Not so Green Thumb

Our first shopping trip Genna and I decided to buy a basil plant because we both love basil and they didn't sell it fresh. It can't be that hard to keep alive right?? Wrong.

This is what the plant looked like this morning! I guess I should have watered it about 5 days ago. I'm still hoping that it perks back up, but I'm not so sure it will.

Driving Lessons

2 Fridays ago, Genna and I met with Angelina, one of The Helen Doron teachers. During our meeting, it came up that we didn’t know how to drive a manual. She decided to teach us. She was sure it would be simple and we would be able to drive around town to practice. Genna and I were not so sure.

Genna had practiced before so she started. She didn’t make it look too hard, but did stall a few times. Next, it was my turn. First challenge: shifting into reverse. I kept putting it in fourth. Finally, I got that down. Going into reverse wasn’t bad then I had to switch into first. OK. That was good too, but every time I hit the break it would stall. Ooops, you have to push down on the clutch and the break at the same time. I thought “Oh OK, now I’ll practice that again.” Nope. Angelina decided we were ready for the road! Are you Crazy?!?!

She drove us down the road a little way to parking lot that was almost empty. We each drove around a little. I drove us back to school and sped up to second gear. We nearly stalled and then it was time to switch back to first to slow down for the school. At last we made it back to school, but not without me stalling one more time in the school parking lot.  

A lot of people passing by got a good laugh seeing the car jerking back and forth and stalling. We are confident with about 10 more lessons we will be ready for the streets of Bielsko.

McCafé

My perception of McDonalds is forever changed! On Friday we got to the town where our Helen Doron Training was about an hour early. There was a McDonals a few blocks away so we went there to waste some time.

This wasn’t any McDonalds. It was a McDonalds and a McCafé. The Café portion had a display case with many different baked goods so Genna and I went ahead and gave them a try. I got a chocolate muffin and Genna got a doughnut. They were awesome. I was expecting something sort of dried out and OK. This muffin was delicious!  We also ordered coffee and hot chocolate and they came in real glasses! What?! Wow Ronald you have really stepped it up!

On Sunday we were early again so we went back with a few other girls from training and they ordered eggs from the McDonalds counter and there were real eggs and they broke them open and scrambled them right there! Crazy! 

Rubbish Collectors

Our second night in Poland (Monday), Genna and I were making dinner and much to our surprise their was a knock at our door. Genna looked through the peephole and saw that it was kids. She thought they were just goofing around and didn’t answer.

On Wednesday they were back. This time I answered the door and said, “hi.” They laughed and laughed and tried to communicate to me through mostly hand motions that they wanted to take my trash. I didn’t know the going rate for trash collection. So I said we didn’t have any.

Friday, they were back again. Once again Genna answered. After she didn’t understand them they went and found a friend who speaks English. She explained that the 2 boys come on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and will take out our rubbish for 1 zloty. 

These budding entrepreneurs have come every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as promised! We give them our trash once in a while, but feel kind of foolish spending a zloty to have them do something we can easily do ourselves. Considering the trash is just a few hundred feet from our building. Maybe we will find this service more useful during the winter months. 

Stepping Back in Time

The internet at our apartment is very slow and often can't load pages at all. This is frequently what Facebook looks like when I try to check it. It's a little frustrating, but mostly I just think it is funny! 

Fortunately, at school we have wireless and it is a very good internet connection. I'm still adjusting to only using the internet at school.  It has made updating the blog a little more challenging.  Sorry that posts haven't been very frequent. I will try to get better. 

Teaching

I am teaching at a language school. It's call Oxford Center.  In the past this school has provided additional language lessons for students. It is a similar to having your child in swimming or music lessons. The school enrolls about 250 students each year that come for one hour each week. Classes are usually less than 8 students. Ranging from infants to about 11 years old.

This year in addition to the language school they have also added a private school. The focus of the private school is English and the students will receive 6 hours a week of instruction in English. This is where I come in. I provide the 6 “mandatory” hours and then students can chose to stay after school for other fun activities in English. One of these activities will be Odyssey of the Mind. Others are still being decided.

Because this is the school’s first year it is very small. There are 14 students. There is a second grade class and a fourth grade class. Each has 7 students.

I’m contracted to teach up to 25 hours a week. Since the school is so small, there aren’t enough hours just in the private school. I will also be teaching some language lessons in the afternoons. These lessons are based on The Helen Doron method.  At the end of the month, I will be participating in 6 days of training and become certified to teach using the Helen Doron. I’ll tell you all about it when I am done.  :  )

Bielsko – Baila

Bielsko –Baila is a small quaint city with a river running between Bielsko and Baila. In the city there is a castle, large shopping center, cobble stone roads, lots of little shops, a few fountains and lots of cool architecture.

I know lots of people are wondering about the school I am working at. I am still learning about what I am doing and how it all works. As soon I as I understand everything that I will be doing I will share it with you! 

Unpacking and Cleaning

With over 200 pounds of stuff unpacking was a process and well, a mess for a while, but we can now say we are officially “moved in.”

Another international teacher lived in our flat before us. We think that they had a dog. So when we moved in it was kind of dirty. Tuesday, after we got home from school we CLEANED! 

We scrubbed the floors, walls, and cupboards and aired out all the IKEA cushions. With everything clean and put away we are very happy with our new “home.”

Life in an IKEA Showroom

Genna and I really like our apartment. It is about a 15-minute walk from the City Center and our school. The building is very new, probably less than 5 years old. 

We have 3 bedrooms, 2 smaller ones and one larger. We converted the larger room into our guest room/office. 

The kitchen and living room are open and lead to our balcony. 

From the Balcony we have a nice view of the mountains and the city.

 The flat (apartment) is fully furnished by the school. I know where they went shopping.. IKEA!  99% of our apartment was purchased from IKEA. This includes kitchen cabinets, beds, desks, tables, chairs, lights.. EVERYTHING! So if you are missing Genna or I come visit our flat at your local IKEA. :  )

Another Adventure Begins!

On Saturday I began my trip to Poland. My best friend and I will be spending the year teaching at a language school in Bielsko-Biala, Poland. In our free time we hope to do lots of traveling all over Europe.

Bielsko-Biala is a small city with 175,000 people. The climate is similar to Minnesota, but more moderate. Everyone here speaks Polish, but many can communicate with us in English.

Lots more to come!