On Thursday, July 3, I catch a midday train to from Bratislava to Budapest. I arrive at the station with plenty of time to spare, and the train is predictably late. The trip is short, being only about three hours, and reasonably scenic. The journey was highlighted by a distant view of the massive Esztergom cathedral in Hungary from across the Danube in Slovakia. Esztergom was the first capital of Hungary (10th-13th C.) and is still home to the Hungarian primate. My arrival in Budapest is greeted by large crowds and congested traffic.
At 1.8 million people, Budapest is the largest city I will visit on my travels (discounting my night in London). The center of the city is a massive area stretching across both sides of the river. The walk from the train station to my hostel is a beast, and I am drenched when I arrive. The hostel is another one of those hidden ones without a prominent sign. It is on the second floor of an apartment building about a 15-20 minute walk from the river. The owner is obviously attempting to appeal to the numerous Australian backpackers for despite the name, Aboriginal Hostel, the walls are decorated with painted, "Aboriginal-style" motifs and animals. The hostel is quite cozy, but horrendously stuffy in the rooms and during the day.
The next day, I celebrate my national independence day by going out and seeing the national monuments of Hungary. I walk by the Great Synagogue of Budapest, but it is impossible to just see the inside. You have to buy a ticket for a tour that includes more sites as well. My next stop is St. Stephen's Basilica, which was only built in the last 150 years. For a modern cathedral, St. Stephen's is well-done though the interior is a little bit gaudy and crowded by tourists. A chapel around the back even contains millennia-old mummified right hand of St. Stephen himself. The best part of the cathedral, however, is the view from its tower. While the Danube is invisible, hidden by buildings, one can see almost the entirety of the city in all directions. It is quite windy at the top, as one can see by the state of my hair in the pictures.
Across the river in Buda (Budapest was actually three cities, two of them being Buda and Pest. Buda is on the west bank of the Danube, Pest is on the east.), I attempt to ascend Castle Hill. There is a tourist trap of a funicular directly across the main bridge, and, like all good tourist traps, the walking paths to the top of the hill are obscured. I end up walking to the south until a find a path up. Along the way, I pass numerous rundown, majestic buildings at the foot of the hill. I later encounter more of them across the river in Pest. I think that the buildings are left over from Budapest's days as the second city of a large imperial power in the 19th century and have just fallen into disrepair after the Hungary's loss of the First World War and the communist period.
After I finally reach the top, the way is blocked by some sort of festival. I loop my way around it, only to be blocked again. The event is some sort of Hungarian food festival that requires an entrance fee, but it is blocking entrance to one of the major Hungarian museums as well as the palace grounds. The Hungarians are meat-happy anyway, so I don't particularly feel like participating. Most of the other tourists feel the same way. They simply want to get to the other side of the festival, and the festival staff luckily let us. On the other side of the festival, I purchase a Hungarian pastry of coiled dough that is quite delicious. I also watch the passage of the festival parade, of which I have a video up on Facebook.
I then walk north to Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion. The church is covered in scaffolding and cannot be entered, but the neo-Gothic Bastion offers excellent views of the city and the river. It also offers a great view of the beautiful Hungarian parliament building. While I working my way down the hill towards the river, I passed two old ladies with a dog apiece. One dog started barking and set off the other one. This dog, a much larger black lab, felt the need to protect its squeak toy and bark at the same time. Much to my amusement, the dog's deep woofs, muffled by the toy, were interspersed with high-pitched squeaks.
Back in Pest, I wander south to the Market, a large open-air structure with several floors of sellers. The first floor is fruits, vegetables, and meat. The second is crafts and such, including the ubiquitous eastern European Russian matryoshka dolls (The nesting dolls. They are Russian and not really anything else, but are sold across eastern Europe to Westerners as misidentified eastern kitsch.). On my way out back towards my hostel, I buy a container of raspberries. The berries don't even make it back the fifteen minute walk.
The next day, my first stop is the Terror Museum, Hungary's communist museum. The museum is located in the former building of the Hungarian secret police. While the museum is listed as a major attraction, it is horribly biased. The museum portrays 50 years of Hungarian history as a reign of totalitarian terror over the unwilling Hungarian people by the Soviet Union, other Warsaw Pact members, and a few powerful Hungarians. According to the museum, the nation of Hungary was in a constant state of unrest and rebellion against the communist gov't. What the museum ignores, however, is that large portions of the Hungarian population were in support of the communist government or at least accepting or indifferent to it. The museum comes off as Hungary's well-contrived (they have "mood" lighting and a creepy soundtrack) attempt to shove a part of their history that they don't like under the carpet.
