COMMENCE LEADER SCHOOL

If I could sum up the past day and a half in one word, I would have to say, "exhaustion." And I'm not the only one. From 2pm yesterday, we have been nonstop! Met our trainers in the hotel where we then had 20 minutes to change into formal wear where we were met with Polish politicians for our inauguration. I was then interviewed for TVP Polonia, being the only one in my group who doesn't speak Polish, and had to come up with a Polish sentence on the spot. (Of course, saying that when I leave my aunt in Rzeszow, I say, "Kocham cie." We then changed into casual attire and went on a two hour tour of Warsaw - which is all the photos you'll see below. After that, dinner at 8:30 at a great restaurant in the stare miasto (old town).

Today was spent in workshops with our cohorts. (There are three.) We began the day with breakfast at 7am. We did a little icebreaker outside the Ibis Hotel in Warsaw and then around 9am, headed to the bank to get the 1700 zloty cash reimbursement for our plane tickets. We were then on our way to Bialobrzegi, where the majority of our conference will be held. We had a quick tour of the campus and had a half hour to sit/unpack. We then went to our cohorts where we talked about expectations and rules, and then identity and what identity means. We had lunch and then came back into our cohorts for outdoor team building activities. If you're on facebook, you can see some of this here. I'm not usually a fan but they were pretty good and all related back to teams and how we can be better leaders. This went until 7pm when we broke for dinner and then continued on from 8:15 until 11 tonight.

Until tomorrow, photos...

Hotel Bristol - the most expensive hotel in Warsaw and also the original. It lasted through the war because it was the headquarters for the Nazis.

This is where the eternal flame is housed, to honor all Poles who died during the war.

On the walk to stare miasto



 

Zegrze Lake in Bialobrzegi

FAMILY

For anyone out there who might actually read my blog (Alicja), I apologize ahead of time that I may be MIA for a bit. Headed to Warsaw in just an hour and as is the life of a vagabond Pole who speaks minimal Polish, you never know what may be around the corner in terms of internet connection, telephones, or even a shower. Until then, more photos!

Me and my 3rd cousin, Adrian (Arek and Ewa's son), and our one commonality

Me and my 2nd cousin, David

Me and my great aunt, Ola

Me, Arek (my 2nd cousin) and his wife, Ewelina

SOBOTA

Ahh, another Saturday of attempting to communicate! Exhausted and can't believe I'm actually wanting to head to bed at 8pm. Tomorrow I leave Rzeszow at 4:20pm for the only train to Warsaw. Getting in at 10:30 and hoping for an easy trip to my hotel in the old town...

 

 

 

Homemade macaroni



Adrian and his futbol skills

RZESZOW

What a trip! I finally landed in Poland yesterday, after about 17 hours of traveling. Almost didn't make my flight from Frankfurt to Rzeszow - thankfully a concerned Pole saw me passed out on my suitcase and woke me up just before last call. My (2nd) cousin Eric picked me up from the airport in Rzeszow and I was off to Ola's (Leska's...it seems she hasn't been called that since a child though) and stuffed with pierogi. (Yes, I've been spelling pierogie wrong this entire time..)

Completely stuffed, I made my way outside to spend time with Ola and Adrian, my 7 year old (3rd) cousin. Played way too much soccer for someone who's only slept 4 hours but I couldn't help it - he hates to even look at me (I think my English speaking scares him) but couldn't help but smile while we played. Spent today shopping for myself and hanging out with Eric, Adrian and Eric's wife, Ewelina. Again, ate way too much food and spoke terrible Polish the entire time.

Came back to Ola's to be greeted by another (2nd) cousin, Jadzia. Was pretty proud of myself when Ola said my Polish is somehow better now than it was 3 years ago..that is until I tried to communicate with Jadzia and she didn't understand anything I said.




"maliny" from Ola's garden

Adrian and some serious raspberry picking

Ola's house..where the best raspberry compote is made

Jadzia (and me, after a really long day of shopping...)

 

I LOVE LADY GAGA

It's funny the things I'm looking forward to with this trip. A huge part of me is excited to sit on the bus and listen to the radio. It such a strange thing but I think it's what I identify most with when I think of Poland. Zoning out and just soaking in another culture. I can remember going to Kluczbork and thinking how nice it was to hear a yogurt commercial in a language other than English. Weird, I know.

So to start my preparations, I'm at work and tuned into a Polish radio station online. I'm currently listening to a Polish song that I believe is called, "I love Lady Gaga."

Gotta love Poland.

POLSKA BOUND...AGAIN

Five years. It's been five years since I've written in this blog and I can't believe I'm writing in it again.

I recently applied, and was accepted, into a Leaders in Poland program in Warsaw...and I'm ecstatic! It's been about 4 years since I was last in Poland and there are days when my heart aches to go back. I miss my students and the family I met while I was over there last but most of all, I just miss Poland. The dirty train stations, the city centers, the haircuts, the fried cheese being sold on the street, little shops, mulled wine in winter, fashion...all of it. Even the parts that drive me nuts.

So a week from tomorrow, I fly out of Rochester and land in Rzeszow. More to come..

ALWAYS TRUST THE INTUITION

So I was wrong. The school called me today and wanted to figure out how the sleeping arrangements were going to work when Susan got here. It seems that they're going to buy a cot to keep in my flat. Other good news - I'm getting paid. They took out money for my VISA and document costs but I'll be getting the remainder. My guy that gives me problems also said he won't be able to make Friday's lesson so today was my last time with him. That was kinda weird as I wasn't prepared to tell any students about my leaving yet; I figured it didn't start until tomorrow since my Monday classes repeat on Friday. It was weird and I was oddly shaking after I did it. Not sure what that means... I also had my two guys for tomorrow morning cancel which means that I'll be able to have Susan join me for their lesson on Thursday morning and that means less work for me. Susan is really good at just keeping conversation going and those guys love to talk. So that should be good. So, when I had a good feeling about this school, I should've believed that it would last till the end.