After 20 or so hours of airports, flights, and shuttles I arrived in Poland unscathed, but slightly pasty. I was received at the airport in Warsaw Poland by Camp America and whisked to the Janlll Sobieski Hotel (named after a famous king of Poland) and shown to my room. Being somewhat rusty on the international travel scene I was unaware that my key card activated the lights of the room by inserting it in the slot by the door. Of course my first thought was to have the staff check the fuses. That's when the maid politely showed me how the lights worked. Of course this was after a well deserved nap to clear the cobwebs from my brain.
I then went downstairs to introduce myself to some of the other camp directors and staff and to join them to dinner on Camp America. We departed by taxi (which I think they all got their licenses from Evil Knevil) to an authentic Polish restaurant in the middle of Warsaw. It was an old mansion that housed diplomats from a bygone era. We started off with appetizers of steak tar-tar (raw beef and pesto with capers), salmon mixed with various greens, and sliced tomatoes with pesto and shredded Parmesan cheese. The main course I chose was the pork loin Dijon, cubed potatoes, and broccoli with cauliflower. A spring salad was also served. I noticed that the portions were large like the States. Dinner conversation was captivating from Camp America employees and their experiences on the hiring expectations from both sides of the desk. Experiences were shared, pointers were given on the upcoming hiring fair and, and the evening in general was enjoyable and memorable.
By 11:30 it was time to go back to the hotel for a great nights sleep. My roommate was not to show until the next day so I had the room to myself. I awoke Thursday around 7:00a.m awaiting the arrival of Monika (GC staff employee from summer of 07') to spend the day walking around Warsaw being tourists. Monika was not very familiar with Warsaw, so we ventured together. She was aware of the bus schedules and maps and so we could choose our own tourist destinations. We chose to go to old town where there was an old palace that housed the kings and queens from the past. The palace was destroyed by the Nazi's in 1943, and then rebuilt after the war. I could not believe all the gold and old art work that filled the rooms of the palace. It was overwhelming and hard to absorb it all, but I have pictures! After the tour of the palace we walked miles and miles and got a real feel for the mood of the city and the many sites to behold. Wonderful cathedrals and old buildings which were mostly made of marble and granite, offset by cobblestone streets. We stopped at a small cafe for a dinner of what I think was a fish cake, potatoes and salad. This was served with a strong cup of coffee that Monika was used to and loved, but my taste was for something milder, like water.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel. Monika wanted to say hi to Doug Gillespie, so we went to his room. We knocked on his door waking him to discover he was recovering from an emergency root canal. He explained the ordeal and was glad to be free from pain as he was going to stay and travel for a week or so with his daughter and Remik, a Polish Boys Camp staff employee from 2002.
The next day was hiring date and over 500 students showed up for the fair. The caliber of students that applied was impressive and they were all eager to work at a summer camp in the US. I was able to hire four great girls to work in the kitchen this summer.
I would like to thank the staff at Camp America for their wonderful guidance and support throughout this whole trip, and also to Camp Hayo-Went-Ha for the opportunity they gave me to experience Poland and be part of the international hiring of some top notch Polish students.
Dzhehnkooyeh!
The Dining hall at 