Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Fresh Food


All of the food here seems to be really fresh, which is amazing!  Once you buy something you need to eat it rather quickly because otherwise it goes bad.  So this is an adjustment for us, so we grocery shop probably twice a week and just get a few things each time.  This is also good cause we have yet to figure out the bus system and so we have to carry everything we buy home on out backs.  Recently we bought a new carton of eggs when we opened them this is what we found!  HAHAHA.  



Immediately this song popped into my head … One of these things is not like the others.  One of these things just doesn’t belong.  Can you tell me which thing is not like the others by the time I finish my song?  Thank you Sesame Street!!!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FClGhto1vIg




Also see if you can see what else is different about these eggs compared to the ones in the United States.












Hint: Count the number of eggs.
















Answer: 10 eggs not 12!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Yumm ...


Something that I LOVE about Poland as much or more than the Cotton Candy is the fact that these raspberries taste like they are just out of the woods of northern Wisconsin without the work or scratches.  They are so good I cannot get enough.  The only thing is that when you buy them you need to eat them really fast because they are already so ripe that they don’t last long and they fruit flies like them too. 


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

I LOVE Cotton Candy!!!


This last Sunday Kayla and I hung out with Ilona again.  This time she took us to this cool park near her university.  It was amazing, there was anything a kid or myself could want to do and stay amused for hours on end.  

There were bounce houses, huge blowup slides and blowup obstacle courses.  This park had the trampolines with harnesses so you can do flips.  There was regular playground equipment and even a little zip line.  In this eating area there were trampolines for kids to play on while waiting for food or while the parents were talking.  Ilona called it paradise for children, and it was so true.  I wished that we had brought a kid with us so it would have been socially acceptable to play.  But it was so crowded, so I didn't play on the equipment.

After we watched and talked for a while we went to get some ice cream.  Everywhere we went people would hear us talking and just stare at us.  Kayla and I have gotten use to this happening all the time but Ilona was amazed because she hadn’t ever experienced it before.  Then when we were leaving we walked past a vender making cotton candy!!! I was so excited, Ilona helped me ask him for a large cotton candy and let me show you how large the large really was.  It was the biggest cotton candy I had ever seen or eaten by far.  Also this was authentic cotton candy.  The man first lit his propane burner and then poured in regular baking sugar and in no time flat I had a giant cotton candy! 








Monday, September 17, 2012

Debowiec


Last Sunday Ilona (she is our new friend here in Poland) took us to a small mountain called Debowiec (Dem bow we its).  We hiked for a little while and when we got to the top we were able to see almost all of Bielsko-Biala.  It was really cool.  There were also a lot of Alpine Slides.  Ilona told us that lots of families and friends go to Debowiec to hang out and spend time together.  We could see the area where our flat is and Ilona pointed out about where school was.  Then she took us to her house, we had some amazing cake that she made and then her Mom made dinner for us.  Her brother was also really excited to tell us all about his Summer English Camps.




Thursday, September 13, 2012

The Grand Tour


Here is our Kitchen!  I remember being at Ikea with Mom and she commented on how much she liked this red kitchen.  Well Mom we now have it.  So far we have been cooking a bit.  We have made grilled cheese, something like pesto, eggs, applesauce, pizza burgers, stuffed chicken, broccli, BLTs, and tea!  If you have any good easy recipes please send them our way!  I was going to copy some of my favorites out of Mom’s but I didn’t.  

Our Kitchen is also our Dining Room!  Kayla and I are just hoping we make some more friends so all four chairs can be used!  Opposite our Kitchen/Dining Room is the Living Room.   


The apartment has three Bedrooms.  Two of them are smaller and the third is pretty big.  Kayla and I each took one of the smaller rooms and moved our desks from them into the larger room and decided that it would be our office!  Our bedrooms each have a twin bed, a dresser, a chair, and a nightstand!  No closet though so in our front entrance we have everything hung in that closet!  This is my room!





