Gdynia to Gdansk to Frankfurt to DC to La Plata to Mechanicsville!

This is the travel day (Sunday). I guess the worst part is that on Monday morning I have to be up and out of the house by 6:00 ....ugh!

My watch alarm actually woke me up at 5:00 am Poland time. After getting ready and all my bags packed, my taxi picked me up at 6:00. I bid farewell to Monika. She had done a fabulous job organizing and arranging the conference and all of our wants and needs. She is definitely a 'mover and shaker'! The 30 minute taxi ride was comfortable and I was ready to fall asleep again. I didn't have enough zlotis to pay and I had to pay by credit card. 142 zlotis = about $50! Yikes. I was WAY early to check in for the flight at 8:15. The line to check in was short and the line for security was even shorter. I sat and read the last part of my book, Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. A very enjoyable read, especially since it is about DC and all the symbols in and around the architecture.

The flight to Frankfurt was uneventful. The Frankfurt airport did not list my gate number. My ticket did not list my gate number. So area A has 65 gates. The guessing game commences! 1 through 42 were Lufthansa - I was looking for United. So I had to actually ask! The person I asked said I was in the right place, but I still didn't see a sign that proved I was. Walking, walking, gate after gate you get that feeling that it will be the last one. Not this time. Gate 57 was easy to detect - lots of American looking people with American looking garb. I had to wait another hour and a half for the next flight.

The nine hour flight to DC was movie - rrriffic! The Time Traveler's Wife -cool movie. UP was a wonderful diversion! Inglorious Bastards I got tired of quickly. And another film with the kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun. It seems I start watching these movies after the opening credits, so I really don't know what that last film was called. I will soon find out!

I landed in DC - Dulles - after watching with amazement that there was snow on rooftops! What happened to Global Warming? There was a medical emergency on board and we were asked to stay seated until the sick person could be evacuated. We had landed early and no one questioned that decision. After that it was out of the plane, down a maze of small hallways, on the tram, to the main terminal. Passport Control was quick and easy. Waiting for the luggage took the most time. Customs was faster still. I found Judy quickly - cell phones are great inventions when you are surrounded by hundreds of people in a large venue like an airport. We paid for parking, found the car, and Judy drove as I was feeling like it was 10:30 at night!
We made our way to the Outback in La Plata and ate real American food, all the iced tea I could, and shared our week apart from each other. We made it home to Mechanicsville by 7:30. It is always fun and exciting to go overseas. But it is always great to be home!

Conference DAY 4 and more!

I started the day with a HISTORY RUN! Since I had not been in the Old town when it wasn't raining or dark, I ran with my camera and took still pictures and videos as I went. In a little over an hour, I took 50 pictures and 10 videos. But with only a half day left in Gdansk, it was the only way! It's kinda like running in DC or Williamsburg - it gets you in the mood of the place where you are! A la Mr. Smith!

Back at the hotel, the order of the day was to review the transcription process of their interviews, orient them to their new FLIP cameras, show them how to upload their video onto the FLIP software, and answer any questions. We managed all of that before 11:30. It was funny teaching them how to set the date and time on their cameras since the instructions are only in English and French. They all got it and were eager to receive this new piece of technology. We announced which two would be coming to America in February/March for the opening conference with all the partner countries. Very exciting. Others may come later. I also uploaded all the rest of the interviews onto my laptop. In case we can't make DVDs in Poland, I can make one in the states and mail it.

I packed all my bags and moved them to another room as we had to check out of the hotel my noon. Larry, Wanda, Arkady, and I walked again down to the Old Town Square for lunch. We didn't realize that Monika had lunch prepared for us at our usual restaurant. But we had a lovely luncheon at a fancy place on the square. On our walk back, Wanda, Arkady, and I stopped at the "Road to Freedom" museum underneath the Solidarity office building. It is a great little museum dedicated to the Solidarity movement. I took even more pictures!

When we returned to the hotel we waited for taxis to pick us up. Larry and Wanda were flying out today and I am flying out tomorrow. Monika's car died and so I had to find an alternate form of transportation back to her house for the evening. Arkady took me to the train station and we paid for two tickets to Gdynia. We found out that we took the wrong train. This train broke down and we had to wait longer for a replacement train. But we finally arrived in Gdynia and Arkady helped me hail a taxi. The taxi driver missed the house just like I missed the house when I was running here several days ago. It's a little confusing as Monika's house looks like it is in the subdivision, but it has a different entrance than the rest.

