Hello Warsaw 306! 

It’s been a busy few weeks for me both in and around Warsaw – and abroad!  I apologize for the lack of blog updates, but better late than never.  Here is a brief recap of the adventures of Allyson over the past few weeks/weekends…

After the Kazimierz Dolny day trip, I had another fun week of teaching with the older kids at school – I really love how into my lessons they get.  We learned about Life in the USA and American Thanksgiving, which was celebrated on November, 22^nd.  After making “Thankful Turkey Collages” in my classes, it was time to celebrate the real way with the only family I have in Europe – my British uncles!

I arrived in London late on Thursday night (Nov. 22^nd) and enjoyed a very atypical Thanksgiving dinner with a fantastic group of Brits.  The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing in my Uncle’s hometown of Aylesbury and sightseeing in Cambridge!

The day after Thanksgiving was spent shopping and sightseeing in Cambridge, England!

 

Upon returning from my Thanksgiving holiday, I hit the ground running with a few days of teaching, capping the week off with the Lady Pank concert with my hosts!  Though I couldn’t understand a word of the concert, it was still fun to hear a sampling of Polish music…and to see people get so into it.

Sala Kongresowa was rocking for the Lady Pank Anniversary Concert!

After an exhausting week of traveling, teaching, and concert-going, I decided to spend a break weekend in Warsaw the last weekend of November – preparing for the full-on festivities that were to come in Stockholm the following week!  I and three of the other Lattitude volunteers had a traditional Polish lunch in Old Town on Friday (Nov. 30^th), followed up by a tour of the Muzeum Techniki.  The latter was pretty interesting…  The exhibits ranged from showcasing various cars from Hollywood movies, to highlighting the technological advances in cell phones.  I could even remember using some of the “historical technology” – like ancient cell phones and computers – in my youth!

With one of the many famous movie cars – Tow Mater from the movie Cars!

And finally that brings us to my most recent weekend here in Warsaw – which I actually spent romping around Stockholm!  I know Poland gets cold during the winter, but I’m not sure we can compete with Sweden.  I arrived in Stockholm last Thursday afternoon and was welcomed by -12 °C…shocking to say the least!

Despite the cold, however, we had an amazing time.  We took a bus tour, explored a formerly sunken Viking war ship, and met some amazing Irish and Australian folks at our hostel!  As an added bonus for me, I got to learn more about the Swedish Royal family…yet another Monarchy I can follow!  Very exciting…

In front of the Vasa Museum which houses a 300+ year-old Viking war ship!

I’m off to Paris and Prague for Christmas with my family (first time I’ll have seen them since August!) next weekend and it’s hard to believe that I only have 5 more weeks left here in fabulous Bemowo. 

More updates to come, I promise!

 

After a fantastic weekend in Wroclaw, I decided to “lie low” this week and weekend -- spending some quality time in Warsaw.

 

Well…at least mostly in Warsaw!

 

This week was my first week of teaching with the older kids at Warsaw 306 – and I REALLY enjoyed it!  It’s amazing to me how vastly improved the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th graders’ English is compared to that of their younger counterparts.  Looking back on my childhood, it would have been awesome to be able to speak a second language at ten years old as well as these students speak English!

 

Since this was my first week on the 2^nd floor, I reverted back to the “Life in America” presentation as an introduction to me and the USA.  Just as the younger classes did before them, everyone got really into the lesson...amazing me – yet again – with how much they know about the US!  I can already tell that I’m going to really enjoy teaching these kids.

 

After a fun “first week” I opted to stay in Warsaw for the weekend – save a day trip to Kazimierz Dolny with one of my Lattitude friends, Maddy, on Friday.  Kazimierz Dolny was beautiful, but the foggy and drizzly weather prevented us from taking in the full “feel” of the city.  Nonetheless, Maddy and I had fun perusing the many art galleries, wandering along the banks of the Vistula, and eating the BEST Polish food I’ve ever tasted at a local restaurant.

Maddy and Me in the Kazimierz Dolny market square.

The remaining weekend activities were pretty “status quo” – I saw a movie, shopped for appropriate Polish winter gear, etc. – albeit in much lower temperatures!  Winter is quickly approaching and I’m anxious to feel what -20°C will feel like.

