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Tired of gray rainy Europe, I decided to come home early. The daily temperature hovered around 58 at Seidlce and it was even colder at night. Once dinner was over, there wasn't much to do except go to my room and once there, I had to go to bed to stay warm. I was getting so much sleep that my eye with the scleral buckle was beginning to act up -- further reason to come home. However, Poland did not want to let me go. With a flight at noon and a 60-mile drive to the airport to make it, the key to my room (one of those huge ancient ones) got stuck in the lock and no way could I open it. I tried yelling "Help!" out the window, but not a soul could hear me. Finally when I didn't show up with my luggage, they came looking for me but they couldn't unlock the door either. It looked for a while like I might become a permanent resident of Poland until someone came with an ax and they tore the door down -- just like on Law and Order. My exit was dramatic to say the least. Now I'm starting to get rested up and feel like a human being again, but I should warn you, I'm already thinking about where to go next summer!

After a couple of days here at the Manor of Raymontwonka (that's the phonetic spelling!) our group has settled in. We are a group of fourteen volunteers from all over the U.S. "Old Ralph" as he calls himself, is from Iowa and has been here four or five times; Mike from Chicago, was here last summer; Pat from New England has been here several times before; and Charmaine from San Diego is here for the first time on her way to meet a boyfriend in Prague.

Today was our first day in class and I must say, the third grade class I met was no better/no worse than most American third grades. I'm hoping for better results from a group of teachers that I'll be tutoring later today.

The weather is still cool and rainy. I'm wishing I'd brought some of those sweaters that I left languishing in a drawer in Florida, however, someone reminded me yesterday that the alternative to cool and rainy might be hot and humid since the buildings at this ancient resort aren't air-conditioned. (The main building was built in 1776 -- you should see the locks on our doors!) Yesterday when we visited Seidlce, I rode in the car with Maurek, the manager/part owner of the place and he told us of the plans to build more buildings and make it a first-class resort. It is certainly beautiful enough in its agragrarian setting.

We're making plans to go to Krakow by train next weekend. I'm looking forward to that. Onward and upward!

The flight into Warsaw was memorable or maybe reminiscent is a better word. The plane was like those I flew in the forties -- I could see the prop whirling away outside my window. But I was met and welcomed by Dorota and twelve new volunteers upon arrival. We drove through small villages with unpronounceable names surrounded by forests and farms until we reached Sedlce and the Remonowsky Manor House where I'll be living for the next three weeks. The food is tasty and plentiful, the weather is an improvement over that of Prague, and the program looks like it will be a good one. I'll be teaching third graders in the early morning and teachers in the late afternoon -- tomorrow we meet the regular classrooms. We're also having some lessons in Polish, so you know what to expect in the next chapter!

August 22: NYC. Our sight-seeing guide played the harmonica a-top a double-decker bus all morning. Later
"Spring Awakening" a tale of youthful energy plus sexual repression, filled our eyes and ears.

August 23: Arrival in Berlin: the Tiergarten, Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoin Charlie, the River Spree, Glanslichter Revue -- all a page from East Berlin's yesterday. East Germany is a visual story of a country asleep for 20 years and suddenly coming into the 21st Century. Old and new, side by side.

August 23 to September 4: Gliding up the Elbe through the green countryside of East Germany, Bohemia, and Czech Republic -- Potsdam, Wittinberg, Dresden, to Decin where we ground to a halt as we ran out of river. But the gods of the river let more water out of the dam and we proceeded to our disembarkation point.

Septermber 5: Prague - St Vitus Cathedral, Old Town, Concerts in Prague Castle and Municipal House, a wild folkloric dinner near the Moldau with six crazy Irish ladies, lots of singing, dancing, and Slavic instruments. Time to say goodbye to many wonderful new friends.

September 6: Sybil left for CA today. On to Poland!

Hating to leave Reno after all our adventures, I flew on to California leaving behind memories of a sandy slapstick Shakespeare adventure at Lake Tahoe, a Hillary rally where we cheered Bill on as he gave a great speech, several memorable dinners with Cindy and John, lots of great bluegrass music by the "Thrown Together" group, and a great deal of laughter at Sam, Cindy's new black streak kitten. After all that, I needed a rest which I am getting here in Oceanside at Sybil's beautiful beach condo. But this will soon come to an end since tomorrow I'll get up a 4:30 a.m., drive to San Diego where I'll turn in my car and take an early flight out for the big apple. I'll meet Sybil there -- we're using frequent flier miles -- and Wednesday we're going to see Spring's Awakening. Pretty racy show for two old school teachers! Then on to Germany!