I spent most of my classes this week teaching about Poland via this Powerpoint slideshow. So, as promised, here it is for all of you. The hover-over thing won't work in Slideshare, though, so for the few Chinese words that aren't translated, just use your imagination?
Note: The video in the slideshow was a poor-quality one I'd taken on my phone that ended up being inaudible; in its place I would play this video over the speakers.
27 February 2009
24 February 2009
The most irritating thing about Poland?
Okay, it's probably not the most irritating thing about Poland. And I'm sure it exists in more countries than Poland. But for my brief trip, I found great annoyance in the way Polish television is dubbed.
You all know I take my TV seriously. Fortunately, Taiwan has a great deal of American movies and various sports broadcasts, which we are able to get in English (with Chinese subtitles); even if there is a Chinese dub, we can hit a button on the remote to take it back to the English audio track. Anyway, there are no American sitcoms whatsoever. I think I took for granted the six times a day you could watch syndicated episodes of "Friends."
When I turned on the TV in Krakow, I was excited to see many different American shows: Friends, Grey's Anatomy, et cetera. Except every character in every show was dubbed by the one same, angry, bored-sounding Polish man. Interrupting the English track underneath, which was still at least slightly present.
Can't imagine it? Think it's not as bad as it sounds? Here's a clip of "Scrubs," another one of my favorites. Try to watch it without wanting to hunt down the dude who keeps interrupting what you actually want to hear.
You all know I take my TV seriously. Fortunately, Taiwan has a great deal of American movies and various sports broadcasts, which we are able to get in English (with Chinese subtitles); even if there is a Chinese dub, we can hit a button on the remote to take it back to the English audio track. Anyway, there are no American sitcoms whatsoever. I think I took for granted the six times a day you could watch syndicated episodes of "Friends."
When I turned on the TV in Krakow, I was excited to see many different American shows: Friends, Grey's Anatomy, et cetera. Except every character in every show was dubbed by the one same, angry, bored-sounding Polish man. Interrupting the English track underneath, which was still at least slightly present.
Can't imagine it? Think it's not as bad as it sounds? Here's a clip of "Scrubs," another one of my favorites. Try to watch it without wanting to hunt down the dude who keeps interrupting what you actually want to hear.
20 February 2009
Wonderful Wawel
No, that's not alliteration in the title... Polish pronounces w's like English pronounces v's. Tricked ya, mental-pronouncers-of-the-title-who-thought-it-was-alliteration!
Moving right along.
Jonathan and I only did a few real touristy things during my stay in Krakow (if you don't count asking everyone if they speak English and taking pictures of everything as touristy things), but our tour of Wawel Castle was one of them.
It doesn't quite have the size or spectacle of Buckingham Palace, but Wawel was nice enough for me. We went on a snowy day, which of course made everything prettier. We got a guided tour through the royal private chambers, which was definitely a good choice because my minimal knowledge of Polish history was from 10th grade European History. Anyway, it wasn't until this guided tour that I realized how much Poland really was (is?) stuck in the middle of European affairs. The architecture and decor reflect influences from almost every other European country.
Anyway, if you really want to know more, I'm sure you can read about it on Wikipedia. People read blogs for pictures, so pictures you shall see.
Wawel from the outside:
View from Wawel of the Wisła (now that's alliterative):
Courtyard we saw upon entry, featuring the cathedral:
Interior courtyard, with the royal private apartments:
Up-close:
It was so cold, even the trees had to wear sweaters:
Note: this is not the previously mentioned pink puffy Carrefour jacket. Polish people don't believe in pink puffiness, so I borrowed one of Jon's jackets to blend in a little better.
Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside the exhibits in Wawel, but you'll have to take my word that it was pretty neat. Or go to Krakow and take the tour yourself!
Moving right along.
Jonathan and I only did a few real touristy things during my stay in Krakow (if you don't count asking everyone if they speak English and taking pictures of everything as touristy things), but our tour of Wawel Castle was one of them.
