January 2020

Winter break has ended and things are back to normal in Katowice, Poland. Which means my timetable is full with TEFL teaching English as a foreign language. As for teaching children I am currently working on a geography project. Using flashcards, new vocabulary cards, videos, documentaries, animal figures and songs. The purpose is to teach the children about the six continents – Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Antarctica and Australia. Each month we choose a different continent to look at in more detail – currently its Antarctica.

It’s my job to find material which can be shown to the children and increase their knowledge of the continent. They are too young to understand hot topics like climate change, however, they can learn the names of animals, for example, the life cycle of a penguin, animals that live on land, in water or air. An idea I had was to teach them about recycling and combine it with forrest days out to a park which is close to the school.

Life abroad

In other news, I took part in a running competition in a neighbouring city 80 km away from Katowice. It was the ‘Count with diabetes and learn first aid’ as part of the Great Orchestra of Christmas help charity 12/01/20 (similar to Red Nose day in the UK).

Ukraine

Recently I visited Warsaw for a short trip and only last weekend I travelled to Odessa, Ukraine for the weekend. I wanted to learn more about Ukraine and find out any possibilities of TEFL teaching English as a foreign language in the country. I had a successful interview with a private language school in Odessa.

Overall, my time in Odessa was great! Learning a lot about the country during my short stay, how open, friendly and giving they are. In fact, I had some of my own unique adventures too. On public transport buses – you pay when you exit rather than enter. Something new to me. I found it interesting how passengers tap you on the shoulder asking you to pass a load of money in notes and request for their stop to the front of the driver and then pass back the change. There’s no stop button or announcement, but it works. In my opinion, it’s a sign of trust and respect, strangers have to communicate with one another.

Stray dogs and cats can be spotted in the city. I saw a homeless man throwing some bread to a dog that was resting under a car.

I visited the memorial to the heroic defence of Odessa – 411th Battery open-air free museum.

My next trip will be to Georgia in April.