Good music all day

Message of the day: Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Attributed to Nelson Mandela and shared by Greg

 

We gathered at 8:30 for a breakfast which included apple fritters and a novel selection, milk soup. The latter was said by several team members taste like rice pudding.

We discussed travel plans for the weekend. One group is Brenda, Ben, Eric and Gary who will leave on Friday afternoon for Krakow by way of Warsaw. Another group – Dick, Greg, and Freya leave on Saturday morning. Sophia is going to Warsaw also with Polish friends of her grandmother. Both groups are returning late Sunday afternoon or evening. Dorota assured all that supper would be waiting for them, even for those who return at 9 PM on Sunday evening.

Today my language group listened to a variety of music from my I-phone while I attempted to present the History of American Popular Music – 1950 to 1980 with Sylwia providing the accompanying translation. One of the very musically inclined students, Julia, indicated that she had heard of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton by way her guitar-playing brother. However, the polite response to the music which profoundly affects my soul and the contract with the music sung at the karaoke later in the day highlighted the wide separation of musical tastes.

Lori gave an excellent summary of the wonders of Disney World, complete with video clips that she had taken recently in January during a trip there. The sheer variety of sight and sound at these attractions must boggle of the minds of kids this age. The closest thing for me at this age was a trip to the county fair.

In the afternoon I returned from the Magic Kingdom to the mundane necessity of washing my clothes. After some trepidation caused by operating the washing machine selections in Polish, an unusually long wash/spin cycle of 134 minutes, and the quirky tumbling actions of the washing chamber --- everything turned out fine. Next time I’ll try to remember the old maxim: A watched washer never stops. 

After kolacja (supper) all gathered for a session of karaoke expertly directed by Wojciech who pulled requested words and musch off such Internet sites as KaraFun and Ising. While almost all songs were new to me, Freya and Sophia joined an ensemble to sing the old standard by Blondie, “I’m gonna getcha.” [An aside – honey they’re playing our song.]

The highlight of the evening for me was when Lori and the Camp Director, Ula led the singing of Hey, Hey Sokoły, a very old (maybe 200 years) traditional song which sent Polish warriors off to battle. I marveled at the enthusiasm of the girls, but especially the boys, who felt no hesitation in freely joining in the song and dance. None of my contemporaries or myself would have gotten so involved, and I doubt that many boys in the US today are much different. They and we have missed out on a lot of fun and friendship.

Journal by Gary