August 18, 2009

Thought for the day: "Enjoy the moment, it’s the start of a journey".

By Megan

“Oh, how wonderful!”

That phrase pretty much sums up Day Three for me. We started off with a great breakfast and conversation. It is amazing how fast we are getting to know each other. We really seem to be coming together as a team!

Classes as usual are always an adventure, I engaged my group with an active guessing game. We learned phrases we would use at a party and talked about our families. We finished off our day with a rendition of “Take me Out to the Ball Game.” Jane, Pete, and Zack engaged their groups in a spirited discussion about music. The conversation ranged from Zack talking about American music to an in depth conversation about the disappearance of CDs. The language capabilities of some of the students amaze me. It is wonderful they can have such deep conversations about important issues. Across the tent, Marge focused on homonyms and engaged her students in the picture searches that seem like a huge hit among the Polish students.

Jean (John) reviewed animal names with his students while they taught him some animal names that started with a Y! He also took them for a walk where they used their English language skills to talk about their surroundings. Kasia and Caroline taught the little ones names of shapes and played fun games with them too! Judy and Ryan are beginning a new project focusing on food and ordering from a menu at a restaurant. The students seem engaged and excited about a real life activity they are practicing here at camp. The wide range of ideas and lessons my teammates have come up with are fantastic. There aren’t enough hours of the day to use all of their wonderful ideas.

The last hour of English we taught the students a few American line dances! Wow was this an interesting experience. I felt that I was observing a middle school dance in America. The similarities were amazing there were students too shy to participate and the students who were dancing fiends. First we “did the Cha Cha Real Smooth” during the “Cha Cha Slide.” That dance was followed by the Electric Slide and the much more popular “Cotton Eye Joe” and “YMCA.” The excitement and interest in dancing was infectious and all of us were so excited to be apart of the students’ enjoyment.

After another delicious lunch we were off to Siedlce to meet with the local county vice governor. It was such an honor to be invited to the office of such an important figure in the county. I believe it really made our team feel good about the work we are doing here with the children. After learning a lot about the local Polish government we walked through the town of Siedlce. We saw beautiful architecture, the town hall and post office. It was a wonderful experience to visit the city but it was great to come back to the cottage house to enjoy great dinner and conversation with my teammates.

We were then treated to a wonderful singing competition. I was pleased to see my “active” boys were using their talents in a lovely rendition of “Barbie Girl.” We were treated to another playing of “Cotton Eye Joe”, some heavy metal tunes, and a great performance by our Ryan who was a hit among the Polish students. It is wonderful to see our students enjoying their experience in camp. Well I hope you agree with me that the day was just wonderful, just wonderful!