This evening, Monika served up some Greek appetizers - flaky biscuits with Feta cheese inside. Tea, juice, more homemade vodka and later Pizza - no sauce here in Poland - just crust and toppings which are covered by the cheese. She ordered ham and mushrooms. The Polish pizza ranks right up there with the best. I enjoyed it. Monika showed me a movie of Polish comedy. It's like we talk about British humor - if you get it, you get it. If not, oh well! We spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out how to take the interviews on my computer that does not create DVDs and put them onto her computer that DOES make DVDs. I was successful in moving the videos onto a flash drive and then walking them to her computer. She was unable to make a DVD from those files. Even with the FLIP software on her computer, it would not create a DVD. We must be doing something wrong. I will figure it out at home and make sure we know how this process works. It WAS nice to know that you could load a video onto a flash drive. Students would be able to make a copy at school and take it home to transcribe!

The taxi is coming at 6:00 am tomorrow morning. It takes me back to Gdansk airport for my flight that leaves at 8:15. I fly to Frankfurt, layover to switch planes for a couple hours and then fly to Dulles by 3:17 in the afternoon. It has been a grand success here in Poland. But I am looking forward to iced tea, driving, understanding the language, my own home, my own bed, American food. I try not to be too whiny. I never want to come off as the ugly American. I will come back to Poland if I ever have the opportunity. A great country with great people!

To Gdnynia Conference DAY 3

Since we had to leave early on a bus to Gdynia at 8:00, the sun had not risen early enough for me to run. Running in the dark on cobblestones can be dangerous to one’s ankles. Injury is never an option to take. Play it safe and you can keep running. Stupidity keeps you on the sidelines!

We boarded the bus to Gdynia soon after 8:00. The ride took us from Gdansk through Sopot (richest of the tri-city area with a Porsche dealer) and then to Gdynia. This is Monika’s home town. She arranged for us to meet at the Mariner’s College where there is a beautiful hall, complete with electronic translation. It was a large marble lined hall with nautical motifs all around. The Civic Voices banner was prominently hung to the right and on the screen was the Civic Voices slide. There were four seats on the stage, one for me, one for Monika, one for the vice-mayor of Gdynia, and one for a professor of history. Conference Day 3 started at 9:30! Larry and I both signed in to the conference. We assume that we will get paid for our work now!

The vice-mayor spoke first. He described city governance as a ‘consent of the governed’ lesson. Whatever the people want, that’s what Gdynia gets. He mentioned the economy of the area that is growing – economic freedom! He also talked about the growing number of NGOs that have formed and have solved problems in and around the city – freedom of association. Taking care of the different sections of the city was a difficult chore – so many interests and trying to be fair to all was the most problematic – multiparty system.

Madam professor spoke next and she eloquently described the struggle of 1980 and the beginnings of Solidarity. She described the events of that year by categorizing them into five themes that were powerful as the unrest unfolded. The first theme was UNITY. Of course the name of the union speaks powerfully about that theme. Next was RESPECT of every human being – human rights. This matched directly with Ackerman and A Force More Powerful! Her fourth theme was PRAYER and the power of the Catholic Church in Poland supporting the people of the union. This became the backbone of the movement. Her last theme was much broader but I have seen it each time I have been in Poland – the inherent GOOD of the people of Poland. Certainly the Poles saw this struggle as good against evil as Ronald Reagan and Americans did too.

Then it was my turn to speak. Monika had added to and changed the focus of my remarks a bit. But I compared what the two previous speakers said and transitioned from the values of the past to the values of the present. I reiterated the concepts of democracy that we all need to teach our students and that we must link one or two of those concepts to each interview. A also discussed some classroom techniques and a strategy to help them collect at least three interviews by the end of the school year.

Then Monika reviewed the general program over the next three years. Then a break for coffee and tea with sweet pastries made and served by the culinary school on the premises!