After the museum, I work my way to the large park to the northeast of the city center. Oddly, the road, one of the major routes in Budapest, is fenced off, the side roads are blocked off, and groups of police in riot gear are interspersed intermittently along the route. I later learned that a gay pride parade was taking place later that day, and, like much of eastern Europe, Hungary is severely homophobic. According to the news, many bottles were thrown, including ones filled with gasoline and lit on fire (i.e., Molotov cocktails/petrol bombs), and at least eight people injured. I was not around during that part or any part for that matter. The road was completely empty when I passed it.
Anyway, I reached the park and saw the impressive Heroes' Square, where a police academy graduation seemed to have just ended. Walking around the park, I eventually reached the palace in the center and sat down to rest. Strangely, an American youth dance troupe from L.A., the Westchester Lariats, performed on the steps of the palace. It was a little bit surreal, especially as the MC was an overly excited Columbian-American whose energy did not transfer to the crowds. On the way back to my hostel, I buy my train ticket to Ljubljana at the confusing main train station.
The next two days, I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the city and take it slow. On Sunday, I walk up towards the parliament building, whose inland side is not nearly as interesting as its river side, and eat dinner in the area. On Monday, I go to the Bodies exhibition, the one where human bodies have been dissected and preserved in interesting ways. It was in D.C. before I left, but the one here is much cheaper. The exhibition is quite interesting. I especially enjoy the section of the circulatory system. For it, they injected the system with some sort of colored hardening agent, and then dissolved all the other tissues, leaving behind a loufa-like collection of arteries, veins, and capillaries in the their normal positions.
It rains heavily that night, but the rain has luckily stopped when I leave the hostel at 5:25 am in order to catch my train to Zagreb. From Zagreb, I then catch a train to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Overall, I feel that I spent one or two days too many in Budapest. While the city has many sites to see, the large number of people and tourists, as well as the city's physical size, was overwhelming for me. I did not feel particularly welcomed or safe.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Bratislava
As of June 30, my Fulbright grant and time in
I left my apartment in
As a tourist draw,
The city, while it may not have the historical chops than its more popular and populous neighbors do, does not make enough effort to play up the history is does have. There are guide posts placed around the city, but they only point to the castle, the presidential palace, and a changing random location. The church where the Hungarian monarchs (
The highlight of my two days in
All things considered, I think that the real draw of
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Pictures
I have discovered that non-facebook users can view facebook photo albums. Due to unhappiness with my picture hosting service and to save myself time, I am switching entirely to these albums. The links can be found along the right. I have yet to identify/describe any of the recent pictures, but you can still look at them.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
So far behind
My apologies to all my loyal readers. It has been a long time since I have updated my trog and much has happened since then. Unfortunately, I do not know when I will be able to update due to classes and such. Please bear with me.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Catch Up - Gdynia, Sopot, and Life
Since I keep falling behind on my posts, this will be one giant post covering various topics and hopefully bring everyone up to date on my life.
On Friday, November 2, I traveled north to Gdynia, the northernmost city of the Trójmiasto. The Trójmiasto is connected by the SKM, a frequently-running urban train, so travel between the three cities is simple. Gdynia is also Maciej's hometown and he had left an open invitation for me to visit that I finally took him up on. After meeting me at Gdynia Główna, the main train station, Maciej walked me down one of the main streets, ul. 10 Lutego, towards the sea while discussing the city's history and modern architecture. Closer to the harbor, the street opens up into Skwer Kościuszki (Kościuszko Square, as in Tadeusz Kościuszko) before turning into a long pier named after Pope John Paul II. Though Maciej (a sidenote - Maciej is pronounced like "Mah-chay;" it is the Polish form of Matthias) and I did not tour any them, there are several historical ships docked on the pier. The ships there include the ORP (Okręt Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, "Vessel of the Republic of Poland") Błyskawica, a WW2 destroyer which escaped German capture and served with the British Navy throughout the war, and the three-mast frigate, Dar Pomorza. The Dar Pomorza was built at the beginning of the 20th century and served as a training vessel for the Polish Naval Academy until 1982. Maciej and I did, however, tour the local aquarium, Akawarium Gdyńskie, which resides at the end of the pier. The aquarium is one of the few in Poland and focuses on marine life in the Baltic Ocean. While American aquariums tend to be be more impressive and larger, the visit was still interesting.
Though present since at least the 13th century, Gdynia has usually been overshadowed by its much more prosperous neighbor to the south. In fact, the city was only a small fishing village with just over a thousand inhabitants up until the 20th century. Following World War I, Gdańsk was declared a free city by the Treaty of Versailles and Gdynia was given to the newly reconstituted Republic of Poland. With the shipyards of Gdańsk out of their direct control, the new Republic built new and bigger shipyards in Gdynia. Just prior to World War II, Gdynia was the largest seaport on the Baltic. After being captured by the Nazis at the outbreak of WW2, the city served as a primary naval base for the German fleet. Though Gdynia escaped heavy Allied bombing unlike Gdańsk, the Germans destroyed much of the seaport and blocked the harbor entrance when they retreated from the city. Through the communist-era, the city served as a primary seaport and shipyard for Poland. Presently, while it has a smaller population (about 250,000)than Gdańsk, Gdynia is considered to be more metropolitan than its southern sister as it has a larger foreign population proportionally and receives more sea traffic. The city is also home to the Polish navy, the largest Polish shipyard, and two naval academies.
