Monday, June 16, 2014

Technology advances thanks to Polish visionaries

This is a great article about Polish advances in augmented reality. With famous names in the sciences such as Nicholas Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik) and Madame Curie (Marie Sklodowska Curie), Poles have always had a visionary approach to the sciences.



Read the article and imagine the future.

http://en.polska.pl/Polish,Screen,Displayed,in,the,Air,Events,7072x4415.html 

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Best things about Poland

Haxel, an events management firm in Poland, ( @Haxel_Events_PL )recently curated twenty five cool things to know about Poland.

Here is the link to their compilation: http://www.scoop.it/t/poland-becomes-trendy-these-days

Monday, June 9, 2014

Summer Reading for the JTerm course: The Zookeeper's Wife

Students will gain some valuable insights into the lives of Polish people by reading The Zookeeper's Wife this summer.  The book, written by Diane Ackerman, writes of the Polish couple who mercifully helped about 300 Jews by hiding them from the nazis.

The college students we will meet in Poland (and meet virtually before the trip) have grandparents who lived in those times.  Certainly, their parents and grandparents are forever imprinted by the tragic incidents occurring in their country during World War II.



We are hosting Book Club-type discussions about the book, Aug 24 and Sep 14.  These will be open to any member of the Drake community and the Des Moines community.  Here is the New York Times review of the book: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/books/review/Max-t.html?_r=0

Monday, March 31, 2014

New video about Poland

This serene look at Poland shows you some of the natural beauty of the nation.  Beyond the charm of Krakow and the energy of Warsaw, the capital, you can find lovely scenery, centuries-old architecture, and a wonderful landscape.  From the seaport of Gdansk, Poland sweeps upward as we head south to the Carpathian mountains and the majestic peaks.

click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbu_FRg8vuU#t=12

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Spring arrives in Poland

Have you mastered the mental shift from Fahrenheit to Celsius? Can you interpret that 2 in Celsius is about 35Fahrenheit in Des Moines?

Although we tell people the weather is just slightly warmer in Poland than Des Moines, sometimes it is hard to imagine.  

If you look at this photo taken today, it may help.  Here are crocuses in plentiful bloom in Poland today, the first day of Spring.  I daresay we see no crocuses in bloom today in Des Moines. 


Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Poland in Social Media

This is not an exhaustive list by any means.  Here are a few accounts I "like" or "follow" about Poland.  You may want to take a look.

The Best of Poland - beautiful color photography, with English captions
https://www.facebook.com/TheBestOfPoland 

The U.S. Ambassador to Poland - may use English or Polish in his tweets.
@SteveMullUSA

The U.S. Embassy - all in English
@PolishEmbassyUS

The official portal of Poland - mostly in English
@PolandGOV.pl

General news and photographs - in English
@AllAboutPoland

Daily photo from Poland
@LinkToPoland

The Polish Tourism Bureau
http://www.poland.travel/en-us/

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Travel Seminar Itinerary



Here is a tentative itinerary we've created for the travel seminar in Poland.


Day of Trip Day of the Week Date Location Program
1 Su 4-Jan USA depart from O'Hare to Krakow via Munich
2 Mo 5-Jan Krakow orientation tour by bus after airport pick-up, and hotel check-in
3 Tu 6-Jan Krakow holy day - all businesses closed.  We will attend parade and festival, evening meeting w/ faculty
4 We 7-Jan Krakow half day walking tour, followed by debriefing/prepping for next day by faculty
5 Th 8-Jan Krakow full day in Zakopane via private motorcoach
6 Fr 9-Jan Krakow morning lecture, afternoon immersion
7 Sa 10-Jan Krakow full day in Auschwitz and Birkenau via private motorcoach, evening debriefing
8 Su 11-Jan Krakow morning lecture, afternoon immersion, evening meeting
9 Mo 12-Jan Warsaw departure by private motorcoach, orientation city tour, and hotel check-in, evening meeting
10 Tu 13-Jan Warsaw morning lecture, afternoon immersion, evening meeting
11 We 14-Jan Warsaw morning tour and workshop, afternoon immersion, evening meeting
12 Th 15-Jan Warsaw morning tour, afternoon immersion, evening meeting
13 Fr 16-Jan Warsaw morning lecture, afternoon immersion, evening meeting
14 Sa 17-Jan Gdansk departure by railway, hotel check-in, evening meeting
15 Su 18-Jan Gdansk morning tour, afternoon lecture
16 Mo 19-Jan Gdansk morning tour, afternoon lecture, evening immersion
17 Tu 20-Jan Gdansk morning final presentations by student groups, evening farewell dinner
18 We 21-Jan USA departure from Gdansk to O'Hare via Munich