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:)

 

 

Hi 306, I'm Amber from New Zealand, a small island country in the South Pacific Ocean. My hometown is Eketahuna in the Lower North Island with a population of 600 people in the township and a total of 1100 in the surrounding farming areas. I grew up on a dairy farm, living there for 18 years before moving away for University. Eketahuna is a very small town and therefore Warsaw is a very big place to me. The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Warsaw was there are people everywhere. I left New Zealand in the summer and we had been having 30oC + days so the cold weather was a bit of a shock at first but the snow makes it all worth while. It does snow at home occasionally but I still think it is exciting when it snows. Compared to home, your school is very busy. But it has been great meeting some of you over the past week and I look forward to seeing more of you over the next few months.

Last weekend, a group of us volunteers traveled to Krakow to have a look around. New Zealand's history starts in 1840 so I find it amazing how old everything is here. We went to the Wieliczka Salt Mine which was so big!!! We also looked around the Wawel Castle and old town Krakow. Krakow is a very beautiful city and I can only marvel at all the history and old buildings.

Will write again soon,
Amber

 

 

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