Last weekend I stayed in Warsaw with my roommate. We didn't do very much but we did find an american style restaurant, where we enjoyed a nice american style meal that consisted of steak, chicken fingers, french fries and potato skins!! We were very excited to find a place that had all these delicious options. We also found another movie theater that happened to have more movies in English playing in it! and of course we took advantage of that and went to a comedy with another friend staying in Warsaw. However after the very eventful weekend, I got the flu :( so I am still trying to recover! This weekend I am planning on going to Krakow with a bunch of people from lattitude! I am looking forward to it.

Betty:)

The first thing I noticed about this week was the weather. It went from snowing to bright and sunny with no snow and then to the weekend being miserable and rainy. Although I still love seeing all this snow it was very exciting to see the sun once again ☺

The plans for my weekend were to spend some time in Old Town in hope that the weather would be nice enough to do some more exploring. However on Saturday morning I woke to a really sick roommate (Betty) and such miserable weather. So my weekend plans were changed to staying indoors and watching scary movies with Betty. ☺

During my school week I spent time with each of my classes, which was fun. I am enjoying getting to know all my students in each of my classes. It is still nice to have the students come up to you and say hello and goodbye.
Caitlyn:)

This weekend I went to Germany to celebrate German carnival!! which was so much fun! I got to dress up in a costume and catch candy from people in the parade who were also dressed up. German carnival lasts about 4 days, and each day there is a different parade in each little town. But I only got to stay about 3 days. It was nice to see friends in Germany. The weather there is much warmer than in Poland so it was a nice "summer vacation". I hope I will be able to go back to Germany soon so I can visit my friends again! :)

Betty

Hello

This week has been lots of fun. Its great getting to know all the students and the amount of hellos and goodbyes I get each day you would think I was some sort of celebrity. We also got to guest judge in the grade 4-6 English singing competition which was lots of fun. Clearly the school has lots of talented students ☺

On my weekend I caught up with other Latittude volunteers who are also living around Warsaw we were meant to do some sightseeing but the rain put us off and we ended up hanging out in one of the shopping centres where it was much warmer and the rain couldn’t get us. I also spent some time with my host family, on Saturday night I made them sit through Mr and Mrs Smith ☺ It’s hard to believe I have been in Poland for a month already. The time is really flying.
Caitlyn

Hello,

Week one at school has been so much fun. The teachers and students have all been really friendly and helpful. I spent most of the week talking about myself and my life in Australia so I’m looking for to getting to know more about everyone else as the weeks go on. This week Betty and I visited Old Town on our days off it was beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it. We also visited the uprising museum which was a very good learning experience and allowed me to understand a little more of the polish history ☺

Caitlyn

Last week was my first week of teaching at school ( Warsaw 306) and already i have made new friends, children at least! Every time i would walk down the hall there would be a mini parade of kids following me, laughing and pretending that they weren't following me. Some would even say my name and then run away. They are so adorable. Every teachers im working with at the school are very friendly and up beat, which is awesome because it makes working at the school so much easier. My first week was just pretty much just introductions with the students, where all I did was talk about myself, which I guess is never a bad thing ;).. but on the 3rd day I got bored of talking to myself. I am happy with my work schedule working 3 days, and then having time to travel, which I'm really keen about. I am looking forward to the second week of teaching,  I am sure it will be just as much fun as the first.

Betty

" I've been in Europe for about 2 weeks now and I have made so many memories since arriving. I stopped over in Germany to visit one of my friends and then traveled over to Poland a few days later.

The first week in Warsaw I spent with many of the other volunteers from Lattitude going to school and learning about class management, in order to prepare all of us for our actual placements in schools around Poland. Most of the people in Poland are from Australia and New Zealand, all super nice people!!. After the first week of school, i was sent over to my house placement where i would be living with a family and their kids ( lovely people, very kind and understanding), and on top of having an amazing house to stay in and people to live with, I was also placed with a girl names Caitlyn from Australia, who happens to be my age and teaching at the same school as me. I'm very happy to be placed with someone my age, makes living away from my family easier. Next month we are planning on travelling to Krakow and Dublin for Saint Patrick's Day. I've been to Europe before but never to these places. I am looking forward to the experience!! Poland is a beautiful place, even though its extremely cold (even my hair freezes). LOOKING FORWARD TO A GREAT CAP YEAR!!"

