Poland 2007-2008

Budapest

2008-07-09T22:17:00.003+02:00

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.

Bratislava

2008-07-03T22:15:00.001+02:00

As of June 30, my Fulbright grant and time in Poland are finished. I am now slowly traveling home via a mostly southern route. I am currently writing from Budapest, but the first stop of my trip was Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Links to my picture albums are on the right of this page, including my photos from Bratislava. If you have Facebook, you can check out my videos as well.

I left my apartment in Gdansk on June 30 for an afternoon train to Warsaw, where I caught a night train to Bratislava. While I didn’t sleep particularly well, I only shared the six-bed couchette cabin with one other person. The train arrived in Bratislava at 5:41 am. This wasn’t really a problem as the sun had already risen, and there were plenty of people about. I still find the early sunrise and late sunset somewhat disturbing. During June in Gdansk, the sky was only dark from about 10 pm to 3 am. Suffering from a lack of sleep, I checked into my hostel before hitting the town.

As a tourist draw, Bratislava is trying to compete with the heavyweights of Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Krakow, but sadly, it just doesn’t quite have what it takes. My first stop of the day was Bratislava Castle. While the castle has been around in some form for at least 700 years, it is an unimpressive square of stone that was only rebuilt in the 1960s. The castle is also currently undergoing another renovation/reconstruction and is closed to the public, along with the reportedly interesting museums that it houses.

Bratislava used to have a fairly nasty reputation as a city, a reputation that the city is desperately trying to rid itself of. To this effect, they have cleaned up the old town area, but I think that they perhaps cleaned it up too much. Everything looks like it was built within the last 15 years, even the buildings that are supposedly hundreds of years old. Most of the buildings are occupied by designer clothes stores or other high-end shops. The center of the city seems to be set aside solely for tourists to shop or eat in, with no other purpose. That said, the rougher side of the city is still visible occasionally. One can see a swarm of smokestacks reaching for the sky further out in the city, and I am pretty sure that I passed a dead hooker lying on the ground.

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 (Bratislava was the capital of the Hungarian Empire for awhile) were crowned for 300 years is not open to the public. There are many museums scattered around the city, but much of their content has little relation to the city or area. The Bratislava Arms and Armor museum mostly consists of Western European armament and bad English translations. The National Art Gallery, which possesses a huge collection of Slovakian art from several centuries, is barely listed on the recent tourist maps. The city should advertise its history more if it wants complete with other central European destinations.

The highlight of my two days in Bratislava was my trip to the nearby Devin Castle. The castle, which was destroyed by Napoleon in the early 19^th century, sits on a rocky bluff at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers. Settlement at the location goes back thousands of years. While efforts are being made to polish it up just like Bratislava, it is still in ruined form for the most part and offers a gorgeous view of the surrounding hills and river. Check out my most recent picture album to see what I am talking about.

All things considered, I think that the real draw of Slovakia is its mountains and forests further east. If I had more time, I would like to explore them. Bratislava, even taking into account a side trip of a few hours to Devin Castle, is probably best done as a day trip from Vienna. At most, it is a nice place to stop for a day or two in between Budapest and Prague or Vienna. The city is, however, relatively free of the hordes of tourists that plague the larger cities that I have mentioned.

Pictures

2008-02-03T16:25:00.000+01:00

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.

So far behind

2008-01-20T12:21:00.000+01:00

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.

Catch Up - Gdynia, Sopot, and Life

2007-11-29T18:40:00.000+01:00

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.

Ben Gutenberg, 1989-2007

2007-11-28T00:21:00.000+01:00

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.

My First Month in Gdańsk , Part Two

2007-11-17T22:51:00.000+01:00

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.

Pete Conomikes, 1921-2007

2007-11-12T15:43:00.000+01:00

As you might be aware of, my fencing coach at W&M, Pete Conomikes, was killed in a car accident on Saturday while driving to Haverford with the team for a tournament. Two of the three freshmen who were riding with Pete are in intensive care at VCU Medical Center, including the younger brother of my college roommate.

