, "Good morning! Happy Easter!" gave me a real purpose in the church and reminded how important serving in this outlet is. I am called to serve the church in a formal, ordained way. I know this in my heart, in my soul, in my gut, in my liver, in all that I am I know this. And for these fifteen minutes when I was passing out hymnals, I remembered in a shocking and powerful way. And I was singing in English. And I missed my family and boyfriend. So I cried. A lot. It was glorious.

A Two-Buffet Day
Eating on Easter was amazing. The church had organized an Easter brunch, so the members (and guests who knew about it) all brought something to share to have this potluck. Now I eat well in Poland. I really do. However, cooking for two people is a simpler undertaking and usually does not include the variety of food that was available to me. There were quiches, and egg strata, and muffins and breads, noodle dishes, and salads, and desserts. It was amazing. I think went back for thirds. AND THEN, for dinner, Taryn and Christoph (Taryn is the pastoral intern at the church, Christoph is her husband, they are students at PHILLY. . .like me!) invited all of the teachers up for a Easter BBQ. Again, we all brought something to share, and I was blessed with another buffet. We laughed and ate, shared family traditions and laughed some more. Though I shouldn't have two-buffets every day, it was the perfect way to eat on Easter. After all, calories don't count on Easter.

Walking to Austria
I learned through one of my conversations that it is possible to walk to Austria and Hungary from Blava. I love walking across international borders. I do this regularly between Poland and Czech, and it still has not gotten old. From Blava the walk to Austria is about 7ish miles round trip, and the walk to Hungary is 17 miles one way. I cannot walk 17 miles in one day. So I announced on Saturday that I wanted to walk to Austria. So we did. I went with three of the teachers from Tisovec. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time talking, enjoying "the nature" and taking some random pictures. Unfortunately I didn't bring my sneakers, and the zipper on my boots broke, so I had to wear my ballet flats. I have some blisters, but it was totally worth it because I WALKED to Austria. The coolest part of the whole thing was when someone called my phone (which doesn't happen that often anyhow, so even getting a phone call was exciting), and I got to say that I wouldn't be able to help because I was walking to Austria. It was beyond cool.

Other Things of Note:
-I reconnected with a dear friend from college who is living in Blava now.
-I decorated Easter Eggs the American way.
-I ate street food with Meghan and went back to Italy in my mind.
-I browsed an English book store with Sarah.
-I went shopping at H&M.
-I felt out of place and I felt like I belonged.

It was an up-down, mish-mash wonderful, enlightening break.

From all of this excitement I got a little cold, so I decided to cut the trip short and came home on Monday night instead of Tuesday afternoon. I slept a lot in my own couch-bed and feel better for it. School starts again tomorrow, and I am not excited. But I am optimistic that it will be a good day despite my lack of enthusiasm. I trust that once I see my students I will fall in love again and it will be good. After all, it's April. Less than three months left. There's no quitting or letting up now. It will be good.

Blessings,
Colleen

Easter Plans

I just wanted to let everyone know that things will be quiet here for a while. Tomorrow I am headed out for a week to Bratislava to celebrate the rest of Holy Week and Easter with Meghan and the other Americans that teach there. I'm really looking forward to having some quality English liturgies and being able to FULLY participate in all of the Holy Week Services. I hope to have some great stories to share next week.

Have a blessed Easter!
Colleen

Body & Blood

There has been a recent phenomenon in my church life here. Over the past month I have participated in more celebrations of the Eucharist than I have the whole year. I am not entirely sure why this is, but I think it is somehow connected to Lent and getting ready for Easter. Regardless I have been like a kid in a candy store and gone forward to receive Christ's body and blood each time.

I've written some about how going to church can be a hard hour and a half. The presence of God is apparent and I can feel Him all around us, but that does not always mean that I am well-nourished by the service. I understand enough of what's going to to get by, but I never walk out thinking, "Man, that was the best worship service I have ever been too!" It's not uncommon for me to come back to my flat and to have some homesickness. However, the Sundays in which we celebrate the Eucharist, I am blessed by this interaction and am thankful that I FULLY comprehend these minutes. So to have been able to participate in this so frequently has really been amazing.