Wanda spoke about her observations and also related an oral history project she completed when in college. Her class made a documentary about a man that tried to assassinate Hitler before WW II started. Very interesting! He failed, of course, but think of the world today without WW II. Whoa!

Wanda’s talk paved the way for the introduction of a film made in Gdynia with students that will be unveiled to the world later this month. We got a sneak preview of the film today. It was an excellent example of students interviewing activists that were there in 1970 when the workers went on strike only to be violently dealt with. There were interviews of those who were hurt, shot, and of those who saw the dead, killed by the communist forces militia. Students commented on the grave markers and the memorials of those who died protesting against the totalitarian regime. It was very well done. We should look into this for showing in the US in the future. It does need subtitles, though.

Lunch was served in the student union ‘club’ area of the building. Hot soup in bread bowls, different kinds of meats and pastries were served Smorgasbord style. We had our last English conversations with one of our interpreters, Dorota. She was wonderful.

We spent the afternoon stuck in traffic for 2 and a half hours which should have taken 30 minutes! We were able to discuss quite a number of topics with Wanda, who lives in Berlin. Topics ranged from the Holocaust and how it is taught in Germany to, “Your 26 (Her birthday is today! We sang at lunch!) and you don’t have your driver’s license!”

We are having our farewell dinner tonight at a nearby restaurant. A few of the teachers have already had to leave, but most are staying until tomorrow. It should be a lovely evening of eating and toasting to our mutual success!

Conference DAY 2

What a day! I thought yesterday was an amazing success. Today was even more amazing! Monika and her colleagues at the Solidarity office are to be congratulated on putting together a stupendous day of meaningful events! From beginning to end, these teachers of Poland have proven themselves to be of the finest caliber!

I got up late (7:40) and realized that if I am to run this morning, I better get to it! I had to meet the group in the lobby at 9:00. So run I did down to the center of the old city at the crack of dawn. What a place! The waterfront and the market give you a sense of a 17th century Baltic seaport. The architecture is Scandinavian port with so many variations on a theme! I thought I was lost on the way back, but managed to gauge the tall buildings back to the hotel. A quick shower, quick suit on, quick breakfast and I was ready with the group on time. As we always said in Russia: We were born ready!

We entered the office building of Solidarity in Gdansk and walked to a reception hall. The hall was adorned with a 10 x 5 banner with the Civic Voices logo, Solidarity logo and all the other partner countries listed. The banner was hung in the middle amidst many red and white Solidarity banners. Larry and I were seated in front along with the president of Solidarity (the whole trade union, not just the educational arm), a representative from the US embassy, and a professor involved with the ‘Memory’ program in Poland. Some of you may know that Russia has had a similar Memorial interest group since before the fall of the Soviet Union.

Almost like the UN, we wore headphones to hear simultaneous translation through the entire program. A wonderful guitarist/singer began the program with some very special songs related to the struggle 20 to 30 years ago. Some of the audience joined in at the chorus on the first song. That never happens in America. Now I have seen it happen in Poland and Russia. Something about strong cultural roots. The president of Solidarity spoke for 5 pages of speech, sometimes apologizing for being so long-winded. He recounted the tough times of the 70s and 80s and charged teachers to use the Civic Voices program to keep the memory of those days alive for future generations.

Next to speak was Craig Conway, First Secretary attached to the US embassy in Warsaw. His words were very well chosen and also agreed that Civic Voices was a valuable endeavor. The professor from Memory spoke about his experiences with recording the past. Larry had left the room (to fetch presents for guests back the hotel – I did not know this at the time) and it looked like I would have to speak in Larry’s place. It was nice to see him return in time! Larry discussed the presentation we put together the night before without any problems. Then question time from the audience and we all had to answer questions for a while. Interesting questions: Why was Poland picked? Why Mongolia? Whatever I said seemed to satisfy their query!

