Month: September 2017

We awoke this morning to wind and rain. The group left our rooms and met at the van at 5 a.m. to go look for bison before breakfast. It was an hour’s drive through towns and managed forest on a pot-holed road. The first place we stopped, it was a 100-yard walk in the rain through trees to the edge of a large field. Nothing in sight. Then Andrej drove a little further along the road and we stopped again.  We got out of the van and immediately saw a large herd of bison perhaps a quarter mile away in the field, in the wind and rain. We climbed stairs to a covered viewing platform and had a great view of a slowly moving herd of about 80 animals, small calves among them. They were stopping to graze as they walked. Using binoculars and the spotting scope, we got great views of them. Then, we drove back to our first stopping point and walked quietly through the trees. The herd was moving past an opening in the trees and we had great ground level views of the bison.

On Saturday, I was picked up at 11:30 by Wild Poland for the wildlife and birdwatching part of the trip. The guide, Andrej, picked up me and 6 other people for the tour at our hotels and the airport. There’s a retired couple from Scotland, a younger couple from London, a retired mother from Australia and her daughter who lives in Amsterdam, and me.  We drove out of Warsaw for about an hour, then stopped for lunch at a hotel restaurant.  After lunch, we drove another 3 hours on country roads through quite a few towns and farm areas.  Finally, we reached the very small town of Bialowieza (pronounced bia-wo-vay-zha) about 4:30 pm. It’s immediately outside the forested national park of the same name.  We’re staying in a pension named Unikat that has about 25 basic rooms in several buildings, plus a restaurant and bar.

After getting settled, taking a short walk around the town, and discovering the pension’s wifi didn’t work, we ate dinner all together in the dining room at 7 pm. There was a very good soup, chicken and french fries. After dinner (and after dark), we walked with Andrej into the city park that abuts the national park to listen for Pygmy-owls, but didn’t hear any. We came back and went to bed early, since a 5:45 a.m. pre-breakfast walk was planned for today.

We were up and ready to walk with our binoculars before sunrise this morning (Sunday). We walked about 4 blocked and suddenly the town ended and fields began. We walked along a dirt road through the fields and looked across the fields to the edge of the forest. There, in the far distance, barely discernible with binoculars, were 3 bison which soon made their way into the forest.  We walked deeper into the fields looking for more bison and birds. We struck out on more bison, but saw quite a few birds of various types.  Then we walked back, returning about 7:30.  Breakfast was in the pension’ dining room at 8:00, and was scrambled eggs, choices of bread, cold ham, bacon, cheeses, cucumbers and tomatoes.

At 9 a.m. we met Eva, a young botanist from one of the scientific institutions that study Bialowieza forest, who would serve as our guide for a 14-km walk (about 6 hours) through the strictly-controlled area of Bialowieza National Park. During the walk, we learned a lot about the forest and wildlife that lives in it. Eva was very knowledgeable, especially about plants, and Andrej pointed out the birds. We saw two different types of woodpeckers and several other birds. There was a huge variety of mushrooms visible and very beautiful.  For most of the day, until near the end, we didn’t encounter any other people.

We returned to the pension about 4:15 and discovered that wifi was working. We then ate an early dinner at 5:00 so we could drive out into the forest at dusk to search for owls again. It was raining. Out in an area of managed (logged) forest that surrounds the strictly-controlled park, Andrej played a recorded Pygmy-owl call to lure one near. Instead, a Tawny Owl answered back and flew above us in the trees. It called from several places and Andrej tried to spotlight it with his flashlight, but couldn’t. But just seeing the large silhouette flying above us quite a few times and hearing the owl call was better than any of my previous owl searches, so I was quite satisfied. We drove back in the rain, returning about 7:30.

It will be an even earlier wake up tomorrow morning.

(I’ll post photos later when the wifi is a little faster.)

It’s Friday night and my Angloville week ended earlier today. Talking 12 hours a day was tiring but also energizing and rewarding. It was so interesting getting to know both the Poles and the other English-speaking volunteers! I loved it and would highly recommend it to anyone interested.

Thursday afternoon was the high point of the week, with the Poles each giving a 5-minute presentation in English on any topic they were interested in. The man who I mentored through the week, Jarek (pronounced Yarek), did a great job on a presentation about his company and it’s sales plan. He had practiced it with me several times during the week and each time we made corrections. But I could tell his English was getting better. On Thursday, it was perfect. I was so proud of him!

This morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find I didn’t have a hangover. But breakfast at 9:00 was quieter than usual, since many people got up late. After two final one-on-one sessions, there was a ceremony at which completion certificates were handed out and pictures taken. The ceremony photos will be emailed to us. Then we ate a final lunch at the hotel, said our goodbyes, and boarded the bus at 2 p.m. to head back to Warsaw.  The bus arrived in the city about 4:45 p.m.

Sharon, another volunteer, and I were headed to hotels near the airport. Since it was rush hour and the bus driver said taxis would be slower and more expensive during the rush, we decided to get something to eat, wait downtown, then catch a taxi or Uber together to our hotels.  So we walked around the giant Palace of Culture to a small outdoor bar that served pierogis and beer. I ate my first Polish pierogis there, washed down with a low alcohol raspberry lemonade. Both were good. Then we made our way to the nearby Novotel Hotel to get wifi for our phones and a glass of wine.  About 7:30, we shared a cab to our hotels.

The Hampton by Hilton at Warsaw Airport provided me a friendly welcome and excellent room. It’s nice to have a room to myself again, after sharing a room at Angloville as all the volunteers do.

Angloville is going full swing now and the schedule is quite busy.  From the time breakfast starts at 9 a.m. until social time is over at 10 p.m, except for a 90-minute break after lunch, we’re having conversations with the Poles.  I’m really enjoying the conversations and learning about all the participants.  Here’s the schedule (I hope you can see this):

Sunday was the start of my teaching week with Angloville.  It’s a school that holds 5-day sessions in country hotels and resorts to teach English to people mostly from central European countries via “immersion” classes.  Native English speakers like me volunteer our time to teach in exchange for free room and board at the resort, the opportunity for cultural exchange and to meet new people.

On Sunday morning, I checked out of my hotel and walked a couple of blocks to the Warsaw Palace of Culture to meet the Angloville organizers and volunteers for the bus ride to our resort, Debowa Gora Active and Spa, near the small town of Nowe Rumunki. About 25 people departed on the bus at 10:45, both English speakers and a few Polish participants.

I didn’t get any photos of the Polish countryside we traveled through for about 2 hours, but it was mostly flat agricultural fields and young, planted forests.

We arrived about 1 pm and were served lunch in the resort’s dining room. More Polish participants had joined us there. 18 Polish people and 18 to 20 English speakers were expected.  Lunch was boiled potatoes, coleslaw and breaded chicken fillets. After lunch we were assigned our roommates and checked into our rooms. I’m rooming with Olivia from Edinburgh, Scotland.  We got a break and then  an introduction to the week’s plan by Angloville staff member Rebecca.

There was an introductory icebreaker at 5:30 in which we asked a Polish partner a few get-to-know-you questions and they asked us the same, then we introduced our partner to the group.  Then we hand our first one-on-one session for 50 minutes.  After that, dinner at 7:30.  Dinner was baked chicken, boiled potatoes, and mixed vegetables, plus ice cream for dessert.  All the time, we were talking to the Poles in English. After dinner, we could leave, but most stayed to continue talking.  I left shortly before 10 pm to go to bed.