Working our way back down the pier, Maciej and I walked through the marina, then along a path besides the beach. Given that it was November, there were a surprising number of people at the seaside. None in the water of course, just along the beach and in the park. We passed Gdynia's naval and city museums which were closed for renovations. According to Maciej, the museums had been closed for sometime and despite the claims of their operators, would likely remain closed much longer. Instead of walking back up the beach towards the pier, Maciej and I cut through a park to reach Skwer Kościuszki again before heading into large movie theater/mall called the Silver Screen for some lunch. Polish hospitality dictates that hosts pay for their guests, so Maciej bought me lunch at a small crepe place. There are pictures of my trip of Gdynia located in my Flickr account. The link is to your right.
After talking awhile, Maciej invited me back to his family's apartment where I experienced true Polish hospitality for the first time. It involves lots of cake. Maciej's family lives in a fairly new and nicely furnished apartment building about a 30-minute walk from Gdynia's center. While we were the first home, giving me time to make friends with the family's dachshund, Maciej's mother, younger sister, grandmother, and grandfather arrived shortly afterwards. As November 1, the day previous, was All Saint's Day, a time when families traditionally get together, the rest of the family had been out at a restaurant. Another All Saints' Day tradition is for families to light candles in colored glass jars at the graves of family members. Maciej's father currently works on an oil rig off the coast of Brazil and as such, was not around. Maciej's mother is a real estate agent.
Upon the family's arrival, I was stuffed full of delicious, delicious cake, another part of Polish hospitality apparently. Not that I mind cake, of course, it was just a lot of cake. The family and I then conversed about my time so far in Poland, my impressions of the country, my family, and my life in America. The conversation also shifted to US geography and an old atlas had to be brought out. Maciej's grandfather was a sailor and actually visited several American ports during his life. While his mother speaks a little English, Maciej served as translator for the rest of the family though this was unnecessary sometimes because proper nouns are usually mutually intelligible.
After the departure of the grandparents, I shared a small meal with the immediate family before Maciej's mother kindly offered to drive me home when I was ready. As it was freezing outside, I was grateful. With a little trouble because of various construction projects, we reached my building after a short drive through Gdynia, Sopot, which I had yet to see, and parts of Gdansk off the beaten path. Along the way, we passed a large cemetery that was beautifully lit up for with candles from the previous day.
On Friday, November 9, I met Maciej in Sopot, the third city of the Trójmiasto. Sopot also happens to be the location of the University's Foreign Language Center. Because of my strange status (I am not student nor am I an employee because the University doesn't pay me), I was not allowed to take a Polish language course offered by the University until my situation was clarified to the University's satisfaction. Maciej and I were in Sopot in hopes of finally getting me into a language course. Not unsurprisingly, we ran into the "communist-era bureaucratic bullshit" (to quote a friend of mine currently residing in Serbia) that was the reason my status was so unclear in the first place. I would be allowed to join one of the two current Polish classes only if the instructor agreed and the head of Foreign Language department agreed to waive the class fee. If the fee wasn't waived, I would still not be able to pay and take the class because the class was only for non-paying people. I would have to wait for a new class of paying people start, which was very unlikely. My class fee was waived, but it required going back to Gdańsk, typing an official letter, getting it approved by both the head of the Institute of English and the Rector's Office before even giving it to the Foreign Language Center. Maciej was very helpful in all of this. Because of this running back and forth, I did not get a chance to see Sopot much my first time there though I liked what I saw.
Though present since the seventh century, Sopot was developed as a spa town at the beginning of the 19th century by a former French army doctor. Its popularity rose steadily so that by the first world war, it was a favorite destination for wealthy German and Polish aristocrats (though remember that there was no independent Poland at this time). Though tourism suffered during the two world wars, Sopot retained its reputation as a spa town and cultural center through both the inter-war years and the communist-era. The city, with a current population of about 40,000, still remains a popular tourist destination to this day.
My first language course in Sopot took place the following Thursday. The instructor is a young woman in her late 20s and the class consisted of about seven ERASMUS students. ERASMUS is the prominent student exchange program in Europe. If anyone watch the award-winning French movie, l'Auberge Espagnole, a few years ago, the main characters in it were all ERASMUS students. Among the students were two Lithuanians, two Finns, a Turk, a Frank, and a Hungarian. The class had already been in session for over a month when I joined, but I tried to keep up the best I could.
