First Update from Poland

TL;DR or The Quick Summary 

Here is a quick summary since this is a long post!

1. I am alive!
2. Poland is great.
3. I spent my first several days in Warsaw with other Fulbright Grantees. We explored the city, sampled a lot of Polish food, and started to get used to being in Poland. 
4. While in Warsaw, we had orientation. The highlight of orientation was the reception at the American Ambassador's residence. 
5. On Saturday, I moved to Białystok, which is where I will be spending the rest of my time in Poland. 

If you made it through those and still want more, read on!

First Impressions of Poland 

At the Warsaw Botanical Gardens  

After landing at the Warsaw airport and collecting my luggage (I had two checked bags, a rolling carry-on, and a briefcase), I ventured out to the taxi stand to get a ride to my AirBnb. The taxi driver treated the speed limit like a high score to beat (which he did) and the other drivers like they personally insulted his mother. 

On the drive however, I got to see a lot of Warsaw and it was very impressive. It was much cleaner than I was expecting, especially compared to some other European cities. There were modern and cool looking skyscrapers, trams, buses, subways, and even some cyclists. Although the streets and traffic were a little chaotic, I was thoroughly impressed. 

Once I moved all of my stuff into the AirBnb, I went out to explore some of Warsaw with one of the other Fulbrighters staying with me. Fortunately, she speaks Polish and we were able to navigate the buses and the Gate Keeper of the Warsaw Botanical Gardens. Although fewer people spoke English than I was expecting, it was still relatively easy to get around the city and figure things out. I also got my first taste of Polish food! I had perogi, which are Polish dumplings. They are all over the place and there are restaurants that specialize in perogi. It is a food that I will become very well acquainted with during my time here.

Meeting Other Fulbrighters

Warsaw Old Town Square 

I was very fortunate to be able to stay with four other Fulbrighters for a few days before orientation. Not only were they a lot of fun, but it was a really good way to ease into life in another country. Everyone's arrival was staggered, so we ended up introducing each other by the time the last guy arrived. Once everyone settled in, we went out to Warsaw old town looking for some food and were immediately assaulted by waiters trying to get us to eat at their 'authentic' Polish restaurant. We successfully turned them all down, helped a lost American couple contact their elderly Polish hotel owner, got side tracked at a bar, and finally settled down for some nice pizza. It wasn't our first choice, but because it had gotten so late, there weren't many options left. It was probably the best way I could hope to spend my first night in Poland.

Warsaw Old Town

The next day, we took a free walking tour of Warsaw. The tour group was large (about 50 people), but the guide did an excellent job of managing all of us. Most of Warsaw was destroyed in WWII, so that meant that all of Old Town was actually only about 60 years old. However, it was so well reconstructed that it is designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Old Town Warsaw was visually similar to other European cities, but I feel like it's history is very unique.

Very happy and friendly waiter

That night we miraculously organized about 20 people to meet up at the same restaurant at (roughly) the same time. It was a chain place at one of Warsaw's many malls, but it was good enough. We had a waiter would was glad to put up with 20 loud and hungry Americans, most of whom spoke very little Polish. He was probably happy because he convinced the entire group to have not one, but two pre-dinner shots of Poland's Żubrówka vodka. As everyone went around introducing themselves, it became apparent that we were a very varied, but very qualified group; there were several people who spoke Polish, a lot of STEM majors, and some literature/history/writing majors. We were soon going to be spread out all over Poland, so we needed to make the best of the next few days.

Orientation: The Official Stuff

Official Fulbright Polska Background

After two days of adjusting to Warsaw and Poland, the official orientation kicked off. We had just two days to go through all of the orientation materials. During the first day, we had another walking tour of Warsaw (luckily the tour was on a different route, so I got to see plenty of new things), watched the Polish Fulbrighters who were sent to America graduate in a fancy ceremony, and most importantly we attended a reception at the American ambassador's residence.

Fulbrighters with the American Ambassador to Poland

At the reception, the ambassador talked about the importance of cultural and academic exchange between America and Poland and how Fulbrighters help accomplish this. He was very charismatic and definitely made me excited to learn more about what life is like in Poland. Finally, he was super willing to take way too many pictures with way too many people and generously let me pose at his official embassy podium.  

Future Ambassador?

The second day of orientation was an extended briefing over all of the rules and expectations for Fulbrighters in Poland; nothing new or exciting, but just making sure that everyone was all on the same page. We had a briefing on how the Sate Department would contact us if something went wrong (and no, it does not involve a helicopter evacuation). Finally, two Fulbrighters from last year gave a presentation on what it will be like to teach at a Polish University. It was a helpful presentation with some good tips, but since we are all at different universities teaching different classes, it was hard to give any firm tips or suggestions. 

Once orientation was finally over, I ventured out with a group to set up a Polish bank account. I was worried that it would be pretty complicated, but luckily thanks to a very understanding bank employee and translation help from my friends it wasn't an issue. We did however, take over the bank for about an hour and several disappointed Poles left in frustration while we were there. 

Leaving for Białystok

Since the next time we were all going to be together as a group is Thanksgiving, we had a farewell evening at a bar. It was the best and most comfortable bar I had been to in Warsaw. It had indoor and outdoor seating, an underground dance floor, and plenty of people. It was a very bittersweet feeling to become friends with so many people over a quick few days and then go halfway across the country for several weeks. Even though I plan on visiting some people (and hopefully some will visit me), November seems very far away.

