Classes and Peeing in My Own Cup

This is the first week of full University preparation. The students are returning for their winter term. It is mostly a week of getting faculty and students organized, and the beginning of the year ceremonies.

First and foremost- my family is here and adapting (see Lisa’s blog for those details http://anamericanhouseholdinpoland.blogspot.com/). They LOVE the house we rented.

Besides showing them around the area (in small bits- as they are still jet lagged)- I have been getting orientated myself to my University. I have a big, beautiful office, wireless internet, a printer, in a new building. The building has its own library, cafeteria, & coffee shop, also a train stop right near the front. (My Rockhurst Chair and boss, Cheryl, and I need to chat about my pitiful Rockhurst working conditions upon my return).

But first, I learned I had to complete a physical exam for the University (even though I just had one for the US Government to accept my Fulbright). So I had my first experience with the Polish National Health System.

The first thing I was told was to “get” a cup for my urine test. I asked where (assuming it was obtained in the lab at the clinic). No, I was told, I needed to go to the drug store and purchase my own.

Now I practiced several Polish phases before I left home- however, urine cup was NOT one of them. So I had to get the Polish word for “urine cup” (my Vice Dean wrote it out for me)- then go to my local pharmacy and spend 13 cents to purchase my own cup (with lid).

The next morning I went back to the clinic, used my own cup- stood in a long line (each person had their own urine cup with them too), then placed it with everyone else’s into a large plastic tub. Step 1 done.

Also had blood work, a chest x-ray and then had a physician look at me. And I mean “look at me." I sat across from her desk; she spoke zero English. She literally glanced at me, checked a bunch of boxes, stamped some forms- and handed them back to me. Then sent me on my way. I guess I was fit. That was my physical.

On the “it's a small world” front- I was standing in the urine line, and the lady in front of me (who was also holding her urine) noticed (obviously) I was American. She introduced herself (should you shake hands with someone in a urine line?). She was a Professor too. She asked where I was from. I told her America, in a place called Kansas City. Her eyes lit up and she said she was leaving in two weeks for Kansas City to go to a conference at KU. The urine line is such a small world.

Over the past several days, I have met many of my colleagues (mostly Deans and other Economists). They are the nicest people. Everyone has bent over backwards to help me with things that are obvious to them, but quite (and literally) foreign to me.

I am teaching four courses, two sections of Strategy Management and two sections of Statistics II. Three of the four are graduate level classes.

I have a good and bad teaching schedule. For those that know me well, you will need to pause in a minute while you laugh... I teach Monday and Tuesday at 7 a.m., (no typo) and Wednesday at 8 a.m. (again, no typo). I also have a Wednesday afternoon class. So for those of you that have heard me complain when I have 9:30 a.m. classes- I am not sure how to even respond to this.

The good part (and part of my negotiation for doing the early morning classes)- is that I only teach Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That then gives me four days of no teaching every week (Thurs-Sun) to research, travel (with family) and do conferences. I also have to do a four weekend seminar-type class in two weekends in Oct. and two in Nov. But that is no big deal. So our plans to get lots of travel in is going forward.

Classes start next week and I will have much more to report. I know I have Polish students, students from other parts of the European Union (EU) and a group of Chinese students.

It will be an interesting term. But so far I am quite pleased (other than the 7 a.m.), intrigued and excited.

The New Normal

Dzień dobry!

Well, I am back at my new home and have spent a couple of nights. Friday was a day of errands. The house is furnished with furniture, but still needs all those little daily things. I want to get several items before the family arrives.

Gdansk has a new big mall called the Galeria Baltycka. It is a very nice mid to upscale three story mall with about 200 stores, and several others in the surrounding area. Like any mall, it is full of chain stores (the local stores are out on the streets in the surrounding area) but the Galeria stores are mostly from European chains (German, French, UK), etc. It does have a Zara (Spain). This is mentioned for my dear friend Turner White, who has an odd obsession with that store... 

Our bus, (nearest our house) takes you right to the front door of the Galeria in about 10 minutes. I decided it was time to brave everyday Polish shopping. 