Naturally, communion is celebrated a little bit differently here than in America. But of course, not every church in America follows the same pattern, so this is not unexpected at all. Communion is the last major section of the worship service and is simply added on to the end of the liturgy. The pastor goes through the Great Thanksgiving and depending on the pastor this can be either spoken or sung. After he has finished this (he because women are not yet ordained in Poland), those wishing to receive communion walk to the altar. Watching this for the first time was a chaotic experience. They don't walk in any particular order; there are no ushers to control the flow of the crowd. Everyone just gets up and walks and waits in a semi-circle around the altar. The kneeling rail is 3/4 of a rectangle around the altar.

There are usually at least two pastors (or one pastor and one assistant) who help with distribution. They first bless those who are kneeling, and then distribute the bread by placing it directly into their mouths. The cup comes around next, which is controlled by the pastor who gives everyone a sip and then wipes it clean with a cloth. The hands of those who are receiving are folded below the rail, not resting on it, as is common practice in America. After everyone has received both elements, one final blessing is given and then we cross ourselves (mind, mouth, heart) before we stand. We then do a "lap" behind the altar. I was VERY confused by this at first, as I didn't understand its purpose. It turns out that is part crowd control, part a way to give offering after you have communed. Not everyone who comes to church will commune. They usually will only commune about once every month or two, except for during Lent, apparently.

Not participating in the Eucharist as frequently has been a challenge of this year. While I was still at university I was communing at least twice, if not three times a week. Since it does not happen as often, I for sure am more thankful and really try to embrace the moment intentionally and thoroughly because I am never quite sure when it will come again. As enriching as this year has been and continues to be, I am certainly looking forward to communing on a regular basis again and overall worshiping in my mother tongue every week.

Blessings,
Colleen

3 Chiefs, 1 Indian

This past Wednesday I had a meeting of epic proportions. Or at least it felt that way going into it. I had a sit down with not one, not two, but three of my bosses, Polish, European-based American, and Chicago-based American. I knew the purpose of the meeting was just a visit so that my American leaders could learn more about the site and talk more about the relationship between the ELCA and the Polish Lutheran church and the schools connected with it. However, I was still nervous for several reasons. First of all it was the most extensive site visit to-date. We would be meeting for longer as well as touring around the school and city. Second, I wanted to be sure that I represented the site well. This hasn't been a perfect experience by any means, but Poland and the people here have worked their way into my heart, and I didn't want my own shortcomings as a teacher get in the way of communicating the importance of the ELCA's presence here. Third, c'mon, three bosses, wouldn't you be nervous too?

I am happy to report that the meeting ended up going very well! The only problem was the traffic that caused a delay in our start time, which wasn't really a big deal at all. I believe the time we spent together was affirming for everyone involved. For the school, LOTE/GTE, because it received the assurance that the ELCA wants to continue to work in this school, and in the future maybe even expand the Polish program somehow. For the ELCA because LOTE/GTE is happy with the work that Sarah and I are doing here and want to continue to build the relationship. These two parts are the most important from the meetings. Though I received affirmation and insight from the meeting as well (which I will share with you in a moment), in reality, I am only one piece of the relationship between the Lutheran churches in America and Poland. The relationship began years ago when I was still in elementary school, and God-willing will continue past my time here on earth. So hearing such encouraging news about this partnership was wonderful.

During this meeting I felt inspired by the leaders who sat with me at the table. Each has found a particular path to answer God's call for them and to serve in a way that utilizes their gifts. As I continue to learn and grow as a leader of the church, it is important for me to take the time to appreciate the work of others and to see how God is working through them. I was reminded of my responsibility for when I go back to America, that I am to tell the story of this place so that we can all remember that the church is bigger than any individual building or country. The church spans all of creation and all of time. We are likewise called to listen to and share our own stories, so that we are able to understand ourselves as the ONE body of Christ.

All in all, the meeting and the tour that followed it went very well. Though I was nervous going into the day, it ended up being a great blessing and encouragement. I was left with some questions to ponder over the last three months of my service and was again encouraged to continue to serve with my whole person- a very welcome and needed message.

Blessings,
Colleen

A Very Polish. . .St. Patrick's Day

Over the year, I have really enjoyed being about to talk about different holidays with my students, and St. Patrick's is no exception. I prepared a variety of activities based on the different age groups. The students really didn't know anything about this day or anything connected with it other than it's Irish and green is the color. We played Jeopardy, did crossword puzzles and word searches, and I even printed up some shamrocks with Irish blessings on them to hang around the school. The following are some tidbits from my favorite moments.