The next morning I woke up, had breakfast at the hotel (which included pickles and hot dogs), and gathered my 100 lbs (literally) of baggage and left for my bus. Until this point, my time here had felt like a vacation with friends; I was with people I knew and liked and I didn't have to work or try to integrate into the Polish culture. Moving to Białystok meant that I was more or less on my own (not really, Fulbright did a great job of setting me up with my mentor but it still felt like that). That was the moment I was feeling the most anxious about my grant.

Spoilers: I am writing this from Białystok, so I did make it, but I will make a separate post about moving in since this one is already pretty long.

Bonus Pictures!!!

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Symbol of Warsaw: the Mermaid

The Three Virtues Hold up the Supreme Court Building 

Warsaw Uprising Monument 

Stalin's Gift to the People of Poland (an Evil Tower)

Not me! But a street performer in Warsaw

Getting Ready to Go

Some postcard views of Bialystok 

So What is the Blog About?

Thanks for taking a look at my blog! If you found it, you probably know my name is Austin and I am completing a Fulbright Grant to Poland over this upcoming year. If you don't know me (because you found me through the Fulbright website and are now stalking me), I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2016 with degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Plan II Honors (a liberal arts major); additionally, through the UTeach program, I received my teaching certificate for high school math and science.

I will leave the U.S. this upcoming Sunday, September 18th and will return on July 3rd.

This blog will serve as a way for me to update everyone back home to follow what I am doing tell me when they will come visit me (but actually, if you find yourself in Eastern Europe, send me an email!). This is a relatively long post, so don't feel bad I lose you halfway through! I will try to update this blog about once a week, but I can't promise that I will stick to that schedule.

Where I am Going?

Where even is Bialystok?

My Fulbright Grant is to the University of Bialystok in Poland. If you have no idea where Bialystok is, you're not alone. I had never hear of it before my grant, but I am excited to be there soon.

Bialystok is a city of about 300,000 people in Eastern Poland. It is about 2.5 hours outside of Warsaw by train. The weather is a big change from Texas. In winter, the average high is around freezing and there is plenty of snow to go around. It is a good area for hiking and exploring, which is one part of the city I am most excited about.

The University of Bialystok (UwB) is a relatively new university; it was created in 1997 as an offshoot of Warsaw University. It has about 17,000 students and offers around 70 specializations. I will be teaching there from Oct. 1st to June 30th, 2017.

What Will I be Doing?

Department of Philology at the University of Bialystok
(No I don't know what the poster says)

I was lucky enough to be awarded an English Teaching Assitantship (ETA) through the Fulbright Grant program run by the U.S. State Department. The goals of a Fulbright Grant are serve as teachers /educators and cultural ambassadors. So not only will I be teaching at a university, but I will also create and host different cultural events. Most Fulbrighters teach in primary or secondary schools; Poland however, places its grantees at universities to teach bachelors, masters, and even some PhD students. 

At my university, I will be teaching 4 groups of students: two masters groups and two bachelor groups in the department of Philology. Philology is the study of literary text and records; it aims to establish authenticity and determine the original meaning of the text or work. Fortunately, all of my students will have taken at least some formal English classes before mine, so I will not be their first exposure to English.

I will be teaching two sections of Academic Writing, one section of Conversation, and an Integrated Skills class. While I have never taught an English class before, I am really looking forward to the challenge. It will be a great opportunity to improve my ability to work with students learning English as a second language (which is a very important skill as a Texas teacher). Additionally, I will incorporate conversations about the differences between American and Polish cultures into the classes.

The Bial River that runs through the city

The Nitty-Gritty Teaching Details

Like most American colleges, Polish universities divide up their school year into two semesters; each semester is 15 weeks long and ends with a week of serious finals. In most courses, students expect the majority (if not all) of their course grade to come from the final. Because of this, students are not used to actively participating in or even attending class. (something that I hope to change!) I have been told that many students are reluctant to speak in class because that are often intimidated of speaking English to a native speaker and they will not volunteer until they have perfected their answer. As such, it will be one of my first goals to establish a safe and welcoming classroom environment. This will probably involve me embarrassing myself with my terrible Polish many times a day.

I think the biggest challenge of my grant will be designing and creating the curriculum for the different courses.  I will be designing course curriculum from the ground up, which is a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I will be able to structure the courses how I want, to cover (hopefully) interesting topics and to create a comfortable classroom environment. On the other hand, designing several courses for students who speak a different language, grew up in a drastically different education system, and have different expectations of a college class is a big challenge. While I have started planning some general outlines, I have yet to get down to specifics.

After orientation in Warsaw, I will head to Bialystok on Saturday, September 24th where I will lay eyes on my home for the next 9 months. Once there, I will have a week to figure out the city, the university, and nail down my curriculum. I expect that week to go by very quickly!

Finally, How am I Feeling?

I would say that I currently flip between being very excited about my trip and being mildly terrified. I am looking forward to all the new experiences I will have, the new people I will meet, and the new places I will go. However, 10 months is a long time to spend somewhere else, especially somewhere so foreign and new to me. Not knowing the language is also concerning, but apparently many Poles speak some amount of English (so I will at least survive). All of the advice and information I have gotten from past Fulbrighters to Poland has been very encouraging, motivating, and positive. 

I have pretty much finished packing and now all that is left is to get on the plane and fly over. Hopefully I will be able to regularly post to this blog about once a week. If you want to contact me, Facebook, email, or comments through this blog are probably the best.