Pam Miller in Poland
International Happenings - School of Social Work
Pam Miller, Professor of Social Work, is spending 2009 in Poland through a University Scholar Grant by the Portland Metro Rotary Club and District 5100 of Rotary International. Here's her blog -- most recent entries shown first. Click on any image below for a larger version.
- Final notes --
Here is a faculty meeting that we had in early May. We went to a restaurant with an outdoor cafe (there are many in Krakow) and it was quite pleasant. However, I am not privy to the true business of the School because I do not speak Polish. The faculty members have been very welcoming, some have invited both Russ and I into their homes, and we have had some interesting discussions about our common social problems and how to tackle them, both in Poland and the United States.
The last picture, in some ways, sums up my sabbatical. I am about to pour hot fudge over a beautiful sundae. I can capture the physical part of the food in the picture, as well as the delight on my face as I begin to pour the chocolate. But, I can't put all of the pleasure into words, and once the sundae is eaten, the memory of it is wonderful, but the experience is finished. I have had such a remarkable time here in Poland. I have been stretched and challenged and tried to meet the barriers with grace and patience, probably two traits I need to continue to strengthen. I thank Rotary International for this opportunity and I look forward to sharing my stories with all of you at the School of Social Work. See you in September.
- Classes and taking a lecture on the road --
My classes will finish on June 4. Although very challenging at times, I think they have gone well. In the international class, students are giving presentations and they have done a great job, particularly since they have to speak in front of others in English as a second or maybe third language. The topics have been really interesting: sex work in Austria, women's rights in India and Turkey, the United Nations Human Rights Council, slavery in current times, human rights and religion, domestic violence in Spain. I learned a lot!!!! The end-of-life course has been very interesting and the topic of advance care planning has sparked lots of discussion.
Last week, I went to Opole University to give a talk on health and social work, with some emphasis on current perspectives on the U.S. health system. I have included a picture of Dr. Krzysztof (Kris) Frysztacki, my colleague and mentor at UJ, who interpreted the talk. Professor Frysztacki has been a gracious host and I will miss him very much. We stayed overnight in Opole and I have included a picture of the Villa Academia, Opole University's guest house, where we spent the night. It is a charming castle-like place and I slept well.
- The Students have fun at Juwenalia Festival --
I said in my last entry that students would take over Krakow during Juwenalia...and it sure seemed that way. With 200,000 students in the city, they hit the streets for parades, music, fun and dancing. These two made very creative costumes for the opening ceremony when the mayor hands over symbolic keys to Krakow. All universities canceled classes on this day!
On a more somber note, the University, and specifically the department where I am teaching, lost a faculty member due to cancer. The tradition is to fly a black flag (see picture) over the entrance to the School. This is to alert all who enter about the death as well as to honor the person who died. There was also an obituary, placed in a black frame, posted at different places in the school.
- A Cemetery and a Dragon --
After visiting the Kosciuszko Mound (see previous post), I stopped in at the Zwierzyniecki Cemetery. As I have said before, I cannot resist checking out cemeteries. There were two funerals going on and I noticed that the names of those being buried that day were posted at the entrance. There was a short note about each of them, mostly about their role in family and community.
The other picture is of Smok, the fire breathing dragon that guards the Wawel castle. This is a bronze statute by a contemporary sculptor Bronislaw Chromy. It is said that the dragon eats sheep and you can see that children like to visit this place.
My classes are going along and I still feel somewhat ambivalent about them. The best way to describe this is to say that my gauges are all off. It's like flying in a fog or being on sand that shifts. This continues to be somewhat unsettling yet at the same time it seems beneficial and really stretches me. It is difficult or almost impossible for me to know where the students are with the classroom materials since we don't have a shared culture. This really has a huge influence in the classroom and yet this also creates opportunity for some very rich discussions. In mid-May, there is a student carnival called Juvenalia where students take over the city for four days and three nights. Stay tuned...
- Spring arrives in Poland --
Hello! The flowers are blooming and the trees are popping out quickly. I did not realize how spoiled I had become with Portland's winter. Yes, I have heard that it was cold in Oregon and I know there was a lot of snow. However, growing up in Ohio and living in Iowa helped me understand real winter. Being in Poland was a bit like the Midwest at times although the locals say this was a very mild winter. So perceptions are generally a matter of perspective!
I have included a picture of the building where the Institute of Applied Sociology and Social Work is housed. It used to be a Jesuit Monastery and very briefly a court building for the city of Krakow. The two churches are St. Peter and Paul's Church (the one with the large facade) and St. Andrew's with the two towers. These are right by my school on Grodzka Street. This is part of the Royal Way...when important people entered the city when it was completely walled a few hundred years ago they walked down this street to the Wawel Castle.
