Day 4: Transferring to Zamosc
(Pictures: Left to Right: The Palace, Our group in front of the palace, John, Bryan and I didn't get the memo that we didn't have to wear our uniforms!, Dinner with our Poland GSE Coordinator Jacek and his wife, Periogi's a national favorite. It's a dough like shell filled with either meat, cheese or cabbage and the either boiled or fried.)
We arrived in Zamosc on Wednesday to Hotel Arcadia. Zamosc is a beautifully quaint little town of approximately 65,000 people. The town square reminds me a little bit of Pella although there really is no good reason as to why other than the buildings being very close together. Outdoor eatery's and Pubs are very common in this part of Poland and make for a great atmosphere for conversation and good food. We made our first presentation to the Rotarians and then were treated to a very nice dinner in the old wine cellar of a restaraunt on the square. And if there is one thing we are not worried about, it's having an empty stomach. We think the Polish are trying to uphold the American stereotype of eating a lot because they feed us all the time!
Day 5: Vocational "Study" Day.
Prior to leaving Lublin we visited the Kozlowka, a former Palace (now a museum of course) that at one time also included the town of Kaminoka and eleven villages! In total there were 14 rooms that are well preserved with massive gold framed paintings, furniture, carpets, etc. Not really my taste at all but very cool to think about how old it is, there is nothing in the United States that is this old.
(Pictures: Left to Right: The Palace, Our group in front of the palace, John, Bryan and I didn't get the memo that we didn't have to wear our uniforms!, Dinner with our Poland GSE Coordinator Jacek and his wife, Periogi's a national favorite. It's a dough like shell filled with either meat, cheese or cabbage and the either boiled or fried.)
We arrived in Zamosc on Wednesday to Hotel Arcadia. Zamosc is a beautifully quaint little town of approximately 65,000 people. The town square reminds me a little bit of Pella although there really is no good reason as to why other than the buildings being very close together. Outdoor eatery's and Pubs are very common in this part of Poland and make for a great atmosphere for conversation and good food. We made our first presentation to the Rotarians and then were treated to a very nice dinner in the old wine cellar of a restaraunt on the square. And if there is one thing we are not worried about, it's having an empty stomach. We think the Polish are trying to uphold the American stereotype of eating a lot because they feed us all the time!
Day 5: Vocational "Study" Day.
Today we spent some time in our coordinator's, Tomasz, English classroom. He teaches English at a private language school and his students range in age from about 20-24. It was a fun question/answer session and we all felt like we were at a zoo, but only this time we were the animals. After that we visited with the Mayor and the vice Mayor presented to us all the restoration plans for the city. Since the fall of Communism the city of Zamosc has had a difficult time recovering economically. Thus the local government is trying to turn to Tourism as a way of changing the status of Zamosc.
After lunch we we all went our separate ways to spend sometime learning about our vocation and how it plays out in Poland. I (the service-learning coordinator) went to the Volunteer Centre, Kim (ED of Worth County Development Authority) to the City Hall, John (a Banker) to a Bank (Ralph tagged along becuase his site fell through) and Bryan (art history professor) was paired up with an architect. It was a neat conversing with people in Poland who do similar things for a living as us. To my surprise I found out that volunteering in Zamosc and the way it is coordinated is not much dif
ferent than in Iowa. They face the same struggles of trying to involve more young people and males, but the most interesting fact I learned is that they now have laws in place regarding volunteering because companies were taking advantage of people by calling their work volunteering and not paying them. So the volunteer center is trying to educate people about what volunteering is and trying to move away from using the term volunteer job since volunteers don't actually get paid.
ferent than in Iowa. They face the same struggles of trying to involve more young people and males, but the most interesting fact I learned is that they now have laws in place regarding volunteering because companies were taking advantage of people by calling their work volunteering and not paying them. So the volunteer center is trying to educate people about what volunteering is and trying to move away from using the term volunteer job since volunteers don't actually get paid.But perhaps the most classic event of the day was when Kim and I ventured out with two of our student translators to try and find a Wi-Fi Hotspot so that we could order her a calling card off the internet. We walked pretty much the entire city square and could not find anything, then Whalla! At the most random spot in a alley way there it was! Rafael agreed to be my laptop holder while I navigated my way around the net. We got quite the stares from people!
Day 6: Transfer to Rzeszowa (pronounced as Jezoff, strange huh?!?)
Today we transfered by mini bus to our new location. The drive took a total of about 3 hours. Rzeszowa is much different than Zamosc, I'm not sure how big it is, but it's definitely a booming 
town with lots of Shopping!!! Fortunately for us there was nothing planned for us to be at until about 8pm tonight so after grabbing a bite to each we all went our different ways and explored the city. Kim and I of course being the ladies of the group had to live up to our stereotype so we went shopping. We found a few good souveniers to bring back and under the influence of Kim splurged and bought a pair of shoes. What do you think? Very European looking and oh so comfortable :)
town with lots of Shopping!!! Fortunately for us there was nothing planned for us to be at until about 8pm tonight so after grabbing a bite to each we all went our different ways and explored the city. Kim and I of course being the ladies of the group had to live up to our stereotype so we went shopping. We found a few good souveniers to bring back and under the influence of Kim splurged and bought a pair of shoes. What do you think? Very European looking and oh so comfortable :) Tomorrow begins the district conference and we will be making our formal presentation to 150-200 people. So I'm off to bed for a little shut eye!
Doblanos! (Polish for goodnight)
Doblanos! (Polish for goodnight)
Sounds like you all are having a great time! I'm enjoying the postings, thanks for keeping up with this!
ReplyDeleteHugs from South Dakota!