Now getting there and back poses my first problem. With a SUV and a minivan at home- we drive to the store, and fill the cars up to the top. However, with only only public transportation, you only shop for what you can carry. I am assuming this is true of anyone, even in the States who lives in a large urban core like New York. But it is very different for a suburban boy. My first and best purchase was one of those personal wheeled cloth shopping carts that you can take to and from the store. They must be very unhip as only senior citizens (and I) seems to have them- but I am good with that. Shopping will be much easier once my four little mules get here on Monday (no, Lisa is not considered one of the mules).

First, I went to open a bank account. Initially, I did not think I needed a Polish bank account, but my two banks in the States take a nice bite out of any transfer of money made to and from. I spoke limited Polish and the bank person spoke limited English. To make matters worse, her computer kept freezing up- but we managed. I think she said a few four-letter Polish words when her computer continually froze- but I don’t know them yet. It is harder for a foreigner to open a bank account post-9/11; so there were lots of forms and security matters and complicated procedures. I signed a bunch of Polish forms- Gods knows what I agreed to.

Then off to get some household items. They have a French store called Carrefour. It is pretty similar to a Wal-Mart. On my list -I needed four types of soap: shampoo bath, laundry and dish. This utterly confused the hell out of me. I am not sure I could pick out the right thing in the States; but add Polish labels to everything and I just stared in the aisle for about 15 minutes. I never did figure out the laundry soap, so left without it. Why do we need so many types, brands and styles of soaps? (As of Monday, soap becomes Lisa’s responsibility- I abdicate). I filled my little cloth cart up to the top and continued down the mall.

After my issues with the bank and with soaps, I really needed something familiar. Yes! There is a McDonald’s (my first since arriving in Europe). I had the McZestaw McRoyal with frytki and Coca-Cola Light. Very nice and comfortable!

I also need to buy a printer and some other geek items. Also in the Galleria is a store similar to a Best-Buy called Saturn (German Chain). Electronics are odd in Poland. All familiar brands- but the prices are all over the place. Many of the computers and TVs are substantially higher than the US. I did find the printer I wanted- but alas, it was too much for me to carry on the bus given my Carrefour trip. So I will go back on the bus today.

Finally, to the bus station to get a metro pass. You can purchase a city metro card that gives you full unlimited access to the public transportation system (buses, trams and local trains)- instead of having individual tickets every time you get on. Of course, they wanted a passport photo for the card (which I did not have). Now, where in God’s name can you get a passport photo in Gdansk? It’s these rather simple issues that are the most complex. Luckily I found a Kodak shop a couple of blocks away and went back to complete my application for the card.

After getting home from my trip to the mall- I still did not have all the grocery items I needed. I then walked to our neighborhood grocery store, Biedronka (its like an Aldi). Prior to leaving for the store, I did want any normal geek would do about the laundry soap- I searched Google; and found the answer. I got laundry soap, but no bleach (another story), and filled my little cloth cart again.

I returned home, did a load of laundry (electric dryers are uncommon in most of Europe- line drying really sucks) and made tortellini.

My final assessment- shopping is ok as long as you do it in smaller amounts, and the walking to and from and waiting for the bus is fine- but will get quite cold in about a month or two.

My first day of real living.

BTW- my last post might not have been delivered. Account problems with our internet service in the States (I am sure Lisa will blog on that, as it took her two days to fight AT&T). So, read “Trains”  http://mylesgartland.blogspot.com/2009/09/trains.html  if you have not.

Trains

Well, Happy birthday to me! I am spending my 42nd on a five hour train ride back “home”. I spoke a little about food yesterday- today’s observations are on Polish trains:

Let me first summarize. The Polish train system goes everywhere and is cheap. But it is also slow and in pretty poor shape.

The entire Polish train system was completely destroyed in WWII. It was then rebuilt under Communist Poland. As compared to Germany or France, the trains are quite slow and old looking. Poland is spending billions to get its train system up to Western EU standards.

For example, my 190 mile/300 km journey from Poznan to Gdansk will take 5 hours and 15 minutes. That same distance on a German train might take 3 hours. It is cheap; as a standard class ticket for this journey was $18. For another $10, you can move up to first class- which I frequently do. You have less seats (six to a compartment instead of eight) and it is less crowded. That is an easy extra $10 on a five hour journey (.50 cents an hour for comfort). Tickets for students under 26 are discounted by about 33%.

