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Back from mah trippp!


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So I don't exactly have pictures that I took myself, I'll have to steal some from facebook. I had with my camera with me, but then I lost it at O'Hare. I friggin' left it on the plane! Couldn't believe it...I was tired and out of it. But that was the only thing that managed to get lost (thankfully).

 

I flew from LAX to O'Hare, then to Warsaw. Then we took a short flight to Kraków. Instead of checking in at the hotel, we went straight to Oświęcim (Auschwitz). Honestly, words can't describe the horrors that transpired that. Yeah, I mean you might know a lot from reading about it and such, but it doesn't quite have the same effect as actually being there. The experience was quite sobering.

 

We got back into Kraków Tuesday night (July 20th), and after dumping our belongings at the hotel, we decided to hit the city. And what a city it is. Our hotel was a five minute walk from the main square, so I was able to see the beauty of Kraków at night. That place is party central...there was a club or bar every other shop it seemed. After wondering around the city for a couple of hours, I went back to the hotel and crashed. Wednesday was orientation with the JV team, and I spent the rest of the day shopping and exploring the city.

 

Stealing a pic from wikipedia...here's a nice shot of the main square in Kraków.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Collage_of_views_of_Cracow.PNG

 

Thursday we took a bus up to Szczecin. Little did I know that it would take us 12 hours to get there. It was by far the worse day of the trip, not because of how long it took. It was because there was 20 some people crammed into this bus. Well, it was more like a van. Either way it was turrible.

 

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs152.snc4/36946_141554969197473_100000289135487_342739_1623950_n.jpg

 

I mean, look at that! I couldn't fit my legs in the seat I was in...I had to sit sideways and stick them out into the aisle.

 

Friday was spent getting ready for the camp. It was at this elementary school that was being renovated, so we had some work to do before camp started on Saturday. We also met with the Polish church who we've partnered with for this camp. They helped us prepare for the coming week.

 

Camp started on Saturday, and we had a grand total of 13 campers. Fairly small, but it worked out well. Pretty much all of the campers were girls (what boy would want to spend a week of his summer learning English?), but it was cool. I had my first day of teaching that day, and I used it to get to know my students. Since I was teaching the advanced class, all of them could speak English quite well, but there was quite a few vocabulary words and idioms they didn't know.

 

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs251.snc4/39901_149299845083578_100000106890973_462860_2601690_n.jpg

 

Sunday through the next Saturday was how long the camp lasted. Every day was incredibly long...I'd be up at 6:30, leave for the tram at 7:30. Got to the school at 8, classes started at 10:30. We'd break for lunch, and come back for another hour of lessons. Then we had some free time until 4, when we did sports and games. That'd last until about 6, when we'd break for dinner. After dinner was the evening program, and discussion groups. After discussion groups it was time for the theme of the night. We did western, Hawaiian, disco, and circus. They were a blast, and it really connected everyone together.

 

On Wednesday (July 28th), there was no classes and instead we had an amazing race. I was all over Szczecin, and being able to see the entire city like that was amazing. The race ended at a lake, where we had a BBQ, went swimming, and just hung out. Good times.

 

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs128.ash2/39753_149299435083619_100000106890973_462840_8303656_n.jpg

 

We went to a soccer field nearby, and we watched a troupe perform an act for us using fire. Super cool.

 

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs213.snc4/38998_149299561750273_100000106890973_462846_2806280_n.jpg

 

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs233.snc4/38998_149299571750272_100000106890973_462849_1094737_n.jpg

 

Friday evening we had an event called the "Labyrinth". It was set up so that you could reflect on your life, the relationships in them, and about God. The end result of that, and of the rest of the week leading into it, was phenomenal. To see the Polish youth group, who was once divisive and bitter towards each other, united along with the campers and our American team? All giving praise to the same God, in different languages? It was by far the best experience of the camp, and on that note, probably the best I've ever witnessed. Truly incredible.

 

Saturday was the final day of camp, and it was a bitter-sweet end. I'm already missing all of the wonderful people I've met over there, but it was such an amazing experience. Without a doubt I'm going back again next year.

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Glad to see you enjoyed yourself, Kyle.

 

 

That's just one of those rare things you get to experience once or twice in your life that you'll remember forever. Cherish it, man.

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Oh yeah, I saw a huge billboard for Marcin Gortat while over there. It was on one of the buildings on the way to the school. He was like doing a milk advertisement, or something. Pretty cool.

lol nice. Sounds like a great trip, especially that "amazing race" thing, where you got to explore the whole city. I love the way those big European cities look, really beautiful, can't wait to go to Europe someday.

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