Pete was 86 years old and had been coaching W&M Fencing since 1972. I can say without a doubt that he had a profound influence on all the students who fenced under his tutelage, both as fencers and as people in general. He was an excellent coach and will be greatly missed by the fencing community in Virginia and elsewhere.

Here are two articles about the crash from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

I would ask anyone who reads this to keep Pete's family, the families of the injured students, and the W&M Fencing team in their thoughts. The fencing team is a very close and tight-knit community that spreads beyond just current students. We are all going through a tough time right now.

My First Month in Gdańsk , Part One

2007-11-01T15:36:00.000+01:00

Update: Poland's new prime minister, Donald Tusk, stated that the new government will seek to end the Polish military presence in Iraq next year after it takes power. The story is at CNN.

Today, November 1, is the public holiday of Wszystkich Świętych (All Saints' Day) in Poland. It is a day when families gather together, light candles, and visit the graves of deceased relatives. Halloween is not celebrated here.

My train ride to Gdańsk was about eight hours long. I managed to catch up on sleep by napping through the first half of the ride, an act I don't necessarily recommend since the train worked itself into my dreams. My ride was shared with Alex, the only other Fulbrighter living in Gdańsk with me. As Alex was the only other male of asimilar age to me that wasn't married, he was also my suite mate in Wrocław. His project at the University of Gdańsk involves some sort of liver cancer research. After arriving in Gdańsk, Alex and I split up, taking taxis to our respective residences. After arriving at mine, the Hotel Asystencki 2, I unpacked some, bought food at the closest grocery store, Biedronka (which means "ladybug"), and relaxed after cooking pasta for dinner.

The first record of Gdańsk (Danzig in German) dates to 997 AD when its inhabitants were baptized by Saint Adalbert of Prague on order of the Polish duke, Boleslaw the Brave. It was ruled by a Polish duchy until it was conquered by the Teutonic Knights. German influence in the city increased under the Knights' control. In 1361, Gdańsk became a full member of the Hanseatic League, a powerful guild that controlled trade in the Baltic Sea and northern Europe. After changing hands a few more times, Gdańsk, which was now known as Danzig by this time, was recognized as an autonomous city under the protection of the Polish crown in 1457. With the various divisions of Poland at the end of the 18th century, Danzig was annexed by Prussia in 1793 and remained part of the German Empire until 1919.

At the end of World War One, Danzig was declared an autonomous free-city under the protection of the League of Nations. As its population was primarily German by this point, the city was not given to the Poles even though the newly reconstituted Republic of Poland greatly desired Danzig's shipbuilding capabilities and port. The city was very close to the non-contiguous German province of East Prussia. In 1933, the German Nazi party took control of Danzig's government though it was still technically a free-city and not part of Germany. Upon Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, the city was annexed into Germany once more.

During World War Two, Danzig was heavily bombed by both the Allies and the Soviets. Like Wrocław, most of the German inhabitants of Danzig fled the approach of the Red Army, which captured the city in March 1945. The city was given to Poland and the remaining German inhabitants expelled following the Yalta and Potsdam conferences.

Rebuilt over the next two decades, Gdańsk became a major industrial and shipping center in communist Poland. It is probably more famous in the West for being the scene of several anti-government movements. In 1980, the Solidarity trade union movement, which would be pivotal in bringing down the communist government in 1989, was born in Gdańsk at its Lenin Shipyards. Lech Wałęsa, the leader of Solidarity and inhabitant of Gdańsk, was elected the first president of Poland following communist rule.

