• Could you tell us something about you?

I am a 19 year-old sophomore university student from Atlanta, GA currently working towards an Art Degree. I speak both English and Spanish fluently.

• Why did you decide to come to Poland?

I am very well connected to my Mother’s culture from Colombia but have been very disconnected to my father’s side. My great-grandmother, Frania Tye-Lee was originally from Poland but then moved to America at the young age of 7 and grew up in a very traditionally Polish household. I felt the need to get to know that part of my family line better.

• What do you think about working as a teacher? What are the biggest differences between the school systems in Poland and in the USA?

Working as a teacher can be very stressful, especially with a language barrier, but at times it can be extremely rewarding when you see the students making progress and becoming enthusiastic in class. I don’t think that there is truly that much of a difference between the two school systems. What we would consider Middle School or Junior-High (Gimnazium) lasts much longer than in the American school systems. For us Middle School only lasts between the ages of 11-14. We also have big standardized tests (that usually differ in between states) like the Matura in Poland

• What are your plans for the future?

My current plans are to get through College while gaining as much experience as I can for the future. I am still early into my college career so I can’t say what my definite life plan is, though I hope to figure it out this semester.

• What's your opinion about Poland? (What you like, what seems strange)

I have loved nearly everything about Poland. I had no real expectations so everything came as a surprise to me. It’s a very unique country with very different areas. I’ve been to the north in Gdansk and Sopot, the middle in Warsaw, and in the south all over Małopolska. The sights have been amazing, especially in the mountains of Zakopane and within Wawel Castle. There is a bit of a difference in the social culture here than in America, for example how people greet each other. I’ve had my hand kissed more times than I can count now which has never happened to me before coming here.

• How are you going to use your Polish experience? What memories will you take with you to the States?

While teaching English I have ended up learning a lot of Polish.  I hope to continue learning once I return to the United States. Not many people in America are trilingual with Polish being one of their languages. I also hope to bring back my time visiting concentration camps here such as Stutthoff and Auschwitz. I’ve seen documentaries about them but nothing compares to actually being there. During my great-grandmothers later years, around the age of 95, she had severe dementia and she returned to her time during World War 2 where she had to watch her home country be torn apart from a far. I now feel I have a better understanding of her troubles even though I was too young and she was too old for us to ever have a proper conversation.