Language Camp

My first week in Poland I was in a language camp organized by Rotary, it was a nine day camp for the 60 inbound students living in Poland this year.

DAY 1:
 The first day was just a check in day so we didn't have many planned activities. Olivia (the other exchange student going to my school) and I were the first ones there and we were able to get to know each other a little better while we waited for the other students. I learned that she was from Pennsylvania, she hoped to learn Russian in school here, and she was just as nervous as I was about all the unknowns. 

Later in the day once everyone had checked in and eaten dinner (served at 2-3:00 in the afternoon) we had a chance to get to know each other. When Rotary sponsors students for exchange there are a couple 'traditions' the students follow, all Rotary students get a blazer and they have to make or buy pins that have some connection to their home country (or state or province) to share and trade with other Rotary students. We spent the afternoon trading pins and listening to hispanic music! There were students from the US, Canada, Brazil, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Argentina, and Mexico (hence the hispanic music). 

That evening we had Integration where we played games and were quizzed about some of the history of Poland. 

DAY 2:
 Thursday we had five polish language classes, it was an exhausting day! We started with some basics; 'My name is..' 'Where is the bathroom?' 'Nice to meet you.' 'What is your name?' Some of these I already knew so I wasn't too overwhelmed, but when we were introduced to the grammar it got a little more confusing. One student said that he felt like he was two years old again, and he was right. We were being taught how to count to ten again and it felt like a challenge. All our brains were fried after five classes. We had fun going to the store to stock up on sugar that evening though!

DAY 3:

We only had three language classes Friday, we were taught the colors and some bigger numbers. In the afternoon we went into the city of Bydgoszcz for a scavenger hunt! In groups of twenty we had to answer a dozen questions about different buildings and monuments in the city. Our scavenger hunt ended in the main square of Bydgoszcz, where we got ice cream (lody)! 

After supper we had Integration again, and then that we had a dance party! There was lots of dancing all week, it was a great way for us all to get to know each other.

DAY 4:

Half way through the week we continued with our lessons, learning the names of clothing items and more grammar rules.  We got to see more of the city and we walked to a beautiful park in Bydgoszcz.

DAY 5:

We spent the. day at the Malbork Castle on Sunday. That morning it was cold and rainy but two hours away at the castle the sun was shining and we had a beautiful day for a tour. The castle was not what I expected it to be, it was made of brick (the biggest brick castle in Europe I think) and you could see the parts that had been rebuilt. I really liked that you could see the original brick next to the newer part. A lot of buildings in Bydgoszcz were like that. It gave the city a very unique look! 

DAY 6:

We had more polish classes, learning more vocabulary and reviewing what we had been working on. We also had some 'electives'! We got a taste of the history of Poland, which I had some knowledge about but it was really interesting to go deeper into it (very sad though). We also had some PE classes where we learned a game called Palant, similar to baseball. My favorite was the music class. The teacher we had was a young man who had preformed on The Voice (Polish version), we would slowly read through the polish lyrics and then just sing! Here is the link of our teacher's audition!

DAY 7:

Tuesday we had more polish and more 'electives', we were preparing for a test that we had the next day. At the end of the camp they test students so that they know which classes to put us in and so that they rotary clubs can see how the camp helps. We also visited a nearby museum and we got to see the inside of a tank! 

DAY 8:

After two more classes for review we took the test and then we had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves. That evening there was a grill for us all to say goodbye (for now) and spend the night together. Over the week I met a lot of great people and we are looking forward to seeing each other in the next week or two! 

DAY 9:

Olivia and I left Thursday morning and took the train back to Olsztyn. I was sad to leave the group but I was looking forward to getting a chance to spend more time with my family and see the city more.