Irish Slang
On the Internet I found a great website that has a list of great Irish slang words. Of course A LOT of it is connected with alcohol and various sexual innuendos, so those words I did not share with the class. But I was able to find some great phrases. For example: "Put a gap in the bush," means close the door. We had a lot of fun laughing over these phrases because I could not explain them as well as I can explain American slang, so we just had to accept them for what they are together.

Green, Green, and Green
This is a fun game I found on the Internet, where students have to make a list of everything they can think of that is green or can be green. I realize that this can be almost anything and that's what makes it so funny. After they finished their lists, everyone stands up and then in turn they read one item off of their list. No words can be repeated, and the student only has 5 seconds to respond once their name has been called. If a student breaks one of these rules, then he/she is out and must sit down. I played this game a bunch of times so I've heard all types of responses from household objects to school supplies to plants. However my favorite two responses are these: a polar bear with color and diarrhea. I was so pleased that one of my students went there. It was hilarious.

It was a fun few days getting to share this other culture with the students and getting play. I hope that they learned something throughout the madness and that they'll remember it for next. I'm sure at least a few of my students want to come to America to try our green beer!

Blessings,
Colleen

A Lenten Reflection

Lidia asked us to write something about Lent to share with the students in an assembly that will take place on the last Wednesday before Easter. I had a difficult time deciding what to write, but ended up writing some of my life story that my students have not heard and connecting it with where we are in Lent now. I wanted to post what I wrote for this occassion. It is much longer than a normal post, just so you know.

Church has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I have been a member of the same church for my whole life, Immanuel Lutheran. All of my big Christian moments have happened there. I was baptized in the same baptismal font that still sits at the front of the sanctuary. I attended Sunday School for all my childhood years learning all the stories about Jesus, Noah, Moses, Adam and Eve. I was in every Christmas play, usually as an angel, except for the one year it was my turn to be Mary. I received my first communion there and a few years after that I was confirmed. I helped out in every possible way from reading, ushering, taking care of children in the nursery, to serving as assistant minister. When I went to university I attended a different church, and though it was a wonderful church, it never really felt like "home." So during every vacation I would to my home church to worship. In my mind I was like Harry Potter returning to his house on Privet Drive. I had to get my protection before I went out into the world again. These visits were never really long, but they were important to keeping my faith strong.


In reality, it’s a simple church, white walls, wooden pews, a plain wooden cross hanging behind the altar. We have homemade banners for the different seasons and have the standard Christmas trees- nothing too special. We’re a small congregation, no more than a hundred people per week. Most of the adults have known me my whole life. They remember when I was in diapers, or the Sundays when I would come to church in a horribly ugly outfit and an awful hair style because mom was out of town and my father had to get me ready. I also have watched babies grow into teenagers and have experienced the sadness caused by the death of one of the older members. Again, it's a simple church, but it’s home and it’s where my heart is. I know they will always welcome me back with open arms to hear my stories.


The last time I was at my church was for my blessing before moving here to Cieszyn. This Sunday was full of emotion. All of my extended family came to the service and my closest friends from high school were also there. I sat in the front of the church and helped my pastor with the service, reading Bible passages and the prayers. During the service I also formally received a blessing from my church, sending me on my way with all of their love and support. All of my anxiety and stress about this move melted away, and I truly felt God’s peace in my heart.


And then I moved across the world.


Now, I know that God is in Poland. God has been here for a very, very long time and I believe that He plans on staying for a very, very long time. I knew I was not coming to Poland to bring God. Instead, I was coming to Poland to meet God and serve Him in a new way. I was not sure what to expect.


Adjusting to the different type of church service was very challenging. The only words I could understand at the beginning of the year were: God, thank you, love, and Jesus. Needless to say, I spent most of the service being very confused and butchering Polish hymns, when I was able to figure out what hymn we were even singing. I would like to apologize to anyone who has had to listen to me sing during church, AND would like to apologize to all of Poland as a whole for what I do to destroy your beautiful language. I’m getting better-I promise. Even though I always confused about what was going on and felt very lost, I always thought this one thing: it's okay if I don’t understand what’s going on. God does. He is here and He hears the prayers of the people around me, AND mine, even though they’re in a totally different language. I am one of thousands of people who have sat in this church, worshipping, praying, singing, learning, listening. And for me, this was enough to get me through my first weeks here.



