First day of teaching in the midst of the Tatra mountains

Monday morning at Zakopane camp began at 7:45 AM for us. At 4 AM many were awakened by daylight streaming through the windows and birds singing. Through the fog we could see the outlines of the mountains and the green of the pine trees. Soon we would see our students’ sunny smiles but for now—back to sleep. At the 7:45 time we had our group meeting with included the thought for the day to inspire us and the reading of the journal from the previous day.

Following breakfast we met our students at 9:00 AM for the first lessons. We spent this first day evaluating for strengths and weaknesses in the use of the English language. We learned more about them as individuals through verbal and written bios. They also learned about us. Most teachers queried their students about what they wished to learn. Gathered ideas included discussion in English, vocabulary supplementation, pronunciation, and usage of words.

One activity implemented by Diana, Matthew and Mazi with their group was 20 Questions, using people, places, or things as the categories. Maureen, Marilyn and Christina had their students describe each other, including details such as hair and eye color, clothing, and jewelry. Norina used the Talking Card game with her students – an activity that sounded like fun and was successful. Lori, as usual had many activities going with her students, including joining another group to play Sea Life Jingo. Marianne found success with A-Z exercise using athletics as the category. Once the words were identified, each student chose one to pantomime. Those who attempted walks outdoors were not successful due to the weather limitations – that is rain and quite cool weather.

Obiad, the mid-day meal, introduced the Global Volunteers to pickle soup, which was well received.
Before supper, Dorota held a meeting to discuss the first day’s teaching. Planning progressed for the Independence Day celebration, which will be held on Thursday evening. At 8:00 in the evening we were invited to the watch the camp initiation for first-time campers and counselors. After that it was time to call it day.
Journal by Lynn

Message of the day: “If we are growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone”. Attributed to John Maxwell and shared by Norina