Then of course we have a toilet room and a bathroom!  Our washing machine seems to be working pretty well although when we put our cloths in we are never sure how long it will be until we get them back or if they will have any color left.  The wash cycle can take up to 3 hours to complete, so needless to say but we are still trying to figure out what all the letters on the dial mean.  Who would have known that laundry would be so complicated!

Lastly this is our Balcony and our view of the mountains and the city!  Our complex also has a small playground for kids, lots of kids live in these apartments.








Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Airport Confusion … Our First Problem Solving Challenge in Poland


We arrived to Krakow on Sunday September 2nd, 2012 around 1:30pm.  We got off of the plane and were unsure of what we were going to do next.  Did we need to go through customs?  Where were we going to get our bags?  Where would Magda be to pick us up?  And the most important question running though our heads, when can we go to sleep.  Most of these questions were soon answered. 

 We didn’t need to go through customs again.  Turns out customs was super easy I barely even noticed I was going though.  The lady behind the glass took my passport, scanned it, stamped it, and gave it back all with out looking at me or saying anything.  The strangest part was I didn’t even have my check baggage with me. 


We walked off of the plane onto the tarmac and into a building.  Soon our baggage came in on the conveyer belt.  We took it and were free to go!  Only one problem!  Magda said she would be there with an Oxford Center (our school) sign waiting.  No one was there was an Oxford Center Sign!  We looked at the crowd waiting, walked through and sat down on some benches in the lobby.  Maybe she was running late we thought, no big deal!
We waited for a long while and then began to think about the what ifs… Was she waiting at a different terminal?  Did I give her the wrong time or flight information?  Do we even know her last name?   Luckily the airport had Internet, we checked our e-mails … nothing.  I looked at the e-mail I sent her about our flight information … few I thought to myself it was all correct.  

We waited a bit longer and brainstormed about what to do.  We looked at all of our e-mails and found one that had Magda’s last name with it.  So that was something.  We e-mailed her saying that we were at the airport waiting in the domestic terminal.  We thought about taking the shuttle to the international terminal assuming she would think we were there, even though I specified that we would be at the domestic one.  But then I remembered that when I was little mom told me, if I got lost to stay put, she would find me.  So we did. 
Next while Kayla tried to see if we had a phone number or any of our information about the school or Magda.  I went and tried to talk to the man behind the ticket counter, but he didn’t speak any English.  I think he might have understood a little bit because he pointed to the information counter.  All the while checking our e-mail even few minutes.  Kayla looked in the travel books for nearby hostels to stay at.  I went and talked to the lady at information.  At first I was scarred that she didn’t speak any English either because after I finished explaining the situation she just starred at me.  I asked her if there was any way she could call over to the international terminal and ask if Magda Galuszka was there looking to pick up Genna and Kayla?  She just looked at me, then after what seemed like hours she said okay.  She got onto the phone made 4 or 5 calls, none of witch I could understand and then hung up and said they will announce it over the loud speaker and if someone comes to the information counter I will let you know.  
Well that was a start I thought but now it was just a waiting game.  I went back and sat down with Kayla, in the mean time she had found several hostels that looked promising all with internet so we would know if Magda tried to e-mail us, our only form of contact with her. 

Then all of a sudden after waiting another long while  (now we have been at the airport waiting about 3 hours) the lady at the information counter came running up to us and said, “I have found you a taxi!” 
 We looked at each other and then back at the lady and said "NO, NO! We need Magda to pick us up." 


She said again, “I have found you a Taxi!”  She was so excited and we were so not excited. 

Then a middle age sweaty man came running up to us and said with a thick Polish accent, “Genna Clark and Kayla Haines I take you to Bielsko!” 

Kayla and I looked at each other again and Kayla said, “no.”

He said, “yes yes I talked to Magda and she said that I will take you to Bielsko.” 

