Over the last two years I have been to Auscwitz many times. All the visitors that I have figure that they won't come back to Poland and most feel that it is important that the Concentration camp is somewhere to see once in your lifetime. Oswecim is a small town about an hours drive outside of Krakow. Yesterday I went there for the 6th time. This time I took a school party of 18 students, boys and girls of 14 years of age.
I hate going to the place. Everything that I see is emotional, interesting and horrific all at the same time. As I usually go with friends who have not seen the place, I am used to playing unofficial guide to my trips, but yesterday was different. Taking the children there made me look again at everything I saw. The students cried, they asked questions. They got upset, told me they didn't want to see anything else. Watching them realise that there was something so horrific in the world was quite an experience
Students today learn about stuff that happened in the past. They learn through books, teachers, video, films. Standing in the Crematorium in Oswecim and seeing the gas chambers took them to a whole different level of understanding. It will be a day that they, and I, will never forget.
"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."
Anne Frank
"History teaches everything including the future."
Lamartine
June 30, 2005
June 28, 2005
The Long Goodbye
I said my first farewell yesterday. We are now into the last seven working days of the summer term at school and as of next wednesday, I will no longer work here. I sent letters to the parents of the kids that I teach, telling them that if they wanted to review their childs progress, to arrange to see me this week when I have some time to talk them through what I have done this year. The parents of one of my favourite students, a kid that I spend a lot of time with, made an appointment to see me after school.
These are parents that I like very much, and am always happy to talk to about their child. They also came to say goodbye to me. They are moving to another country too in the summer. They said the nicest things to me about the help that I have given their child. They told me how valued I had been as a teacher, and it was all amazing to hear. As a teacher, it is what you hope people think, but assume that what you do is largely unnoticed. Although I was not really choked up, or on the verge of tears the farewell did remind me of one thing. I hate goodbyes.
"what a big mistake it was, saving all my goodbyes."
New Found Glory (Anniversary)
"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened"
Dr Seuss
These are parents that I like very much, and am always happy to talk to about their child. They also came to say goodbye to me. They are moving to another country too in the summer. They said the nicest things to me about the help that I have given their child. They told me how valued I had been as a teacher, and it was all amazing to hear. As a teacher, it is what you hope people think, but assume that what you do is largely unnoticed. Although I was not really choked up, or on the verge of tears the farewell did remind me of one thing. I hate goodbyes.
"what a big mistake it was, saving all my goodbyes."
New Found Glory (Anniversary)
"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened"
Dr Seuss
June 27, 2005
Spotting Krowki
There is a new art installation in the city of Warsaw. Over the last few years, in London, Prague and I believe also Paris, there has been a cow revolution. The art project basically involves producing white life size cows made out of fibre glass or plaster or something. These cows are then given to local artists who create pieces of art on the cow background.
I have read about this project in a couple of magazines but as I have not been wandering around the city centre for a couple of weeks I have not seen many cows. That all changed yesterday when I went into the Old Town for a few hours. On the bus I counted 18 cows, there are 100 placed all over the city. Some of them looked fabulous and some I was not so keen on.
My favourite one so far is stood on top of a bus shelter in front of the Novotel Hotel. It is painted with a red skyline of Warsaw and the sky is left white, so it looks like the Polish flag. My least favourite one is just over the road, in front of the Palace of Culture. It is basically a cow splashed with paint in three different colours. I also liked the bullseye cow at the top of Nowy Swiat.
I intend on having much fun over the next few weeks spotting cows. I might even get a little disposable camera and go cow hunting. I have been in the country for a week, I think that it enough training for urban combat with an art installation.
www.cowparade.com
"You know the art isn't gone"
Queens of the Stone Age
"It’s all a big game of construction, some with a brush, some with a shovel, some choose a pen."
Jackson Pollack
I have read about this project in a couple of magazines but as I have not been wandering around the city centre for a couple of weeks I have not seen many cows. That all changed yesterday when I went into the Old Town for a few hours. On the bus I counted 18 cows, there are 100 placed all over the city. Some of them looked fabulous and some I was not so keen on.