Gdańsk, with a population of about 460,000, is the capital and largest city of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With the nearby cities of Sopot and Gdynia, Gdańsk forms a metropolitan area of over a million people referred to as the Trójmiasto ("tri-city"). While still a major industrial and shipping center for Poland, Gdańsk and the rest of the Trójmiasto is also a major tourism draw for both Poles and foreigners. With its location on the Baltic coast, Poles often visit the area during the summer and holidays. Germans visit Gdansk's city center for its German heritage and with daily ferries across the Baltic (there are literally street signs reading Stockholm and Helsinki), Scandinavians visit for cheap shopping. Gdańsk is also a center of eduction with at least 14 institutes of higher learning, the largest being the Uniwersytet Gdański, where I teach.

The city of Gdańsk can be divided into different parts. The Główne Miasto (Main Town) and Stare Miasto (Old Town) are the center and oldest parts of the city. There you will see the city's famous Ulica Długa and Długi Targ (street and square) as well as most of the cathedrals and museums. Northeast of city center is Oliwa, where the primary campus of the University is located and where I teach. Oliwa, though residential, is also very commercial. Besides the numerous auto dealers and smaller shops, there are at least three large shopping malls along its main drag. To the north of the city center are Nowy Port (New Port) and Breźno. Nowy Port is, well, the port. The ferries depart and arrive there and some of the Gdańsk's shipyards are nearby. Breźno, by comparison, is almost entirely residential. It also happens to be where I live. The area has a reputation for being kind of rundown, but I haven't noticed this to be the case. While there are plenty of old, communist-style, apartment buildings along Breźno's main road, Hallera, a block off the road are gated, middle to upper middle-class, single-family houses. Breźno is also the location of Gdańsk's public gardens, where one can rent a small plot in order to grow food.
Hotel Asystencki 2, which translates as "teachers' hostel #2," is one of those communist-style apartment buildings. The buildings are four stories high and have about 16-20 apartments per floor. Luckily, my building has been renovated. I live on the third floor in apartment 210. My apartment is roughly square with a quarter being devoted to the toilet, shower, sink, and refrigerator. The rest of the room contains a wardrobe and shelves, a desk, a table, a futon, an incredibly small bed, and a bedside table. I sleep on the folded-out futon as it is very uncomfortable as a sofa and the bed is too small for my liking. Each floor also contains a communal laundry room (washer, no dryer) and a kitchen so I am able to cook a meal every night. I have internet access in the room and heat. Click on the pictures for a better view.

From Hotel Asystencki, it is about a five minute walk to a small grocery store, Biedronka, which provides most of my diet. The closest tram stop is located across from the grocery store. From there, I can take Tram #15 to the University or #12 to the city center. The trams make a loop through Nowy Port (New Port) and Breźno so it is easier and quicker for me to hop off the tram and walk the ten minutes back to my apartment than riding the tram all the way around. There is another grocery store, Lidl, near this tram stop that is larger than Biedronka. Hotel Asystencki is also only located about half a kilometer from the Baltic coast, something that will prove to be interesting when the weather gets warmer.

Most locations mentioned in my posts can be found in my map via the link to your right. Pictures are also available for some things. Also, if you have any questions at all, feel free to comment on my posts or email me. I will try to respond promptly.

The Results

2007-10-22T13:21:00.000+02:00

Preliminary results indicate that Civic Platform (PO), led by Donald Tusk, leads the voting with approximately 42% of the total. The ruling Law and Order party (PiS) trails with 32%. The Left and Democrats (LiD) coalition and Polish Peoples' Party (PSL) received about 13% and 9% respectively. Other, smaller parties make up the remainder. Articles detailing the results can be found at CNN and Al Jazeera.

This means that Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the current prime minister, will be replaced by Donald Tusk. Kaczynski's twin brother and current president of Poland, Lech, will not be up for reelection until 2010. The PO is most likely to join with the PSL in order to form the necessary coalition for a stable government.

Election Day

2007-10-21T14:11:00.000+02:00

National elections are being held today that will decide the makeup of Parliament for the coming years. Every single seat in both houses of Parliament, 100 in the Senate and 460 in the Sejm, will be up for grabs. Articles about it are available at CNN and Al Jazeera.