 

Until next time,

Allyson

What a difference a week makes!  Back in good health this past week, I had a great time with the kids at school – learning about American sports! – and a fantastic weekend away in Wroclaw.

 

As I mentioned, this week’s focus was on American sports, which happens to be a subject I am very fond of!  It was interesting to see the difference in knowledge-level between different classes and grade levels when it came to sports in America.  One third grade class was FULL of boys who loved baseball and basketball, going so far as knowing some of the popular professional teams in the US!  Other classes, however, had never seen or played any of the American sports we were discussing.  Each group made for a very different, but equally lively conversation and presentation…

 

After a wild week of sports in the classroom, it was off to Wroclaw for a weekend getaway with some of the other Lattitude Volunteers in Warsaw – Emily, Maddy, and Nicole.

 

We left late Thursday afternoon on the Polski Bus and arrived in Wroclaw just after 10pm.  After grabbing a very late dinner (the bus never stopped for food as expected!), we headed to bed in anticipation of two long days of sightseeing on Friday and Saturday!

 

On Friday we started off with an amazing breakfast – my first meal of eggs and bacon since coming abroad – and then spent the afternoon roaming around the Wyspa Piasek and the beautiful botanical gardens before finishing up the day with a (very tiring!) climb up Mary Magdalene Church’s tower.

 

On the Wyspa Piasek with Emily, Nicole and Maddy.

Day two of our weekend getaway was more on the lighter side.  We got an early start on Saturday morning – with our “Dwarf Map” in hand – and set out to find all 79 dwarf statues scattered around the city.  Let me tell you – Dwarf hunting can be exhausting!  We walked around for 3 hours and had only found 36 dwarfs…feeling accomplished enough, we took a break for lunch and wrapped up our day at the Raclawicka Panorama.

 

In the middle of a fierce day of dwarf hunting!

The trip back to Warsaw on Sunday seemed to take ages – the bus was crammed, the wifi went in and out the entire ride.  But, alas, we finally arrived back “home” at 4pm and settled in for another fun week of teaching ahead…

 

‘Til next time!

Allyson

Well, Warsaw 306 – not much to report on from last week!  Both Beata (my mentor at school) and I were well under the weather as I mentioned in my last blog (Strep throat and Tonsillitis got the best of me), and as a result we both stayed home from school for the week.

My sick week included a LOT of sleeping, and barely leaving the house for 7 days.  But, come Friday I was feeling a bit better and ventured out to see the new James Bond movie, Skyfall, with two of my volunteer friends.  I came away impressed with the movie (it’s great!) as well as the movie theater…who knew you could reserve seats for a movie??  That is a genius idea!

Other than recovering and Skyfall, however, my week was extremely low key and uneventful…hopefully there will be more to share next week!

Allyson

Happy Halloween, Warsaw 306!

I was a bit delinquent last week in my blogging (my apologies!) so this installment will cover two wild weeks in one… 

Last week started off pretty standard.  I spent a second weekend in a row here in Warsaw, finding some time to go to the Warsaw Zoo on Friday the 19^th, and dining at an American/Asian fusion restaurant, called Sphinx, with some of the other Lattitude volunteers on Saturday.  Although the temperature said it was supposed to be in the 60’s that weekend…it was becoming very obvious that cold weather was near!

The zoo was by FAR my favorite part of the weekend, although it was a challenge to find at first!  We hopped on Tram 4 after meeting at the Palace of Culture and after my inaugural tram ride across the Vistula, the four of us finally made it to our destination after asking no less than five polish folks for directions.  The words lewo and prawo were key in getting us there!  Thank goodness for the brief ‘directions’ lesson from orientation week…

With the chilly weather, many of the animals had been moved indoors (read: horrible smelly buildings through which zoo-goers were allowed to walk); but in just over an hour at the zoo we were able to see the vast majority of the animals – save the elephants whom I think have already been shipped to warmer climates for winter.

 

Bri, Maddy, Casey and I having some fun at the photo wall!

Maddy and I having dinner at Sphinx.

