ASW science on YouTube

Before I head of to play some adult recreational league basketball, I thought I would try posting my first video. Today in science, we had fun with fire. I posted the vid on YouTube. Check it out (copy and paste the address into your browser):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzmxwEAZcpo

I would directly link to it but then my students would be able to find my blog. Not a good idea!

There wasn't anymore excitement to my winter break other than watching the Ireland vs. England rugby match at Jimmy O'Bradley's Irish Pub. I'm firmly convinced that there is no such thing as a fire code in the city of Warsaw. This bar was packed with Irish and English ex-pats singing their respective anthems with boozy enthusiasm. I don't know the words to "God Save The Queen" or "The Fields of Athenry" but chose to root for Ireland since they make such great whisky. The boys in green came away with an historic victory, scoring 6 tries on the visitors for a 43-13 drubbing.


Also, I want to wish a wonderfully happy birthday to my Dad back in Minnesota! Wish I could be there but I'll see you, Mom, and Dave in just a few weeks!

Need laser, won't travel.

This week is winter break, otherwise known as "Ski Week" at ASW since a lot of families use this time to head for the mountains. It would have been nice to do this too but I had intentions of getting LASEK surgery on Tuesday and using the rest of the break to let my eyes heal.

Some have said that I'm a little crazy for trying to get the procedure done here in Poland but this country is becoming a new hotbed of "medical tourism" i.e. all the rich folks from Western Europe are coming here to get inexpensive cosmetic surgery performed (cheap boob jobs and Botox). Anyway, I'm sitting here typing this while wearing my glasses since I didn't qualify for the surgery. The reason being that my corneal peak is not symmetrically centered over the focus of my pupil resulting in a negative Kappa angle. Yeah, I didn't quite understand this either especially when explained through a thick Polish accent. There is some sort of advanced wavefront technique used to remedy this situation but with discretion being the better part of valor, I've decided to wait for a second opinion back in the States.

This has left me in a bit of a funk since valuable traveling time was devoted to a surgery that never happened. The highlight of my break has been a trip to Polish purgatory . . . yes, that's right, I went to IKEA. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I also rearranged my furniture. I'll spare you the exciting details.


So, not much to report here from Poland this week. I think I'm going to jump on a train tomorrow morning and head to Torun, birthplace of Mikolaj Kopernik a.k.a. Nicolas Copernicus, the father of heliocentric theory. For those who slept through high school physics, he's the guy who came up with the radical idea of placing the sun, rather than the Earth, at the center of the universe. At least you can learn something by reading this blog.


Speaking of the center of the universe, it's good to see that the major headlines back home this week are the custody / paternity battle for Anna Nicole Smith's child and Britney Spears' shaving her dome. Now that's hardhitting journalism about issues that matter!

Thanks for reading . . .

No Escape from Valentine's Day

"Maybe Poland doesn't celebrate Valentine's Day!" I had been thinking to myself. How wrong I was. I should have known that a predominantly Catholic country would embrace any holiday named after a saint. I've never really been a big fan of these holidays invented by the greeting card industry. And today is probably the granddaddy of them all.

The impromptu flea market I pass by every morning outside the subway station has been transformed. Usually, you can find fur coats, porcelain Bhudda statues, switchblade knives, lacey undergarments, and other necessities. This morning, all the vendors brought out teddy bears, chocolates, flowers, and giant heart-shaped suckers as big as your head. So much for avoiding all the manufactured junk that is supposed to signify your true love.

On Valentine's Day, it's nice to be single. Only women get bitter, sitting around watching sappy date movies, and eating Ben and Jerry's while commiserating with each other, right? I'll be in a state of bliss having beers with friends tonight. But I couldn't resist putting up this picture. Thanks for reading.

It's okay . . . I'm with the band.

Last week, I had the good fortune to take a trip to Bucharest, Romania as a chaperone at the CEESA (Central Eastern European Schools Association) band festival. As you can imagine, band kids don't get into a lot of trouble so this was a nice trip to see a different city with 4 Korean students along for the ride. The band director did all the work. I was just there to carry the first aid kid, school phone, and camera.

Bucharest is a city stuck between new economic opportunity and the old communist system. This is reflected in the ever-widening gap between the wealthy and impoverished. Where else can you see a horse and buggy, Frank Loyd Wright inspired mansions, a boy leading an ox on a rope, and a Porsche dealership all within a two block stretch. There was also garbage strewn across vast fields that will soon be dotted with upscale, art-deco style villas.

