Wroclaw-My new home :-)

The first photo is of a nicer part of town! I love how they paint the buildings. In some areas the buildings are still mainly grey and since the weather has changed (cold, wet and.... grey) it can get a little gloomy. I also love the cobblestone streets.


The second picture is of the First Baptist Chruch. On the same block as my home and the school. The thing I enjoyed about the Church service was the greetings people brought from other Churches. In Europe if you visit a Church they will often send their greetings back to your home Church. It is a great way to remember about the wider Church family.

Wroclaw is built on many rivers and is sometimes called the Venice of Poland! No one really know how many bridges there are. Guide books say about 148. The patron saint is John the Baptist (so you see many heads on plates around town) and it is also famous for the dwarves (little statues can be seen in interesting places around the city).

The history of Wroclaw is really diverse as the area has been owned by 3 or 4 different countries! I live in a less lovely part of town. Much of my area was destroyed during the war which means many of the buildings standing where built during communist times so are big, functional but grey. I do live in a city!!! So many HUGE apartment blocks (but there are also many parks and ovely things to see)

Last night a Polish lady who goes to the first Baptist Church and learns English at our school took us around town. It was GREAT to go with a local. We would go up dark alley ways and then down steep steps into basements that turned into Jazz clubs or up a narrow flight of stairs which opened into a gorgeous tea room. Places I would have never thought to explore hold the most amazing treasures.


I have 2 housemates now. Becky from the UK and Victoria from the Ukraine. Both have taught before and both are of a similar nature-gentle spirits. It is funny because 2 new American teachers have arrived and also a couple from America (who I've adopted as grandparents) who are here as pastoral care for 4 months have all been put in the same section of the building.

People have strange ideas about Australia. One person thought it is in the Northern Hemisphere and another thought it was part of Europe! I am usually asked if I am from England or America (they can't place my accent) and they are quite suprised to hear I am from Australia as it is so far away for them and would cost an entire 4 months wages to visit.


Oh, I almost forgot. I had my first formal Polish lesson today. It was a lot of fun!! I am told that Polish is the second most difficult language in the world for a native English speaker to learn but I am communicating well with some words and some non verbal and written help. I even enjoy going to the post office (which most people do not enjoy!) the ladies there have always been very helpful to me and I haven't had any problems with them yet!


I've got to get some sleep, team day tomorrow so I get to meet all the teachers!
Love Keren