 

After our Zoo and Sphinx adventures it was back to school for us.  The school week (October 22-25) was definitely the coldest yet, although still very much bearable.  With some of the teachers having to be absent, and other classes going on excursions, my class schedule was a bit jumbled – with me even teaching my own lesson altogether under the guidance of Mr. Kuvalchek (sp?).

Last week’s topic was Halloween!  And for a country that doesn’t celebrate Halloween with any regularity, I was stunned by how much the kids knew about the fun holiday! After an interactive presentation with each class, we had fun coloring jack-o-lanterns, and completing Halloween-themed word-finds to complete the lesson.

Now for an update on week 2 of this two-week blog post…

If the school week of October 22-25 was considered normal, this week (October 29-November 1) was anything but… 

My “week” started off with a fun weekend trip to Budapest with the seven other Lattitude volunteers from Poland.  We took a cheap flight from Modlin (which is surprisingly far out of town…) and got into Budapest in the early evening on Thursday, 10/25.  All went well with the weekend for the most part – we did a dinner cruise along the Danube, created our own self-walking tours of the city, and ate traditional Hungarian foods. Budapest is really gorgeous; it has a truly eastern European feel to it that I have never experienced before.

On my self-guided tour of the city: Standing in front of Heroes Square!

In front of the rolling his of Buda…

 

But, all good things must come to an end, right?

My “good times” came to a crashing halt on Saturday afternoon as I came down with Strep Throat and Tonsillitis.  My incredibly sore throat, pounding headache and achy muscles made for a less than ideal flight and bus ride back home to Warsaw on Sunday, but lots of rest was in my future... 

Coincidence would have it that my mentor, Beata, was also out for the count after losing her voice earlier in the weekend. With both of us sick, we were given the week off from school to recuperate.  And that leads me to today:  Halloween Day.  I guess you could call my costume that of a sick, pale ghost, but in reality that’s exactly what I feel like.

So until next time – and hopefully with better health! – Happy Halloween, Warsaw 306…

It's hard to believe that I've been in Poland for more than a month now, but having just wrapped up Week 5, that is in fact the case...

We had another fun week at school with the kids - spending time revising my presentation on America from last week, learning about the US flag, and ending the week with an introduction to Columbus Day.  I think - or at least hope! - that the students are enjoying our interactive lessons and the break from normally-structured English classes.  I'm certainly having fun with all of them!

 

Rather than jet-setting off for another weekend traveling adventure, this past weekend I chose to stay in Warsaw for some rest, relaxation...and further exploration of the city!  I started with a historical walking tour of Old Town and the former Jewish Ghetto on Friday. 

The walking tour group outside the Warsaw Royal Palace

Although I have seen many of the buildings and monuments we passed before, Michal - our fabulous tour guide - told us the COMPLETE history of each sight, beyond anything I have learned thus far in Poland.  It was an extremely informative day, setting my perspective on how MUCH history Warsaw really has...

Saturday and Sunday were very relaxed.  I spent some time with my host family - playing an unimaginable number of games of "memory" with Kasia and Maciek - and enjoying some much needed time at the gym.  These past few weeks have not been kind to my waistline :)

 

Until next time,

Allyson

Well, week three is in the books and what a fun week it was!  From teaching about my home country – The USA – to touring Auschwitz and the beautiful city of Krakow, this week was action-packed and extremely exhausting…

Although I had Monday off from school because the 2^nd grade had an excursion, this week was by far my fullest week of teaching yet.  I had the opportunity to really take the reins of my classes – along with the fabulous teachers, of course – and share a fun and interactive presentation on the USA.  My presentation covered everything from the size and number of states in the US, to our unfortunate reputation for eating fast food.  The kids really enjoyed the “What is America Known For” portion of the presentation during which they could yell out people or things they thought were “American”.

 

I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing that ALL the kids – regardless of age – were able to name each American fast food restaurant that existed in Warsaw…  But, I guess our reputation could be worse, right?!

 

After a fun-filled week at school, I headed to Krakow on Thursday night for a weekend trip with the other Lattitude Volunteers.  There were 8 of us in total and while the 7 others decided to take the train down to Krakow, I gave Polski Bus a try after booking the ticket deal of the century – 1 zloty for the trip from Warsaw-Krakow!