Following class, I decided to wander around Sopot some as I had not gotten a chance to see the city much on my previous visit. I walked down the main street, ul. Bohaterów Monte Cassino, to Skwer Kuracyjny before strolling down to the end of Sopot's famous pier. At 512 meters, the pier is the longest wooden pier in Europe and the longest pier period (pier-iod?) on the Baltic. There are not many people out on the pier at this time of year and it was quite peaceful in the cold weather. Watch out for the seagulls though. I sat down for a few minutes to observe the scenery and discovered a speculative gull eying me eagerly from a foot behind my head .
Just off the pier on the Skwer Kuracyjny, I saw a large cat sitting on a window sill next to one of the few remaining vendors braving the cold. I approached the cat carefully and let it sniff me before petting it. As this was one of my few successful cat encounters, I was delighted. However, when I sank down on my knees to pet the cat better, it stepped out on my legs, curled up, and fell asleep. Not that I minded much, it just caught me by surprise. Through my limited Polish and her limited English, I discovered from the vendor that the cat was a stray. It seemed like a very well-fed stray, but it had serious respiratory problems. Instead of purring, the cat wheezed. While I would have loved to stay longer, I had other things to do that day. The cat reluctantly left my lap when forced and resumed its perch in the window. I promised it that I would return sometime.
With its much smaller size, I felt much more comfortable in Sopot than I have in downtown Gdańsk. It seemed like a much more livable place. The city reminded me, the center of a the city at least, of a cross between downtown Charlottesville and Hot Springs, Virginia, but at the seaside. The tallest buildings are still the churches and the main drag, ul. Bohaterów Monte Cassino, is mostly blocked to everything but pedestrians. Sadly, a large portion of the seaside area is currently under construction so I was not able to experience the full effect of the city. After looking around for a particular restaurant that was gobbled up by the construction, I found a small, cheap pizza/pirogi place near the train station with a good atmosphere. Following my lunch/dinner, I returned to Gdańsk. I have yet to take pictures of Sopot. Some will probably pop up over the next two months.
The following week, I arrived in Sopot for my classes only to find out that my Polish teacher had lost her voice and classes were canceled for the week. The week after (this week actually), classes were restored and again I participated as much as I was able. The class hasn't actually made it that far in their text, but still far enough. I bought a copy of Polish language book from the instructor that will hopefully bring me up to speed as soon as I have time to sit down and work at it. Following the class, I shared a lunch/dinner with three other students at Green Way, a mostly-Polish chain of fast-food, vegetarian restaurants. We talked about why we chose Poland and where we were from before returning to Gdańsk on the train.
For last Friday (11/23), Maciej was meeting some old university friends for a drink and invited me to tag along. The friends pushed the time back so Maciej and I wandered around Gdańsk's center for awhile. Old Gdańsk centers around ul. Długa and Długa Targ, the square Długa street opens up onto. If you've seen pictures of Gdańsk, they are probably of Długa and Długa Targ. Though many sites were closed for the winter, including Gdańsk's famous medieval waterfront crane, and the town hall is under renovation, we walked around in the huge Kościół Mariacki (St. Mary's Cathedral). Kościół Mariacki is the largest brick brick church in the world and was constructed between 1379 and 1496. It was very peaceful inside the cathedral and protected from the nasty weather outside. Following a small meal at Gdańsk's Green Way, Maciej and I met his friends at a bar/club named Barbados. While the service was horrible, Maciej and his friends talked about other classmates and the events happening in their lives. One friend is actually moving to Arizona and marrying an American she had been seeing. We parted ways outside the bar and I caught a tram north to my apartment. There are also pictures available from this outing.
Next week, I will be in Warsaw for about five days. There is a Fulbright meeting on Tuesday and, as I never got a chance to see the city before, I am taking this week to do so. I don't mind the break and I know that my students certainly won't mind it. It's ok. They will have homework when I return. And yes, I am grading your papers. Stop complaining. I will most likely have internet access so staying touch with me won't be a problem.
I also have been experiencing some computer problems lately. Despite being purchased in August, my computer's audio has crapped out due to a faulty motherboard. Dell says they can replace it overseas, and indeed, they offer legitimate service in Poland according to their website. I am not holding my breath for quick and painless solution, however, as the customer service woman asked, and I quote, "what country is Poland in?" This lack of audio means that I am unable to talk to anyone via voice through my computer or do all the other things I do to de-stress.
Expect a post following/during my trip to Warsaw. I have also updated locations in my map as well as added the locations of various friends and acquaintances around the world.