Following all these discussions was yet a press conference. At first it seemed as though there wasn’t much interest by the press. But a radio station recorded our statements and asked some questions. A reporter from a local newspaper was on hand with a recording device and taking lots of notes. I saw her later, typing her story into a laptop, possibly getting ready to send it to publish in the day’s paper. When I thought we had completed the easy task of dealing with the press, in saunters a tall, striking, confident woman with an older cameraman in tow. I was asked to report to the back of the hall. She spoke excellent English and interviewed me right there on camera. Monika said later that I was on the 5:30 news on TVP and maybe her father recorded it for us!? The TV reporter did not stop there. When she saw one of the FLIP cameras she wanted to know all about it and how this process was taking place. She had one of the teacher groups set up a camera on a tripod and she filmed the camera with a snippet of an interview from earlier that morning. Larry thought that since the FLIP camera is getting free advertising, that the company should donate a number of cameras for the project! Shannon may be on the phone at the moment she reads this!?

Lunch was served at a restaurant at the top of a tall building with massive windows on each side of two large dining rooms. The view of the shipyards and the Old part of town were incredible. The food was okay – mushroom soup, pressed salmon, vegetables, and, of course, plenty of potatoes!

After lunch, it was time for the five civic activists that Monika invited to the conference to address the entire group and tell a little bit about their stories. We probably should have had the cameras rolling at that point since it made some of their later interviews shorter. But what fantastic stories! Strikes, with Walesa, organizing in Gdynia, in Gdansk, in the southern regions, mistakes made, successes that became the glory of Poland - WOW! When they were finished ( and each one talked for at least 20 minutes!), four groups each took their activist to another place to interview them according to the guide! One group had already finished their interview during the morning as the interviewee had to leave early.

So, it’s 5:00 or so at the end of the day and it’s not over yet! Unbeknownst to us, each group wanted to report back to us all of their findings and tell us how it went. I think they read the guide. They’re already reflecting!! They were so pumped up! All were very excited about what they had just accomplished. It was incredible to see 25 teachers who don’t know each other, from different regions all over Poland come together and be enthusiastic about the project! The word teamwork was mentioned more than once! I complimented Monika on her organization and her ability to put this all together so magnificently! Again, an English speaking person from another country can communicate with Americans so well. Konstantin, are you reading this?

A little Internet time and off to dinner we all went. We walked down to the Old town and went to a lovely little restaurant. Two men were playing accordion (Larry’s favorite! Ha) when we entered. We sat at two long tables that were next to the walls so the middle of the room was somewhat open. We toasted with a shot of something that we equated with cherry cough syrup. Other than that, the food was delicious. Mushroom soup, fried pork, potatoes, meatloaf of some kind baked around a large carrot, herring salad, cabbage, dessert, and later a gift of a bottle of Sobieski Vodka. They presented Solidarity shirts to us – I wore mine immediately. That seemed to please the crowd a bit. The musicians played a Kashubian song that was written on four staves, all with a treble clef, but – no notes. Only symbols were used and the song seemed to go through each staff and then do sort of a repeat through the staves. Some of the Poles were singing along as if it were a folk tune they remember from their childhood.

And if that wasn’t enough music, I was asked to play one of their rhythm instruments – a pole that has a pair of cymbals together like a trap set. It also had some hanging metal things that twinkled like a wind chime. There was a black face painted on one side and a box on the bottom that had two strings attached to the top for twang effect – but the strings were lose. This pole was called a “Devil’s Violin” and to play it all you needed to do was to stomp it on the floor in good rhythm with the song. That wasn’t enough for the effect. They dressed me up with a long, blue, decorated vest and put a hat on me. Then they played the song and I pounded the “Devil’s Violin” in good rhythm! There will probably be some good blackmail photographs making their way around in some emails in the near future! The dinner and entertainment were lovely ways to end a magnificent day!

On our walk back to the hotel, we chatted with Arkady (interpreter) and Wanda (German observer).

Conference - DAY 1

No running today. It was pouring rain, windy, and about 35 degrees! I spent the morning just waking up and organizing my thoughts for the conference. I got a copy of the Polish version of the teacher's guide that we created during the summer. I had to coordinate page numbers of the Polish guide to what I was going to speak about so we could literally 'be on the same page!'

Larry Specht, my colleague from the AFT Foreign Affairs department, went to lunch with me before the conference began. We borrowed two umbrellas and made our way through Gdansk to the same little restaurant as yesterday. They speak English so it makes service and ordering much easier.

We met later in the conference room at our hotel. I had to work out some PowerPoint glitches and Internet worries, but all worked just fine. My little Charles County issued IBM Think Pad is performing in Poland like a pro! Who would have thought?