The bus trip ended up taking nearly 6 hours – we hit a small snag when we found ourselves behind a 5-car accident just outside of Krakow – but I arrived safe and sound late Thursday night, ready for a wild weekend of fun!

 

On Friday, all 8 of us decided to tour the former concentration camp:  Auschwitz-Birkenau.  I can’t put into words how impactful that tour was…6 hours of horror is what comes to mind at first, but I think it was important for us to see this history and how it impacted Poland and Europe.

On the way to tour Auschwitz-Birkenau with my fellow volunteer, Bri.

 After a heavy day on Friday, we headed to the Krakow salt mines early Saturday morning.  Although it was an amazing feeling to be 135 meters under the earth, the tour left me wanting more…  Apparently our guide decided not to take our group to the underground lake area, so we missed out on one of the mines BIGGEST attractions.

The Lattitude Volunteers outside the Salt Mines with our tour guide, Sebastian.

 

After wrapping up at the mines, we went back to Old Town to be one with the locals – shopping in the market square, taking a golf cart tour around the city, and exploring the famous Wawel Castle! 

Now onto Week 4!!

 

 

Is Week 2 of teaching really already complete?  Time is flying here in Bemowo!

 

This week I got a MUCH bigger taste of my teaching duties at Warsaw 306 and was able to escape for an amazing weekend getaway to Torun.  The week started out with a healthy dose of the younger children at school…and it still amazes me how nice everyone is!  Hugs and hallway “hellos” are more commonplace here than anywhere I’ve been in the US. 

 

During our classes we did the now-standard “Intro to Allyson” lessons where the kids got to ask me questions (in English!) about where I’m from, what I like to do, what my favorite food is, etc.  The kids were shy at first – with the exception of the Grade 1 youngsters – but after a few minutes everyone got involved.

 

Once Thursday came, it was time to depart on my first weekend trip during my time here in Poland.  This weekend’s destination was…Torun!  Beata, the fantastic volunteer mentor at school, is from Torun and I jumped at the chance to visit her hometown after her selfless promotion of the city during our downtime at school.

 

…and Torun didn’t disappoint!

Hello, Torun!

I was supposed to travel with a couple other Lattitude Volunteers, but after last minute conflicts came up with them, I was left to go solo up to Torun.  Not to worry, though – I had my tripod in tow and a strong desire to see the whole of Poland – I was excited for the weekend either way.

 

I arrived mid-afternoon on Friday and returned to Warsaw on Sunday morning.  My absolute favorite part of Torun was the Leaning Tower!  Not only is the obvious slant of the building something to behold, but I met an American couple while in line to take a picture!  Jan and Carol were there names; and they hail from Portland, Oregon.  We chatted for nearly an hour outside of the Leaning Tower before parting ways so I could explore the city.

My new American friends!

On Day 2 I knocked off the usual tourist destinations in Torun’s Old Town.  The Town Hall Clock Tower (scary to climb!), Copernicus House (neat to step foot in his home!), exploring the Teutonic Castle ruins, and the Church of The Virgin Mary were only a few of the highlights!

Prowling around the Teutonic Ruins…

After a fantastic weekend up North, I returned to Warsaw mid-morning on Sunday to the big celebration of my host-Dad’s Names Day!  The entire family – Michal’s parents, aunt, brother and sister-in-law – joined us for a feast of chocolate cake, fruit and…Torun gingerbread!

 

It was a fantastic week and weekend.  Here’s to more fun to come in Week 3!

 

Cheers,

Allyson

Hello, Warsaw 306!  This is my inaugural blog post and I am so excited to be starting on this 5-month adventure with all of you.

I have met many of you over the past week, but for those of you whom I haven’t yet met – my name is Allyson, I am 25 years old and I hail from Washington, DC in the USA.  I am 3 years removed from university and had been working full-time in Washington as an advertising sales professional up until August of this year -- when I decided to come to Bemowo and teach English! 

