Hey ho, intercultural we go
On the campus of The Karkonosze State University of Applied Sciences (KPSW) the whole month of December 2019 was rich in possibilities for meeting face-to-face, singing together and reflect on the past year.
Carolling started on 10 December when students of Pedagogy together with children from the Primary School no 8 in Jelenia Góra and with the participation od students from a n Educational Centre in Zgorzelec gave a concert of Christmas songs and carols. Erasmus+ students Gulcan Akkaya from Ondokuz Mai University in Samsun and Cristina Pelagio from University of Barcelona played their role in the event, too! The recording from the concert can be seen on the Polish website: It was also a possibility for a lecturer from Gelisim University, Yasin Acar, to experience unique Christmas Polish culture. In the following days Mr Yasin Acar took part in the classes of Literature with English Philology students and carried out English Language activities during the classes of Ms Monika Wachowicz.
On 16 December our staff and students had the possibility to listen to "The Bohemian Choir" from the Technical University of Liberec . The choir offered a Christmas program prepared and directed by Jan Konvalikova and Christopher Muffett. They were accompanied on the piano by Adela Folov and Eliska Prochazkov. The choir was invited by the authorities of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Finally on 17 December a magical Traditions and Tolerance Evening took place. It was an international event aiming at integration of international students carrying out their Erasmus+ mobility in KPSW and promoting the idea of peace, understanding between nations and respect for traditions.
Among the participants, apart from regular students, there were senior students of the Karkonosze University of the Third Age, lecturers of KPSW: Vice-Rector dr Tadeusz Lewandowski, Małgorzata Łasek-Dowiat, MA and Ewa Antonowicz, MA. We were also honoured to host Katarzyna Grzelak MA, head of the branch of the Lower Silesian Voivodship Labor Office in Jelenia Góra, who gave foreign students sweet gifts and publications in English about living and working in Poland.
The participants of the evening shared the holy wafer (oplatek) and then had the opportunity to taste traditional Christmas Eve dishes: borscht with dumplings and dumplings with cabbage and mushrooms. Sweet snacks were prepared by foreign students. During the workshop part, students decorated Christmas baubles and prepared decorations for the Christmas tree. They were also visited by Santa Claus!
The highlight of the evening was the performance of the "Janicki" Band. Band members not only sang popular Christmas carols and traditional highlander songs, but also talked about old Polish Christmas traditions: theatre scenes"Herody", the animated Christmas Nativity Play and Turoń- half goat, half buffalo, which chased everyone around the entire Student Hall Conference Room. Everybody enjoyed the relaxed and joyful atmosphere.
The KPSW Career Office had a huge role in the preparation of the event: Mr. Anna Szach and Natalia Niemotko, who acquired sponsors of gifts for students: Vobis from Złotoryja, Jelenia Plast. The Miedzianka Brewery also supported us. Thank you to all sponsors, participants and supporters!
Footage of the Christmas Carols concert can be seen here: http://www.kpswjg.pl/pl/news/jaselka-2019-relacja
Footage of the Englih Christma concert can be watched here: http://www.kpswjg.pl/pl/news/english-christmas-concert-iii
And the photo-show from the Traditions and Tolerance Evening is to be accessed from the Polish website here: http://www.kpswjg.pl/pl/news/wieczor-tradycji-i-tolerancji-relacja
Written by: Kamila Biniek