Monika introduced the President of Solidarity to open the conference. I didn't realize who this man was as he had just sauntered up to me before the conference started and shook hands. We sort of introduced ourselves in two languages that we didn't understand. The smile and the look in his eye were all that was necessary!

Larry then gave some background on AFT in America and the background of Civic Voices. Then it was my turn to train 25 Polish teachers how to use this program with their students. They were an excellent class. Dorota, my interpreter, did a great job staying with me all the way. We went through the first three parts of our guide. I gave them Freedom House maps and shared the World Digital Library and DemocracyWeb with them. They were VERY receptive! I finihed right on time and then we took a snack/late lunch break! Some of them speak English very well and we discussed Poland's neighbors, Belarus and Ukraine.

It was then the Polish teachers' turn to introduce themselves to everyone. Monika has already told them that we Americans are helping her make the decision as to which two of them will travel to the US in the spring for the next conference. So each one introduced themselves and told us of all the fantastic things they already do with their students to preserve the past and the memory of those who fought so hard against the Soviets (and the Nazis) for freedom in Poland! I was in awe of them as they are surrounded by the history of WW II and the Cold War. It was an honor just to be in the room as they told what they do in their schools. WOW!

Monika divided them into groups of five. Each will interview a Polish Civic Activist tomorrow! They immediately dove into preparing their questions and discussing who will ask the questions, who will monitor the camera, who will transcribe the words, etc. AS they discussed and planned, Monika and I pulled each group up to a table and went over the technical issues of using the FLIP cameras with the tripods. They were all so interested and ready to execute each task. I was so impressed with them. I was having a hard time immagining a group of American teachers going about this process with the same ferocity - but then there was that group that met over the summer at the Labor College. :)

Later we met to go out to dinner. A nearby reastaurant had prepared a smorgasboard of food - they called it Swedish, but most Americans equate smorgasboard with Norwegian. The food was great and I got to sit and talk with Dorota and Arkady, our two interpreters. They speak English so well. Wanda, from Berlin, is also an English speaking German that was with Civic Mosaic II this past summer and is here this week as an observer. We discussed Christmas traditions between Poland, Germany and the US. Such different ideas about Santa Claus!!

Larry and I were successful in piecing together a PowerPoint presentation for tomorrow. Each day, Monika has all the participants AND more guests for us to talk to about the project. So we don't want to sound redundant day after day. So we created something new! I think it will be just great! We used some of Deb's presentation (two maps) and pieced together some other slides that were translated into Polish! Very Sharp!

The rain has stopped and it's almost midnight NPT - Northern Polish Time. I'm going for a run tomorrow to the Old section of Gdansk as the sun rises tomorrow. It should be fantastic. I hope to upload some pictures of today's event soon.

Gdynia to Gdansk

Sleep is good. However this is a working vacation in more ways than one. I love those students that are emailing me their homework assignments this week. Keep up the good work Westlake! This morning, before the run, sitting in Gdynia, Poland, I graded about 50 homework assignments from Waldorf, Maryland. Isn't the world a connected place! It seems as though any problem should be able to be solved because we have got the world communication system in place. What could possibly be holding us back? Yeah, I hear you making a list now....

The run this morning was interesting. I started in a planned community of nice middle class homes built near what we would call an industrial park. I ran next to a gated community of white brick McMansions and then into the town of Gdynia. Small narrow streets of almost row houses. It is definitely an industrial town. It may have been healthier to stay inside rather than subject my virgin lungs to the coal burning, diesel spewing, and smokey odors I was inhaling.

Monika was up and in a hurry to get to her office in Gdansk. So fast breakfast, fast shower, fast packing and stuff the car full of people and luggage! Then the terror starts... Monika is a poster child for how not to drive and talk on the cell phone! Oh yeah, it's a manual transmission as well. It's a good thing she didn't have a drink and a cigarette - then I know we would have crashed! I think we set some landspeed records between Gdynia and Gdansk! My knees are still shaking! :)

We arrived safely at the Solidarity office building and got a peak at her office. This is the place where the union began its push against the Soviets in the 70s and 80s. Over the next few days we will hear some of their stories and be amazed!

