Day 3 – Meeting the President

Day 3 started a lot earlier, though it also ended earlier than the previous days. Our day began with breakfast at 8am, or mine did. I was the main person to chose to go down today as we were a bit short on time and had to figure out the bus. Not a problem though. Coco’s was great! It is a little restaurant in the bottom of the dormitory that will serve students. I’m mostly interested in breakfast because it’s early, I hate cooking, and breakfast food is the best. This morning she had a nice spread of meat, cheese, bread, and veggies for us. She also had tea, milk, cereal, juice, and was willing to make us whatever she could. I asked for scrambled eggs (terribly, as I don’t know the Polish word. I asked her and I forgot. I’ll write it down tomorrow [even if I spell it wrong!].). Fantastic. Super simple and great. Once I discovered the bread (I didn’t see it at first), I chowed down and then ran off to find the bus.

Thankfully we did not have to wait too long to get on one, though we had a bit of an adventure getting off. We ended up taking the long way around since we weren’t sure what bus stop to get off at. It was quite interesting and we were a few minutes late, but only a few! Thankfully the Dean was patient and did not seem to mind. Because we got to meet the Dean of Education! He was incredibly committed and dedicated to this program. I was so impressed. He is an intelligent, friendly man that is working very hard to make his program the best it can be! If it were not for him, as well as our own Dean Eaton, this program would not exist!

Next, we got to see a bit more of the school, like the classroom we’ll be teaching in. It’s really nice. I was impressed with the touch screen computer/tv screen in our classroom. Wow! I wasn’t expecting to have access to such technology. They are really going all out, not to mention that they have this for their own classes! They are definitely on par with our schools!

Also, SURPRISE TO CHRISTINE AND CHRIS! The lovely, amazing faculty of Education got them a cake, 5 layers – each one different! It was a belated birthday celebration for them and that was so sweet. It was a touching moment and we got to meet other members of the faculty through this. There is a woman whose name starts with a B (I will ask them and be reminded. I am awful with names and she was very nice.) As well as another Monika! This Monika has glasses and is also the youngest member of the faculty. She seemed quite nice too and she plays the piano! I look forward to meeting more people and getting to know these lovely folks.

Then we headed to the main campus for the biggie: Meeting the President of the University. While everyone has a vital role, he is the top of top. He runs the University of Rzeszow and is extremely busy, so it was impressive that he made time for us (it was also impressive that the Dean found time for us too! He is equally busy in different ways I expect!). Stevie kindly translated for the Dean and for us, though the Vice President spoke excellent English and apparently the President understands English quite well too! Such a worldly school with so many people speaking more than one language. They continue to impress me.

He was kind enough to take a few pictures with us as well as give us each a gift bag with a notebook and beautiful pencils! They were quite official with the University logo and name on them. These lovely people continue to be generous to us. I only hope our English classes repay them enough for their liking. I don’t feel as though that will be enough.

Stevie then showed us the area around the main campus so we could see more of the school that we are teaching at. Beautiful as always. I love being around here. We will get to see more of the country while we’re here but wow. Just wow. I am astounded at how old all the buildings are. The history behind them is something to be envied. I only hope America has some more of these types of buildings that I just haven’t seen. We got to see the super cool and modern Library. I love libraries. That was a highlight for me.

Next we headed to the Economics faculty section. He described how they have apartments for teachers there and a whole different set of academic buildings too. We looked around and got to see a very nice old church. The churches around here have great architecture too.  Then we headed towards the town center again. We were going to check out this Czech place (pun intended) but then we decided on Sphinx, an Arabian themed restaurant much closer. It stayed true to its theme and had a lot of middle eastern dishes, but perhaps with a Polish touch. I kept it simple as I was still good from breakfast and the cake (we all got to share it), but it was good.

Unfortunately we were a bit late getting back but only a few minutes! We had to return to the faculty building so we could have our first Polish lesson. It was interesting to say the least. Saying it is much easier than spelling it! It went alright. Our professor wrote in cursive which was hard to read, but she slowed down by the end thankfully and even though it was cursive (yes, I did learn that in 3rd grade thank you), it was more legible and less guessing. She moved super fast, she said it was in order to make the most of the time but it was still a bit faster than we preferred. I think it was a learning experience for everyone. A native language comes easily to you. A foreign language takes a bit more work. I’m sure we’ll learn from each other over the course of this. I’m just glad they’re giving us survival Polish lessons. I want to learn more phrases and words that I could use.

Finally came back to the dorms and found our way on the bus! We still don’t know how to give it our tickets but we got on and off in the proper places. It’s progress!

Christine and I checked out this ladybug store across the street. It was a good, cheap store. I appreciate affordable as I want to spend my money wisely. All in all, it’s going okay. Though it would be better if the internet were more reliable. Poor Christine and Chris with their grad school work! They’re making the most of it though!

I’m gonna sign off and see if I can fix my card reader on my computer by doing something. Hopefully as all my pictures are on there for today! Eep!

(More Pictures to come tomorrow)