In short, the ruling coalition led by the Law and Justice Party (PiS) broke apart, forcing Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski to call elections two years early. PiS, a nationalist, right-center party, is being challenged by the less conservative Civic Platform (PO) and a coalition of leftist parties called the Left and Democrats (LiD). LiD is led by the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and contains former communist elements. Also in the running are the Polish People's (or Peasants', depending on where you are) Party (PSL), the League of Polish Families (LPR), the Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland party (SRP), and the Polish Labor Party (PPP).

More information on the election is available at Wikipedia, though I will post the results when they come in.

Wrocław

2007-10-19T21:28:00.000+02:00

Our bus departed the hotel around 7:30 am. I managed to pass out for most of the uneventful five-hour drive to Wrocław. After our arrival, we had little time to rest before being rushed from our housing to Wrocław University's Academy of Fine Arts, which contains a small cafeteria, where our lunch was waiting. Lunch was followed by a lecture by the rector of the University on the history of higher education in Poland. Dinner was at the same place as lunch. After walking around the city a little, I walked back to my room and well asleep at the uncharacteristically-Will hour of 8:30 pm.

At the end of World War II, the borders of Germany, Poland, and the Soviet Union were shifted by the Potsdam Agreement. Poland gained Prussia, Silesia, and Western Pomerania from Germany while losing its eastern third to the Soviets. With the territorial change came the forced resettlement of ethnic groups to their "native" states. Breslau, one of Germany's largest population centers, was rechristened Wrocław (pronounced "Vraught-swav;" the 't' is very soft) and the German population was shipped out, and Poles from the newly-Soviet areas in the east(primarily from the city that is now L'viv, Ukraine) moved in.

Though Wrocław was heavily bombed during the war, there is little remaining evidence. The many churches and historical buildings have all been rebuilt. The city reminds me a lot of Krakow, which I visited last year when I was studying in Prague. At the center of the city is the Rynek, a large square closed to traffic. Ringing the Rynek are restaurants, coffee shops, night clubs, and flower stands if it is the right time of year. The Rynek is only slightly smaller than Krakow's Main Market Square. In the center of the Rynek is both the new town hall and the beautiful old town hall, while several cathedrals reside off to the sides.

While in Wrocław, our time was strictly regimented. On weekdays, there were Polish language lessons during the mornings. Though there were a broad range of abilities, Fulbright group was divided into beginners and not-beginners. In the afternoon were lectures on various subjects. Some examples of these lectures include "Highlights of Polish History," "National Polish Minorities in Poland," "Polish-German Relations, and "Subjective geography of Polish Music." The Polish lessons and lectures were held in Wrocław University's Faculty of Philology. The lectures ranged in quality. Most of the group, myself included, already knew a fair amount of Polish history so these lectures held less interest for us. The English ability of the lecturers also made some of the lectures hard to follow. The amount of time spent in a classroom everyday was slightly overwhelming, especially when you are still adjusting to a new time zone. I found myself skipping certain lectures and I certainly wasn't the only one.

On a side note, if you are wondering about national minorities in Poland, there aren't any. Following the forced resettlement and territorial shifts of WW2, Poland is one of the most homogeneous nations in the world. Minorities make up less than one percent of the entire population.

The Poles are sort of like hobbits when it comes to food. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were provided everyday, as well as a mid-morning snack and maybe an afternoon one. Breakfast consisted mostly of bread, cheese, and meat and was served at our residence, the Dom Studencki Ołówek (it is the tall building in the picture and, yes, it is a student dormitory). Lunch and dinner were at the Academy of Fine Arts. Lunch is largest meal of the day and soups and potatoes are staples of meals. Once someone found out that I was vegetarian, the kitchen staff began preparing something special for me as the main entrees were usually meat.

