My first task was "Star of the Week," in which I presented a few things about myself to the students who then made their own project based on what they learned about me.  

On Saturday my family took me to a little village where The Grandparents live.  

My host mother's family was there, meaning nine people (well, eight fully-functionable people and one baby) all stayedin a tiny house for the night!  Though there was very little privacy, and no one else spoke English outside my host family, I had a lot of fun.  We played Macau with The Uncle, confused The Dog with a coat, and built houses of cards whilst a Polish game show played bizarrely in the background.  Snuggled under a blanket, reading, while everyone around me spoke a language I never understood was a lovely time spent well.

The next day we visited the ruins at Czersk, which were, I believe, the first ruins I have ever seen. They did not disappoint. I even climbed terrified to the top of a tower just to say I did it.  Roller coasters, no problem. Medieval tower? No thank you. 

Natalie:)

My first week in Warsaw was spent partially trying to take in as much knowledge as I could possibly absorb and entirely creating incredibly close friendships.  

As us seven Canadians--the only new volunteers this term--partook in the TEFL course at the British Council, we eagerly bonded through being completely foreign in Poland.  From learning how to manage a classroom to Mexican-English pub outings, it was hard to part on Saturday from Nathan's lovely little Villa.  But I met my host mother and was whisked out of the comfort zone we created together in our messy room.  

But I was more than excited to meet my new family for the next five months, despite sickness brewing in my sinuses.  For my first meal in my new home we ate traditional homemade tomato soup--it is so delicious!

On Sunday I explored Old Town with my host mother and her children; the little baby slept happily as his stroller bumped and rattled over cobblestones.  We had Italian ice cream whilst out on our adventure, and it is fair to say it was the best "swirly ice cream" I have ever tasted.  For dinner we went to a traditional Polish restaurant where we devoured pierogi and tea.  I am happy that I fit in with my host family so perfectly, so easily.

Natalie:)

It's hard to believe that my time in Poland is nearly up - time seems to be flying! I've had a lovely couple of weeks both in and out of school and I'm struggling to comprehend that it's all about to end.

The main highlight of my last few weeks was the couple of days I got to spend with my mum and aunt when they popped over from England for the weekend. The weather was brilliant and I had a wonderful time taking them around my favourite places in Warsaw and showing them a bit of what my life here is like. In the way of tourist sites, we visited the Old Town, the Palace of Science and Culture, the POLIN museum, the Jewish cemetery, beautiful Łazienki Park and wiled away many hours just wandering and exploring the city. We also spent a joyous afternoon in the company of my incredibly host family who perfectly personified Polish generosity and hospitality, something I'm so glad my mum and aunt were able to experience. 

As I begin to wrap up my schedule with most classes, the older grades have been putting on talent shows (one of my favourite lessons!). So far we've had many creative dances, freestyle football displays, a two-person rendition of the 'Cup Song', a keen baker bring in a batch of his best cupcakes (yummy), a few rounds of karaoke, some gymnastics and lots more. The kids' courage never ceases to make me smile. 

With my younger classes I've been thoroughly enjoying reading two English picture story books my mum brought over. Despite the language barrier, the children appear to love the books (with some translation from Beata) and become really invested in the narratives. These have definitely been some of my favourite classes with the younger children all semester.    

I went to Berlin with my friends for a long weekend. Berlin's always been 
somewhere I've wanted to visit and I wasn't disappointed. I loved how modern 
and yet how historical it manages to be at the same time. Highlights certainly 
include Museum Island where we saw the famous Bust of Nefertiti (something I 
was very excited about), the murals at the East Side Gallery and just 
generally wandering around in the sunshine with my friends. I think the only 
downside of the weekend was getting my phone and ID stolen but that's not 
enough to change my perspective of a city I could quite happily live in. 

 These past few weeks have seen my work life following the same general routine and schedule, so not a huge amount to report there. In terms of my social life, my friends and I have come to the realisation that it's the beginning of the end of our time in Poland and our time together so we've been trying to spend as much time together as possible. Not last weekend but the weekend before, I whiled away a lovely afternoon in the sunshine at Łazienki Park which is just as beautiful as everyone keeps telling me.

I then went to a medieval knights tournament with my host family, which was certainly something out of the ordinary for me!

Rarely do I get the opportunity to watch grown men dress up in costumes and whack each other with swords while onlookers, including to severed heads on spikes, ohh and ahh at every blow. This past weekend I traveled back to Kraków to see one of my friends for the last time. While we were there we passed much of our time making the most of being together but I did spend Friday at the Wieliczka Salt Mine. 

It's not like anything I have ever seen before or really like anything I'd ever even heard of. Again, many students and teachers at the school have recommended it and I'm glad to say that their suggestion did not disappoint.     

After last week's insanity, this past week had been very quiet. At school the 

kids are still very cute and I'm still just carrying on with the set lesson 

It was interesting to see Warsaw empty over the weekend. I, unlike many of my 

plans, even with the occasional class outside! 

friends, stayed in the city and spent a bit of time just wandering around 

The weather was so nice that my host family decided to turn on the barbecue 

parts of the city I haven't explored yet and enjoying the beautiful gardens. 

which left me fondly remembering summer afternoons spent having barbecues back 

home. 

Jessica:)

I began my week by running the introductory 'interview' lesson with the older Monday and Tuesday classes. As usual, I really enjoyed these lessons and had to smile at some of the portraits of me that were produced. I was flattered in one class I particular where a group of students spent about fifteen minutes arguing about how to go about drawing my hair!

On Tuesday afternoon I made a mad dash to London where I spent the next two days at my future university, getting a feel for the place and an in-depth understanding of the course I'll be taking. I'm so glad I went as I now know pretty much exactly what I've got myself into for the next three years.

Finally, over the weekend two of my friends and I explored the beautiful city of Torùn. Though it is small, Beata's home town has a lovely relaxed atmosphere and plenty to fill up a weekend of gingerbread munching and sightseeing. I especially loved the House of the Esken Family, which is now a museum, as it gave me an insight into medieval and pre-medieval Poland, someone I haven't had before.

Jessica:)