Our next hotel is very comfortable - Gryf Hotel. I unpacked for the next few days as the Civic Voices conference begins tomorrow! Larry and I took the recommendation of the hotel staff to go to a restaurant on the way to the old part of town- Swojski Smak. The city has a history of going back and forth between being German, Polish, Russian, and even a free city on its own! Lots of history here, even before the Soviets leave.

Larry and I checked out the old part of town. The architecture is amazing almost matching some cities like Amsterdam, Copenhagen and other Baltic sites. We hit a cafe for dessert and hot drinks because it has been gray all day and the rain has steadily strengthened. Since it gets dark at 3:30 in the afternoon, it seems as the whole day is like a long evening!

Tomorrow our conference starts. 25 Polish teachers are coming to be trained for Civic Voices. Each will learn how to train their students to find civic activists from the 70s and 80s, interview them with video cameras, and upload the video and transcript to the Civic Voices Website. This will create (over the next few years) an International Democracy Memory Bank to be enjoyed, researched, and used by all those in the future who have a stake in democratic principles! I think the project is so special and profound. Deep implications lie here!

Training to Gdynia

Today was all about traveling north to Gdynia. Gdynia is farther north of Gdansk on the Baltic Sea.
I got up at 8:00 and ran a couple of miles. From Soviet times, they built roads with wide walkways on either side of the streets for pedestrians. It makes a great place to run without knowing where you are. I started at the hotel near the CADILLAC dealer - who would have guessed that GM is selling Caddies to Poles? I run towards the center of Warsaw and return. It makes life easy...EXCEPT that I had one of those Soviet moments. I have heard of a movie that Russians watch on New Year's Eve about a bunch of guys who get drunk and decide to play a joke on one their more inebriated fellows. They put him on a train and send him to a different city. He doesn't notice. He gets off the train at what he thinks is his stop. He doesn't notice anything is wrong. He walks to his apartment building (they all look the same all over Russia from Soviet times). He doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary. He takes the elevator to his flat, goes in and crashes until the next morning....all in the wrong city that looks the same as all the other cities.
Well, there are two hotels in Warsaw that look exactly the same. When I came back from my run yesterday, I went to the wrong one. I didn't notice anything was different. I took the elevator up to my floor. I looked for my room, but couldn't find the right number in the right place. It was good I hadn't had anything to drink that morning. So, it finally dawned on me that I must be in the wrong place. But for a minute I was reliving that movie which is entitled, "The Irony of Fate". Some day I will actually get a copy and watch it. It probably isn't funny with subtitles anyway!

The breakfast room was empty of people this morning. The conference was over and they all must have gone back home to work on Monday (today). So we had the breakfast buffet to ourselves.

I packed and got ready to leave for the train station. We taxied to the station around noon. We bought sandwiches, snacks, and water at the station. The train was about 15 minutes late and we had a struggle getting all of our luggage in our compartment. One lady with less luggage found another empty compartment so that we could have room for all of our luggage. The train was slow and showed mostly farmland of northern Poland. It got dark at 4:00 and then I continued reading the next hundred pages of The Last Symbol. Monika's dad and boyfriend were waiting to help us with our luggage and to drive us to Monika's home. I rode wtih Vyshek (sp?) who spoke no English. He did speak a little Russian so we attempted to converse with a smattering of Russian. That didn't last very long, much to my dismay. Use it or lose it. I think I've lost much of what I had learned!

Monika lives on the outskirts of the town of Gdynia. She has a lovely little house where she lives with her 16 year old daughter, Magda and her 7-year-old son. Her father had prepared a dinner of turkey casserole with peaches - it was very good - potatoes, a ham and pasta salad, and homemade vodka in two varieties! We spent the evening watching a Polish-made film that received an Oscar nomination last year about the Katyn Forest Masssacre of Poles by the Soviets at the beginning of WW II. THE saddest story of the war possibly, because even after the war, the truth was buried - literally - and the Soviets tried to blame it on the Germans. Great film, excellent actors, very graphic ending of course. Film called "Katyn".

Monika was very pleased to show us the banner that she had made for our conference and the signs and posters that she will post outside the conference room. Civic Voices is proudly displayed with all the countries partaking in the program! Nice!