It doesn't quite have the size or spectacle of Buckingham Palace, but Wawel was nice enough for me. We went on a snowy day, which of course made everything prettier. We got a guided tour through the royal private chambers, which was definitely a good choice because my minimal knowledge of Polish history was from 10th grade European History. Anyway, it wasn't until this guided tour that I realized how much Poland really was (is?) stuck in the middle of European affairs. The architecture and decor reflect influences from almost every other European country.
Anyway, if you really want to know more, I'm sure you can read about it on Wikipedia. People read blogs for pictures, so pictures you shall see.
Wawel from the outside:
View from Wawel of the Wisła (now that's alliterative):
Courtyard we saw upon entry, featuring the cathedral:
Interior courtyard, with the royal private apartments:
Up-close:
It was so cold, even the trees had to wear sweaters:
Note: this is not the previously mentioned pink puffy Carrefour jacket. Polish people don't believe in pink puffiness, so I borrowed one of Jon's jackets to blend in a little better.
Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside the exhibits in Wawel, but you'll have to take my word that it was pretty neat. Or go to Krakow and take the tour yourself!
18 February 2009
A visit to Old Europe
I've been a little delinquent with the blog, to that I must admit. Between recovering from jet lag and getting a new English Village up and running in six days flat, my mind hasn't exactly been blog-oriented. Plus, how do you address nearly three weeks in Krakow in a bloggable form?
So first, I'll talk about Krakow's Old Town (Stare Miasto), which contains the Rynek Glowny, a huge square in the center of town. The oldness of Krakow is what struck me the most. And not in a dirty, broken-down way (New England textile mills), or even in a backward, unmodernized way (how people stereotype central Pennsylvania), and especially not in a plasticky, designed-to-look-old-but-is-actually-brand-new way (Disney's Thunder Mountain Railroad). It was, at the risk of sounding like an uneducated teenager, awesomely old.
Maybe it's my lack of real European experience (9-year-olds can't appreciate much), but seeing universities and cathedrals and buildings that have been around since before Columbus got to the "New World" was disorientingly incredible. The oldness of Asian temples and cities isn't quite the same; when most buildings are made of wood, it gets replenished over the years so what you see is basically a replica of what was first built. "Europe" old and "Asia" old feel entirely different.
While Jonathan was working at his new lab (at Akademia Gorniczo-... let's call it AGH), I spent a lot of time walking around the Stare Miasto, taking pictures of buildings whose names I didn't know, and enjoying the fact that I could buy pretzels on every corner. In Taiwan, my host brother calls pretzels "salt cookies," and you can only get them at Costco.
So, without further ado, here are the pictures I took of some "old stuff" around the city center. I could look up the names for you (or you could tell me), but I think seeing (not reading) what was all within a 5-minute walk from my temporary apartment might better reflect the "wow" feeling I had for much of my stay in Krakow.
All of these pictures were taken on my first Monday afternoon in Krakow. For those with a burning desire to be educated, I'm making a Powerpoint with pictures and captions for my students, which I will certainly, eventually share with all of you.
So first, I'll talk about Krakow's Old Town (Stare Miasto), which contains the Rynek Glowny, a huge square in the center of town. The oldness of Krakow is what struck me the most. And not in a dirty, broken-down way (New England textile mills), or even in a backward, unmodernized way (how people stereotype central Pennsylvania), and especially not in a plasticky, designed-to-look-old-but-is-actually-brand-new way (Disney's Thunder Mountain Railroad). It was, at the risk of sounding like an uneducated teenager, awesomely old.
Maybe it's my lack of real European experience (9-year-olds can't appreciate much), but seeing universities and cathedrals and buildings that have been around since before Columbus got to the "New World" was disorientingly incredible. The oldness of Asian temples and cities isn't quite the same; when most buildings are made of wood, it gets replenished over the years so what you see is basically a replica of what was first built. "Europe" old and "Asia" old feel entirely different.
While Jonathan was working at his new lab (at Akademia Gorniczo-... let's call it AGH), I spent a lot of time walking around the Stare Miasto, taking pictures of buildings whose names I didn't know, and enjoying the fact that I could buy pretzels on every corner. In Taiwan, my host brother calls pretzels "salt cookies," and you can only get them at Costco.
