Hi Warsaw 306,

I’m Sarah, your Australian volunteer for the next 3 months. I am very excited to be working at your school and I hope we can have a lot of fun together.

Back in Australia I live in a city called Melbourne. It’s on the south-eastern coast of Australia and has a population of about 4 million people. It will be summer in Melbourne while I am here in Poland and, believe me, it can get very, very hot. Some summer days are over 40°C!

I arrived in Warsaw a week and half ago and I have spent most of my time learning about teaching and eating pierogi, yum! For my first week I was staying with 12 other volunteers from Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia. Together we explored Marszałkowska Street and the Old Town. One of my favourite things that I have seen so far is the mermaid statue in Old Town Square. I was very interested to learn about how she came to be the guardian of the city.

So far I have had a great time in Warsaw. I’ll keep you updated on this blog about my other travels too!

See you all in class,

Sarah

Here I am (that’s me in the stripes) with all the other volunteers learning about teaching!

So my time in Poland is almost up. Today was my last day at school and I will be leaving Poland on Saturday to embark on an adventure through Europe before heading back to the farm in New Zealand. In my time here, I have seen the beautiful beaches in Gdansk, Sopot, and Hel, the amazing Old Towns of Warsaw, Krakow, Torun and Gdansk, the stunning forest in Bialowieza and the steep rocky mountains in Zakopane. Yet, there is even more to explore here in Poland. I have experienced more snow and colder temperatures than I have ever before. I have eaten a lifetimes worth of soup and have drunken plenty of tea. Poland is a beautiful country. It need not to compare itself to other countries and instead embrace the beauty that is Poland. I'm not ready to leave and therefore I really hope one day I can return and explore a little more. I haven't ever travelled as much as I have while I've been here and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I've seen some incredible places.

 

Thank you for welcoming me into your school and a big thank you to Beata for being amazing, supportive and a joy to work with. Also, thank you all very much for the album you have contributed towards for me. I will treasure it. I hope you've all learnt something about New Zealand and I welcome anyone who wants to travel to New Zealand one day. Have a great summer holiday, stay safe and good luck with your future adventures.

Amber:)

Over the past few weeks, I've spent some good time in Warsaw, lapping up the sun and seeing the sights. It is unbelievable the change in atmosphere that has occurred after winter finished. I thoroughly like Warsaw now and don't want to leave. Instead of listing everything I've done, I've put together a list below of what I like about Poland, in no particular order.

Last weekend I went to Bialystok and Bialowieza to the forest. Nestled on the border of Belarus, the town was very isolated but had a local small town feel about it. We cycled through the forest, visited the Bison and an area of huge trees while admiring the beautiful forest. It was stunning even if it was raining the whole time and I was eaten alive by mosquitoes.

10 Things I like about Poland:

1. Wifi is everywhere. Whether you are at McDonalds, a park in Warsaw, an isolated town in the middle of the forest or 135m underground in a salt mine, it's likely you can get wifi.

2.Men are gentlemen. They let women go first through doorways, open doors and help lift your bags into the overhead compartment on the train.

3. Once the snow melts, everyone and everything comes alive. The winter is cold, dark and gloomy. It appears no one enjoys it. But once the snow clears, everything changes. The countrysides are now field after field of lush green grass. The atmosphere in the city has changed completely. People are happy and now smile and laugh. Many people cycle. There are flowers growing in the parks and the fountains are flowing. Poland is much more beautiful in the sunshine.

4. Tea. I had never drunken tea before I came to Poland. There are endless varieties of flavours.

5. The forests are beautiful, even if it is raining. Apart from the mosquitoes, I love everything about the forests.

6. The world is at your feet. Here in Poland, the travel opportunities are endless. Bordering 7 countries with different languages and cultures, you are in the heart of Europe. Jump on a train, bus, drive or take a short plane ride and you arrive in a completely different country. This is amazing.

7. The parks in Warsaw are beautiful in Spring/Summer. Humming with people and squirrels, a walk among the green trees is the perfect place to enjoy the sunshine. Poland does public parks very well.