I had been told that Bucharest is a glimpse of Warsaw 15 years ago. Now I can see why people have this notion that the Polish capital is a bleak, gray metropolis. Like Poland though, Romania's countryside has remained relatively unspoiled by industry and political turmoil. It was also the setting for scenes from the movie "Borat". In fact, the village where it was filmed is now suing him, but I do believe the case has already been thrown out.

There are redeeming qualities in every city I visit, but it was quite difficult to find the true beauty of Romania's capital. They have yet to tear down any of the old "Commie Bloc" highrises to make room for modern architecture. Everything also seems to have this perpetual coating of grime and mildew. It seems like the reign of former dictator Nicolai Ceausescu has left quite the hangover.

For those asleep during 1989, and not familiar with the Ceausescu regime, a fascinating synopsis can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceau%C5%9Fescu

Copy and paste it into your browser if for no other reason than to read about him and his wife being executed on Christmas Day by an army officer's sub-machine gun. You can also watch his last speech from the Palace balcony on youtube.com

Romania is also home to the world's second largest building (then Pentagon is no. 1).
Ceausescu leveled over 6,000 homes, dozens of churches, and all of Old Town Bucharest to make room for this monstrosity, the People's Palace. Anything I write cannot fully do justice to the shameful history behind the construction of this monument to a megalomaniac (awesome alliteration, alright?). You can read about why Romanians call this the "Palace of Lies" here:

http://home.xnet.com/~jkelley/BucharestBugle.fldr/BuchBugle19-20.html

Bucharest also has a bit of a dog problem. Driving out to the school from the city centre, I would see strays everywhere, roaming in packs or resting lazily by the side of the road. I had brought my running shoes, but opted for the treadmill in the hotel fitness center instead of putting my gonads up as doggie treats, so to speak.

My last evening in town gave me a newfound appreciation for Romania. The activities director at AISB (American International School of Bucharest) formerly worked at ASW. He was nice enough to arrange a night on the town with Maria, one of the local hires, and a few of her friends.

I've always had a certain affectation for Nadia Comaneci, but the Romanian beauties encountered while exploring the nightlife of Bucharest scored an 11, besting Nadia's perfect 10 at the 1976 Olympics. Offering a compliment to my guide, she declared Romanian women to be "the most beautiful in the whole world". This is now the fourth country where I've heard that claim. Let it never be said that Eastern European women lack self-confidence.

My first three days in Bucharest had convinced me that I would not be making a return visit anytime soon, but I might have been a little too hasty in my judgement . . .

Do widzenia . . .

Mark

Rest in peace Middleton High . . .

Last week, the first school to take a chance on hiring me (albeit for an in-school suspension position paying $6.00 an hour) burned to the ground. Middleton High School, located in a rural suburb of Boise, lost 75% of the original school structure when an electrical fire ignited at around 7 AM last Thursday. Fortunately, everybody was able to get out in time, and there were no injuries. You can check out some coverage at www.ktvb.com .

Through the miracle of modern technology I was able to talk to a few of my former colleagues the day of the fire. They are going to have a tough road to recovery from this tragedy. Many of my friends from that school district have not only worked their whole lives in that building but also graduated from there. I couldn't imagine trying to teach, let alone learn, in that environment right now.

At least 23 teachers lost their rooms, and the school's main server containing transcripts from past and present students was engulfed in flames. What's remaining is being sent to a cyber forensics team in Salt Lake City where they will hunt for salvageable data. The P.E. department has lost the main gym used by the 700 middle school students who attend school in the adjacent building. All of the administrative offices are gone. So I guess kids can't cause trouble in the classroom anymore because there's no place to send them.

Sitting over here in Poland makes me feel helpless when people who treated me like family are going through such an ordeal. At the same time I feel guilty for feeling fortunate I'm not working there this year. Months of frustration lie ahead for everybody there. Schools are not rebuilt overnight and the timeline puts completion of a new facility around July 2008.

Class was back in session yesterday for the high school . . . apparently they are going to double up the number of kids in each classroom at the middle school. 60 kids and 2 teachers in a room built to hold 30 kids? Drastic times call for drastic measures, I guess.

You can also see more pictures and read a few stories at: www.idahostatesman.com
Anybody back in Middleton who happens to read this blog, get in touch, add a comment and let me know how you're coping with this. I'd love to get a firsthand account of what students and teachers are facing right now.