Presentations and More Games

Today has a chillier start and lots of clouds, but it was sunny by the start of classes at 9 AM.

During the morning we discussed having the volunteers make a presentation about their home state or city during the 3^rd and 4^th classes on Wednesday. Dorota asked everyone to stay for a short meeting after obiad. We also discussed the field trip for Tuesday, and the plan to have teachers sit with students on the bus so that English could be spoken during the ride.

In the morning classes Val and Gillie had the students translate newspaper and current magazine articles. They also did a version of 20 Questions, an activity found in the teaching manual. They also discussed weekend activities and made a trip to the store. The boys played Macao with Gillian and the girls read their horoscopes in Polish and then translated them into English.

Jackson’s class went to the store to get provisions for the boat ride and hike on Tuesday. They also played Scrabble and Uno. Nicholas has been a valuable translator for the group.

Students in the class taught by David and Nancy discussed what all did over the weekend. They also played a spirited game of Uno and also made a trip to town. Marek BŁaszczyk, Reymontowka Director, arrived at the hotel and was able to meet with David and Nancy for a few minutes.  He also greeted the other volunteers.

Martha’s class created a presentation about Kraków. The students amazed Martha and Kathy with the fact that there is a stone from Wawel Castle in the Tribune Tower in Chicago. Martha learned about her students’ lives and family through the pictures that they showed her – pictures on their mobile phones.

Kathy’s group worked on anagrams for the names of fruits and vegetables. They also discussed the hike taken on Saturday, a hike in which Martha and Kathy also participated.

The class taught by Brandon and Bev gave their teachers a high compliment. They told Martha that their teachers were cool. Today this class divided into two groups to create a country. One country was named Ameripdishi and the other named after cheese.

Lori’s class did the Talking Cards game found in the teaching manual. They also enjoyed a game of Apples to Apples.

Good times were had by all teachers and students this morning.

At lunch we discussed the various Polish spices used in their cuisine.

At the afternoon meeting we reviewed plans for the hiking and rafting trip tomorrow. We met primarily to review our team goals. We agreed we are on target for all the goals. (Please see the journal entry for July 1 for these goals.)  Gillie had a personal goal of learning the names of every student in camp. We gave her “thumbs-up” for nearly achieving this goal by this date.

The campers went to a water park during the afternoon.

The evening activity was Polish Night. The student put on an amazing show for us. They began the program by singing the national anthem. Then they presented a short animated film showing Poland’s history from the year 800 to 1989. Patryk identified each of the Polish provinces. Three students presented the legend of the Wawel dragon. The program closed with the students asking volunteers questions about Polish history. The prize for a correct answer was candy, Krówka.

The whole camp moved out to the pavilion for an amazing bonfire where we cooked kielbasa. Marek reviewed the history of Global Volunteers’ work in Poland, centering on the language camps.

It was a great night and the volunteers were treated to some true Polish hospitality—appreciated by all.