My first week here in Bemowo has been a roller coaster ride of emotions.  First of all, meeting my host family – the wonderful Krawczyk clan – and integrating into life with them has been an exciting challenge.  I am the youngest in my family at home, so having two younger host-siblings has been a new experience.  So far Kasia, Maciek and I have been getting along very well.  But, the highlight of this week for me was absolutely my 25^th Birthday celebration on Tuesday, September 18^th! My host-parents organized a fantastic party complete with raspberry meringue cake, Polish ‘Delicja’ cookies (which Kasia couldn’t get enough of), and a load of gingersnaps.  I enjoyed the traditional singing of ‘Sto Lat!’ by my host family & two of our neighbors’ children, and then we dug into the goodies.  It was a great way to ring in my 26^th year on Earth!

My Polish 25^th birthday celebration!

After my first full week of teaching, I was very anxious to reunite with the other Lattitude Volunteers on Friday to compare our experiences, hear the funny stories of our placements so far, and to generally catch up.  The eight of us met up at Coffee Heaven at Centrum and gabbed for nearly 2 hours before walking to Lazienki Park to take in the sights.  The weather, which was supposed to be dreary and cold, held out for us and allowed us a beautiful day of sightseeing!

 

The Lattitude Fall 2012 Volunteers in front of The Palace on the Isle, Lazienki Park.

Saturday was spent with the Krawczyks – I was able to watch Kasia and Maciek practice their swimming and successfully make dinner with Michal, which was a true feat as neither of us are great cooks!

 

Kasia and I at swim practice.

On Sunday I had the opportunity to reconnect with the other volunteers at the Warsaw Uprising Museum.  This museum was incredibly impactful, although there was almost too much information to take in on one day.  It is hard to fathom just how much of Warsaw was lost during World War II…as a history lover, myself, this exhibit really hit home.

And there you have it – my first week (and weekend!) in a nutshell!  See you all this week in and around Bemowo.

Cheers,

Allyson

Nasza nowa wolontariuszka:)

Allyson ma 25 lat i przyjechała do nas ze Stanów Zjednoczonych:)

This weekend I spent time with my host family ☺ My host sister Agata had her 8th birthday party. It was good to see that birthday parties are the same everywhere no matter what country you are in. I didn’t do much on Sunday although I did enjoy getting a bit of sun ☺

During the week I said goodbye to Betty as she left to go home. Betty and I have lived together for this entire experience so it’s very weird not having her at the house anymore.

Classes as always have been lots of fun this week. I just can’t believe I only have 6 more working days with you all and then I’m finished and you kids (and teachers are all on holidays).

Caitlyn:)

This weekend saw the beginning of the Euro Cup. This was an interesting experience for me as Australian Rules Football (AFL) is our most popular sport so I’ve never really sat down and watched a proper game of soccer. On the Friday Betty, Robert (Betty’s German friend) and I watched the soccer at a restaurant so that we could watch the games on a big screen ☺ however I much preferred on the Saturday when we went to the fan zone in Warsaw where we were surrounded by people cheering for there teams ☺

All week I had students asking me who I was going to barrack for in the soccer and of course I’m going for Poland ☺ Hopefully this year will be the year they win ☺

Caitlyn:)

During the week I didn’t really do a lot with most classes off on excursions I had a lot of free time. During this free time I caught up some reading. I read all 3 hunger games books which I enjoyed a lot ☺

I also went Pole Mokotowskie park this weekend to catch up with all the Lattitude girls that are placed in Warsaw. It was a nice day so we spent the afternoon just hanging out ☺

Caitlyn:)

This weekend I celebrated my 19th Birthday. I got to speak with many of my family and friends but I plan to celebrate my birthday with them when I get home in July. Betty took me out to celebrate my birthday and it was fun night ☺

This week during school I got to read some aussies books to my classes. Teaching them Aussie slang like “Aussie, Mozzie, Croc and Roo”. We had lots of fun with it ☺ I’m hoping to have some new aussie books sent to Beata by the time you all start back at school after the summer holidays☺ 

Caitlyn:)

This week was pretty normal! Prague was so beautiful! I would love to go back some day! In some of my classes we learned more about Canada and actually made some arts and crafts! The younger classes made Beavers ( Canada's national animal) and one of my older classes made dream catchers, a traditional art made by the Canadian First Nations People. They all turned out GREAT! hopefully I get more chances to make some more beavers and dream catchers Betty :D