The stations are very Communist era. All concrete block buildings, all stairs- no elevators or escalators (fun to carry a 50-plus lb. suitcase up and down stairs). To get to my track today (with a 50 lb suite case and heavy backpack), I had to walk up a long flight of stairs- to get into the terminal; then down a long flight of stairs- to get to the track tunnel; then back up a long flight of stairs- to get to the track platform. Of course, I also had my obligatory cup of coffee and danish in hand too.

Knowing this before I left the states- I had Lisa purchase five large rolling backpacks. We then told the kids that when we travel-this is all they get to take. They will thank me later in life (much later).

The bathrooms are unique too. God knows where the water comes from (I would not drink it or even touch it). Here is my favorite part. When you flush, a flap opens you see the railroad tracks below- I will let you visualize what is happening. Note to self- don’t ever walk along railroad tracks.

You typically sit in compartments- three seats facing three seats in a 7X7 room. You can shut the glass door or open the window- so that is nice. It’s old, but clean. You are looking at a first class compartment.

Trains are on time and stops at stations are very quick (about 1-2 minutes). But sometimes you do stop in the middle of nowhere, for no apparent reason, for a few minutes.

In order to get into the same league with the rest of the European Union, Poland will have to basically replace their train system. The cars are too old and slow, and the stations are not up to EU standards. They are moving in the right direction though, but it will take probably a decade to be where it should be. That is probably true of all infrastructure in Poland.

As I love contrasts- here is a good picture. A old Communist era concrete train platform (Poznan Glowny) with a KFC and Col. Sanders in the background. The past meets the future.

With all that said, even the Polish train system is SO much better than flying. The only good thing about flying is less time to get from point A to point B. There is so much more room on trains. You can get up and walk all over. They have a food car and and you can stretch out- eat, drink, no security checks, parking or other hassles. My Iphone (with internet) works the entire journey. Today, I am sitting in this big compartment all by myself. (PS- two Poles just came in at this stop, wearing suits-sat down- opened their briefcase and pulled out a six pack of beer).

I have now taken several four and five hour train trips within Poland (and Europe). However, it will be interesting to see how much longer trips go. Berlin is ten hours via train and Kracow is nine. My plan is to take the family on an overnight train to Krackow (six sleeping beds in a 7 x 7 compartment- two rows stacked three high) in later October. That will give them something to write home about.

So take a book or plan a nap and ride a train (even in Poland). 

Last stop in Poznan

Hello from Poznan. I have been here for over a week and am quite tired of living out of suitcases. We are scheduled to leave Friday, but I think I will leave Thursday. I want to get home and get settled for the family and school next week.

We have been in language class every morning. Polish is very hard, particularly the pronunciation. All "sh" and "ch" sounds. Unfortunately, many of the letters in Polish are the same as in English- but are pronounced differently. So, it is impossible to sound something out. The "W" makes a "V" sound, the "J" makes a "Ye" sound. To give another example, the number "99" is spelled and pronounced "dziewięćdziesiąt dziewięć". Few things are pronounced as they look. My goal is to be able to read (which I think I can do)- but not sure I will ever be more than a tourist speaker. 

That said, the Poles greatly respect you trying to learn their language, as they know it is hard. They are very patient with you and will help with words as you try to pronounce them. 

We are at one of the largest Universities in Poland: Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU). It has 54,000 students. If you are like me, and had no idea who Adam Mickiewicz is- he is a famous 19th century writer from Poland. In all, Poznan has 130,000 students living in the city. 

As I mentioned in a past blog, we do language training in the morning and some other lectures in the afternoons. The lectures are hit and miss- all interesting topics; just not interesting speakers. They are on Polish history, literature, cinema, politics, etc.

Other things of note, the Poles have a different eating cycle. Breakfast is completely different than the U.S. We usually have meat slices, cheeses and vegetables. The big meal is lunch. It is almost always accompanied with a soup (most Polish meals have a soup), a meat dish, potatoes and a salad. However the salad is not the leafy green thing we are used to. It is more like a coleslaw or a pickled cabbage or beet dish. Dinner, is pretty similar to breakfast- meat slices, cheeses, maybe a pierogie. It would be very hard to be a vegetarian in this country.

