Tuesday, July 24, 2007

By Erik

For me, today’s story began late last night; or early this morning, depending on your point of view. We had received an invitation to spend some time with the camp counselors. A group of us stayed up late last night to take up their hospitality. While we waited on the back porch a cat and her kitten kept us company. The kitten mewed so loudly that the entire forest seemed utterly silent in comparison. After some effort we were able to pet the kitten and reunite mother and daughter. Tom brought his laptop out to play background music. While we were selecting tunes he noticed a wireless network for the first time. We tried the usual passwords and tried to guess what they might be in Polish to no avail. While I knew there were plans to bring the Internet to Reymontowka, the revelation of how this foreshadowed the rest of my day had to wait. When the counselors arrived they were keen to share colorful metaphors. Ostensibly this was to prepare us for when the students might say something inappropriate, however in practice it helped pass the time better.

A few of us were zombies during breakfast, though I managed to avoid infection. A couple cups of kava and I was set. We spoke of how the previous lessons had gone and were planning the ones yet to come. Soon it was time to get down to business. One of my students challenged Tom’s group to a friendly game of soccer. My Giants were doing extremely well in the early part of the game, taking the first two scores. A young girl, Gabby, from Tom’s team scraped her knee. We lost all girls from the field as she went off to get bandaged. Upon Gabby’s return to the field she performed as a virtual Joan of Arc, rallying her team and outmaneuvering her considerably larger opponents for the rest of the game. Perhaps it was Gabby’s return and my lamentable performance as goalie that caused the Giants to fall. Though as with all good games, everyone had fun. My students enjoyed discussion points from the book “Talk Your Head Off” for the second period. When Dorota’s laptop was set down on the table to gain access to the Internet my priorities changed. We were experiencing the usual teething issues and so my efforts were spent in that direction. Soon the wireless Internet connection was working.

Many laughs were had over lunch as we told the story about our evening rendezvous with the camp counselors. Arek was tossing out some of the possible Polish phrases we were taught, while Dorota slowly turned pink. Then Arek said an equivalent translation in English which was rapidly repeated by Didi with a straight face. This would be the same Didi who “has not spoken a swear word in her life,” of course. People with gray hair get away with so many things. As the topics swayed back to more serious matters the fact of Internet access began to sink in for everyone and this further brightened our spirits.

Our afternoon was spent in Siedlce. We started with a visit to the government office and an hour long meeting with the governor (mayor) of Siedlce. The governor was very lively and interesting to meet. After a most friendly welcome he brought up the eighteen year relationship between Global Volunteers and Siedlce in the warmest of terms. You could see the depth of this relationship reflected in the chosen artwork in his office. Most of the paintings were of Reymontowka and surrounding environs. As a hobby, he has a background in being a judge for professional weight lifting competitions. During a discussion about the Internet’s development in Poland and its use in local government we had the pleasure of informing him that Reymontowka was now on the grid.

We saw many interesting things during our tour of Seidlce. In the bookstores, Harry Potter was front and center just as he is back home. Atlas was atop one of the museums. The old palace is now an academy yet retains the elegance of its earlier career. Several of the churches are old and have distinctive architecture. Kitty-corner from the largest church Tom was the first to notice a sign for the Pink Store. Judy and I had our picture taken in front of the sign as a gift for our co-worker Shirliana, She Who Is All Things Pink. At the grocery store, Ann had her picture taken with ketchup potato chips in honor of our co-worker Eric, who loves a ton of ketchup on many things.

My ride back from Siedlce was interesting in its own right. We had the services of the governor’s official driver take Arek, Judy, Ellen and myself back to Reymontowka. Ellen is something of a daredevil and she wanted to see what the driver was capable of. Judy had heard stories about Polish driving and was told she had to see it for herself. I was just along for an interesting ride. It turns out that both lanes pass by moving into the middle and expecting the other lanes to part ways. There were some curious moments between Ellen’s mad giggling and Judy’s gasps where I saw my entire life pass before my eyes. I noticed that the law of gross tonnage still applies. We were at Reymontowka, stat. I left that vehicle with a profound respect for driving professionals and what they’re capable of.

At the end of the day staff invited us to have a small party with them. The laptop was passed around as everyone, staff included, checked their emails or surfed the web. After most of the people melted into the night there was just a handful left to continue sharing stories. Greg was soaking up words at a breathtaking pace, taking copious notes in the process. I find that our similarities are far greater than our differences.