I know, I know – you wait for ages for a blog and then two come along one after another.
Football has continued for the past few months. It’s a lot of fun and we’ve had a really good crowd playing each week. However, we’ve managed to injure just about every player at some point – pulled muscles, aching backs, damaged knees and even stitches. I managed to damage myself by lifting both feet off the ground at the same time and landing heavily on my back. I missed the next two games due to a touch of whiplash. I’m convinced climbing is safer.
Despite all of the above though and, having always been the kid with two left feet I never thought I’d say it, but I think I’m going to miss playing football.
This was the emotional photo of the gang after the last game (violins playing in the background etc etc.)
I also had my last climbing session at the wall this week (more violins). I was joined by my climbing buddies Jon and Łucasz (who is demonstrating a rather dodgy rope technique).
I’ve been practising Polish with Mirek most weeks. He wants to learn English and is at a similar stage to me so we talk on Skype once a week or meet in the café. Mirek says something in Polish and I scratch my head and ask him to repeat it. He then says the same thing in broken English and I get the gist. I then say something in English and he asks me to repeat it so I say the same thing in broken Polish and he gets the gist. And so it goes on …
It might not sound like it, but it has been useful practice. Practice is definitely the key to learning a language and so I’ll look for a similar ‘talking partner’ as soon as I can in my next job.
I was invited out for a drink at my favourite cafe with some of his friends ...
A few weeks ago I went to Malbork castle. It’s a medieval castle, built by the Teutonic Knights, who ruled the roost round here for a long time. It’s been rebuilt where necessary and is now on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It’s a jolly good day out and my only regret is missing out on getting a photo of myself dressed as a knight.
Talking of UNESCO World Heritage sites, Torun’s old town is one too. Everywhere you look there is something to admire and it makes Torun a lovely place to live. It’s peaceful most of the time but the main square is really busy at the moment and just popping into town makes you feel like you’re on holiday.
Torun is full of statues ...
There's the dragon ...
The people on the walls ...
The two chaps looking at Cinema City (a bit like a Polish Laurel & Hardy I believe) ...
The dog ...
The ‘Pied Piper/Fiddler’ (who got frogs to follow him) ...
And don’t forget the donkey ...
There is also John Paul II. I am probably correct in saying that there is a statue of the Polish Pope in every city, town and many villages.
I got talked into going to the Torun music school for their school fete the other day. My colleague and I taught the crowd ‘Yellow Submarine’ using pictures as an aide-memoire and then singing it together. It went well but I won’t be entering X Factor just yet. There are videos of me leading the singing but if you want to see them, it’ll cost you.
We went from that to the staff BBQ at Romek’s (the boss) forest hideaway. There was a lot of meat. In fact, a lot of everything and fun and games on the zipwire and trampoline.
Last Saturday I went to Hel and back (that's the well-worn joke in these parts). Hel is a small village on the end of a very long, thin peninsula sticking out into the Baltic Sea north of Gdansk. It's about 30 miles long but only half a mile wide (if that).
It's a very popular spot with windsurfers and kite surfers. I'd never seen so many in the same place at the same time. No idea how they avoided each other. I managed to dip my toes in the Baltic but it was freezing so I undipped them fairly quickly.
Gdansk is nearby so we dropped in to have a quick look at the famous shipyards...
This is my ‘classroom’ at a Sanatorium in Ciechocinek – it’s the bar and yes, that is a wild boar on the wall.
My students here have been great fun and really hard-working. We had a group photo taken ...
and they presented me with a few gifts. This one was the most unusual that I have ever been given (thank you to all my Ciechocinek students!) ...
There aren’t many things about Poland that I don’t like. I can only think of three:
Flaki (tripe). Well, I can’t really say I don’t like this as I’ve made a point of avoiding it. It’s gone out of fashion back home but it’s going strong here - you can buy Flaki in every supermarket and most cafes.
Screeching tyres – for some drivers it seems to be a matter of some pride to screech tyres at every opportunity – at corners, when pulling away and when stopping. I have heard some awful screeches and waited to hear the crash but it never comes – they were just refining their screeching technique. At times like these I’ve a good mind to jump out and give them a copy of The Highway Code, but I don’t suppose it’ll make any difference.
You can’t buy salt ‘n’ vinegar crisps. In fact, most of my Polish friends ask me why anyone would choose to eat such things. I have a theory though, that they could catch on. So, if you fancy making a bob or two and can buy in bulk ...
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Well, that’s about it. I can’t believe it, but I’m flying from Bydgoszcz today after almost two excellent years and will really miss Poland and all the wonderful folk I’ve met (who MUST keep in touch – you know who you are!).
My next job is in Hanoi, Vietnam. I’ve got a job with the British Council there, starting late August. It’s about 30 degrees hotter than I like it but I’ve decided it’s time I toughened up. Having mastered Polish (!!!) I am now ready for the challenge of learning Vietnamese. It uses similar characters to English, but sounds like Chinese. I’m going to have some fun, I just know it.
Some of you may remember that my original plan was to go to work in China. Well, that hasn’t happened yet, but Hanoi is in the north so I will definitely get to visit China and can then decide whether to apply for a job there one day. I’ll also be near to Laos, Cambodia and Thailand so I might have to go exploring.
Before I get there though, I’ve got a week at home and then go to Newcastle to teach English for a month on a summer school. I’ll have about ten days spare after that and then head off for two years (although I hope to get home in between).
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Take care,
Gra
