July 19, 2010 issue
Iowa students experience Poland
By Marcus MillerKALONA, Iowa — Five students from Iowa Mennonite School spent part of their summer learning about Polish life and culture.
A group from Iowa Mennonite School meets with Ambassador Sciwinski, seated, a retired Polish official. From left are Amanda Bartel, Taylor Fulton, teacher Marcus Miller, Gretchen Geyer, Aliese Gingerich and Jess Miller.
They went as part of the U.S.-Poland Parliamentary Youth Exchange Leadership Program.
The students and their teacher, Marcus Miller, arrived in Lodz, a city of 800,000 people, June 5 and spent the next three weeks living with host families, attending classes and visiting historical and cultural sites. They also gave four presentations about the United States, Iowa and IMS.
From Lodz the group traveled to Warsaw, where they met high school groups from Des Moines, Iowa and Chicago. Activities in Warsaw focused on introducing the American students to Polish history and government.
Representatives of the three largest political parties described Polish politics and issues, and students were given a tour of the Polish legislative chambers. A visit with a deputy editor of Polityka, the leading news magazine in Poland, gave the students insights into how one media outlet has interpreted Polish politics.
The students toured the newly opened Warsaw Uprising Museum, which commemorates the struggle against Nazi occupation during World War II, and to listen to a Chopin concert celebrating the composer’s 200th birthday.
From Warsaw the students traveled to Krakow, where they joined with Polish students to create community service projects for the host cities. One of their proposals will be funded by the Kosciuszko Foundation.
IMS students participating in the trip were Amanda Bartel, Taylor Fulton, Gretchen Geyer, Aliese Gingerich and Jess Miller.
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