Spring has Arrived!!

Week 6 – Cultural Visits – 2^nd April 2011



Relaxing in the sun



Volleyball in the Park



This week, Poznań has really seen a massive change in the weather, for the better. I feel it is safe to say that spring has finally arrived in Poland and I am loving it. The temperate has risen, the sun is out and the whole city is starting to look that little bit greener. Of course we have jumped at the opportunity to really enjoy the weather. This week we have enjoyed BBQ lunches, visits to the park and a lot of messing around with a volleyball on the grass outside (and it is also becoming less common for me to get funny looks when I am outside in shorts.)

This week I had the opportunity to visit the International School of Poznań. I was given a tour and told a little about the school, the classes and the curriculum. I have been informed that the curriculum used in this school is the IBO (International Baccalaureate Organization) curriculum. This is a curriculum that has been designed in recent years to meet the needs of globally mobile students. I think that being able to observe and teach within this curriculum will be an invaluable experience as today’s society is becoming increasing multicultural every day. I will start in the school on Monday and I am really looking forward to gaining some experiences working with children from an entirely different culture and background.

The Last Supper - Made of salt!

Last weekend a few people from my Polish course set out to Krakow. It took us eight hours to get there but cost the equivalent of about five pounds. I feel this is very good value for public transport, and completely different than what you would expect at home in the UK. When we were in Krakow we had the opportunity to visit the nearby salt mine. It was a fascinating to see some of the sculptures that the miners were able to craft out of just salt. We also visited the Castle and a number of different churches. Some of the architecture in Krakow is incredible. This week I have also had the opportunity of a formal tour of Poznań. It was really good to discover some of the history of the sites that I have already seen around Poznań. We finished the tour by visiting the Church of the Holy Saviour in Poznań. Again it is a wonderful piece of architecture. During my Erasmus I have been really struck by the architecture here in Poland. No matter what city you visit you will see many beautiful buildings which I feel really contributes to the culture in each city but also here in Poland as a whole.

Until next time,

Jeff