June 2000
Written on 17 June

I have been very busy lately preparing for the end of school and haven’t had a chance to update my journals.

Weather wise, it was an interesting half month. Our temperatures have been between 16C & 20C during the day, and the nights have been around 10C, with some nights dropping into the single digits. We have had quite a bit of rain and a few thunderstorms. This is normal weather for this time of the year, I guess.

On 12 June, I told Lucja that I am happy I’m leaving to travel for the summer, but even happier that I am coming back. I love my job, this town and the Polish people.

On 13 June 2000, the president of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) flew to North Korea to meet with the leader of that country. I believe that that is the first time that those two countries have ever met like that. They are to discuss many different issues, including a possible unification eventually (many many years off). It’s nice to know that somewhere in the world there are good things like that going on. Lately, all that’s been on the news have been the many different wars, battles, coups and the like in Africa, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Serbia, and Kosovo.

Also on 13 June 2000, I was doing some work in the New Headway Upper Intermediate book with my E class, and we came across the name Anne Frank. I was shocked to learn that they had never heard of her, or her book, The Diary of Anne Frank!! These students are all age 15 and above (mostly above). I know that some books about the Holocaust (Mein Kampf) are banned in some countries, but I don’t know if Poland is one of them, but still..even if Poland does ban some books, that one shouldn’t be. It in no way glorifies World War II. I’ll try to find a copy when I am in Warsaw and bring it back. It’s a great book and I wouldn’t mind reading it again. I visited the Anne Frank House when I was in Amsterdam in 1998 and did the walking tour to see how they lived when they were in seclusion. It was more moving than Oswiecem (Auschwitz), as it put a human face on the Holocaust for me.

On 14 June, I had my last classes with my I and M classes. I class was beginners, aged between 8 – 13. They were good kids, but could be a handful at times. In addition to that, I had a student who has dyslexia and another that had reading problems (in any language). The students in my M class were high school students, with a couple of adults. They were a great class and I loved teaching them.

Also on 14 June, there was a movie called "Never Forget" on TNT, which is a true story about an Auschwitz survivor (Mel Mermelstein, played by Leonard Nimoy) who takes on an anti-semetic group that denies the Holocaust ever happened. He is a lecturer who is sent a letter by the group that he should prove it happened or they would discredit him. He accepts the challenge and the movie goes on to show how it effects his family, etc. At the end, in court, a judicial notice is decreed (by the judge) saying that the Holocaust really did happen and was a officially a fact. This is the first time that that had ever been said and noted in a court case. What a brilliant movie. I stayed up way too late watching it (movies start at 23h on TNT and usually go for two hours).

When I lived in the USA, I had heard the phrase "never forget" used by people of Jewish decent, as well as "We must make sure it never happens again." However, they appear to be just "catch phrases". Granted, I agree that the Holocaust should never be forgotten, however, what about when the Serbian government was trying to exterminate the Kosovars? What about the massacres in Rwanda and other parts of Africa? The same type of thing has gone on since then, but on smaller scales in different parts of the world. I wonder if the people who say the above catch phrases have forgotten?

15 June I said goodbye to my E & F classes. They were two of my favorites. E class was an Upper Intermediate class and the students in E class were 15 years old and up. They were all very fluent in English. They were a lively crowd and we had a good time. I am glad that they are coming back next year. We ordered out for pizza and did a lesson containing music. F class was all high school age and older. They were originally called my "dead people" because at first, it was very hard to get them to talk. At the end, they were still quieter than my other classes, but, I feel that they felt better about speaking English and spoke it more freely. I know that some in F class will be back next year. I hope many come back. I loved teaching both classes.

16 June was the last day of classes at the school. I had final classes with B, G & H groups. The students in G group ranged in age from 11 – 16 (most were 12 – 14). It was a fun class but they could be a bit rowdy at times. H class was adult beginners. It was one of my favorite classes. They were my last class on Wednesdays and Fridays, and I’m glad of that. It was a great way to end a workweek. The people were great, and they were very anxious to learn English. We went out to Pizza Margarita (a pizza shop) for the last lesson (their idea).

17 June, Lucja picked me up at my flat (Mary was already with her) at 17h. She was there to collect all of my books, logs, records, etc from the school year. She also picked the belongings I will leave at her house while I am traveling. We went over to her house and talked about the school year. Then, we signed contracts for next year, took pictures, and left. I will see her tomorrow when she comes to my flat to pick up the keys at 17h15. Then, I’m off! I would have liked to stay for a week longer, but I have to meet relatives in Krakow on 19 June. It wasn’t possible for them to arrive at a later date.

Also on 17 June, I found the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on TV. I’m making this mainly as a note to myself for when I return, as I love that show (although I liked it better when Johnny Carson was the host)...it’s on Saturday evenings at 21h on CNBC. I started watching it many many many years ago (probably around 1984 or so) and stopped watching the season after Johnny quit (May of 1992) for about 6 months. That was because I thought that it wouldn’t be the same with a new host. but slowly and surely I came back to it. Based on who & what he was making fun of during the monologue, it was a very recent show, possibly from yesterday, 16 June.

This will be the final sun report leading up to the longest day of the year from this latitude, as I will be much farther south next week when it happens...Sunset was at 21h15 this evening and total darkness didn’t happen until 22h30. I was up for a while the other morning and noticed that dawn starts to break around 2h45. Gotta love it. It really makes up for the long, cold & dark winter nights.

I’m now signing off for the summer. Look for the next update in late September.