We said, “no no.”  Kayla asked me what information I gave the lady.   I told her not where we were going only Magda’s name and our first names.  So who was this man who knew where we were going and what our last names were?  His name wasn’t Magda, he didn’t have a sign, and he wasn’t a girl. 
Then he said, “Ok ok I will call Magda.”  He called Magda but there was no answer.  He started taking our bags out to his taxi.  We were nervous to say the least.  Then his phone rang and it was Magda!! Kayla talked to Magda and she said it was fine she sent the taxi because she got the time we were coming wrong.  He would bring us to Bielsko and she would pay for it and it was okay.  She told Kayla that she felt so so bad that there was this confusion and she was very sorry. 

We got into the taxi and away we went.  On a fast and crazy ride to Bilesko that I thought took all afternoon but in actuality it was probably about 2 hours, though the countryside of Poland.  We arrived at our flat and Magda was there waiting for us!

So it was a crazy beginning our adventure in Poland but it all worked out!  In Poland they use military time and in my e-mail about our flight to Magda I said Sunday at 1:30pm, not even considering that this would be confusing.  She thought we were coming at 1:30am.  We are still not sure though because then you would think that she would have been there the night before, since that would have been Sunday at 1:30 not the night after cause that would have been Monday.  But oh well!!     



*** Disclaimer all of the pictures above were found on google images, the following were from the actual event in the taxi! 










Friday, September 7, 2012

Our Apartment … aka the Ikea Show Room

Our Apartment is really nice.  When we first arrived we just put everything in the middle of the living/dining/kitchen/all purpose room.  It was a bit of a mess; you know 200 pounds of luggage takes up some space!  Slowly over the first two days we figured out where to put our stuff. 

Then we spent some quality time cleaning and freshening up the place to make it ours.  Kayla worked on the floors with mopping and scrubbing them while I tackled washing the walls!  It was a work in progress for a few days but I am now HAPPY to say that we are all moved into our new clean home in Bielsko-Biala.







As you are looking at the pictures I am not sure if you notice just how much of the stuff you recognize from Ikea.  Or maybe you have never been to Ikea, well it is a large household store where you can buy cupboards, beds, shelves, cups, plates, pretty much anything you might need to make a house a home.  I would say that over 80% of the things in our house came directly from Ikea.  So if you are wanting to visit and just aren’t able to hope over to your nearest Ikea store cause that will be the next best thing.  



Wednesday, September 5, 2012

We Are Here


My last days in Wausau, Wisconsin for at least 10 months were great!  Mom, Dad and I did a few last minute things that I will miss while I am in Poland.  Kayla and I departed from the Twin Cities to Bielsko-Biala, Poland for an adventure of a lifetime.







Do either of us speak Polish … Nope.  Did we know where we would be living … haha no.  Did we know what Magda (the lady picking us up from the airport) looked like … not at all?  Did we know how to pack … not really but we did our best.   We just went and are hoping for the best.  

First impressions are good.  Everyone at school is very friendly, helpful and flexible.  Our apartment is very nice!  It makes me laugh cause it’s like living in an Ikea Showroom.  We have been focusing on cleaning and finding everything a new home.  The city of Bielsko-Biala is nice too.  The buildings are pretty and we have already gotten to see a lot of things.  On Monday afternoon two other teachers from school (Magda (a different Magda, FOUR MAGDAS WORK AT OUR SCHOOL) and Ilona) went to see the city center, a large shopping center, the castle and a street Ilona compared to a mini 5th Avenue in New York!   I didn’t have my camera with me but I will take pictures soon!

Yesterday we went to school taught an English class with Marta for the second and fourth graders.  Then we met with the Directors and headed home for the day!  We are still figuring out exactly what our job will be at school.  For now until we go to the Helen Doron Training at the end of September we will just be teaching 4 hours a week, in English I think.  So far I know we will be teaching two English classes, one math class, and one science class.  Then we will also run an afterschool enrichment program, they really want us to do Odyssey of the Mind, so we are pretty excited about it.  Then I believe in a few weeks when everything gets going we will be filling the rest of our time teaching Helen Doron Classes.    

Let me know if you have any questions!  The picture function is not working right now I will try to add photos again a bit later!