My favourite one so far is stood on top of a bus shelter in front of the Novotel Hotel. It is painted with a red skyline of Warsaw and the sky is left white, so it looks like the Polish flag. My least favourite one is just over the road, in front of the Palace of Culture. It is basically a cow splashed with paint in three different colours. I also liked the bullseye cow at the top of Nowy Swiat.
I intend on having much fun over the next few weeks spotting cows. I might even get a little disposable camera and go cow hunting. I have been in the country for a week, I think that it enough training for urban combat with an art installation.
www.cowparade.com
"You know the art isn't gone"
Queens of the Stone Age
"It’s all a big game of construction, some with a brush, some with a shovel, some choose a pen."
Jackson Pollack
June 24, 2005
Green Camp Part IV - A new hope
This morning, I stood at the edge of the lake at Serwy. I looked down into the clear green water and watched three fish with stripy scales float past. I breathed in deep and dived into the lake. The water was cool, clear and felt like silk on my sun battered skin. I had just been for a final kayaking session with K and we were both ready to get into the water. I swam into the middle of the lake and was treading water while I looked around me. I saw students windsurfing, power kayaking and lazing about on the pier watching the waterfront action. The sky was the bluest I have ever seen.
On the way back to Warsaw on the bus, I spotted loads of kids at various intervals along the roadside. Looking closer I could see that these kids had just come out of the forest with jars full of forest bluberries and were sitting at the side of the road waiting to sell them to people as they drove past. Another installment in the fruit fantasies of Polish people.
Green camp has been relaxing and exhausting in equal measure. I am glad to be home, but it made me so happy to be there.
"When Nature has work to be done, she creates a genius to do it"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
On the way back to Warsaw on the bus, I spotted loads of kids at various intervals along the roadside. Looking closer I could see that these kids had just come out of the forest with jars full of forest bluberries and were sitting at the side of the road waiting to sell them to people as they drove past. Another installment in the fruit fantasies of Polish people.
Green camp has been relaxing and exhausting in equal measure. I am glad to be home, but it made me so happy to be there.
"When Nature has work to be done, she creates a genius to do it"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
June 23, 2005
Green Camp Part III - Zemsta Sithow
I thought that nothing could top the exhilarating humiliation of my experience of Water Skiing yesterday. That was until I got on the bus, got back into the wet suit and made my way back to the lake of Hell. This time I was not nearly so fortunate. Let me tell you a little story.
I was stood at the edge of a platform. There is a lake outside the town of Augustow and it has one of the only two mechanised water skiing facilities in Europe. You stand on a little platform, and rather like a ski lift, are picked up when you grab hold of a rope. The rope is travelling at about 5 million miles an hour though and it is much harder apparantly than water skiing by boat, which is a more gradual pick up. Anyway.
I was stood at the edge of the platform in my wet suit, in public. I strapped myself into the water skis and started akwardly down to the little place you stand before you are pulled onto the water. My turn came, I held onto the rope and waited for the mechanical thing to pick up the rope. It did this at alarming speed and pulled me up. Oh yes, up. Right up, out of my skis. This left me flat on the platform, being dragged face down into the water, leaving the skis clear behind me. I have so many cuts and bruises I can't count. But this is nothing compared to the bruising of my dignity.
Isn't human nature hilarious? It occurs to me that in such situations, our instinct tells us to cling on, not let go. The result was much physical pain on my part and never ending laughter from Kinuk. We left the place seven hours ago and she is still giggling. The thing is, it was pretty funny really. And it would never stop me having another go. I went swimming this afternoon. I am going out on a Kayak tonight. I am Lara Croft, but chubbier, obviously.
I was stood at the edge of a platform. There is a lake outside the town of Augustow and it has one of the only two mechanised water skiing facilities in Europe. You stand on a little platform, and rather like a ski lift, are picked up when you grab hold of a rope. The rope is travelling at about 5 million miles an hour though and it is much harder apparantly than water skiing by boat, which is a more gradual pick up. Anyway.