Betty:)

Hi Everyone,

Poland! What an amazing country! Getting off the plane two weeks ago and stepping into snow was crazy. In Australia we don’t have snow so for me this is my first time experiencing it. Our first week in Poland was spent getting to know our way around Warsaw and making some amazing new friends ☺ Soon enough Betty and I were off to our host family who we are sharing for the next 5 months. We have settled in great with the family and are getting very excited to be starting at the school ☺

Caitlyn

Caitlyn Marsham nasza nowa wolontariuszka z Australii:)

My name is Caitlyn Marsham. I am 18 and I come from Australia. I am really excited to be coming out to your school and look forward to meeting you all. I come from a big family I have 5 brothers and 1 sister who are all younger than me. I really enjoy hanging with my friends and playing soccer and softball. I cant wait to come out to Poland and learn more about your fantastic country. I will see you all shortly J

Betty Latimer- nasza nowa wolontariuszka z Kanady:)

My name is Betty Latimer and I am 18 almost 19 years old and I am Canadian.I live in Vancouver BC, but I was born in Guatemala and came to Canada when I was very young. My hobbies are soccer and dance, but mostly soccer. I have been playing soccer and dancing since I was about 5 years old. I love the outdoors and being around friends and family.I have coached younger children's soccer teams in Vancouver for my community for the past 2 years, I love being around the kids and sharing my passion of soccer with them. Coming to Europe with Lattitude Canada was an amazing opportunity presented to me from a friends who, right now is in Ireland with the same program. I fell in love with Europe after visiting my close friend multiple times in the past year traveling to Holland, Germany and France. It has always been one of my interests to visit Poland because of the rich history the country has. After studying European history in my grade 12 year in High school, it really encouraged me to learn more. While I am in Warsaw I plan on indulging myself into Polish tradition and customs. I am looking forward to my life changing experience in Warsaw Poland!!

Betty Latimer

Podsumowanie pobytu Eleny i Alexa w naszej szkole.

When I first arrived at this little school here in Bemowo, I had no idea what to expect. I was a little nervous, a little worried, and incredibly excited to teach English to a group of Polish children. On our first day we were shown the school, given our timetables, and told to come back if we wanted lunch by our awesome teacher Beata. The lunches were fantastic, I was a bit worried to begin with, having never eaten Polish food, nor eaten from a school cafeteria. Cafeteria food is rarely good, but the school lunches here are delicious!! My favourite place in the school was definitely the libaray; Edyta, Basia and Agnieszka are three very lovely friendly ladies who are very happy to help all the time (or maybe I was just annoying them all the time with endless requests!) The other teachers here were also very friendly, not just the other English teachers, Lena and Justyna, but all of the others too.Like I said in my first blog, the first thing that comes about this school is HUGS! I thought they would stop after the first few weeks but they certainly didn't.I really enjoyed doing other things, like making boomerangs and didgeridoos, giving the children (and some of the teachers :D) Vegemite to taste, and teaching them about Australia. Playing all of the creative games that Beata thought of was also a lot of fun.I have learned alot of new and interesting things furing my time here, and I hope that the students have as well. What else can I say? This has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I will never forget it.

Elena Vukanovic:)




Hello Warsaw 306, Alex here. This will be the last time that i write to you, as my work and my time here in Poland is coming to an end. There are now new volunteers arriving, people from all over the world coming all the way to Warsaw just to teach you lucky kids English. Be kind to them, and don't try and play rugby with them in the hallways on their first day, because you might not ever see them again.

My time here at 306 has taught me alot about myself. When I signed up for this programme, I was looking for nothing more than an easy way of having an extended holiday in Central Europe. When I arrived however, I discovered that this would not be an easy, way of spending 6 months away from home, it would be a lesson in how well I could cope with living in a country whose language I could not speak, doing a job which I had never done before.

To Beata's credit, she made me feel right at home, as did my host families and the other volunteers, and by the end I had grown in confidence in my abilities as a teacher, and as a person. This would not have been at all possible without her help.

My host families we're the people with whom I spent the most time, and we're the ones who made sure that I was never too homesick, because of the way they accepted me into their home's, and treated me as if I was one of their own.

But most of all, you kids, the children of Warsaw 306, are what made the experience what it was, unforgettable. I could never have expected that you kids would be as fun and outgoing as you were, and beleive me when I say I will never have a better job as the one I just had. I wish you little ones all the best, and I hope your kind to our new volunteers.

Thank you Warsaw 306, this experience has been as amazing as it has been challenging, and I will remember each and everyone of your for a very very long time.

Love Alex