So, without further ado, here are the pictures I took of some "old stuff" around the city center. I could look up the names for you (or you could tell me), but I think seeing (not reading) what was all within a 5-minute walk from my temporary apartment might better reflect the "wow" feeling I had for much of my stay in Krakow.
All of these pictures were taken on my first Monday afternoon in Krakow. For those with a burning desire to be educated, I'm making a Powerpoint with pictures and captions for my students, which I will certainly, eventually share with all of you.
14 February 2009
A new semester begins
Well, I'm back from Poland, mostly recovered from jet lag, working full-time again, and I have a giant pile of laundry waiting for me. So, what better time to do a blog update?
Before I start to fill you in on all my Krakow goings-on, I want to do one post on the last day of the first semester.
On the last day of the semester, I attended my first all-school assembly. Every student and teacher gathered in the gym/auditorium on the top floor of the school. Here, the principal gave out awards to various groups for their accomplishments throughout the semester. And many groups performed.
An aboriginal song and dance group; they won an award at a citywide competition. These are a handful of the aboriginal students at Fu Xing, most of whom are on the school's baseball team. The baseball players are pretty much the "coolest" kids in school, so you can understand why they're a little less enthusiastic to perform in costume at an all-school assembly:
Also, a group of Tae kwon do students:
Along with these groups were my Reader's Theater and Storytelling teams, a little flute ensemble, and some extracurricular groups I didn't even know existed.
The last (and longest) part of the assembly was one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed in any school, anywhere. A Taiwanese (language) teacher at the school was retiring. The principal and directors all said something about him. And then, one by one, class by class, every student in the school lined up to give him a card they had made and shake his hand (or hug him, or, as the last class chose to do, pick him up and carry him across the stage). There was, of course, sappy music playing in the background the whole time.
(you can see the retiree, center-stage, in blue.)
Before I start to fill you in on all my Krakow goings-on, I want to do one post on the last day of the first semester.
On the last day of the semester, I attended my first all-school assembly. Every student and teacher gathered in the gym/auditorium on the top floor of the school. Here, the principal gave out awards to various groups for their accomplishments throughout the semester. And many groups performed.
An aboriginal song and dance group; they won an award at a citywide competition. These are a handful of the aboriginal students at Fu Xing, most of whom are on the school's baseball team. The baseball players are pretty much the "coolest" kids in school, so you can understand why they're a little less enthusiastic to perform in costume at an all-school assembly:
Also, a group of Tae kwon do students:
Along with these groups were my Reader's Theater and Storytelling teams, a little flute ensemble, and some extracurricular groups I didn't even know existed.
The last (and longest) part of the assembly was one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed in any school, anywhere. A Taiwanese (language) teacher at the school was retiring. The principal and directors all said something about him. And then, one by one, class by class, every student in the school lined up to give him a card they had made and shake his hand (or hug him, or, as the last class chose to do, pick him up and carry him across the stage). There was, of course, sappy music playing in the background the whole time.
(you can see the retiree, center-stage, in blue.)And thus ended my first semester at Fu Xing. After almost a month has gone by since the last day (19 January), it seems like kind of a dream now. What exactly did I do? Did anything even happen? It's a good thing I took pictures. But I'm determined to work even harder this semester, and truly make the most of my time left in Taiwan.
02 February 2009
Happy Birthday, Madeline!
I know you've all been yearning for a Krakow update, but between my schedule and the slow internet, I haven't had time for one. But you'll see lots of pictures of my Krakowian adventures soon, I promise!
In the meantime, it's my cousin Maddie's 11th birthday. Happy birthday from Krakow, Maddie!
A picture of a Krakow staple:
A modified Zywiec label. Wearing traditional Polish clothing: left, my cousin Madeline; right, "High School Musical" star Zac Efron. (Not sure if he's the current heartthrob, but that's what the internet tells me...)
In the meantime, it's my cousin Maddie's 11th birthday. Happy birthday from Krakow, Maddie!
A picture of a Krakow staple:
A modified Zywiec label. Wearing traditional Polish clothing: left, my cousin Madeline; right, "High School Musical" star Zac Efron. (Not sure if he's the current heartthrob, but that's what the internet tells me...)
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