By Advent, the flow of the service was no longer a mystery to me. I knew when to stand, when to sit, what verses we sing when. I was by no means an expert because I still had to read along in the hymnal, but I knew where to find everything. The Advent wreath was brought out, and I knew that we were in a different season. It was time to get ready for Christmas, to prepare for the birth of our King. Just like at home, we lit another candle with each passing week as we got closer and closer to the miracle. I was not able to understand the words that explained the season, but the visual changes helped me to mark the journey to Bethlehem.


Now we are in Lent, the time of the church year where we wait for Jesus again. But not for His birth, but instead we prepare for His painful death and glorious resurrection. The changes in the service have been harder for me to notice since there is not a wreath or something physical to show me the journey. Though I know more words than just God, thank you, love, and Jesus, I have added, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and the verb “to be”, my listening comprehension is not good enough to absorb everything in the service. Being so confused has been difficult for my heart because I take Lent very seriously. Not being able to fully grasp the shift into Lent has made it almost feel like Lent isn’t really here. The Lenten words of my heart have been quieter this year, and I think I will be surprised for the arrival of Easter.


Despite this, church on Sundays is still a meaningful time for me. New words and songs are being written on my heart, one impossible to pronounce syllable at a time. However, the most touching moment of the entire service has always been and continues to be at the very end. It is the moment of silence after we have finished singing the last hymn or received the blessing from the pastor. No one moves, no one even seems to breathe. In that moment I feel connected to God and everyone else in a very intimate way. In that moment, we are together in God’s love and peace. Our differences disappear and for a single moment we are one in Christ. Even if I understood NOTHING of the rest of this service, this moment is enough to convince me of God’s presence. He is sealing us with His love and preparing us for our journey out into the world.


Over the next few days we will once again follow Christ through his journey to death, waiting in hope and prayer for His victory. No matter what language the story is told in, the great joy is still the same: God's love for the world is so great that He gave up His only son for us. We are eternally blessed by the sacrifice Jesus made for us. We can live confidently in this fact and can go into the world without fear because of God's love for each of us. Our language does not matter to Him. Polish, English, French, German, and even Chinese are all wonderful to Him and all of these languages can share the promise of His grace.

Hudson High

Something magical happened in my life yesterday, and I am the most excited to tell you about.

On Sunday, Sarah and I had church and lunch with our director and her family. It was a wonderful day full of great company and wonderful food. I would be perfectly happy to let any Polish mother feed me every day. The weight gain would be beyond worth it. Anyhow, she invited Sarah and I to a choir concert on Wednesday night. One of her friends from America is a Lutheran travel agent, and she coordinated a trip for an American high school choir and they were going to be performing in Ustron, a city a few villages over from Cieszyn. I was very excited about this invitation and the prospect of seeing Americans! Though they weren't MY people per say, they were from my native land, spoke my mother-tongue and were sure to sing to English.

The concert was held in the Lutheran church in Ustron, which is absolutely beautiful. The sanctuary is painted light blue and yellow, and the altar had a wonderful rendition of the Last Supper flanked by statues of St. Peter and St. Paul. The two different choirs that came from Hudson High in Wisconsin, had 96 members total, and of course they wore the stereotypical, ugly black dresses and tuxedos that all American choirs seem to wear. They sang a variety of Christian pieces in both Latin and English, and the music they created was breathtaking. My favorite numbers that they performed were, "How Can I Keep From Singing?" and their benediction blessing. In order to sing the benediction the spread out around the church, so that all of the choir members formed a circle around the audience, and then they all held hands and sang. It was a very powerful message and blessing. If this was all my night was, it would have been enough.

However, it was the not the end. At the end of the concert we followed our director up to the front so that she could find her friend. As we waited, we chatted, and the various chaperones around us realized that Sarah and I were speaking perfect, American English, so they started to ask who we were and where we were from. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. The group ended up inviting us to dinner at the parish house with the choir. We headed over and were suddenly in a bustling room full of 100 Americans, talking, laughing, and eating. It was a wonderful feeling to hear so much English. As beautiful as the music I had just listened to was, having English surround me was also beautiful. We sat at the chaperones' table and enjoyed wonderful Polish soup, open-faced sandwiches, and cakes as well as great conversation with our new American friends. The energy was electric and I felt energized by sharing my stories and hearing theirs' as well.

