A little bit more Gdansk & a Warsaw Weekend

The Gdansk shipyards

Me looking like a red marshmallow in my Antarctica jacket - oh, in front of the Gdansk skyline

On Wednesday after school this week, one of the teachers, with her husband, took me to a few places of historical interest around Gdansk. First was to a fortress or something that you could see across the river, then to a hill up behind the train station in Gdansk. There are some old bunkers in (on??) the hill, well as a sculpture of a wavy red cross erected in 2000 to bless Gdansk throughout the new millennium. 

My favourite part of the Gdansk skyline are the cranes you can see in the shipyards. To me, they're synonymous with Gdansk, and when I see them, they not only embody all that Gdansk is, with it's economic growth, it's ties to the sea, and it's function as Poland's trade gateway to the world, but it also symbolises a bit of Gdansk's past.

Auchwitz & Krakow Weekend

After taking about an eight hour overnight bus ride (commitment) down to Krakow on Thursday, three of my friends and I got up nice and early on Friday to go on a tour to the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps. It truly was an eye-opening and sickening experience.

 We started in Auschwitz we we got systematically shown through the major parts of the museum. It took a little while for it to hit me, the gravity of what had happened here, and it took even longer for me to comprehend that this had happened to actual, once living, human beings. I still struggle to comprehend that it was caused by human beings. It was a little bit harder to go into each building as the tour progressed, knowing that some other horrible reality was inside. But at the same time, I felt obliged to. If I can pay respect to the countless victims of this terrible event by hearing their stories told and seeing the remains of what happened to them, then, in this small way, I will do it. 

Warsaw O Week

I know you would normally associate an Orientation Week (or O Week, for some) with university, but  as many of my friends and others at my age head off to tertiary education, I can't draw parallels between what they are doing and what I am doing, except for maybe this one week at the start where you learn a whole lot on both an academic and social level.

I got very excited every time it snowed for about the first two weeks...

For me, 'O Week' started on Sunday at Warsaw Airport, where all the Australian and New Zealand volunteers from their long haul flights met with our in-country co-ordinator, Beata, and some previous volunteers, who were happy to share their stories and advice from their Lattitude experiences. Bleary-eyed and nervous, but keen to get stuck in, we all made hesitant conversation as we were transported to Wilson Hostel, in Plac Wilsona, which was to be our accommodation for the next seven days.

Our training started the following day from 9 till 6 at the British Council in the centre of town. The first day everyone's body clocks were confused as the sun went down at 4:30 - it felt suddenly like 9pm, as that was when the sun had set back home, in the height of summer, that the others had left behind only a few days ago. Our day of training usually consisted of 45 minute lessons in the morning which covered teaching topics such as classroom management or how to incorporate picture books into teaching English, but also more background knowledge like Poland's education system. Monday after lunch saw us split into two groups and observing english lessons at the British Council (teaching English is their primary concern, after all) then constructing lesson plans for the following day, where each of us had an activity to lead in the lesson. On every other afternoon of the week, the group of volunteers would collectively lead the lesson, then the English teacher would provide feedback and together we would construct the lesson plan for the next day.

A strawberry marshmallow from the
bubble mall

The morning lessons were usually fun, if not informative, but the afternoon lessons, when we actually got to be in the classroom, were probably the most valuable. They gave us some confidence in teaching before we got plunged in the deep end at our placements.

But O Week, of course, is perhaps 40% about what you learn, and 60% about who you meet. Our group of volunteers is a great bunch, who all got along really well from the start. We spent our lunch breaks in the "bubble mall"(a.k.a Złote Tarasy) across the street from where we had our course, and whiled away our evenings dancing, yarning and generally having fun in the hostel. Everyone is friends with everyone else, and there aren't any cliques or anything at all. Everyone just wants to get along with everyone else and have a good time. So that's what we do :)

Neon above the Polish restaurant we went to

On one night, Beata took us to Fotoplasticon, a place where you can see old photos of Warsaw from the post-WWI period. Street scenes, pictures of parades and the Fire Brigade give the viewer a unique insight into the bygone days of the capital, and gave me a newfound appreciation for the place and its history.

