Last weekend I visited Budapest with two of the other volunteers, which was a great experience! We had a lot of fun visiting several castles, as well as the Basilica, Parliament, and a bathhouse. We saw a band called Triggerfinger play at the A38, which is a performance venue on a boat! They were a lot of fun to watch! We also went to see a ballet performance at the Erkel Theatre, which was incredible, and a really good way to spend an evening. 

Today I visited the Old Town in Warsaw, for the second time. It was quite festive, with many flags and other decorations in the streets for the upcoming Independence Day. There were a lot of performance artists as well, including dancers and musicians. My favourites were a band of Romanian gypsies, who played very well, and very loudly!

I also love seeing all the old buildings in the Old Town, as well as those that have been rebuilt. It looks very different to where I live! It was strange to think that some of the older buildings are older than Australia as a country! It was also exciting to see the birthplace of Marie Skłodowska Curie.

Elinor

This week at school we made boomerangs with the first and third grade classes. We made them from coloured card, and the kids decorated them. It was great to see the kids try to use a dot painting style to decorate their boomerangs, after the pictures I showed them. A few were a bit creative with their decorations, using card scraps from another person, or even plasticine. The boomerangs didn’t return when thrown, although several kids did try! 

This weekend I went with some of the other volunteers to Lublin, leaving on Friday and returning on Sunday. While we were there we did some shopping for winter clothes; some of us were unprepared for the sudden fall in temperature! We also visited the Lublin museum, including the exhibits inside and the tower. The museum was really interesting, and it covered a lot of topics. The view from the tower was beautiful, but the stairs seemed a bit steep on the climb up! We also visited a few cafes and bars, and ate a lot of delicious food!

It was also nice to just walk through Lublin, especially on Sunday when there were markets in the streets. Walking through the park was also very lovely, despite the cold!

On Tuesday evening I went bowling with the other volunteers. It was a lot of fun, and it was good to see everyone again. None of us were very good, although I am proud to say I won in my lane!

On Thursday evening we left for a weekend trip to Prague. It was amazing, Prague is a beautiful city! We went on several tours, and to a few museums. We also ate a lot of delicious food, the waffles with strawberries and melted chocolate being the most memorable! My favourite part of this trip was probably the Segway tour. While riding a Segway looks a bit silly, and very touristy, it is actually extremely fun! It was a good way to see more of Prague too, without getting tired from walking.

The rest of our Prague trip was also amazing! So many great memories were made, several of them involving food. One chocolate shop in particular won my heart with its amazing waffles. We went there twice, and it was just as incredible the second time.

Prague was definitely a city worth visiting. It is very beautiful and inexpensive to visit, and I found the locals to be very friendly and understanding to tourists like myself. I’m tempted to go again!

 Elinor:)

This week I mainly worked at the school, where I taught the children about my experience at school in Australia. It was quite different to school in Poland in a few ways, but similar in others. It was interesting to see what the kids thought about school in Australia. They were a bit surprised about a few things!

It’s been getting a bit colder recently, and a bit more obvious that I’m living in a different climate. Today I went for a walk in the park with my host family, and it felt a bit strange to see what is normal here in Autumn-leaves changing colour and falling-actually happening. It doesn’t happen back in Darwin! We also saw some squirrels, which are another thing that is quite new to me. The closest animal in Darwin would probably be a possum, and they aren’t nearly as common as the squirrels!

Elinor:)

Today we went to the zoo, which was a great way to spend an afternoon! At the zoo I saw a few familiar faces from Australia, including kangaroos and kookaburras.

I had a day off school on Tuesday, and I went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum, but I was told it is closed on Tuesdays, so I took the tram into Warsaw Central and did some shopping. I’m quite proud of myself taking the Polish bus and tram without getting completely lost! I don’t take the bus very often at home, but I quite like using public transport here, as it is so convenient.