Peace Corps: Poland

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Peace Corps Poland

• Lisa J. Main
• 1999-2001

Polish Flag
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My Background/ Timeline

• Coquille High School 1993
• SWOCC 1996
• Oregon Transfer Block
• Applied to Peace Corps in 1997
• Oregon State University 1998
• B.S. Biology, Chemistry Minor
• Russian Visas Rejected
• Chose Poland, departure 6/1999
• Currently OSU Working on Masters Degree
• Teaching Science at North Douglas High School

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Poland At A Glance

• Polska means Land of Fields
• National Language Polish
• Population 42 million
• Size 120,726 sq miles
• About the same as New Mexico
• Religion Roman Catholic
• Settled Over 2000 years ago
• Ethnicity 98 Slavic Descent

Orzel National Bird
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski
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Traditional Clothing

• Clothing varies by region
• The dancers to the left are
• from the Northeast Mazurka
• region of Poland.
• The ladies below are from the
• Goral region, in the Tatry
• Mountains.
• Red bead necklaces were
• used to indicate a womans
• martial status.

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Shopping

• Open Air Markets
• Handmade Sweaters
• Flower Sellers
• Farmers
• Markets
• Bakeries
• Crafts
• Black Market
• CDs

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Traditional Crafts

• Paper cut outs
• Carved wooden plates
• Hand-cut crystal
• Wooden Figurines
• Decorated eggs
• Leather goods

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Famous Polish People

• Pope Jan Pawel II from Krakow.
• Maria Sklodowska-Curie from Warszawa. Only woman
  two win two noble prizes in two different
  categories.
• Lech Walensa, didnt work for Gdansk shipyards
  and had to be given special immunity from the
  Russian government.

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Arrival in Radom

• I lived with a host family for 3 months during
  training.
• My host sister Agneszka was wonderful. She
  taught me a lot of Polish and was my translator.
• My host family of 4 and their cat lived in an
  average size apartment that was only 500 sq ft!

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Training Site

• Radom Polytechnic School
• 7-9 hours a day in training
• Language, Culture, Survival Skills, Geography,
  and History classes.

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Site Visits

• With only 3 days of settling in
• We were off on a trip
• I was really worried, because I couldnt speak
  Polish, until I met Cedric. I still call him at
  least once a month.

Kolobrzeg
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Site Placements

• After 3 months of training
• I got an envelope with the name of my town
  Czersk
• Location Gdansk Province

• Population 10,000
• Established 1300s
• Employers Polish Railways,
• Womens Prison, Small
• Businesses, and Restaurants

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Map of Poland
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My Assignments!

• Primary Project
• TEFL Teacher Grades 9-12
• Secondary Projects
• School Garden
• Nationwide Essay Contest
• Chairperson
• World Wise Schools
• English Language Club

L.O. Czersk
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My House

• I lived on a Family Compound
• Had my own apartment
• One bathroom
• Kitchen
• Living Area (Living, Dining and Bedroom)
• Inherited my Polish Kitty Kicza
• Who had 4 kittens.
• I kept Tigger.
• Both Kicza
• Tigger live in
• Cottage Grove.

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Garden and Barn
Summer
Winter, Spring, Fall Taken from my Porch
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Kitchen
Bathroom
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Living Area
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L.O. Czersk

• I taught Conversational English
• 19 hours a week
• 14 classes
• 245 students

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Garden Project

• Neighborhood beautification project
• Only Park in Czersk
• Empty Lot
• Schools Garden
• Cost 5000 USD
• Biology Class Project

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Model United Nations

• Gorzow Wiekipolska
• Students act as country ambassadors
• Work in teams to pass mock resolutions
• Teams from 9 countries participated.
• Everyone had to speak English.

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Czersk
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Train Station
Womens Prison
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Italy Trip

• December 1999
• First Trip out of Poland
• Milan and Vernazza

Vernazza
Duomo Cathedral Milan
Mediterranean Sea
Death End Street
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Prague Trip

• Easter 2000
• Czech Republic
• Czech Language a cousin of Polish.

Charles Bridge
Old Town Castle
Clock Tower
Cedric, Linda, I
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Paris Trip

• Summer 2000
• On this trip my friend Kendall and I visited
  Poland, German, France and Spain.
• So far Ive been in 10 countries, but Paris is
  still my favorite city.

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Bush and Powell

• The day after I COSd I had the opportunity to
  meet President Bush and Secretary of State Powell
• And outside in front of the Palace of Culture,
  next to the Marriott, people were protesting
  Bushs visit to Russia and the U.S. position on
  the Kyoto Pact.