Oh Christmastime, with its fa la las. There's always reason to sing!
I stopped traffic today. I think it had to do with my red coat. And that's a big deal here. NO ONE stops for pedestrians trying to cross at the zebra crossings. And get this - the man stopped and waved me to go, AND SMILED! Then he was turning down the street I was walking and SMILED AGAIN! Seriously. Have I mentioned that people here don't smile? And that they look at me like I'm a crazy person when I walk down the street smiling? So perhaps the Christmas spirit got the better of this man. It made me happy.
Starting Wednesday this passed week I've been able to do Christmas lessons with my students. With my Thursday and Friday groups, I played Michael Buble's "Let it Snow" and they had to put the lyrics in order. I paused the song after each line. Often they wanted it repeated, but rather than constantly rewinding the song, I just sang the lyric for them. Haha I even did this for my power plant men on Friday! Hope they didn't mind! Oh the joys of being a teacher.
My 7 year olds on Thursday were decorating Christmas trees on a paper template I gave them. Most of them didn't want to take them home to their families...rather they gave them to me! So I have put them up on my wall in my flat. So cute.
Heather's sister arrived Thursday evening! So I met with the girls Friday morning for tea, and to meet my second travel buddy. CATHY IS AMAZING! She brought us candy canes and mini eggs and Quaker oatmeal (maple and brown sugar), oh my!! We did request these things. They made me promise to save one of my bags of mini eggs for the train ride on Wednesday when we set out for Vienna. North American readers - you may get an emergency call Tuesday night. Urgent: please send overnight one bag of mini eggs! Haha I think I have more self control than that...
Back to the candy canes. You can't find them here! This came as a total surprise to me. I had wanted to pick up a bunch to give out with cards I was making for the Polish teachers. Nothing. Instead, I got them hot chocolate. However, with Cathy's arrival, I've starting giving out candy canes too. Two of the teachers yesterday commented on how pretty they are, and that they've never had them!
The Christmas tradition here is to have your big meal on Christmas eve...but NO meat and NO sweets. Their meal? Perogies and fish and soup. I do love discussing these things in class!
Is it wrong that I told one of my classes that for Christmas I wanted their picture because they're my favourites? They're 10 and 11 years old, in Kozienice. Eva, one of the Polish teachers told me that she heard all the students in the hall after class telling their parents that I said this and that they were super excited about it! With my equivalent class in Radom, I taught them "mistletoe". After this they said, "teacher, boy?" to which I told them, no, I don't have a boyfriend. There is one boy in the class, so the girls all said, "Jan!" So I said, "yes, Jan can be my boyfriend". The poor boy.
The drive to Kozienice is particularly pretty right now, through all the snow-covered trees. A little fairytale winter.
Remember how I broke the ignition key to the company car? Well, the secretary in Kozienice was away Friday and will be gone Monday as well. Because I teach in Koz both these days, on Friday after locking up the school I was given the keys for the weekend. Of course the joke is that everyone's nervous about the fate of the keys (I have continued to be the butt of the jokes since the ignition key incident)! I'm getting suggestions that I should wear the keys all weekend so I don't forget them Monday. Feel free to send reminders my way! haha
A quiet weekend for me - laundry and organizing for my travels, getting in touch with people, relaxing. Met up with some girls for lunch today at Totu. It was a perfect winter day - bright sunshine making the snow look extra inviting, no wind, and crisp. Ahhhh.
I stopped traffic today. I think it had to do with my red coat. And that's a big deal here. NO ONE stops for pedestrians trying to cross at the zebra crossings. And get this - the man stopped and waved me to go, AND SMILED! Then he was turning down the street I was walking and SMILED AGAIN! Seriously. Have I mentioned that people here don't smile? And that they look at me like I'm a crazy person when I walk down the street smiling? So perhaps the Christmas spirit got the better of this man. It made me happy.
Starting Wednesday this passed week I've been able to do Christmas lessons with my students. With my Thursday and Friday groups, I played Michael Buble's "Let it Snow" and they had to put the lyrics in order. I paused the song after each line. Often they wanted it repeated, but rather than constantly rewinding the song, I just sang the lyric for them. Haha I even did this for my power plant men on Friday! Hope they didn't mind! Oh the joys of being a teacher.
My 7 year olds on Thursday were decorating Christmas trees on a paper template I gave them. Most of them didn't want to take them home to their families...rather they gave them to me! So I have put them up on my wall in my flat. So cute.
Heather's sister arrived Thursday evening! So I met with the girls Friday morning for tea, and to meet my second travel buddy. CATHY IS AMAZING! She brought us candy canes and mini eggs and Quaker oatmeal (maple and brown sugar), oh my!! We did request these things. They made me promise to save one of my bags of mini eggs for the train ride on Wednesday when we set out for Vienna. North American readers - you may get an emergency call Tuesday night. Urgent: please send overnight one bag of mini eggs! Haha I think I have more self control than that...
Back to the candy canes. You can't find them here! This came as a total surprise to me. I had wanted to pick up a bunch to give out with cards I was making for the Polish teachers. Nothing. Instead, I got them hot chocolate. However, with Cathy's arrival, I've starting giving out candy canes too. Two of the teachers yesterday commented on how pretty they are, and that they've never had them!
The Christmas tradition here is to have your big meal on Christmas eve...but NO meat and NO sweets. Their meal? Perogies and fish and soup. I do love discussing these things in class!
Is it wrong that I told one of my classes that for Christmas I wanted their picture because they're my favourites? They're 10 and 11 years old, in Kozienice. Eva, one of the Polish teachers told me that she heard all the students in the hall after class telling their parents that I said this and that they were super excited about it! With my equivalent class in Radom, I taught them "mistletoe". After this they said, "teacher, boy?" to which I told them, no, I don't have a boyfriend. There is one boy in the class, so the girls all said, "Jan!" So I said, "yes, Jan can be my boyfriend". The poor boy.
The drive to Kozienice is particularly pretty right now, through all the snow-covered trees. A little fairytale winter.
Remember how I broke the ignition key to the company car? Well, the secretary in Kozienice was away Friday and will be gone Monday as well. Because I teach in Koz both these days, on Friday after locking up the school I was given the keys for the weekend. Of course the joke is that everyone's nervous about the fate of the keys (I have continued to be the butt of the jokes since the ignition key incident)! I'm getting suggestions that I should wear the keys all weekend so I don't forget them Monday. Feel free to send reminders my way! haha
A quiet weekend for me - laundry and organizing for my travels, getting in touch with people, relaxing. Met up with some girls for lunch today at Totu. It was a perfect winter day - bright sunshine making the snow look extra inviting, no wind, and crisp. Ahhhh.
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