Sadly, they had to return to Krakow that night, so they were not able to stay very long. They took all the left over sandwiches for the road, which I thought was wonderful because feeding 96 high school students is not an easy feat I'm sure. We shared wishes for safe travels and blessed experiences with one another, and they loaded onto their two coach buses and drove into the night. We caught a ride back to Cieszyn with our director's pastor.

This night was wonderful for a variety of reasons, but one thing in particular sticks out in my mind. One of the insecurities I have been developing over the past month, is how I am going to handle my transition back to America, back into a country that speaks a language I understand. This is daunting to me and sometimes makes me want to crawl into a hole. However, last night's experience has encouraged me to have faith in ability to cope. My surroundings did not overwhelm and overtake me, but instead it was an almost magical night. I believe that moving home is going to be okay.

Peace,
Colleen

School Olympics

One of the traditions at my school is a school wide "Olympic" competition. All of the middle school classes compete against each other, as do all of the high school classes. This means there is one winner for the middle school and one winner for the high school. The students participate in a variety of activities, mostly athletic in nature, though there is a costume contest. Each class picked a theme for their costumes and dress up and decorated their space accordingly. These are the classes and what they dressed up as:

1ag - Mimes, and then they yelled at each other all day not to speak.
1bg - Vampires
1cg - Primary School Students

2ag - Emo/Goth Kids
2bg - Thugs

3ag - Construction Workers
3bg - Tea

1a - Musicians
1b - Village People (As in people from the village, NOT the music group famous for their smash hits "YMCA" and "In the Navy." I asked.)

2a - Bad Guys
2b - Anti-Terrorist Group (All the the teachers were deemed terrorists.)

3a - People Camping
3b - Gangstas

All of the grades competed in various swimming events that ranged from basic races to more complicated tasks. The coolest water event involved two students that started at opposite ends of the pool. The referee threw 12 "hockey pucks" into the middle of the pool. The students then had to race to the middle and fetch all of the pucks and swim them to end of the pool. Each grade had a pair compete and the best time won.

The high school students competed in a volleyball tournament. They are SUPER intense players, in that at varying points during the competition I was afraid for my own well being or for the well being of someone else. The final round was between the 3a and 3b classes. It was an amazing match, but 3a ended up winning. Watching them play was so much fun. They really worked well as a team, and many of them are very skilled players.

The middle school students a variety of smaller relay races or other athletic skill tests. The relays included batons, somersaults, and objects to run around. There was also a jumping competition where each team saw how far the could jump, one person at a time. The first student would jump and then chalk was used to draw a line behind his/her heel. The next student would then put his/her toes on the line and jump. Basketball and soccer shooting were other events.

However, the BEST part of the day was the bribes. Most of the classes had food or drink of some kind to bribe the teachers into giving them more points. This is probably the coolest privilege I have experienced yet as a teacher. I ate so much. I drank "blood" from the vampire team, had apple cake from the villagers, a sandwich wrapped in newspaper from the construction workers, and two different types of tea (hot and iced) from the tea team. I felt like a true American- eating lots of food and watching others exercise.

I'm not sure who ended up being the grand champion of either the middle or high school. We thought that there was going to be a closing ceremony of some kind, but there wasn't. Everyone just scattered and disappeared, it was almost eerie how everyone left so quickly. I guess because it was Friday afternoon people wanted to get home. All in all it was a great day and really fun to witness. I'm grateful to be at a school where we have such unique traditions and take time to do special things with the students.

Peace,
Colleen

March Madness Moments

In my last post I described the project I am calling March Madness. Here I want to share some individual stories from it.

One-on-One Interactions
I have really been enjoying meeting with my students one at time outside of the normal class time. They are told that they are to bring questions or a topic to talk about and then we will just have a natural conversation from there. I've had conversations on a variety of topics with them from their favorite movie, to their future plans, to how they get along with their siblings, and about American politics. It's been very interesting! One neat thing about these interactions is that it has given me the chance to share my faith with a few of my students, which has been very meaningful. Yes, I am a missionary here, but I do not structure my English Conversation classes around Jesus, so being able to talk with them about my faith and hear about theirs was awesome. I'm so grateful when these moments arise because I feel like become more real to them and that we can connect as equals because of our shared faith.

Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous
This is one of the categories for the conversations they can have. One student is a journalist and the other is a celebrity. The students are so funny when they do this conversation. Some of what they say is true, but they also make up a lot of information too, which is just hilarious. During one conversation, I "learned" that Bono was planning on leaving his wife to be with this journalist and live in the tour bus.

Yellow Papers
As mentioned in the post before, I copied their point sheet onto yellow paper. I did this so that it would stand out amongst all of their white papers, so that they would be able to find it quickly and hopefully not lose it. All of the students sort of laughed when they saw the yellow paper, but I thought it was just because it was so bright. This past week I found out why they were really laughing from one of my students. After having a one-on-one with one female student, she said, "We were just wondering why you copied our papers onto yellow. Did you do this on purpose?" I said yes, but they could have easily been blue or green or pink. She then went onto explain than in Poland, if a hospital patient has mental problems they are written on yellow papers. Therefore if someone says that you have yellow papers you are crazy. My students thought that I had picked yellow paper because of that connection. Though now I wonder if they are connecting ME with yellow papers. . . .

As the month goes on I'm sure that I'll have more things to share from this project. Or at least I really hope that this continues to be a rewarding and enjoyable project for both the students and myself.

Peace,
Colleen

March Madness

Some of my favorite projects I did during my high school years were portfolios where I got to pick the content. The teacher would assign several different mini-projects worth a certain amount of points, and we would have to pick and choose which parts we wanted to do in order earn our grade. This gave us the opportunity to feel in control and to have a say in our assignment, whereas we usually would just have to do whatever the teacher directed us to do. I did this type of project in several of my classes over the years, but the ones I remember best are from my senior year in my AP Psychology and Government classes. As I was remembering these projects in January, I thought that I would like to do something like this for my students.

The idea started with me wanting to meet with my students outside of normal class time to meet one-on-one. For their Matura exam they will speak on their own with an examiner, so I wanted to give them the opportunity to be in this situation, but to do this during class time seemed too complicated. I only see my students once a week for forty-five minutes as is and to cut this time seems unfair. However, I was not sure if I would be able to force the students to see me outside of class either. Enter the portfolio. If I designed such a project where the students were picking and choosing what activities to partake in, then they could chose to speak with me outside of class. I decided to call this project, "March Madness." (I know, I know, it has nothing to do with basketball, but these students have no idea what NCAA is, and I like the alliteration.)

This is the basic breakdown of the assignment. Students have the entire month of March to earn up to 50 points, so 50 is 100%. They earn points by coming to class (3 points per class), and by participating in different speaking activities, which they chose. They keep track of their points on a yellow piece of paper that is their new bff. If they lose this paper, they get a 0. I don't think they have ever had such an assignment before because they are VERY stressed about these papers. They can choose between three different categories of activities: Flying Solo, Two Heads Are Better Than One, and Group Bonding. Each category has at least three different activities, so they can combine them in any way they wish, but they cannot do any activity more than two times. I prepared all the materials and braced for impact, not quite knowing what to expect out of my first class.

The students were definitely a little confused about how everything worked, but to be honest so was I. This is my first time leading a project like this! However, as we got into it and started working, we have found a flow that works. By the second block of working on this, they know what they have to do and we get right down to business. A class period looks like this: I come in, greet the students and tell them to get out their yellow paper. I sign all the sheets for attendance and then ask the students what they want to do and give them the materials they need. I then move two more chairs up to the teacher's desk and as they are ready, they come up and speak. I love this system because the rest of the class keeps working and I can truly focus on the student who is in front of me. One adjustment I think I should make is to start a sign-up for what order the students want to speak in. They are a little feisty when it comes to waiting for their turn. Also, the last few minutes of class are wasteful because by then only one or two students are left to speak and the other students are restless. I have not thought of a way to fix this yet, but because the students are getting good practice in, I'm not too stressed about these few minutes.

In future posts I will share more about how the project is progressing and more about how the students are doing.

Blessings,
Colleen