There is a picture of people on a hill and this is called Kosciuszko Mound. It was difficult to take a photo of this. This mound was built between 1820 and 1823 by volunteers who brought soil from all over Poland (and from the U.S.) to honor this man who fought for Polish independence. The views from the top are impressive. - Winter holds on while classes begin -- March 23, 2009
As you can see from the picture taken from our apartment window, the first day of spring was much the same. We have needed full winter gear every day so far. Hopefully spring will arrive soon. Down on the main market square, the restaurants and cafes have their outdoor tables and chairs in piles ready to be arranged. I have to hope that this means warmer weather and some sunshine are coming at some point.
We are now in the 5th week of the semester. How did that happen? Time is going by so quickly. I am teaching two courses: one on end-of-life and palliative care and one on international social work. Some of my students are in the ERASMUS program, named after a 15th century Dutch scholar. This encourages students from all of the 27 member nations of the European Union to go to different countries for undergraduate and graduate education. It is a challenge and an honor to have so many different languages and cultures and backgrounds together in the classroom, although we all speak English. I find that the students are well-informed and curious overall and are quick to point out that there are many ways to view the topics at hand. I am absolutely on my toes!!!!
I have attached a picture of the office hours for our faculty for this semester. My hours are given in English and in Polish. I have also attached a picture of a poster from a conference that took place on Friday the 20th. It was about violence against the elderly and was coordinated by the Austrian Red Cross with partners in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Portugal. This project is sponsored by the Daphne program and funded by the European Commission. I sat on a panel for this conference and had an interpreter. - Fat Thursday -- February 24, 2009
Here is a picture of two methods of transportation available in Krakow. As you can see, winter holds on. It was very cold last week...only a bit above zero. And of course, the food portion of this blog: February 19th was fat Thursday here in Poland and so as Lent approaches, this day is for eating lots of these donuts (poczki) shown in the picture. I did my civic duty! - Rotary meeting in Warsaw, Uprising Museum -- February 23, 2009
As part of my Rotary support, I attend Rotary meetings in Krakow and other clubs in this district. On the 19th of February, I attended the meeting of Rotary Club Warszawa (Warsaw) Jozefow. I gave a short presentation about my award and what I will do while in Poland, and then exchanged a flag from my sponsor club in Portland with the President of this club, Malgorzata Kwiatkowska (please see picture).
While in Warsaw, we visited the newly opened Uprising Museum that documents the underground wartime movement (the Home Army) to take back Warsaw and Poland in 1944. Nearly 200,000 people were killed in just over two months. Warsaw was almost totally destroyed. The oral narratives from those who experienced the uprising have been a priority for the museum founders. These were very moving. I have attached a picture from the museum that explains a bit about secret university classes that were part of the legacy here after the war. - Greetings to all from Krakow, Poland! -- February 09, 2009
We arrived in Krakow on a snowy and cold evening right after the New Year. On the Sunday after we arrived, we discovered that the first Sunday after the New Year is a day called Wielka Orkiestra Swiatecznej Pomocy or the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. Celebrities and communities make music of all kinds to raise money for children's medical needs. Then in the evening, there are huge firework displays all over the country.
It is hard to believe that we have been here now for five weeks. Our apartment or "flat" is perfect -- a one-bedroom on the fourth floor of a building about a 10 minute walk to the Old Town and to the University Jagiellonian. There is an open air market just steps away and I have become more comfortable going there and practicing my very poor Polish. So I count out the kiwis (to the amusement of the man selling them) and count out the number of stems of tulips I would like to buy. This experience makes me acutely aware of the challenges of language and culture.
I have met several colleagues from the Institute of Applied Sociology and Social Work. And get this - hang on to your hats - I went to a faculty meeting at 5:00 p.m. on a Friday night. Luckily I was excused (although invited to stay, of course) after introductions and some discussion as the rest of the meeting would be conducted in Polish. This makes a Friday morning meeting somewhat more appealing. This will probably be one of the very few times I was glad I could not understand much of the language!
I have attached a few pictures. One is taken in a cemetery in Zakopane, the winter capital of Poland. It certainly lived up to that reputation with all of the snow! This village is about 65 miles south of Krakow in the Tatra Mountains. I cannot resist a good cemetery and this one was quite unique. The grave markers were made of wood and very ornate, much like chess set pieces. The picture of several people is my Polish class at the School of Polish Language and Culture. It is an intensive course for two weeks with 3 hours per day in class. We represent many countries: Israel, Russia, U.S., Scotland, Ireland, Spain, and Germany. Our professor is a hoot and also very good. I think I have learned a few tips from him about good teaching. It is always interesting to be on the other side of the classroom. I have also included a picture of a plate of pierogi filled with plums and topped with just a smidge of butter and sugar. Now that's living!
