August 21, 2009

Thought for the day: "The Reward of a Thing Well Done is To Have Done it" ~ Anonymous

By Jean (John)

This thought for the day expresses as none other can the spirit of the Global Volunteers in service this August at Reymontowka: they serve not for gain or glory but for the reward of having done it. As the week progressed, we learned more about each other, and there has been an inexorable bonding among the volunteers.

· Megan, the elementary school teacher from Philadelphia, who captivated the camper-students with her ever-present radiant smile and fluid choreography of Cotton-Eyed Joe, honed no doubt by her natural athletic ability as a volleyball player at the College of William and Mary. On Friday, she finished her one week engagement and departed. She is missed.

· Marge, the retired nurse, medical administrator, ballroom dancer, licensed pilot, and inveterate world traveler from Colorado Springs, from whose wide experience we all benefit.

· Judy, the Twin Cities MBA night student, mother, and Global Volunteers insider, whose indomitable cheerfulness is infectious.

· Ryan, Judy’s young son, whose eclectic pursuits defy classification.

· Peter, the retired Napa Valley dry cleaning mogul, whose frequent and varied volunteer adventures are the stuff off legend.

· Zack, Peter’s grandson, whose mealtime passion for Nutella is matched only by his addiction to pineapple jam, and whose musical abilities and Southern California good looks inspire the boys and drive the girls wild.

· Quiet Caroline from Connecticut, visiting Siedlce for a family wedding, who helps out with her facility with the Polish language.

· Jane, the retired nurse from New Jersey, who imparts to her camper-students social consciousness and noble thoughts and evokes from them profound and ponderous discussions of public policy.

· Kasia, the attractive, quiet Siedlce teacher whose command of the American idiom is flawless.

· Jean (John), the recovering lawyer from Alameda, California, who, as the humble author of this segment of the Journal, is not really so humble after all.

And Dorota, our mother hen, who is the glue that holds it all together, keeping us focused on the goal with her gentle but firm guidance.

Another of the gradual but noticeable changes as the first week drew to a close is the comfort level of the students with us and we with them, again a product of getting to know more about each other. There is more talk at our dinnertime roundtable of what worked well during the instructional periods and less of what did not work.

Friday started on in interesting note – hot dogs for breakfast. It was also a day of scola brevis. What would have otherwise been the third and fourth hours of class time were devoted to individual presentations by the volunteers about themselves and their lives back home. We got as far as hearing the presentations from Jane, Megan, and Marge. Jane described her Polish family heritage, her work as a nurse, and the brighter side of New Jersey. Megan, aided by some Power Point photos, told about her home, family and friends in Philadelphia, her life as a teacher, and her days as a volleyball player in college. Marge presented photos showing a panorama of the Rocky Mountains visible from her home in Colorado, described the environs, and told about her varied career, including he exploits as a pilot of her several private airplanes. Each presentation was followed by some probing questions by the camper-students and answers by the volunteers.

The week, which had begun with anticipation for all of us and anxiety and apprehension for some of us, has come and gone in the blink of an eye and passed into the realm of fond memories. It now all seems so natural, and we commence the second week knowing at the end that we will have done well the job our Polish hosts engaged us for.