8. The Bison is huge. It's one staunch looking animal.

9. The chocolate is delicious. Whether it's E Wedel or Wawel, I can't get enough.

10. The public transport is efficient and I've even worked it out. Warsaw is twice the size of New Zealand's biggest city and therefore I'm proud I can find my way around. Trams and buses are so regular, just turn up at a stop and get whatever you want to go in Warsaw.

 

 

Amber:)

Two country's in two weeks has been busy. On the 18th of April, a couple of the other volunteers and I escaped to the good weather in Budapest. Unfortunately while packing I was anticipating similar weather to Warsaw and ended up having to buy shorts, it was so hot. Although, we were hardly complaining and were more excited to finally have some heat. We had a jam packed weekend trying to fit in all the sites of Budapest. We climbed Buda hill, walked through the Castle, climbed, crawled and slid through the caves in the hills (conquering the 'Sandwich of Death'), took a free walking tour - learning about Hungarian history, relaxed in the thermal baths, soaked up the sun and got sun burnt. I did take a jacket just in case. However, only needed it once I landed back in Warsaw.

 

For the holidays, I spent a very enjoyable week in Slovakia with my hosts. We hiked through the beautiful Tatra Mountains, relaxed in the thermal baths, took a day trip to the tourist-packed Zakopane and walked through the old streets of the local towns. We had weather from all seasons. The snow was still lying around in the mountains on the first day while the sun was shining. We sweated in the sun in Zakopane and hiked through the rain, thunder and lightning on another day in the mountains. I love hiking in the mountains at home but don't go as often as I should so I thoroughly enjoyed this week away.

 

I hope everyone in well rested after the break and I'll see you all back at school this week.

Amber:)

Easter provided the opportunity for me to travel, so I made the most of it. Although I could have done without the snow. This Spring has not been in any way what I expected. On the up side though, I have never experienced a white Christmas (but have always wanted too) so instead I have now experienced a white Easter. 
For my Easter travels I first left for Germany to spend Easter with my friend in Magdeburg. She had planned a lot of things for us to do. Unfortunately, the weather didn't allow this. Instead, we went on a lot of walks in the snow. I do have to admit, the snow is still very pretty and I enjoyed the walks through the forest. I went on my first Easter hunt (in the snow) and ate plenty of chocolate. 

Before leaving Germany, I spent a day in Dresden. We saw the main sights of Dresden as well as a wonderful view across the city. In addition, we went to the Green Vault which has some spectacular rooms to view including an Amber Room. 
Leaving Germany, I then went to Prague. I thoroughly enjoyed the train ride down, along the river with the forest, cliffs and stalactites of ice to view along the way. I also saw hills for the first time since I have been in Europe. The land here is unbelievably flat. In Prague, I was meeting up with some fellow volunteers to spend the week there. Unfortunately, I got terribly lost went I first left the train station. It took me 2 hours to find the hostel we were supposed to be staying in, even though it was only a 20 minute walk. I guess I saw the 'real' Prague during this time. I really was wondering why Prague was so highly recommended. However, finally I did find where I was supposed to be. The atmosphere of Prague is what makes it. There are so many different cultures and languages on the street, packed with tourists from all walks of life. I enjoyed this. Unfortunately, I was unwell for my entire stay in Prague and struggled to see what I wanted to. Fortunately however, I did manage to; go on a walking tour through the old town, had a short tour of the castle, climbed the hill to Prague's Eiffel Tower (the view is worth seeing, not the tower), went on an underground tour and also saw a Black Theatre Show which although small was very cool to see. 

The weather appears to have finally brought Spring to Warsaw. I can feel the atmosphere of the city changing already. So I'm going to try to lap up all the sun I can.

 

Amber

The snow was exciting at first, but now it's time it left. I've been told it's spring however this snow just seems to be never ending!!! I've had a life times worth now. There will be no need to experience much more at home. 
Despite the cold, last weekend I escaped Warsaw and headed to Torun.