Went out tonight with some of my colleagues for my birthday. We went to a French restaurant (I could not handle anymore meat slices and potatoes).

So, I return to Gdansk on Thursday after a long 10 days away from my new home. I need to get some things for the house before the family arrives and start to get ready for the school year. It has been nice meeting my colleagues and spending several days with them. I will see them again in December in Warsaw. 

Poor Lisa spent most of the morning in KC trying to get our internet services (and email addresses turned back on). When AT&T shut off our landlines- they deactivated our email addresses too, which they were not supposed to do.

Eight Days in Poznan

Hello from Poznan.

I will be here for an extended Fulbright orientation until the 26th.

Poznan is midpoint between Berlin and Warsaw, and it is where Poland was founded back in 966. It was also part of Prussia for a couple of hundred years (until 1918)- so the city has both a Polish flavor and a German flavor to it. (the German's call it Posen).

During the week, we take Polish language classes during the mornings. They have us split into three groups of beginner, intermediate and advance (I am definitely in the beginner). By the end of the week, us beginners hope to be able to pronounce the alphabet and sounds, as well as some conversational phrases. I hope to continue my language training once I get back in Gdansk. I is a very difficult language- it is Slavic like Russian or Czech. My goal by June is to be able to read the local newspaper and understand the TV. I will never be an advanced speaker of the language.

During the afternoons, we have lectures on different aspects of Poland- history, culture, politics, etc. It is actually a rather intense week. We pretty much go each day from 8 a.m, to 7 p.m.

On Saturday we all return to our different Universities in Poland- ready to take on the job.

Over this weekend, they took us on a few tours of the cities and surrounding areas. As I mentioned, Poznan is the cradle of Poland- so most of the oldest sights and first kings lived in this area. I attached a few pictures of our sites. You see a castle, cathedral (first in Poland) and well and the old town square.

In modern history, Poznan is also the place where several strikes were held against the Communist government. The first occurring in 1956, where several strikers were shot by the Soviet Police; and the strikers were left dead in the street as an example. They had several more over the next 30 years. There is a monument of two crosses that honor the different strikes and strikers, which helped in the eventual downfall of Communism.

Finally, today is a day of national mourning in Poland. Over the weekend, there was a massive mine explosion in the Southwest part of the country. Several were killed and even more burned and critical.  Flags are at half staff and all cultural events across the country are canceled. Interesting, although this is top news here- I have seen really no mention of this disaster in the American news sites. That said, we have almost nothing about Jon and Kate in the Polish media.

I Meet the Other Fulbrighters

Well, I just spent 2 quick days in Warsaw.

Warsaw is a great city with about 4 million people. However, it is very, very crowded. I have been here before. I love the city, but kind of glad I was not assigned to live here. Too big and busy. It will be great to visit frequently however. Warsaw is a great combination of a cosmopolitan city with tremendous history.

All the Fulbright Scholars gathered in Warsaw for the last two days to get a formal orientation. We first went to the US Embassy and heard from their diplomatic staff. Of the many memorable presentations, one was from the Embassy Security Officer. He just arrived at the American Polish embassy after being the Security officer at the American Embassy in Iraq. What a change!

Secondly, we were hosted at the US Ambassador to Poland’s (Victor Ashe) house for lunch. He was a very nice gentleman. He is a Bush appointee and been here for 5 years. He is leaving Poland in 10 days, to “retire” (which to me means- Obama is putting his own person here). The new Ambassador has not been appointed yet. I will get to meet him or her in May.

It is a very eclectic group of persons in the Fulbright group. There are about six or seven “professors” here. They call us either Senior Lecturers or Senior Researchers (I am the former) and we are afforded the basic status of a Professor with all its perks and pay. The rest of the group are students on Fulbright scholarships to either do graduate research or to be teaching assistants.

There are twice as many students as professors. Those students get the short end of the stick (in my opinion), they don’t get near the pay or perks or status as us “Seniors”. But I guess as American grad students- they are used to that. Some of the students just graduated with their Bachelor’s Degree in May and are using the prestigious Fulbright scholarship year to beef up their application to get into a good grad school. Obviously all the Fulbright students are top notch, ambitious and really impressive.