This week I was home for my three days of work and then Betty and I were off to Prague with some of our Latittude friends. We had a great time. Everyone had been telling us how beautiful Prague was and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

We explored a lot of Prague but the old town was definitely my favourite place. I am still fascinated by all of Europe’s old buildings. We also made the hike up to the Prague Castle and got there in time to see the changing of the guards which was pretty cool ☺

Overall it was a great weekend and was good to catch up with other people and hear about there placements ☺

Caitlyn

This week was a lot of fun mostly because I was talking about Canada and telling the kids at school about where I come from! which for me is super exciting. The other reason this week was a lot of fun was because I'm going to PRAGUE!! The last two weeks have been pretty crazy because I just went to Paris and now im going to Prague! I heard great great things about it and I can't wait! Betty:)
 

This week was a good week School was fun, and again I got to present my Canadian presentation to my classes, who were all eager to learn more about Canada. Not only did I get to talk about my country but I also got to go to Paris with my roommate, I have been to Paris before but it was a pleasure going again.. We did all the touristy things in Paris!! It was a good trip. I Love Europe :D :D

Betty

My classes for this week have been lots of fun :) On Tuesday we got to see a great coin colection, it was very interesting to see how much the Polish money has changed...i still find it funny that polish money is paper because in Australia we have plastic colourful money! This week Betty and I travelled to Paris! I was very excited as I've always wanted to go :) We had lots of nice weather and did lots of exploring. My favourite was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower and also climbing the Arc de Triomphe. They both had such a beautiful view.While in was in Paris I also got to see some family friends which was nice :)
Caitlyn:)

This week was a pretty easy week, it was my second time with my new classes ( who I love).. Im just getting to know them, but they are a great group of kids. We mostly did work out of the workbook, but luckily I got the chance to make a powerpoint presentation about Canada that I presented to the kids.. I enjoyed telling them about my country. They seemed really interested and were keen to learn more. 

Betty:)

During the week I didnt do much. Classes of course were very enjoyable but I spent the rest of my week just relaxing at home either reading or watching TV :) On the weekend I went and visited the opening of the Old Town fountain to celebratre the start of spring. However when I got there it had been called off because there was a storm on the way (sadly the storm never came). Either way it was lots of fun!
There was so many people there! I also got to watch people play with fire. Betty and I also went to the movies which we hadnt done for ages so we got a good laugh :) 

Caitlyn:)
 

The past week was a new week of classes for me, Caitlyn and I switched classes, so I now have a chance to get to know other kids of the school!! Besides switching classes I took a trip to Rome Italy!! which is super exciting! The weather was beautiful and the ice cream was better! I ate so much pizza and pasta! While in Rome I did all the exciting tourist things, such as walk around the Colosseum and went up to the top of the Vatican Church!! The view from the top was breathtaking! I very much enjoyed my trip! Next trip is Paris France.

Betty:)

This week was the first week teaching my new classes! They have all seemed to be lots of fun! It's almost like we are back at the beginning of our placement. When really we are more than halfway through. On the weekend we headed off to Rome for Betty's 19th Birthday! We had a great time! The sun was shinning and there was lots to do! For me I was amazed at how old some of the sites were. For example the Colosseum was built in 72 AD. In Australia our buildings only date back a couple of hundred years at the most and although we have aboriginal historial evidence most of it is on sacred land where we can not go to see it.
Caitlyn:)
 

This week was a very relaxing week, mostly because I went to Berlin last week, nothing much happened.. except that I got to judge a singing competition at school which was a lot of fun!! It was nice to see the kids sing English songs. The weather in Warsaw is giving me a headache, I am still waiting for summer to come! Fingers crossed it comes soon! This coming week is my birthday, and I am turning 19 years old! ( too old!!!) and for a celebration, Caitlyn and I are going to Rome Italy :D!! Which im looking forward to a lot!

Betty:)

This week was my last week teaching my original classes. I want to thank all my classes for having me. I’ve had great fun teaching you all ☺ and you will all have lots of fun with Betty. To my new classes I cant wait to meet you all ☺

I also got to help judge the final of the English singing competition. Well done to the winner Agnieszka Swiderska and the other contestant’s who all sung beautiful English ☺ Betty and I also made our singing debut we sung to the Spice Girls, which were our favourite singers when we were kids.

