Lights Shining in Poland - SB 2011

Poland is a beautiful country, but it is still scarred from the events of this past century. Over spring break, my Taylor team and I were able to learn about Poland through our friends and students at Graceland, an English school in Krakow, Poland. Here are a couple highlights of my week:

I had a few students throughout the week, but two really stand out to me. In the adult class, Aiesha and I had some great conversations with a woman named Kashika. She was super sweet and really fun to talk with. The very next night, I was paired to tutor her daughter! Hania was so much like her mother. My favorite memory is probably of her trying to act out/describe a kangaroo to me. Apparently, she acted out a pregnant kangaroo? It's ok, she's precious :)



We also got to play at a preschool a few of the mornings we were there. The kids were so scared of us the first day! I guess it's because we were so much bigger than them :P Here are a couple shots of the cute little ones on the last day. They're all fairly happy because we made crowns that day :)



Ooo, they all had something against looking at the camera. So sad, right?


Please note that Zuzia cried the first two days we were there. On the third day, she made her crown and let me hold her without a single whimper. I even almost got her to smile! I'm telling you - bubbles are the answer ^^

Beside teaching, we also did a ton of sightseeing. A few of us girls also did quite a bit of shopping ;) One of my favorite sites, Wawel Castle (pronounced Vovel) definitely wowed me. It is absolutely beautiful!


This picture does the castle no justice whatsoever. I am, however, planning on visiting more castles in the future, so hopefully I can fix this no picture problem :)

On a more serious note, we also visited a few somber places, such as the Ghetto Wall in Warsaw and the Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. It is a truly chilling and eerie feeling to be walking the same paths as millions of innocent victims. If you ever get the chance, please take a tour of these places. It is definitely an eye-opening experience.