I was stood at the edge of the platform in my wet suit, in public. I strapped myself into the water skis and started akwardly down to the little place you stand before you are pulled onto the water. My turn came, I held onto the rope and waited for the mechanical thing to pick up the rope. It did this at alarming speed and pulled me up. Oh yes, up. Right up, out of my skis. This left me flat on the platform, being dragged face down into the water, leaving the skis clear behind me. I have so many cuts and bruises I can't count. But this is nothing compared to the bruising of my dignity.
Isn't human nature hilarious? It occurs to me that in such situations, our instinct tells us to cling on, not let go. The result was much physical pain on my part and never ending laughter from Kinuk. We left the place seven hours ago and she is still giggling. The thing is, it was pretty funny really. And it would never stop me having another go. I went swimming this afternoon. I am going out on a Kayak tonight. I am Lara Croft, but chubbier, obviously.
June 22, 2005
Green Camp Part II
When someone handed me a wet suit this morning, I thought that I had become embroiled in the cruellest of practical jokes. However, after a lot of twisting and turning, kumping up and down and red facedness, I squeezed myself into the suit and found myself on a bus on my way to the Water skiing centre just outside Augustow.
I strapped myself into the skis that I was handed and made my way tentatively down the platform. On my first try I left the skis behind and managed to fall flat on my face straight into the water. By the third time, I was hooked and at least 15 metres away from the platform. Thats called progress. Me and Kinuk are going back tomorrow to try and get much better than we are at the moment. Although K was fantastic and stayed on for quite a while.
Green Camp has been brilliant with all the fresh air, sunshine and watersports that an extreme sprts enthusiast likemyself can handle. Maybe a bit of canoeing later...
I strapped myself into the skis that I was handed and made my way tentatively down the platform. On my first try I left the skis behind and managed to fall flat on my face straight into the water. By the third time, I was hooked and at least 15 metres away from the platform. Thats called progress. Me and Kinuk are going back tomorrow to try and get much better than we are at the moment. Although K was fantastic and stayed on for quite a while.
Green Camp has been brilliant with all the fresh air, sunshine and watersports that an extreme sprts enthusiast likemyself can handle. Maybe a bit of canoeing later...
June 21, 2005
Green Camp Part I
I spent five hours this morning speedint through the most beatiful parts of the Polish countryside and lake district. I arrived in the very small place of Serwy to be greeted by forest and water as far as the eyes could see, scorching sun and the smiling faces of all the students that I like best at school.
I wiled the afternoon kayaking up a storm with Kinuk, letting the water float us back to shore before frantically rowing back out into the middle of the lake. I wore shorts and my swimming costume all day and burnt my shoulders. Me and Kinuk sat and laughed hysterically at the 22 year olds trying to winsurf. We shouted encouragement and got happy giggles in return as they were so happy that we had bothered to come and watch them.
I got dragged into the freezing cold water by some of the Year 10 girls who insisted that I take them swimming. They splashed, I splashed and again laughter filled the air. Those girls are gorgeous in every sense. As I am writing now there is a disco going on outside. teenagers are in the bushes and I do not want to go and look, scared of what I might find.
Water skiing tomorrow. God help us all.
I wiled the afternoon kayaking up a storm with Kinuk, letting the water float us back to shore before frantically rowing back out into the middle of the lake. I wore shorts and my swimming costume all day and burnt my shoulders. Me and Kinuk sat and laughed hysterically at the 22 year olds trying to winsurf. We shouted encouragement and got happy giggles in return as they were so happy that we had bothered to come and watch them.
I got dragged into the freezing cold water by some of the Year 10 girls who insisted that I take them swimming. They splashed, I splashed and again laughter filled the air. Those girls are gorgeous in every sense. As I am writing now there is a disco going on outside. teenagers are in the bushes and I do not want to go and look, scared of what I might find.
Water skiing tomorrow. God help us all.
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