On July 6th, my third day in Poland, I was somewhere in the middle of a four-hour bus ride West from Warsaw to Nadwarciański Gród, near the village of Załęcze where our TEIP
(Teaching English in Poland) camp will be held. Our bus pulled into a rest stop along the highway for a bathroom break. As we waited to leave, I stood behind the building, looking out at the golden wheat fields saplings in the sunlight as it all unfurled before me.
The air was calm and soft, I could hardly feel its touch. It was different from any country air I’ve ever felt. Back home in Ohio, the air is heavy with humidity. Even the clear air in the Appalachian Mountains in Northern Pennsylvania where I go camping every year is still wet with a sharp crispness you can taste. Here, the air moved around me, carrying no heat nor cold. It was like a silk wrap sliding weightlessly across my shoulders.
As we continued to Załęcze, I called the surrounding countryside, “countryside with taste.” I love the country in all its shapes and forms, but here, the farmhouses were painted in pastels and the adjoining fields looked like watercolor paintings. Toothpick birches and pine trees were all aligned in rows in the forests.
I wasn’t sure what to expect of camp. I saw the pictures online showing a great wooden entrance and one or two buildings. I was surprised when we arrived at the size of the camp. Years ago, the Communist built camp (surprisingly well built may I point out) was used as a summer camp for boys who lived in the cities. Afterward, it became a Scouts camp and now hosts a variety of programs, Scouts, camps, resident artists and is a vacation spot. Camp is in the middle of the woods, along the beautiful Warta River. Multiple cabins and buildings with classrooms line the central drive. There was a cafeteria and a café too. I was expecting two small buildings but came here to find an entire community among the pines.
A variety of wildflowers splattered the sand fields with color. Birds I’d never heard before called out and there were many lizards underfoot when I went exploring.
On Sunday, we met our students for the first time in mini English interviews. Teachers and teaching assistants sat at tables as the students shuffled in. The students were nervous to speak but their eyes were wide as they listened, showing their eagerness to learn and communicate. This reminded me of many good friends of mine back home. I was involved in my college’s international program. When we met new students, they often look scared, but their excitement quickly outshined anything else. This familiarity gave me courage for these interactions at camp. I was looked forward to seeing the students bloom.
Side note: We asked many students what their favorite music was. We discovered many Korean-Pop music fans, specifically of the band BTS. Being a fan of them myself, this caused many screams and outbursts of excitement from those students, lessening the nervous atmosphere of the room. Here’s a small shout out to my fellow fan family from around the globe. 보라색 (“I purple you”).
Comments