How to be a Weekend Warrior

I realize that I don’t talk about my day-to-day life on here very often. I remember once talking to Monika, with whom I exchange blog comments frequently, and she remarked that she didn’t even know my name. (It’s Arielle.) It’s not that I’m trying to be any enigma, but I just can’t help how mysterious and alluring I am! (Kidding. I just don’t want my students’ parents to find my blog.)

So, a quick life update.

We are mid-way through the first month of school, and everything is going great! I’m teaching the same students and I’m in the same classroom, which makes everything so much easier. My students have grown so much in the past year, and they are so mature now! (Except for some of them who are always doing their baby voice, ’cause they think it’s cute, which it’s not.) They are so mature, in fact, that the school owner has decided to send them on a 3-day, 2-night field trip to Warsaw! Tomorrow!

Now you may remember from last spring, that my class (plus the grade below us) went on a 3-day, 2-night field trip. To the mountains. In the middle of nowhere. Not to a crowded capital city full of hooligans and broken glass and whatever other scary things you find in cities. (I can’t think of anything properly scary because Poland is so safe compared to the places I’ve lived in the US and Mexico.)

I think I should be more nervous, but I’m actually not. My students are behaving so well this year, and we have such a good relationship that I’m totally confident in their ability to wander around a city with me (and another teacher) without getting lost or injured. Plus, it’s my first time in Warsaw! I can’t believe I lived here for a year without going to Warsaw, but I lived in Kansas City for 2 years without going to St. Louis or Chicago, so maybe I’m just lazy.

But not to worry, I’m definitely not wasting my precious travel time here in Europe. In fact, entries on the blog will probably slow down to a glacial pace as I’ll be traveling almost every weekend for the next two months. My itinerary thus far:

• September 21-23: Warsaw
• September 24-25: Jelenia Góra
• September 30 – October 2: Prague
• October 7-9: Weimar, Germany
• October 21-24: Bergen, Norway
• November 11-13: Budapest
• November 18-20: Kraków
• November 25-27: Paris

I’m going to be quite busy, and December will come and I probably won’t leave my bed for 48 contiguous hours every weekend, but I’m happy to be taking advantage of every moment. When I lived in Kansas City, I really was so close to so many cool places, but I barely left the city and was afraid to do things on my own. And I’ll never make that mistake again.