This weekend we spent relaxing with our host family. We decided during the week that if there was nice weather on the weekend we would have a BBQ. So Saturday morning the weather was great and we scheduled the BBQ for the afternoon. By the time we got round to eating our wonderful barbecued food it started to rain so heavy we had to move inside.

Caitlyn:)

This week I only worked one day, because it was Easter break, again I didn't do much over the week but Caitlyn and I did go to Berlin on Thursday, we took the Poliski Bus company to Berlin, and we stayed for about 2.5 days. I LOVE BERLIN, The people, the culture everything was just wonderful. I hope that one day I will be able to go and visit Berlin again.

Betty:)

This week Betty and I went to Berlin. We took a 10 hour bus trip to get there. While we were there we did lots of sight seeing. We saw the berlin wall, the Reichstag, the Brandenburg gate and many more. We even got to visit a wax museum ☺

Berlin was such a beautiful place to visit. I’m really enjoying seeing different parts of Europe. Its all so different to what Australia looks like

Caitlyn:)

This week I didn't have school because it was Easter break. I didn't do very much during the week, but prepared to go to Germany, Berlin! with Caitlyn. The one interesting thing that I did do during Easter was that I got to experience a "Polish Easter" my host family took me and Caitlyn to their families house for Easter breakfast and Lunch. It was interesting. The food was really great. Although I did miss my family, and my family Easter traditions. 

Betty:)

This week I only had to teach on Monday. In these classes we did fun Easter activities :)
Betty and I decided to plan a spontaneous trip this week and so we have organised to go to Berlin next week for a couple of days. I am very excited, as I want to see as much of Europe as I can before I go home ☺

On the weekend I Skyped with my family who were out doing there Easter egg hunts, usually on Good Friday and Easter Sunday in my family we receive chocolate Easter eggs. This year my family sent me a picture of my eggs but I think they ate them soon after taking the photo.

Betty and I spent Easter Sunday with our host family and their extended family. There was so much food! It was all really yummy though. For me it was a very different experience of Easter than back in Australia however it was very enjoyable ☺

P.S I have been warned to stay in doors on Monday unless I want to be soaked by water :s
Caitlyn:)

This weekend I didn't really do much. The weather in Warsaw has been very unpleasant so I stayed home, most of the time and finished University application for back home in Canada. I also has lots of time to catch up on my favorite TV shows. Besides that it was a relaxing week. Caitlyn and I have booked two trips for this April and May, we are going to Rome and Paris! This will be my first time in Italy, but my second time in Paris! I'm looking forward to our trips.

Betty:)

This weekend Betty and I planned out some trips around Europe. We are planning to go to Rome, Paris, Prague and Switzerland in the next couple of months, which will be lots of fun.

Apart from planning trips this weekend Betty and I didn’t get up too much. It was a little to cold for our liking ☺

During my classes this week I got to test out the new smart boards with some of my younger classes. It was lots of fun! Hopefully they’ll used with all the classes throughout the school ☺

Good luck to the Grade 6 classes next week with their exams ☺

Caitlyn:)

This weekend I spent my days in Warsaw, I walked around Lazienki Park in the beautiful sun!! Warsaw is very beautiful when it is sunny, and it was even warm enough to not wear a jacket! During the past week, I was teaching at the school! But instead of doing work, I got fed! My grade 5 classes were assigned to cook food and recite the recipe in English! And lucky for me, on top of watching kids cook food, I also got fed delicious food. I was full for the rest of the day. I love to travel, but being back in Warsaw is also nice! Although the postal service here could be better, I am still waiting for my package from Canada that was sent 2 months ago hopefully it is not lost! Fingers crossed!

Betty:)

This week I soon learnt was spring week. It took me two days to work out why all the kids were in yellow and green. By Wednesday I had to ask Beata why I had seen so many kids in GREEN jeans!!! Speaking to my family back home it’s exciting to learn that our weather here in Poland is better than Melbourne’s (where I come from). They have seen nonstop rain while we are out enjoying the sunshine ☺

On the weekend Betty and I went to Lazienki Park. It was very pretty and was a great opportunity to take photos of what Poland has to offer ☺ It was very busy as many people just like us were out enjoying the sunshine ☺ I also saw a squirrel for the very first time.

