Work's Out!!

Milly in the school garden

The week in the forest signaled the end of my time as kindergarten assistant and native speaker.  I did much more miming and grunting than native speaking, especially in the beginning anyway!  I got to know the kids in my own way and them me I suppose, as much as you can get to know someone without being able to communicate very well.  It had it’s ups and downs and many cases of the “what the’s??” but it was a fantastic experience with lots of laughs as well as frustrations, and giggles in the corridors with English Emma sharing our “what the??” stories!  Positive memories are of working with those kids who were super enthusiastic about learning English words; being able to share delicious organic freshly cooked meals everyday with the kids and marveling at how well they eat (not sure if it’s to do with the fact that they eat their main meal in the middle of the day compared to our kids getting used to eating vegemite sandwiches and fruit sticks for lunch, but 3 year olds eating plates of salad and vegetables and pretty much anything that was put in front of them, and it was all healthy stuff apart from the odd lasagna or pizza, was common);  making nature craft out of things found in the woods or the park; having Amelia and Noah there and being able to see them in the garden at playtime; the lovely songs we sang for each season, especially at Christmas and in winter, with the teacher playing guitar in the morning circle (even though I couldn’t understand them!); and the view from the classroom!  It didn’t feel like work to me.  It was stressful and difficult with the language sometimes and it was tiring doing so many hours but it just felt like something I did every day to fill in the morning.  And I still can’t believe I turned up in a foreign country, not being able to speak the language, and landed a job as nice as that, instead of having to do cleaning or something similar which is what I was expecting.  So for that I’m very grateful.

Maciek hard at work

Maciek finished two days after me.  His experience was different to mine, and a lot tougher.  Whereas I was surrounded by the same people every day enabling me to build on my language skills, with people who knew I couldn’t speak German and made allowances, Maciek worked in different places; hotels, hospitals, shops, peoples’ houses.  And being a tiler often worked alone or with one other, and encountered different people every day.  It was especially hard working in public places like the hospital with people walking by him all day stopping to ask questions or comment on his work.  The work was heavy and tough and the hours were long (and the pay was crap!)  But he gained a lot of respect for his colleagues for their highly skilled workmanship, and he has learnt lots from them which has given him a fresh outlook on his profession to take home with him.   As a thankyou and goodbye his boss arranged an outing for the team to the Hornpark, a high ropes climbing course through the trees, with dinner and drinks afterwards.  A really nice thing to do.  One of Macieks work mates told him “the boss must have really liked you as he’s never done that for anyone ever before!”  Quite a compliment then!  He started working 3 weeks after we arrived here, which is also unbelievable and something we are grateful for.  Without these jobs we would never have been able to stay here for as long as we have.

Ready for a climb (Maciek 4th from left)

Finishing work was a milestone on our countdown to returning home.  We knew once we’d finished work the following few weeks would fly by!  Still nearly a month behind on my posts but I’m slowly catching up now we’re on holidays.  I’m determined to be up to date by the time we head to Poland next week…..