On Friday, November 2, I traveled north to Gdynia, the northernmost city of the Trójmiasto. The Trójmiasto is connected by the SKM, a frequently-running urban train, so travel between the three cities is simple. Gdynia is also Maciej's hometown and he had left an open invitation for me to visit that I finally took him up on. After meeting me at Gdynia Główna, the main train station, Maciej walked me down one of the main streets, ul. 10 Lutego, towards the sea while discussing the city's history and modern architecture. Closer to the harbor, the street opens up into Skwer Kościuszki (Kościuszko Square, as in Tadeusz Kościuszko) before turning into a long pier named after Pope John Paul II. Though Maciej (a sidenote - Maciej is pronounced like "Mah-chay;" it is the Polish form of Matthias) and I did not tour any them, there are several historical ships docked on the pier. The ships there include the ORP (Okręt Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, "Vessel of the Republic of Poland") Błyskawica, a WW2 destroyer which escaped German capture and served with the British Navy throughout the war, and the three-mast frigate, Dar Pomorza. The Dar Pomorza was built at the beginning of the 20th century and served as a training vessel for the Polish Naval Academy until 1982. Maciej and I did, however, tour the local aquarium, Akawarium Gdyńskie, which resides at the end of the pier. The aquarium is one of the few in Poland and focuses on marine life in the Baltic Ocean. While American aquariums tend to be be more impressive and larger, the visit was still interesting.
Though present since at least the 13th century, Gdynia has usually been overshadowed by its much more prosperous neighbor to the south. In fact, the city was only a small fishing village with just over a thousand inhabitants up until the 20th century. Following World War I, Gdańsk was declared a free city by the Treaty of Versailles and Gdynia was given to the newly reconstituted Republic of Poland. With the shipyards of Gdańsk out of their direct control, the new Republic built new and bigger shipyards in Gdynia. Just prior to World War II, Gdynia was the largest seaport on the Baltic. After being captured by the Nazis at the outbreak of WW2, the city served as a primary naval base for the German fleet. Though Gdynia escaped heavy Allied bombing unlike Gdańsk, the Germans destroyed much of the seaport and blocked the harbor entrance when they retreated from the city. Through the communist-era, the city served as a primary seaport and shipyard for Poland. Presently, while it has a smaller population (about 250,000)than Gdańsk, Gdynia is considered to be more metropolitan than its southern sister as it has a larger foreign population proportionally and receives more sea traffic. The city is also home to the Polish navy, the largest Polish shipyard, and two naval academies.
Working our way back down the pier, Maciej and I walked through the marina, then along a path besides the beach. Given that it was November, there were a surprising number of people at the seaside. None in the water of course, just along the beach and in the park. We passed Gdynia's naval and city museums which were closed for renovations. According to Maciej, the museums had been closed for sometime and despite the claims of their operators, would likely remain closed much longer. Instead of walking back up the beach towards the pier, Maciej and I cut through a park to reach Skwer Kościuszki again before heading into large movie theater/mall called the Silver Screen for some lunch. Polish hospitality dictates that hosts pay for their guests, so Maciej bought me lunch at a small crepe place. There are pictures of my trip of Gdynia located in my Flickr account. The link is to your right.
After talking awhile, Maciej invited me back to his family's apartment where I experienced true Polish hospitality for the first time. It involves lots of cake. Maciej's family lives in a fairly new and nicely furnished apartment building about a 30-minute walk from Gdynia's center. While we were the first home, giving me time to make friends with the family's dachshund, Maciej's mother, younger sister, grandmother, and grandfather arrived shortly afterwards. As November 1, the day previous, was All Saint's Day, a time when families traditionally get together, the rest of the family had been out at a restaurant. Another All Saints' Day tradition is for families to light candles in colored glass jars at the graves of family members. Maciej's father currently works on an oil rig off the coast of Brazil and as such, was not around. Maciej's mother is a real estate agent.
Upon the family's arrival, I was stuffed full of delicious, delicious cake, another part of Polish hospitality apparently. Not that I mind cake, of course, it was just a lot of cake. The family and I then conversed about my time so far in Poland, my impressions of the country, my family, and my life in America. The conversation also shifted to US geography and an old atlas had to be brought out. Maciej's grandfather was a sailor and actually visited several American ports during his life. While his mother speaks a little English, Maciej served as translator for the rest of the family though this was unnecessary sometimes because proper nouns are usually mutually intelligible.
After the departure of the grandparents, I shared a small meal with the immediate family before Maciej's mother kindly offered to drive me home when I was ready. As it was freezing outside, I was grateful. With a little trouble because of various construction projects, we reached my building after a short drive through Gdynia, Sopot, which I had yet to see, and parts of Gdansk off the beaten path. Along the way, we passed a large cemetery that was beautifully lit up for with candles from the previous day.