As I mentioned before, we were housed in the student dormitory, the Dom Studencki Ołówek. It is about a 25-30 minute walk from where classes and lectures were held. I had my own room on the sixth floor, but I shared a suite (kitchen and bath) with another Fulbrighter. The room was probably meant to hold two students, so I had plenty of room.

A note, the next section on my weekend is best read while viewing my pictures of Wrocław. Contrary to the way the images load, you will wish to start with picture 001.

On Saturday, September 22, we were taken on a day trip around Wrocław. The first stop was the Church of Peace (Kościół Pokoju) in nearby Świdnica. The church is a very early Protestant church. It is built entirely of wood (stone wasn't allowed) and richly decorated inside. It reminded me far more of a Catholic church than any Protestant church I've ever seen. The next stop was Włodarz, a former Nazi site. None of the group is really sure why this was included in the trip. Włodarz consists of a grid of tunnels dug into a mountainside. That's it. No one knows what the Nazis did there. The tour guide for Włodarz kept saying statements like, "It could be a small Nazi headquarters...or it could be a chemical weapons factory! V2 rocket research! Hitler and Eva Braun's secret love nest!" In truth, Włodarz was far too small (both in overall size and the size of the tunnels) to be anything important. The most exciting (or scary...) part of the tour was when the entire tour group was herded into three boats and, propelled via arm strength and a rope on the ceiling, along flooded tunnels to a larger chamber and back again. I ended up in the heaviest boat and was not really looking forward to falling in 50 degree water.

Lunch was at an old estate at Morawa and was quite delicious. The estate originally belonged to a German family who fled the approach of the Red Army at the end of WW2. After the fall of communism, one of the children who grew up in the house restored the estate, and currently operates a kindergarten out of it. The estate serves meals to tourist groups to help raise revenue. The child who restored the estate is now a very well-spoken, elderly (and probably quad-lingual) German woman. She, through a Fulbrighter fluent in German, told us the history of the estate and her family. Amusingly, the elderly woman would break into English to correct a wrong translation by the Fulbrighter. Following lunch, I sat around on the playground and chatted with the husband of a Fulbrighter and father of two of the young children who were present.

Dinner followed on the tails of lunch and was at the Museum of Industry and Railway in Jaworzyna Śląska. The museum is actually an old train yard lined with train engines. The owner/operator also had a collection of motorcycles (primarily US, but also others). He seemed far more interested in his motorcycles than his trains. We received a tour of both the motorcycles and the trains. I made friends with a rather dirty black and white cat wandering among the trains. I also got a workout on one of those little hand-powered rail carts. After we returned to Wrocław around 8:30 pm, a large number of us went to the bar/club across the street from our dormitory for drinks and conversation.

On Sunday, we were given a guided walking tour of the city center. The tour started at the main building of the University. In that building is the Aula Leopoldina, where important ceremonial functions of the University are held. The room absolutely screams "Hapsburg" in its decoration. The building also has a tower offering a wonderful view of the city and a small museum about the University. Church services let out while we were on the tower. It was quite beautiful looking out across the city with bells ringing and people streaming into the streets.

Following the University's main building, we walked the streets towards the Rynek, passing several gnomes and the Church of St. Elisabeth. As it was Sunday, we did not enter any of the cathedrals. You might be wondering about the gnomes. The truth is, I can't really remember what their purpose is. There are many gnomes around the old town in various poses and they apparently have large theft and damage insurance policies on them. After walking through the Rynek, we went to the park near the Academy of Fine Arts and the monument to Katyń massacre. Our tour ended on the banks of the Odra River, looking across to Sand and Cathedral Islands.

The Katyń massacre refers to the execution of 22,000 Polish citizens by Soviets following the 1939 invasion in which the Soviet Union split Poland with Nazi Germany. The executed were Polish POWs and intelligentsia. The Soviets accused the Germans for Katyń and did not officially admit responsibility until 1990. You might have heard something about Katyń in the States. It has been the news lately because the director of an upcoming Polish movie about Katyń accused the government of moving the celebration/remembrance of the event in order to raise nationalist feelings that would benefit the controlling PiS party in the upcoming election.

