23 December 2001

 

17 December – 6h30 – Rumsfield told soldiers in Afghanistan that they have the respect of the American people. Not this one.

 

I have to prepare Christmas lessons this week. I’ll have to run down to the internet and find some ideas, as I don’t want to do the same things I did last year. 

 

7h15 – According to EuroNews, British High Street shops are going to be accepting Euros starting on 1 January, even though Britain hasn’t joined the Euro. Also, when I was in Olsztyn, the travel agency I went to had their prices for almost everything in Euros. They used to be in Deutsche Marks and US Dollars.

 

According to CNN, the USA is going to raise its flag at its embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan later today.

 

8h10 – Moderate snow.

 

12h15 – Time Magazine is thinking of naming Osama bin Laden their Man of the year, as he influenced things more than anyone else this year. CNN interviewed people in NYC about that possibility and all used strong words against it. I’m 100% against it also. Someone interviewed in NYC said that Giuliani should be Time’s Man of the Year. I agree 100% with that. I hope Time does that.

 

18 December – 6h31 – Darn. My cable company has moved CNN to channel 1, where Sky News used to be and Sky News is nowhere to be found (I even did an automatic reprogramming of my TV). This means no more CBS Evening News. Also, I quite liked Sky News.

 

7h10 – A bit of an odd story from CNN…Emergency workers (firemen) in the USA have sent a flag found at ground zero to Afghanistan to show their support of the actions going on in Afghanistan.

 

7h17 – Switzerland will vote next March to decide if they want to join the United Nations. 

 

7h34 – According EuroNews, Turkey has opened its embassy in Afghanistan. They felt that it was important to do, as they’re the only Muslim member of NATO.

 

7h57 – Snow flurries

 

8h12 – Moderate snow

 

10h05 – It’s stopped snowing.

 

11h04 – Moderate snow again.

 

22h – We had rain this evening. It shouldn’t be raining at this time of the year here.

 

19 December – 6h22 – Mumia abu-Jamal got his death sentence thrown out inn Philadelphia. There will be a new sentencing hearing. I’m glad I’m not in Philadelphia now.

 

I’m speaking at a junior high school today at 10h40. One of my FCE students is a teacher there and she, along with her co-workers, sent me an invitation to talk about Christmas in America and then sing Christmas Carols with their students. It should be fun.

 

9h46 – Light snow.

 

21h – It’s raining. All the snow has turned to ice and the sidewalks and roads are very slippery. It needs to be a little colder (it’s about 1C) so it won’t rain. I slipped on some while was turning a corner on my way home and fell, hurting my knee again.

 

The talk I gave at the junior high school went well. I was there for about an hour, and many of my students were there, as they attend that school. First, there were about 7 skits in English, then I spoke, then 7 skits in German. We also sang Christmas Carols, with the first verse and refrain were in English, the next verse and refrain were in German, and the final verse and refrain were in Polish. They had the words up on an overhead projector.

 

I began Christmas lessons today with one of my groups (group B). The games went well.

 

22h04 – Don’t Forget Your Passport is on the Travel Channel. They’re in Spain. They flew into Madrid and took the AVE (high speed train) to Sevilla. From there, they went to Cordoba, Granada, Ronda, Gibraltar and ended in Tarifa. A great show. I can’t wait to get back to Spain. The presenter is doing a better job than the last few. The girls are always better than the guys on this series. However, you could tell that she wasn’t on a backpacker budget as she talked about her rental car being cheap, only costing $50/day.

 

20 December – 7h27 – The rain changed back into snow last night and we got about an inch.

 

9h30 – I just made a run out to the grocery store to buy some things for today’s Christmas lessons (wrapping paper, chocolate Santa Clauses. It’s much colder out today than it was last night. It’s about –5C. That means it won’t rain again!

 

9h47 – Light snow.

 

10h – Moderate snow.

 

11h58 – Heavy snow! Hooray!!

 

20h25 – It’s been snowing most of the day and we have quite a bit (about 5 inches). According to the TV station PULS, it’s supposed to snow up here tomorrow and Saturday. It’s supposed to be partly sunny in southern Poland.

 

20h35 – Trading Places is on again (a different channel). I think that one of the reasons I like it is because all of the music is classical (it’s by Bernstein).

 

Today was another day of Christmas lessons for two groups (D & G). In both classes we did a little bit of work and then did Christmas things.

 

21h33 – I should be packing, but instead, I’m watching a movie. Oh well. At least I don’t need to pack a lot for Krakow.

 

22h09 – I’m really tired. I guess it’s because I’ve been getting up around 6am lately. I remember when I used to get up at that time when I worked in the USA, by 22h on Thursdays I was beat and usually went to bed. I’m doing the same now. Goodnight.

 

21 December – 7h45 – I cant believe how quickly the month of December has gone by. Tomorrow I leave for Krakow. This Christmas season hasn’t turned out how I wanted it, but it was still okay. I wanted to listen to more Christmas music, walk around and look at the Christmas lights in town (although there aren’t many), etc. I was too busy to do a lot of that.

 

It’s very windy today. Cold also.

 

8h15 – it’s snowing horizontally. I’d say that it’s blizzarding. The weather people were right. It’s a great day to sit home and drink steaming hot cups of tea all day. Unfortunately, I cant. I have errands to run, I have to use the internet and I have to go to work. Fun Fun Fun. At least I have 11 days off starting tomorrow.

 

9h24 – I’m listening to “Let it Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”

 

10h02 – I can see the road that leads out of town (to Olsztyn) from my kitchen window, and the traffic is going very slowly (about 7mph). Polish drivers are used to snow and usually keep a good pace at all times, even in snow. You know the weather is quite bad when they go slowly.

 

22h – Today is the shortest day of the year (thank goodness!). Sunrise:7h43

                                                                                          Sunset: 15h25

 

I have to go to bed so that I can get up early and catch the 4h41 train tomorrow, but I’m not tired. Oh well.