Michele Rast first from left |
W tym roku, by otrzymać Diploma in Languages zapisała się na studia języka polskiego studentka Michele Deborah Rast. Spełniając kryteria otrzymała stypendium rodziny Państwa Skrzyńskich i pojechała do Krakowa. Studenci po przyjeździe dzielą się po polsku lub angielsku swoimi wrażeniami ze mną, a ja z kolei dzielę się za ich zezwoleniem z Państwem.
Andrzej Siedlecki
In July this year I attended the Szkoła Języka i Kultury polskiej, at Jagiellonian University in Kraków. It was possible for me to attend because I received the HENRYK SKRZYŃSKI MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP as I am enrolled in the Department of International Studies at Macquarie University. It was a privilege to have this opportunity to live and study in Kraków. My family on my Father’s side live in Warsaw. They were amazed that such an opportunity existed for me, and that I could visit Poland again. My husband and I visited Poland for the first time last year to meet my Auntie, my three female cousins and my male cousin for the first time.
My family has been separated for over 60 years because my father was captured by the Germans in 1943 in Warsaw, and sent to Germany to work as a slave labourer at the Lanz factory in Manheim. After the war he was unable to return to Poland because he was classified as a displaced person. He migrated to Australia in 1950 and since then he has not had contact with his family in Warsaw. In 2009, my cousin, who speaks English, found my father’s displaced person records on the internet and realised he was in Australia. He called every person with our surname in Australia. His last call was to Dad’s home in Adelaide! As my father is too old to travel to Poland now, I went in his place. My family in Warsaw are very happy that I am learning Polish.
The School of Polish Language and Culture places each foreign student in the correct class for their level of language proficiency. I had completed only one course of Polish language, so I was at the beginner’s level. Both written and oral, were done on the first day and helped the teachers decide where each student fits. There were nearly 400 students from around the world attending the summer school. On the first evening, a welcoming ceremony took place in the Collegium Novum: the oldest part of Jagiellonian University. We were given a tour of the museum in this building and the long history of the University was explained to us. Just to be in such a magnificent building was a fantastic experience.
My teachers were Pani Dorota and Pani Joanna. On the first day we were given textbooks, and I was thrilled that our grammar teacher had written one of these textbooks. The language classes were given in the mornings, from 8.30 am to 1.30pm, and in the afternoons I attended lectures by Professor Aledsandra Arkusz on the History of Poland. This was a fascinating lecture series, running for three weeks, covering the full history of Poland. In the evenings another program was offered by the school which was fun and engaging. Students could attend cultural events such as a Polish wedding, making “Pierogies”, preparing the Christmas Eve feast, seeing Polish films or going to Jazz concerts in the old town.
Eight students in my classes; two from the USA, two from Canada, one from the Ukraine, one from the Philippines and myself from Australia. I am a mature-age student, and they were all under 25, but it didn’t matter as we were all at the same level of speaking and understanding Polish. We had a lot of fun learning about each other’s interests and daily routines by asking each other questions in Polish. The course covered areas such as introductions, interests, daily routines, food and drink, ordering at restaurants, and everyday conversations. The material presented to students was well designed and had evolved over many years of working with foreigners learning Polish. All of my classmates had Polish parents, grandparents or family. The emphasis was on fun, and we had many songs, quizzes, simple poems and dances to keep us all in a positive frame of mind. The teachers were great at conveying what they were saying without using any English – sometimes with hilarious results!
I lived in the Piast Hotel Studencki, which had a great atmosphere with students from all over the world. There was a post office, bar and restaurant in the foyer, and living there was an experience I’ll never forget.
Finally, we sat our written exam and had our oral test, and were sent to get ready for the farewell ceremony. The director of the School, Dr. Piotr Horbatowski presented us with our graduation certificates during a large event for Program C, (the three week program). Each class performed a short play or poem followed by a party and dancing to complete the night. I was sad to say goodbye to the volunteers who helped us, the teachers and my fellow students from around the world. The city of Kraków is very beautiful and it was fascinating to walk around the old town and the old Jewish area. The School also organised excursions every weekend. I enjoyed the tour of the Old Town, visited Wawel Castle, and went to the Pieniny Mountains to go rafting down the Dunajec river. I am still in touch with my colleagues from the School of Polish Language and Culture through FaceBook.
I call my cousins in Warsaw every week now and it makes me happy that I am able to speak a little Polish with them. This summer I would like to record my Father’s history in both English and Polish so that his experience of growing up in Warsaw in the 1930’s, surviving WW2 and migrating to Australia are documented.
Michele Rast
| 