On Friday, November 9, I met Maciej in Sopot, the third city of the Trójmiasto. Sopot also happens to be the location of the University's Foreign Language Center. Because of my strange status (I am not student nor am I an employee because the University doesn't pay me), I was not allowed to take a Polish language course offered by the University until my situation was clarified to the University's satisfaction. Maciej and I were in Sopot in hopes of finally getting me into a language course. Not unsurprisingly, we ran into the "communist-era bureaucratic bullshit" (to quote a friend of mine currently residing in Serbia) that was the reason my status was so unclear in the first place. I would be allowed to join one of the two current Polish classes only if the instructor agreed and the head of Foreign Language department agreed to waive the class fee. If the fee wasn't waived, I would still not be able to pay and take the class because the class was only for non-paying people. I would have to wait for a new class of paying people start, which was very unlikely. My class fee was waived, but it required going back to Gdańsk, typing an official letter, getting it approved by both the head of the Institute of English and the Rector's Office before even giving it to the Foreign Language Center. Maciej was very helpful in all of this. Because of this running back and forth, I did not get a chance to see Sopot much my first time there though I liked what I saw.
Though present since the seventh century, Sopot was developed as a spa town at the beginning of the 19th century by a former French army doctor. Its popularity rose steadily so that by the first world war, it was a favorite destination for wealthy German and Polish aristocrats (though remember that there was no independent Poland at this time). Though tourism suffered during the two world wars, Sopot retained its reputation as a spa town and cultural center through both the inter-war years and the communist-era. The city, with a current population of about 40,000, still remains a popular tourist destination to this day.
My first language course in Sopot took place the following Thursday. The instructor is a young woman in her late 20s and the class consisted of about seven ERASMUS students. ERASMUS is the prominent student exchange program in Europe. If anyone watch the award-winning French movie, l'Auberge Espagnole, a few years ago, the main characters in it were all ERASMUS students. Among the students were two Lithuanians, two Finns, a Turk, a Frank, and a Hungarian. The class had already been in session for over a month when I joined, but I tried to keep up the best I could.
Following class, I decided to wander around Sopot some as I had not gotten a chance to see the city much on my previous visit. I walked down the main street, ul. Bohaterów Monte Cassino, to Skwer Kuracyjny before strolling down to the end of Sopot's famous pier. At 512 meters, the pier is the longest wooden pier in Europe and the longest pier period (pier-iod?) on the Baltic. There are not many people out on the pier at this time of year and it was quite peaceful in the cold weather. Watch out for the seagulls though. I sat down for a few minutes to observe the scenery and discovered a speculative gull eying me eagerly from a foot behind my head .
Just off the pier on the Skwer Kuracyjny, I saw a large cat sitting on a window sill next to one of the few remaining vendors braving the cold. I approached the cat carefully and let it sniff me before petting it. As this was one of my few successful cat encounters, I was delighted. However, when I sank down on my knees to pet the cat better, it stepped out on my legs, curled up, and fell asleep. Not that I minded much, it just caught me by surprise. Through my limited Polish and her limited English, I discovered from the vendor that the cat was a stray. It seemed like a very well-fed stray, but it had serious respiratory problems. Instead of purring, the cat wheezed. While I would have loved to stay longer, I had other things to do that day. The cat reluctantly left my lap when forced and resumed its perch in the window. I promised it that I would return sometime.
With its much smaller size, I felt much more comfortable in Sopot than I have in downtown Gdańsk. It seemed like a much more livable place. The city reminded me, the center of a the city at least, of a cross between downtown Charlottesville and Hot Springs, Virginia, but at the seaside. The tallest buildings are still the churches and the main drag, ul. Bohaterów Monte Cassino, is mostly blocked to everything but pedestrians. Sadly, a large portion of the seaside area is currently under construction so I was not able to experience the full effect of the city. After looking around for a particular restaurant that was gobbled up by the construction, I found a small, cheap pizza/pirogi place near the train station with a good atmosphere. Following my lunch/dinner, I returned to Gdańsk. I have yet to take pictures of Sopot. Some will probably pop up over the next two months.
The following week, I arrived in Sopot for my classes only to find out that my Polish teacher had lost her voice and classes were canceled for the week. The week after (this week actually), classes were restored and again I participated as much as I was able. The class hasn't actually made it that far in their text, but still far enough. I bought a copy of Polish language book from the instructor that will hopefully bring me up to speed as soon as I have time to sit down and work at it. Following the class, I shared a lunch/dinner with three other students at Green Way, a mostly-Polish chain of fast-food, vegetarian restaurants. We talked about why we chose Poland and where we were from before returning to Gdańsk on the train.
For last Friday (11/23), Maciej was meeting some old university friends for a drink and invited me to tag along. The friends pushed the time back so Maciej and I wandered around Gdańsk's center for awhile. Old Gdańsk centers around ul. Długa and Długa Targ, the square Długa street opens up onto. If you've seen pictures of Gdańsk, they are probably of Długa and Długa Targ. Though many sites were closed for the winter, including Gdańsk's famous medieval waterfront crane, and the town hall is under renovation, we walked around in the huge Kościół Mariacki (St. Mary's Cathedral). Kościół Mariacki is the largest brick brick church in the world and was constructed between 1379 and 1496. It was very peaceful inside the cathedral and protected from the nasty weather outside. Following a small meal at Gdańsk's Green Way, Maciej and I met his friends at a bar/club named Barbados. While the service was horrible, Maciej and his friends talked about other classmates and the events happening in their lives. One friend is actually moving to Arizona and marrying an American she had been seeing. We parted ways outside the bar and I caught a tram north to my apartment. There are also pictures available from this outing.
