Shopping, Schmoozing, and Livin' the Good Life (food, that is)

Today, I slept in a bit and was down for breakfast by 8:00. Breakfast was much the same as yesterday, with a few different meats and some Polish sausages (much like hot dogs). After breakfast, we had a few minutes to check email, catch up on work, or prepare for our lectures before meeting Gretchena.

Gretchena came at 10:00 to take us to go get a public transit ticket for the week and to do a little shopping downtown before our lectures to Stan's doctoral students and the dean of his department. We chatted with Gretchena along the walk and trolley ride and had the opportunity to see a few places we'll try to check out again before we leave. Gretchena took us to a department store, much like those in Germany, where there is a bakery, confectionery, and market in the basement. Upstairs, there were several shops, including a book shop, children's store, something similar to Pottery Barn, and even a Starbucks (yes, they truly are everywhere). I took advantage of the bookstore to purchase a copy of The Alchemist in Polish to share with my students and Doug. Gretchena explained, after I managed to describe the book to her, that Paulo Coelho is a very popular author here in Poland because of his views on independence and he writes a column for a women's magazine here each week. She had read The Alchemist (or Alchemik in Polish) and enjoyed it greatly. So, it will be fun to share this bit of information with my students when I return. Sara and I found several lovely scarves that street vendors were selling, but we managed to find some less expensive in another part of town that we will pick up tomorrow. We also browsed the jewelry stores, since Sara is a jewelry hound, and enjoyed the stocking and socks shops, where they have all the colors of the rainbow in all types of patterns. When we finished shopping, Gretchena surprised us with chocolates filled with buttery cookies and chocolate mousse... wonderful!

Then, she took us to the pedagogy building where we met Stan, his doctoral students, and the dean of his department. Here, we gave a lecture to these students to explain the basis of the project that we hope to build with them, demonstrate the program, and the pedagogical rationale behind it (my portion of the lecture). We are quickly discovering that students and professors/teachers in Poland are accustomed to lecture style lessons where students have very little discussion. The basis of ASU's social constructivist approach is very different, so meshing the two could prove to be a challenge. Stan seems dedicated to doing what is best for his students, and does not seem to want or need to climb the career ladder at the university, so that bodes well for the success of the project. Matheusz and Gretchena also seem to see the drawbacks of their traditional approach and are open to incorporating new ideas and a more social constructivist model to their teaching. (Both were teachers in public schools here prior to entering the doctoral program, which is not the norm here. So, they explained that it is tough to learn how to teach from someone who does little more than lecture. They are truly excited to learn from us and want to do what will be best for their future students.)

After the lectures, we went with the dean to a traditional Polish restaurant where we had borscht, a soup of chicken and beet broth with meat filled dumplings. Gretchena explained that this is a traditional holiday soup, and at Christmas, it is served with wild mushroom filled dumplings, rather than meat. After the soup, we had breaded pork chops with sauted mushrooms, saurkraut, and boiled potatoes. (Are you seeing a theme here? I'm beginning to crave a salad! Though it's all quite tasty.) Dessert was cheesecake or a chocolate and poppyseed roll (much like a pumpkin roll with cream cheese). (Again, since we were with the dean, it seemed too formal an occasion to take pictures of the food.) Coffee was served at the end of the meal to finish things off in a traditional manner.

From here, we went to meet with some of Stan's colleagues for an informal discussion. For this, Gretchena's mother had made a traditional apple cake, which was sooo tasty. (I asked for the recipe, so hopefully I can get it!) It had a bottom layer of cake like a short bread, then a layer of apples, almost like apple butter, and then a layer of buttery crumbly goodness. (Like my favorite pastry in Germany.) They also served hot tea and coffee with this, so we all opted to skip dinner tonight, since the late lunch was so heavy. Sara and I had an excellent conversation with Matheusz and Gretchena about their program, interests, family, and professional goals. We were also able to help answer some questions for Matheusz about the program we've been using for virtual collaboration and have developed an outline for him to use with his students in the space. We'll create that space for him tonight and try to help him get comfortable in the space before we leave. Since has has a graphic design background, learning Google Sketchup should be no problem for him, so I think he'll excel with using the program with his students.

(As a side note, the weather has been unusually warm, Matheusz says, and we're seeing the beginnings of the Polish "golden autumn" as the trees turn a brilliant golden yellow. The temperature did drop significantly throughout the day today, and we had a sprinkling of rain, but overall, it's been nice. It sounds like we may get rain tomorrow and some snow later in the week.)

After the dessert and tea/coffee, we took a short walk back to the hotel for the evening. We passed a bakery and a small convenience market on the way, so we may visit the bakery sometime before we leave. It would be nice to have something to take to the airport for the return flight. For the rest of the night, I'll listen to a Radio Lab podcast or NPR via the web, work on some National Boards stuff, and turn in relatively early. Tomorrow promises to be another filled day.