Although we are a diverse group- all are tremendously nice and a pleasure to chat with. I enjoy their company, stories and views of the world (I think every possible view of the world is represented). I am the only economist or management person in the entire group. Most are from the humanities (history, arts, communications, literature). I have had two very nice meals with groups of people.

There are three of us “Seniors” who have brought or are bringing families with children. Mine by far are the oldest. The other two Dads have smaller kids. One has 2 kids, and one has 4 kids, including a 3 month old. A few others brought their spouse. However, most of the students (as you would expect) are single. One Prof brought her dog-cute.

We will all be spending the next 10 days together. 2 days in Warsaw and now we are on a bus to the city of Poznan for the next 8 days. We then get back together in December for a day, and again in May. The Fulbrighters are stationed all over Poland at different Universities and Institutes.

More from Poznan…. where I will be some place long enough to catch my breath. Since my arrival in Poland, I have not spent 48 hours in the same place. The adventure (at least for me) is now at full speed. Just waiting for the family to complete the perfect picture.

Day 2- The New Job

Well, I guess I will have to work while I am here on taxpayer money (what’s a few more dollars of deficit??)
 
First, I know very little of the Polish language (although most in Poland under age 40 knows English). Before I left, I acquired the basic important words- hello, please, thank you, toilet, beer, coffee, etc. However, the one I should have first learned was “excuse me”, as I am constantly walking into people as I am looking for signs and my map while in this strange land.
 
Yesterday, I went to my new University. It is Gdansk University of Technology (GUoT). It has about 25,000 students. It was initially founded as Prussian University for them to train their eastern territory engineers back in the 19th Century. It still maintains a strong technological basis today. 
 
The business school is called Faculty of Management and Economics (FME) and is relatively new. It was founded only after communism ended. FME has about 3,000 students in both undergraduate and graduate programs.
 
I am a member of the economics department. I will teach strategy management, international business and statistics. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, this is basically what I would have taught at Rockhurst this term. So I am very comfortable with the material and have it mostly prepared. 

 
When I arrived at campus, I misread the signs and walked into a similar looking, but incorrect campus building. It was an absolute dump. Not what I saw on the brochures. I wondered what I had gotten myself into. I finally asked someone, and they pointed me to the new building next door (see picture). It is only four years old and rivals, if not exceeds, the School of Management building at Rockhurst. Very high tech. Their problem is growth. They have already outgrown this building and will be building a second one next door (when the government finds them some money). 
 
There are about 100 Professors in FME, and 25 are in the Economics & Statistics department- which is where I will be. Having such a large economics department is not a surprise given the University’s overall technical emphasis. 
 
I am sharing an office with the Dean (he has a faculty office as well as his Dean’s office- so I get it mostly to myself when he is Dean-ing).
 
GUoT like many Universities is run by the government (kind of like our state schools). The only difference is- a Polish citizen gets to go to University for free. The University gets all their money from the government, non-Polish students and graduate programs. Money is scarce and Professors are paid very poorly. This was something most Professors reminded me of when I met them. 
 
I met with the Vice Dean, discussed my classes and met with a couple of department heads. 
 
I kind of learned my overall purpose. One- they need Professors to teach classes. Secondly (and maybe as important)- they are very interested in becoming more like an American business school and becoming entrepreneurial. They are very interested in how “we” do things. So, faculty has already asked me to give seminars to them on how business schools and their curriculum work in the US.  
 
All the students and faculty speak English (as their programs are taught in English)- but not all the secretaries and admin staff speak English. I will need to take a translator when I need something done.
 
GUoT is the third tram stop from our house. Very quick and easy getting to, but still a fair amount of walking. Public transportation is very good in Poland (relative to the US), but not quite as good as other European countries I have been to. That is a remnant of the soviet era and a priority for the city. 
 
After 48 quick hours in Gdansk, I have to go down to Warsaw and Poznan to do some Fulbright business. I will be away for 10 days. Then return to Gdansk in time to greet the family. 
 
I am actually on a train as I write this going to Warsaw, which is a 5-hour trip. For a 1st class ticket, with a window seat in a compartment- it cost $27 for the ride.  I will ride 1st class until the family gets here. Then with 6 people, we become a 2nd class family. 
 
More later from Warsaw and Poznan…..