The rest of my week consisted primarily of the schedule I detailed earlier. On Wednesday, our group was taken to the Panorama Racławicka. The Panorama is an enormous circular painting that resides in its own building. The painting is of a famous battle in 1794 following the the second partition of Polish territory in which a Polish army led by Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Pole who fought in the American Revolution with distinction, defeated an occupying Russian army. Panorama of this style are supposed to bring the viewers into the painting and this one was so good it was dizzying. 3D effects were added by extending the bottom of painting towards the viewers (i.e., real fences were extended from painted fences). Sadly, I was not allowed to take pictures.

That evening, we were invited to a jazz club by our University attache, a student with the very Polish name of Sandra Schindler. No jazz was played at the club the two times I was there. The first night there was a blues rock band playing a lot of Rolling Stones' covers and American 70s rock. When I was there again on Friday night, the band, who were pretty much the same people as before, was playing more bluesy stuff (hard blues and southern rock as opposed to 70s blues rock).

On Thursday, I skipped lecture to buy my train ticket. I figured I'd screw it up if I waited till the morning off my departure. I showed the clerk a print out of the exact train and day I wanted and was sold a ticket. Then, reading the ticket, I realized that it was for Friday and not Saturday (tickets are good for one day). I then had to find an English speaking teller to change my ticket. I was also charged a 15% surcharge to change it even though it was their fault in the first place. Needless to say, I was little annoyed.

The next day after the closing ceremony, the group went out for dinner at a pizza place. Everyone had a good time talking to each other even though we did annoy the manager with the size of our group. Following dinner, I went to a bar and the jazz club again with a smaller group, not returning until past 2 am. I got about 3 hours of sleep before I had to get up in order to catch my train to Gdansk at 7:15 am.

Warsaw

2007-10-04T18:37:00.000+02:00

A note before I start, the locations mentioned will generally be found on the map to your right so you can see where I've been. I also hope to have some photos up soon.

A large group was gathered in the lobby of the hotel when I came downstairs. It was the other Fulbrighters on whom I will elaborate shortly. After making smalltalk for awhile, we crowded into two taxi vans and departed for the American Embassy. By crowded, I mean that I sat on my knees in between the seat and the side door.

Fulbright is by no means a program for recent college graduates. Besides students, there are also grants for professors and teachers. In our group of 28 people, only five of us had just graduated college. The rest were either in the process of getting post-docs or had tenure somewhere. Ages ranged from 21 to over 60. There were two couples with young children (being 15 mo., 4, and 6 years) and one woman with a 16-year old daughter. Some Fulbrighters brought their spouses, some didn't. Though we were from all over the country, an abnormal number were from Michigan or D.C. I am counting myself in the D.C. number.

Upon arrival at the US Embassy, I shook out my legs and proceeded through security. Inside, we were escorted to a room with coffee and breakfast materials. We were welcomed to Poland by the Deputy Director of Mission, whose briefing was the first of many. The DDM was followed by a Global Security Officer. It was his first time abroad and he was slightly nervous about it. The GSO was followed by a Consular officer, the head of Political Affairs, and a Cultural officer. Their briefings were all interesting and informative. We were also spoken to by someone on the medical staff, who warned about the infectious ticks rampant in Poland. Don't worry, while tick-borne diseases are more of a problem in eastern Europe than the States, they are still quite uncommon.

Throughout the proceedings, three very large pictures of our president, vice-president, and secretary of state presided over the room. Other people in the room confessed to being distracted by the pictures throughout the briefings as I was.