Another highlight of the week was iceskating. The rink was housed inside a massive stadium - a concept never even considered by the majority of us. My friend caught a very well-timed video of us skating - check it out below... :P (I'm the one in the yellow jacket on the right)

We also had the chance to sample Polish culinary delights with a dinner at a traditional restaurant on the Tuesday night. Appetisers consisted of cheeses and sausages, a caprese salad and sour cabbage. After this I was pretty full, but main was tasty enough to squeeze and extra bit in: marinated chicken or fish and salads. A top time, I'd say. The group (which we soon came to call the Gap Family) had known each other for just three days by this point, but awkward silences were far from our minds. It's surprising how quickly you get to know people, when you're with them all day every day.

By the end of the week, we had made promises to visit each other around Poland, as a way to see both the country and each other. As we each went off to our respective host families, or caught trains to other parts of Poland, any speed wobbles we may of had at the start were now more or less eliminated. With ties firmly established in this country and clear tasks ahead of us - to teach English - I think it's fair to say that we were ready for the real adventure to begin.

Love,

Addie xoxo

Last Day in London - Lunch with Cousins, Tate Britain & St Paul

This morning it was back to St Paul's for one last try & I finally got under the High Dome to see the wonderful masterpieces painted there and the beautiful mosaics on other ceilings. Overlooking the Quire where smaller domes, each contributing to the story of the Creation of the Universe, depicting birds, fish and trees in a frenzy of sparkling squares.

Clockwise from left - Orange Polenta Cake, Banoffee Pie & Lah Di Dah Cake

The V&A and Harrods - Day Six London

Today I took a tour through the Victoria and Albert Museum which showcased major highlights of their vast collections. Throughout the hour-long tour we saw an Imperial Throne from the Chinese Qing Dynasty, whose carvings were all carved out of the millions of layers of lacquer painted onto the chair (not the wooden core), busts of Spanish Princes - or something - and some other interesting stuff, but the highlight for me were the Cast Courts.

Convent Garden, Galleries & Sights by Night - Day Four London

The morning was spent browsing the cool & quirky shops of convent garden, and gazing in all the bakery's shop windows along the way. There were people playing music & singing opera while we were there, which gave the place an added sense of culture & refinement. We went into this exquisite candy store which had an (as yet) unbelievable range of truffles & chocolates. I took all my willpower not to buy about a dozen (filled chocolates are me weakness) , but Laurie and I just settled on a little chocolate penguin each, which happened to be filled with praline anyway :)

Columbia Rd & Shoreditch, the Ponsonby/K' Rd of London - Day Three

The morning consisted of a dawdle through the Columbia Road flower market and the neighbouring shops, where we picked up some tulips and daffodils. We dropped in to a little local cafe & bakery, Lilli Vanilli and had morning tea. Chocolate & poppyseed cake for me, red velvet for Laurie. The place was small but gorgeously decorated, and the food was just as good, if not better.

Markets, the Eye & Poetry - Day Two in London

Iconic buildings of London's skyline: the Thumb, the Cheese-grater, and the Gherkin

St Katherine's Dock

After coffee in St Katherine's Dock and another trip across Tower Bridge we headed to Borough Market.

The market is housed under a railway bridge

A massive wheel of gruyere cheese

It really was a foodie paradise - like Matakana Market but on a much bigger scale. As well as street food such as curries, salt beef, paella, and carb-wrapped meat in various guises, there also bakeries with golden loaves of bread piled up and delectable pastries.

San Fransisco - And So It Begins!

On the way from Auckland to London, I had a 12 hour stopover in San Fransisco. Luckily, my aunt, uncle and cousin were there at the same time to show me around. Here are some of my favourite shots:

The State Building

Leaving Party

Paella - no where near as good as Dad's!

Way back in November I had my leaving party. It may have been a little premature, but it was placed strategically on a date that 95% of my friends could make, which I think is a pretty good success rate.

Us girls

Like all things with me, the party was centred around good food and good company. We had dinner at Elliott Stables in Auckland CBD, of either Italian, Spanish of Japanese decent. It was such a great time and I'm glad that I got to catch up with everyone, as for many it was the last time I saw them before I go away.

After dinner, as a spur-of-the-moment thing, we all trooped down to the other end of Queen St - my friend and I swapping shoes on the way - to have dessert at Milse. That was the highlight, and despite the wait and cramped space at the desert bar, once we got to the park and ate our spectacular desserts, it was bliss.

 What a great way to remember NZ and all my friends.