High School Life in Poland

The high schools in Poland, although structured differently from those in the U.S., still have similarities: the sights of students frantically completing homework or studying, the social interaction and cliques, and teachers monitoring the hallways.

However, in Poland, at the end of middle school you must  take entrance exams which will determine which high school you will go to. Instead of the "A, B, C, D, and F" grading scale, Polish schools use one through five. Everyday, the class schedule varies and students can be dismissed from classes anywhere from 1 p.m. through 3:30 p.m. The classes taught during any given year include English, Polish, history, religion, and chemistry.

Throughout Poland, English is regularly being taught to students. The class is structured to include and enforce the use of conversational English, meaning that Polish is rarely heard during this period.

On this particular day, preceding the English was Polish. This class is an upper level of Polish literature, similar to the U.S. high school English classes. Polish history is another subject taught in the school systems. Several centuries are covered, including the early kings and ending with modern Polish history.

Gdansk Marketplaces

Much like Farmer's Markets held in the U.S., Poland has regular markets held throughout the country where locals can buy and sell goods including, fruits, vegetables, jewelry, clothes, and even furniture. This market, held in the Wrzeszcz district of Gdansk on a Wednesday morning. The markets found in Poland such as this one are known to attract all kinds of people from the young, to the old, families, and some of the poorer members of the community. Polish markets aren't just places to pick up the daily groceries. Many locals purchase clothes, shoes, jewelry, video games, movies, and furniture at these events.

The Dining Scene

Dining in Poland is itself an experience and offers travelers a different array of cuisine not often found in the U.S. The restaurants in Poland, often fairly quaint and many family-owned, range from traditional Polish to Indian and Thai food. The amount of choices in restaurants in Poland certainly isn't slim. Further, despite the choice in the style of cuisine, each restaurant seems to create it's own unique atmosphere adding to the charm of the establishment. Pirogi, one of the most well-known Polish dishes can be found at many restaurants throughout the country. The dish itself consist of dumplings with a potato and cheese filling and often toped with sautéed onions and/or bits of bacon. Another popular dish in Poland is known as "zapiakanka."

A traditional fast food item, it's simply a piece of bread with cooked onions and mushrooms, melted cheese, and a dill sauce or ketchup on top.

In addition to traditional Polish restaurants, numerous other establishments offer international cuisine. This restaurant in Kraków serves Georgian food, including these meat-filled dumplings. The atmosphere found in restaurants throughout Poland were each unique and provided variety that cannot be found in the U.S.

In the mountains of southern Poland, wild mushrooms are a common side dish. The way the Polish traditionally eat daily is to have a small breakfast, often containing cold-cuts, a larger multi-course lunch, and a smaller dinner. The multi-course lunch often begins with a soup followed by a serving of (occasionally) potatoes and dill (one of the most common herbs used in Polish cooking), and either pork, chicken, or fish. Mushrooms and pickles are often included in this main meal.

Day 3: Gdansk

Sunday, May 16th started off with the group heading off for Gdansk. The 30 minute ride from Sopot to Gdansk was an adventure. The people at the stations wore some of the most interesting clothing including a youth with bright pink tights. Once on the train, it became apparent that we weren't in America anymore. The trains (including the windows) were covered with graffiti, and advertisements that looked like graffiti, making it quite dark inside. Furthermore, I was told that the Poles had decided that keeping the lights on in the trains would waste energy.

Once we arrived in Gdansk, it was apparent how much of a change it was from Sopot. The buildings were more modern and there was even a giant movie theater showcasing the newly-released film, "Robin Hood."

Day 2: Exploration

After a long night and waking up at 5am, thanks to getting adjusted to the time difference, we woke up to spend the day exploring our surroundings. The day started off by eating a traditional Polish breakfast complete with cold-cuts, sausages, yogurt, and various other foods that were completely new to me. As a group, we proceeded out our hotel, Hotel Wanda which happens to be a block away from the Baltic Sea, to explore the shoreline.  

This part of Poland is known for it's amber, which can be found on the beach. However, as Dennis Chamberlin, the coordinator of the trip explained to me, the findings of amber on the beach aren't very common except after a storm. However, you can still find tourists searching the shore for the gem. After the shore, the group continued to just sight-see Sopot. We walked down the main street where numerous shops and historic buildings and a few churches can be seen and most of the tourists flock towards. This part of town can get fairly busy, especially during the tourist season where the Polish, Germans, and Scandinavians flock to the coast. Numerous other stops were also in order including a bakery and later a Thai restaurant for dinner. The food wasn't that bad, for being Thai food in Poland! We then hurried to a theatrical performance that was given in English, simply a series of monologues. Exploration continued for a bit, while there was confusion regarding a jazz piano performance that occured the following evening. We took turns climbing up the lighthouse to get some of the best views of the town! Afterwards, we went to see the photography school that we will be working at for the next couple of weeks. We got a personal tour by Jerzy, the director of the school. Here, most of us were highly impressed by the resources that are provided which exceed a lot of what the ISU's College of Design has to offer. We ended the day by visiting a grocery store to buy some bread, sausage, and other necessities to make dinner and we ate as a group in one of the rooms and chatted until late at night.

Day 1: International Travel and Spatif

My journey to Poland began in Charlottesville, Virginia on Thursday, May 13 2010. I left the local airport there at roughly 2:30 pm, after saying good-bye to my parents and headed to Washington-Dulles Airport. From there, I flew overnight to Copenhagen, Denmark and finally after over 12 hours of traveling, wound up in Poland. After a long and weary flight to Gdansk, Poland, our group of 6 ISU students eventually made our way to an opening that was held at the local club "Spatif" for the Sopot Photography School (szkolafotografii.pl). This event was to celebrate the graduating class of 2010 at the school and was overall a laid back and social gathering. Various works by students were displayed while cigarette smoke hung in the air and the photography students shared beer with each other. Despite the welcoming nature of the locals, we found some difficulties at first adjusting to the new surroundings. 

The language barrier was definitely intimidating to us and it all seemed fairly overbearing. However, after a little time of adjusting to the environment, we made some new Polish friends who seemed more than eager to talk to us and get to know us foreigners better.