Local initiatives

Have you ever participated in any local initiatives, here in Poznań or other place in the world? Have you ever been involved in your city's life?

I ask you that because this year I attend some very interesting classes called Local community animation. Last time our teachers have proposed us to do a test which concerned the level of our knowledge in the matter of social participation. When I started to analyse the questions I quickly realised I had a problem: I couldn't remember anything in my life that would help me to find the answers. The truth is, I have never actually done anything for my local community (excluding several small voluntary actions). 

To pass the classes I have to create a project which would integrate some people in my local community, so I decided to finally do something that could be useful and different. Happily, the people who I will work with are really great and they have shown me everything they had already done. Their project (initiated in the previous term) has been connected to the Kolektyw group - an organisation working in Łazarz (one of the quarters in Poznań). 

Kolektyw is composed of nine women who wanted to do something new. They came up with a plan to create a garden where everybody could come, coltivate vegetables or fruit and have some fun. The garden is located in Park Kasprowicza, just behind the summer bathing water Arena. The people who have decided to participate in this project had an opportunity to learn how to take care of plants and how to use them to prepare something really delicious. 

In the summer Kolektyw have organised 7 screenings of film, meetings at fireplace, family grills, playig board games together and sleeping in tents. Now, when the winter is coming, it's no more possible. Our task is to find a way to integrate some residents of Łazarz at this cold period of the year and to make them feel better and more connected to their neighbours. We already have some ideas. 

The project is going to finish for me at the end of the academic year, but I already know that I wouldn't like to abandon that. So, my new, private project is to become a real member of my local community for long. :) Keep your fingers crossed!

Karpowicz, 'Balladyny i romanse'

Hello there!

My name is Gosia, I am a student of Italian Philology and Psychology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. During our first English classes of this semester we have got a challenge to create a blog and get to know each other better. So, there it is - my own blog. I hope you'll enjoy!

Today I would like to introduce you a very interesting book written by a polish author Ignacy Karpowicz. To be honest, I have not finished the book yet. Actually, I didn't even want to start, but I did, because a friend of mine has started to read it to me aloud. It appeared addictive. Now my friend is gone and I (stupid!) have promised not to read it without him. So, what have I done? I have hided the book in the deepest closet, so that it doesn't tempt me. 

So, what is it about? The short review is absolutely impossibile, since the content is simply not reducile to a couple of phrases. The longer one - no way, I will not spoil you the book! So, what can I tell? Maybe a few words about the style, since it's very special and rich: amusing and reflective, funny and serious, happy and sad at the same time. The author make use of synonims, associations and combinations of words, even vulgarisms. Let's have a look at a random excerpt from the book:

W przeciągu kwadransa zaliczył większość oswojonych już i wielekroć przećwiczonych pozycji psychologicznych. Od niegroźnego delikatnego migotania duszy, podobnego do migotania komór na chwilę przed zawałem. Od melancholii w wersji light, zero cukrów i tłuszczów, brak refleksji i wiwisekcji, całość zgrabnie opakowana w ciało lat dwadzieścia plus. Przez pozycję tyle-mam-lat-i-wciąż-jestem-sam. Przez pozycję kiedy-ktoś-zobaczy-jaki-naprawdę-jestem (w rozumieniu że super). Przez niewygodną pozycję lotosu zwątpienia, zwaną również węzłem gordyjskim (członki tak pokręcone, że, skądinąd, donikąd dojść się nie da). I jeszcze - pozycję trupa (pożałujecie że mnie nie kochaliście). 

Also the content surprises: we are introduced to the characters, or rather, they present themselves: normal people from Poland, 'the country at promotion', Greek gods and goddesses, even Jesus or Egyptian masters. Sometimes the unexpected developement of the plot makes us wonder if after reading this book we won't go to hell...

So, as I said before, me and my friend have started to read it out loud and we have read already 460 pages (the book counts 575). I look forward to seeing what happens at the last part. Anyway, I believe it's one of the best books I have ever (almost) read in my entire life. I would definitely raccomend it! Oh, I would have forgotten: it has achieved Nike prize! 

So... if you decide to read it, I wish you like it. If not, I hope you enjoyed the post :)

See you next time!