Next week, I will be in Warsaw for about five days. There is a Fulbright meeting on Tuesday and, as I never got a chance to see the city before, I am taking this week to do so. I don't mind the break and I know that my students certainly won't mind it. It's ok. They will have homework when I return. And yes, I am grading your papers. Stop complaining. I will most likely have internet access so staying touch with me won't be a problem.
I also have been experiencing some computer problems lately. Despite being purchased in August, my computer's audio has crapped out due to a faulty motherboard. Dell says they can replace it overseas, and indeed, they offer legitimate service in Poland according to their website. I am not holding my breath for quick and painless solution, however, as the customer service woman asked, and I quote, "what country is Poland in?" This lack of audio means that I am unable to talk to anyone via voice through my computer or do all the other things I do to de-stress.
Expect a post following/during my trip to Warsaw. I have also updated locations in my map as well as added the locations of various friends and acquaintances around the world.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Ben Gutenberg, 1989-2007
As I posted earlier, two students were seriously injured in the car accident that claimed the life of my fencing coach at William and Mary, Pete Conomikes. Spencer Butts, the younger brother of my college roommate, has been released from the hospital after several surgeries and is now recovering. Ben Gutenberg's injuries, however, were more serious. Ben passed away at the hospital yesterday after following further complications from his injuries.
Again, I would ask anyone who reads this to keep the Gutenbergs, the Butts, and the W&M Fencing team in their thoughts.
Again, I would ask anyone who reads this to keep the Gutenbergs, the Butts, and the W&M Fencing team in their thoughts.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
My First Month in Gdańsk , Part Two
A recent news article about the sale of the Gdańsk shipyards.
As I was supposedly teaching on Tuesday and Wednesday, I rode the tram to the University on Monday, October 1, to see where I would be teaching and to meet Maciej, my University "guide." The next oldest staff member at 23 or 24 and a fellow teaching assistant, Maciej helps me with all things Polish like navigating UG's ridiculous bureaucracy or purchasing a long-term transit pass. In our initial meeting, Maciej helped me plan my first lesson, elaborated on the course material, and helped with some bureaucratic necessities. Back at my apartment, I plan my lesson for the next day further before falling asleep.
The University of Gdańsk has eight campuses, mostly in Gdańsk, but also in Sopot and Gdynia. Here are three pictures of one of my classrooms and campus. The Faculty of History and Philology where I teach is the building on the left.
The concept of teaching assistant is different here than in America. A teaching assistant here just seems to be an instructor who doesn't have the necessary degrees (i.e., a Ph.D.) to be a professor. I teach writing to first-year students at the University of Gdańsk. I am the only instructor teaching writing to first-years. My class is part of the Institute's Practical English program, which also teaches grammar, phonetics, and integrated skills along with writing.
The Institute of English also offers with American and British literature, culture, and history courses as well as class in linguistics, translation, and language instruction (as in teaching the English language).
Over the next two days, I teach five classes, each an hour and a half long. Each class has approximately 20 students in it. For my first class, I do introductions, talk about what the class will be (which is a good trick since at this point I don't really know), and have the students write a little bit so I can get a feel of their English and writing skills. I also talk about paragraphs and paragraph structure, which, theoretically, is review for them.
The next week, the class schedule was rearranged and no one bothered to tell me so I show up at the wrong place at the wrong time. It is not a serious setback, just kind of annoying. I also assign my students their first homework, on introduction paragraphs. The week after, two of my classes are canceled due to the funeral of a former faculty member. Again, no one tells me, but I am mostly annoyed because it sets my classes off sync with each other.
I am slowly becoming more accustomed to teaching. The only guidelines I have for the course are that students must be able to write a 500-word argumentative essay for the end-of-year exam in the spring. I have no direct supervision for my class, which is a sword with two sides. I like not having someone looking over my shoulder and critiquing me, but at the same time, I would prefer a little more guidance. I am managing, however, and the students' writing is improving. Writing in Polish is not the same style and not as well taught as in the English speaking world. My method has been more of top-down approach, i.e., I started with broad topics like structure and content, and am working my way towards finer aspects like style.
