Warsaw

Well, I'm in Warsaw, Poland now. Out the window is a large concrete building and more large concrete buildings, which is basically my first impression of Poland. Large grassy areas and big, project-like apartment complexes all looking exactly the same. Good beer though. I woke up early this morning after a long flight from Seattle (10 hours) to Copenhagen. The flight was nice, but I was too tired to take advantage of the in-flight cameras and movies. Last night wasn't terribly exciting though, a few of the guys and I went to a grocery store to buy some beverages, and I had a "lost in translation" moment when trying to get correct change to the lady. Polish is a pretty interesting language, and despite my best efforts I've still forgotten the correct way of pronouncing "thank you".

The city definately still bears the scars of the soviet occupation. Essentially Warsaw was largely destroyed during World War II by the occupying Germans, and as a result the city is full of wide streets and sidewalks and soviet-style apartment buildings lining the streets. Where we're staying (The Mercure Frederick Chopin) is on one of these streets, surrounded by more modern architecture thanks to foreign capital and investment flowing into the city at the moment. One of the free travel guides promises a decent nightlife, so I'll be sure to get in on that tonight.

The plan for us intrepid choir singers today is to tour the city until this afternoon, when around 6 we have a concert at a large church downtown. Should be alot of fun and an interesting experience. I forgot the name of the church, but it looked pretty cool fromthe bus window. More on that after it happens.

That's all for now. Pretty spartan entry, I know, but it'll improve with time ;-).

Cheers

-Nate

The Future!

Hey all. Once again it's been too long since my last update, but I will be keeping this thing updated pretty regularly now since it saves me time from mass-emailing and is just a nice way to keep my thoughts down for posterity.

As of last Sunday I am now a graduate of Whitman College with my Bachelor's degree in History, and a minor in education. My journey to this point would not have been possible without the support I've gotten from my friends, family, and the faculty at Whitman (especially the History and Education departments). Thanks to all of you if you read this, without you I wouldn't be where I am.

For the next two years I will be teaching choir in Lake Village, Arkansas for Teach For America (TFA). TFA is a program that puts qualified college graduates into underperforming schools to close the achievement gap that is prevalent in our school systems. While America professes a free and equal education for all, the sad reality is that this is not the case as racial and class prejudices exist that prevent certain groups from achieving as well as others. The goal of the program is then to take steps to close this gap, and I'm pretty excited to be a part of that.

Of course, I have a ways to go in the next few months as far as "learning the ropes" of being an effective teacher. I have to learn how to conduct a choir effectively, set up a set of goals, rules, and policies so I don't fall into the classic "Ahh, it's choir..the classic period to just hang out." Nope, not gonna happen in my classroom.

Before all of this, in fact, in two days, I'll be touring with the Whitman College Chamber Singers around Eastern Europe. We're starting in Warsaw and then heading down to Krakow, Wraclaw, and ending in Prague singing at various churches along the way. I'm pretty excited, but the daunting task that lies ahead this summer is overshadowing alot of this excitement at the moment. Once I return to Spokane from the trip, I have 5 days to get to Houston, so Aunt Annie, my intrepid travel companion, will be driving to Houston.

So between now and August when I'll stand confidently in front of a classroom (fingers crossed), I have a trip to Eastern Europe, packing to finish up, a long road trip, and an intense summer institute to overcome before I'm in that position. Add to that two standardized tests and it's gonna be lots of fun ;-).

Wish me luck, and I'll keep this updated.

Cheers,

-Nate