 

I went with 3 other volunteers from Australia so we had a fun and relaxing weekend, filled with many laughs (mainly at each other). There is always a bit of friendly rivalry between New Zealanders and Australians. It was good to leave the noisy, busy city behind and explore the quite streets of Torun. Although we had to frequently find warmth to defrost our limbs, we saw much of Old Town Torun over the weekend. Apart from walking the quiet streets, we climbed the Old Town Hall Tower and had a beautiful view over the town. The sun was shining, but the cold was bitter. We also made Gingerbread in a museum which was a lot of fun. The instructions we in Polish but luckily the guide spoke a little English and could give us some pointers. I'm sure everyone thought we were crazy as we giggled our way through trying to make gingerbread. In addition, we crossed the bridge at night to view the spectacular Old Town lit up along the river. A camera can never capture this as it is really seen. I thoroughly enjoyed the calm atmosphere of Torun.

Easter is only just around the corner now...lets hope Spring is too!
Enjoy your upcoming break 306.

Amber:)

 

 

 

 

 

I've spent some quality time in Warsaw in the last two weeks. Two weekends ago, the majority of the volunteers came back to Warsaw for the weekend. It's was good to catch up with everyone and see how everyone's placements are going in their parts of Poland. I managed to get in a bit of sightseeing also.

Although I had already see Old Town Warsaw a few times, a friend and I took a free walking tour through the Old Town. This was interesting as I see new things every time and the tour guide told stories I had not heard before. For example, the legend about mermaid. I do wish however that the weather would have behaved. It started to snow and was way too cold to spend hours walking the streets. My feet were most certainly numb after this walk.

To get inside and warm up, Anna and I then went to the Choplin Museum. It was highly recommended by a friend of Anna's. I didn't know much about Choplin beforehand and came to the conclusion afterwards that Polish people are immensely proud of him. The museum displays all aspects of his life from friends and family, his students and the set up of his apartment right down to a model of his left hand. It astounded me the effort and the detail used to portray his life.

A couple of us also visited the Copernicus Science Centre. It was a Saturday afternoon and there were people everywhere. I went to a similar centre in Wolfsburg, however the one here in Warsaw is much bigger. We had a lot of fun playing around here, though we didn't get to see everything unfortunately. I didn't actually know who Copernicus was before coming here to Poland, so I am learning something everyday.

The last sightseeing stop for the weekend was the Royal Castle on Sunday. As it is free entry on Sunday, we decided to grab this opportunity to have a look inside. It was late in the afternoon so we were rushed through but we still got to see the castle and all it's glory. The detail inside is stunning and the rooms are so big. The gold, the thrones and the art are all incredible.

In addition to the above sightseeing, I also spend Saturday morning at Eryk's football. The combination of bitterly cold weather and the snow covered fields meant that the games had to be played inside. Football is not as popular in New Zealand as it is in Poland so I haven't watched Football too often. However, I love team sports and competition and therefore enjoyed watching these games. I was impressed with the talent and skill of the players and Eryk also played really well, scoring 2 goals!!

This past weekend was a quiet one. I did however fit in a few hours of sight seeing on Friday when a couple of us went to the suburb of Praga. I was interested that the movie 'The Pianist' was partly filmed here as I studied this film at school. We couldn't see as much of Praga as we had hoped due to the wind picking up. The wind brought a whole new level of cold with it.

I have been here over a month now. It's unbelievable how fast time fly's.

 Amber:)

So, the past week has been a busy one. Since I had some time off from school I thought I would make the most of it to travel.

First, I went back to Krakow with my host mum for the weekend. There I took a walking tour around Old Town and went to a few Museums which i didn't have time to see the weekend before. I like Krakow and think it is a beautiful city.

 

On Tuesday I travelled to Germany to see a friend. I couldn't believe how fast it is to travel to Germany. This is a novelty as in New Zealand it is a lot more difficult to travel to other countries. In Germany, I went to Wolfsburg, Wolfenbuttel, Quedlinburg, Potsdam and Berlin. Among many things, I saw the Sanssouci in Potsdam (the King's summer palace) which is amazing, the really old town of Quedlinburg and sat in a Porsche in Wolfsburg's Volkswagen factory. This will probably be the one and only time I get this close to a Porsche so this was very exciting.

 

I wish you all a good week 306.

Amber:)