While there is a broad range of ability in both speaking and writing skills among my students, their English is generally good. They have a little trouble understanding my accent sometime as they are more used to British English or Polish-British English, but that is a minor problem. The University of Gdańsk, however, is a very large, state-run (as most Polish universities are) and no longer has entrance exams (just exams following primary/high school called matura) so the level of students is not quite what I am used to from my time at William & Mary. My students consider due dates to be rather flexible, an example of a phenomenon I will refer to as "Polish time." Polish time means that life takes place at a very leisurely pace or sometimes no pace at all. I don't mind so much with homework, but I am still getting the first homework assignment turned in a month and a half later. Attendance can very dramatically and students switch classes all the time. Between the attendance patterns and late homework, I have no idea exactly how many students are in my classes. My current estimate puts the number of students between 70 and 80.
The University's bureaucracy is also quite impressive. Because of my strange status, the University doesn't quite know how to define me. I am not a student and am teaching, but I am paid by an outside source and I do not have the necessary education (an equivalent M.A.) to technically be teaching (but I can since I am here by special arrangement). For awhile early on in the semester, my status was not defined (don't worry, it is now) so I was not able to get a library card or use other University services (not that I use them anyway).
I am slowly settling into my life here in Poland and becoming more comfortable teaching. My next posts will cover my trips to Gdynia and Sopot.
As I was supposedly teaching on Tuesday and Wednesday, I rode the tram to the University on Monday, October 1, to see where I would be teaching and to meet Maciej, my University "guide." The next oldest staff member at 23 or 24 and a fellow teaching assistant, Maciej helps me with all things Polish like navigating UG's ridiculous bureaucracy or purchasing a long-term transit pass. In our initial meeting, Maciej helped me plan my first lesson, elaborated on the course material, and helped with some bureaucratic necessities. Back at my apartment, I plan my lesson for the next day further before falling asleep.
The University of Gdańsk has eight campuses, mostly in Gdańsk, but also in Sopot and Gdynia. Here are three pictures of one of my classrooms and campus. The Faculty of History and Philology where I teach is the building on the left.
The concept of teaching assistant is different here than in America. A teaching assistant here just seems to be an instructor who doesn't have the necessary degrees (i.e., a Ph.D.) to be a professor. I teach writing to first-year students at the University of Gdańsk. I am the only instructor teaching writing to first-years. My class is part of the Institute's Practical English program, which also teaches grammar, phonetics, and integrated skills along with writing.
The Institute of English also offers with American and British literature, culture, and history courses as well as class in linguistics, translation, and language instruction (as in teaching the English language).
Over the next two days, I teach five classes, each an hour and a half long. Each class has approximately 20 students in it. For my first class, I do introductions, talk about what the class will be (which is a good trick since at this point I don't really know), and have the students write a little bit so I can get a feel of their English and writing skills. I also talk about paragraphs and paragraph structure, which, theoretically, is review for them.
The next week, the class schedule was rearranged and no one bothered to tell me so I show up at the wrong place at the wrong time. It is not a serious setback, just kind of annoying. I also assign my students their first homework, on introduction paragraphs. The week after, two of my classes are canceled due to the funeral of a former faculty member. Again, no one tells me, but I am mostly annoyed because it sets my classes off sync with each other.
I am slowly becoming more accustomed to teaching. The only guidelines I have for the course are that students must be able to write a 500-word argumentative essay for the end-of-year exam in the spring. I have no direct supervision for my class, which is a sword with two sides. I like not having someone looking over my shoulder and critiquing me, but at the same time, I would prefer a little more guidance. I am managing, however, and the students' writing is improving. Writing in Polish is not the same style and not as well taught as in the English speaking world. My method has been more of top-down approach, i.e., I started with broad topics like structure and content, and am working my way towards finer aspects like style.
While there is a broad range of ability in both speaking and writing skills among my students, their English is generally good. They have a little trouble understanding my accent sometime as they are more used to British English or Polish-British English, but that is a minor problem. The University of Gdańsk, however, is a very large, state-run (as most Polish universities are) and no longer has entrance exams (just exams following primary/high school called matura) so the level of students is not quite what I am used to from my time at William & Mary. My students consider due dates to be rather flexible, an example of a phenomenon I will refer to as "Polish time." Polish time means that life takes place at a very leisurely pace or sometimes no pace at all. I don't mind so much with homework, but I am still getting the first homework assignment turned in a month and a half later. Attendance can very dramatically and students switch classes all the time. Between the attendance patterns and late homework, I have no idea exactly how many students are in my classes. My current estimate puts the number of students between 70 and 80.
The University's bureaucracy is also quite impressive. Because of my strange status, the University doesn't quite know how to define me. I am not a student and am teaching, but I am paid by an outside source and I do not have the necessary education (an equivalent M.A.) to technically be teaching (but I can since I am here by special arrangement). For awhile early on in the semester, my status was not defined (don't worry, it is now) so I was not able to get a library card or use other University services (not that I use them anyway).
I am slowly settling into my life here in Poland and becoming more comfortable teaching. My next posts will cover my trips to Gdynia and Sopot.
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