Final Post

May 29th, 2009 Warsaw, Poland. It is nearly six am here in Poland. Our stay in this country is coming to an end. Cathy and Lori are now at the airport. Cathy has a 7:30 am flight Rome. She'll spend several days there before travelling on to London. Lori has a 9:15 am to Munich where she'll join her husband and son. The Traegers will visit Munich, travel to Italy and on to Austria before returning to the states. As for myself, this kid is homebound. In 12 hours I hope to have my arms around Linda, look into her eyes and say, I love you. I've missed you. I am glad to be home.

Several groups of people and many individuals came together to make this trip possible. We are very grateful for your efforts. We hope that we've taken the time to address your contribution. Please understand that we've taken every opportunity to share your contribution to this trip with our hosts in Poland. As we gave a presentation, shared a gift or discussed the nature of this series of staff exchanges, we explained that you and/or your organization made a substantial contribution to making this exchange a reality.

There are two groups of people that we wish to thanks. First, our families. Without your encouragement and support, none of this would happen. We appreciate your commitment to our relationships and the work we've chosen. Secondly, our co-workers. We know that not being in the workplace to make our contribution creates more work for all. We thank you for your sacrifice. We hope to return the great favor someday.

Poland is a place of great pride. They have every reason to love their country. Poland has survived through the ages, intact, vibrant, strong. As for myself, I will not die in peace until I have had the privilege to return to this great land with Linda. We need to experience this place and its people, together.

Thank you for joining/visiting the blog. We've tried to focus on corrections related items for our co-workers. By the same token, we've wanted to share with you the strength, grace and majesty that is Poland. We hope that we you've enjoyed the posts. We've enjoyed the process. If there are questions that you have about aspects of this trip, we'll be happy to answer those questions as best as we can. Either see us personally or send an email to iowansinpoland2009@gmail.com. We'll respond to questions at this website for the next 30 days. Many Thanks. Much Love.

Peace,

Sam

Poland's Capitol City

We spent the day Thursday touring the sights of Warsaw. It is important to understand that nearly everything in Warsaw was destroyed in WWII. The city was rebuilt after the war, recreating the original wall around the old city, the original palace for royalty, and many other buildings. We began our tour by walking to the Old Market Square area.



We visited the palace that housed Poland's royal families and then went to the royal gardens, where we enjoyed views of smaller palaces, the ampitheater, and the peacocks who roam the grounds.





After this we went to the downtown Warsaw area, to see the Palace of Culture and Science, a building given to Poland by Russia after WWII. We ended the day at the very modern shopping center, Golden Terraces.

Poland's

Dinner with members of the Ministry of Justice

Wednesday evening we joined six judges from the Ministry of Justice for a traditional Polish dinner. Two of the judges, Kryzstof and Slowic, were present in Cedar Rapids two years ago. We enjoyed very interesting discussions about the structure and practice of the judicial system in Poland. The judges shared with us that they are the Next Generation of judges in Poland, as many of the former judges left their posts with the fall of communism. Because of this they were in a unique position to take positions of great distinction in their country early in their career. In depth discussions were had regarding residential facilities, domestic violence, victim issues, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. During dinner we were serenaded by a performing group playing Czech music.

Train Ride to Warsaw

Wednesday morning, we departed Poznan and traveled to Warsaw by intercity train. It was an interesting and new experience for all of us. We rode in a compartment of six people, and we were able to see the countryside as we traveled.



When we arrived in Warsaw, we proceeded to the Pedagogium, part of a private University in Warsaw, to join a conference on stress and burnout. Lori and Cathy presented to the professors present on the topic of stress and burnout, while Sam presented a brief overview of the Hope House.

Fairwell Dinner in Poznan - Do Widzenia!

Tuesday evening we joined Chief Szostak, Dorota, Professors Ambrozik, Barczykowska, and Stepniak, and Sonia, our student interpreter, for a wonderful dinner in the Old Market Square. We spent time discussing our visit, the possibility of future visits, and saying our goodbyes. We handed out gifts to thank our hosts and hostesses, including gifts for the victims of domestic violence provided by Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP) and Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP). Thank you to Mary Ann Pedde and her group members who donated the handmade bookmarks. Our hosts and hostesses generously gave us tokens by which to remember our time in Poznan.