After a meeting with the Polish Fulbright staff, we were driven to the American ambassador's house (you won't find it on the map) by bus for a reception. It was very overwhelming being among the Embassy staff as well as members of the Polish Fulbright Commission. I'm not very experienced with smoozing so after the ambassador's remarks I talked primarily to other Fulbrighters. I did, however, have quite a long conversation with the chief and deputy chief of the Consul Division, the former being interested in Prague and the latter having taken the Foreign Service Exam abroad. The ambassador inserted himself into our conversation and suggested we all (the other Fulbrighters and I) see the Warsaw Uprising museum. The ambassador was a former college roommate of George W. Bush and served in previous Republican administrations.

After arriving back at the hotel and taking a nap, I ate dinner with three other Fulbrighters, including the two other teaching assistants. We ate across the river from the hotel in a nice neighborhood (we passed the Indonesian ambassador's residence) and I had a delicious penne pasta pesto. I also saw a fox along the bank of the river, which is duly noted on the map.

I am now in Gdańsk and teaching, but my next post will be up shortly and will cover the Fulbright orientation in Wrocław.

Arrival

2007-09-18T20:59:00.000+02:00

I have arrived safe in Warsaw.

My trip started off interesting. On my flight to Copenhagen, I was seated in the middle section in between a very large guy, a morbidly obese guy, and his armrest-hogging wife. There were babies to my fore and aft, and an evangelical Christian tour group to my rear. Luckily, the very large guy got a seat somewhere else and I was able to grab his aisle seat. The woman still managed to take my armrests despite having three seats for herself and her husband.

The in-flight entertainment system was impressive. They had movies, tv shows, and games. They even had cameras on the nose and bottom of the plane so you could watch what was happening during the flight. I have trouble falling asleep on big planes so I amused myself by flipping through movies I had already seen and trying out the simplistic games. They were mostly card games, but I utterly owned their version of Space Invaders.

It was rainy and cold in Copenhagen when we landed, but luckily I wasn't outside. After a very short layover, I boarded the flight for Warsaw. The other passengers seemed to be Danish businessmen mostly with the occasionally Pole. For some reason, everyone was seated in either the back or the front of the plane (guess where I was...). No one was in the middle. I made small talk with a Dane who thought my bad German was actually bad Danish and whose Danish I though was quickly spoken German. That would probably explain why the conversation didn't go anywhere. The flight was a little turbulent and I was charged for a bottle of water, but we arrived at Warsaw on time.

In the airport, I met my contact, Dorota, who manages the Fulbright program in Poland. She doesn't head the program, but she seems to be the only one who does any work. We then waited for two other Fulbrighters to arrive. With all of us there, we took a harrowing taxi-van ride to our hotel. Warsaw is in the midst of a building spree so traffic is very bad. The weather was very pleasant.

The Hotel Etap did not have my reservation for some reason, but a room was found for me and I am comfortably ensconced now. The hotel is very clean and reasonably cheap. The decor looks like it came out the cheap section of an Ikea catalog, but it is very functional. WiFi is available for a cost. My preferred habit of jacking someone else's unprotected wireless network is not available to me at the moment.

After a much needed shower and some repacking, I fall asleep until 5 something when I was woken by a knock at the door. It was one of the Fulbrighters from earlier, a girl named Elise. She just graduated from Brown, but is from Alexandria. She is also a TA like me. We took a taxi towards the center of Warsaw in search of food. The driver was very talkative and his English was functional. After walking in the rain (for it has started to rain while I slept) for awhile, Elise and I ate at a Spanish restaurant. We had a nice tapas and pasta dinner complete with Pilsner Urquell (a Czech beer), and talked about ourselves and the program. We were both surprised by the fact that there is only three TAs in Poland. There were 10 spots originally to our knowledge.

After dinner, Elise and I walked all the way back to hotel, only getting slightly lost a few times. Tomorrow, there are various sessions at the American Embassy to attend followed by lunch/reception at the American ambassador's residence. The morning after that, we depart early in the morning for the orientation in Wroclaw.

I will try to post updates as I can, but I am not sure what my internet access capabilities will be for awhile.