P.s the Greek salad I had with Justyna’s grade 5 class was delicious! Well done girls ☺

Caitlyn:)

This weekend I went to Dublin! for Saint Patrick's day with some of my friends from the Lattitude program. We stayed in a nice hotel in Lepardstown which was about 20 minuets by tram away from Dublin City Center. The first night I just looked around Dublin with Caitlyn while everyone else went to the Guinness brewery. We bought some T-shirts and fun things to wear for Saint Patrick's day! All green stuff obviously ;)! Some of the things we bought included a cute little hat with a clover on it and some feathers and a little green tutu with clovers on it. On the second day in Dublin ( Friday march 16th) we went around and looked at the Dublin castle and st Stephen's Green Park as well as the University! Where lucky for me, got to see the book of kells. Both were extremely beautiful. It was nice to see some of Dublin's culture and history! On Saturday March 17th was saint Patrick day! Where Caitlyn and I dressed up in green and went to the Saint Patrick's day parade, which was pretty awesome to watch. I loved going to Dublin and would love love love to go back! maybe one day i will go back! 

Betty:)

We were given the entire week off this week. In this time we went to the gym and started preparing for Dublin. ☺ The gym proved to be lots of fun as we are taking all the classes in Polish (which means we have no idea what the are saying).
Dublin was such a beautiful place. It was great to see everything covered in green. However it rained most of the weekend. We did a lot of sight seeing. We visited the Dublin Castle, St Stephen’s green, Trinity College and some of the old cathedrals. I loved it all. We also got to see the St Patricks Day Parade. It was definitely not what I was expecting it had lots of weird looking dress ups and floats in the parade. It has been one of my favourite weekends by far and I am definitely going to miss Dublin!!!
Caitlyn:)

 

After going to Krakow last week, I just stayed home this weekend,  and sometimes going out to a movie with my roommate Caitlyn. We also joined a gym at the City Center, because always sitting in a house became boring for us. we are now going to the gym 4 days a week taking different classes. It was a pretty relaxing weekend, nothing big happened, I took the rest of the time during the weekend to recover from my mass attack of sicknesses.
Betty

This week I had only some of my classes so I didn’t get to see many of you however the classes I did have were lots of fun ☺
On the weekend my roommate Betty and I joined a gym. We have both been eating a little too many lollies and junk food and thought it was time we did something about it. We spent the rest of our weekend just relaxing and watching all our TV shows from back home ☺

Caitlyn


 

This weekend I went to Krakow,unfortunately I was sick the whole time with the stomach flu and an eye infection. but that didn't stop me from having a great time. I visited Auschwitz with some of my friends from lattitude, I am a huge history person so going and actually seeing a part of history was so amazing, but also very sad. It makes me want to appreciate more the life I have now, and how fortunate I am to be living in a society where I don't have to live in fear. Krakow is a beautiful city, old beautiful buildings everywhere ( which I love) the church in the center of Krakow old town was breathtaking inside, the delicate and detailed designs on the walls where so amazing. I love Krakow, and would love to go back before I leave Poland to find out more that Krakow has to offer.

Betty:)

School went very quickly for me this week, as I didn’t have a lot of my classes. My favourite moments during my classes this week was with class 4d which I teach with Beata and I was told to make up an imaginary room and the students had to ask questions and then draw it. I really did get some funny looks when they thought I really did have an orange couch and a red floor and a purple computer. Another of my favourite moments this week was with Justyna class 6b where we spent our lesson playing charades and celebrity heads. It was lots of fun ☺

On my weekend I went to Krakow with some of my friends. We took a train from Warsaw to Krakow and stayed close to the Old Town. On Saturday we went to Auschwitz and spent the whole day having a first hand history lesson. For me it really opened me up to some of Europe’s history. Sunday was spent sight seeing. We went and saw St Mary Basilica Cathedral, which was built in the 14th century it was amazing. It looked just like a castle out of a Walt Disney movie. Overall I had a fantastic and memorable weekend ☺

Caitlyn