Short Waves Festival 2018

Short Waves Festival 2018

I feel like last week (20-25.03.2018) was one of the most challenging and inspiring time of my recent years. It was all because I had to combine university, apprenticeship and volunteering at Short Waves Film Festival 2018 at the same time. And believe me or not, I've become time management's master and also I think that short-haul runs are my cup of tea. Especially from Rondo Kaponiera to Kino Muza.

It wasn't my first time being a volunteer during culture-related events. However, I find SWF 2018 very original and outstanding, I'm going to explain you why. 

So, the specificity of SWF lies in the program of screenings shown during this festival. For example, my duty was to keep eye on screenings in Kino Muza, which were all related to the topic of Brexit, mostly depicted from a perspective of a single individual. Some of the shooting locations were in Ireland or Scotland so I had a great opportunity to practice my comprehension skill ;)  

Screenings in Kino Muza might not seem so extraordinary, so let me tell you something about an event which inspired me the most. Random Home Cinema - this is a screening organised with the help of regular citizens. They sign up to offer their own flats, in which a screening takes place. The SWF crew then chooses a few flats. The exact place, time and topic are top secret for everyone, until people interested receive a message with those infos ( usually 2 hours before screening). I participated in RHC only once and that one covered the topic of future. The flat was especially redecorated and snacks, pillows and some drinks ( :) ) vere provided. Then around 30 people sat on the floor and watched a few short films connected with future and technology. 

I know nothing about interiors, but this one was perfect.

The second, most original screening in my opinion was  A Wall Is A Screen in which a group of people could walk around Poznań's Old Town and watch short movies on the city's walls. Screenings' places hadn't been picked randomly, all of them were connected to the topic of the movie. For example, Polish short film entitled "Tango" was shown next to a Dance School's banner. 

Screening in the Wrocławska tram stop, presenting a movie about a guy who was cleaning tram and trains' windows. 

OK, I see that my post has become extremely long, so to finish it, I'll show you some perks of being a volunteer, except for the opportunity to watch all of the movies for free, an obvious one :D

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Short Waves Festival.

Meeting people with whom you can share your taste.

Some of the movies are available online, so how about watching one or two on our English classes? :)

How to transform your home into a little zoo

How to transform your home into a little zoo.

Don't worry, this is not gonna be a process paragraph ;) 

Since I can't (actually no one can) use photos from the Internet on my blog, I've decided to write about things strongly connected with my life, so I can use my own photos :) 

So was The Mentor Project, so are cats.

Everyone in my immediate family is a huge fan of this little furry creatures. Since I remember, you could find a cat running through our garden or chilling on our sofas. However, we never had more than two cats at the same time. Through the last few years things have changed due to some unexpected events and now we have three cats, which took control over our daily routine. 

At the beginning there was only one, Jenny, but now we call her Grandma, because she's around 14 years old!

A few years later, I rescued a little kitty which was hiding somewhere in the chassis of a car in the parking lot. For some reason, she still doesn't have a name, nobody was creative enough to invent one which would fit to her personality.  Jenny hates her wholeheartedly. 

And one evening, almost a year ago, my mum and my stepfather had found a wounded kitty on the pavement, probably hit by a car. They decided to take her to the vet and after that she became our third baby. Unfortunately, she hasn't got a tail, it had to be amputated after the accident. That's why I'd like to call her my little bear, but she also doesn't have any official name, oops. 

So now, our life is filled with cat races between rooms and the corridor, huge fights about a place to sleep and a great deal of stroking and huging. 

That's how living in a zoo looks like: 

This photo is entitled "Meat on the table":

That's why I can't do my homework on time:

Hatred is in the air:

Cat The Traveler:

And to finish this post, my Sleeping Beauties:

The Mentor Project

In September 2017 I had made a very spontaneous decision. I had decided to become a mentor for an Erasmus student who came to Poland for a winter semester. 

A few words about this project. A mentor is obliged to help an Erasmus student on several levels. At the beginning you have to deal with some administration stuff like dormitory, student's ID and other very boring activities. However, there are also some more interesting aspects of taking part in that project. One of your responsabilities is to show your "mentee" the variety of Polish culture, atmosphere and events. Since they're at our university at least for a half of the year, they have to know how life in Poland looks like on daily basis.

Due to the fact that I replied so late for The Mentor Project, I couldn't fill up the questionnaire, so I didn't have any idea who it would be. Boy, girl, older than me, younger than me, from France or maybe from China? 

And that's how I met Hatice.

And that's when our adventure began. 

A selfie from the first day we met each other

Hatice is from Turkey and we got along so well, that I wasn't just her mentor, we became buddies. I was spending a lot of time with her, helping her out or just having fun together, therefore I met other people from Turkey who were here on Erasmus, too. 

We created some kind of international squad, if you can call it that way.

We learned from each other a lot, because we both wanted to show our country in the most interesting way possible. So the first aspect was the cuisine, obviously. First, I got invited to their dormitory for a Turkish evening. They prepared for me traditional Turkish meals, sweets and COFFEE (OMG, Turkish coffee people, that's what you need in your life, trust me).

                         Turkish coffee prepared in an almost ritual way, served with special Turkish delights.

                                   Pepper filled with rice and some spices, with yoghurt served on the side 

To return the favor, I invited them for a Polish evening in my flat. It was the first time I prepared dinner for others. I had decided to prepare gzik and tomato soup. No one died, I swear. 

                                                                    Still happy, before being poisoned

And for me, the most important thing was to show Hatice and Simge (two girls I befriended with the most) life in Poland away from big city. Because that's a completely different way of living, if you ask me. So I took them to my hometown for a weekend. We did some sightseeing with my sister, spent some time with my immediate family and also I took them to a mass, which was as exotic for me as for them ;) Muslims on a catholic ceremony, that was a true intercultural experience!

                                               Hatice and Simge exploring Czarnków's beautiful landscape.

                                                                                                           Family time!

I taught Hatice that playing board and card games might be a great way to spent time with friends. And she taught me that spending 200zł on these games isn't a bad idea at all. 

                                                                                              Hatice and her new BFFs

                                            

                                                           So why is it worth to become a Mentor?

It is very likely that you will get an unexpected homemade (dormitory-made ;) ), chocolate birthday cake! 

                                                                                                     Our Farewell Party. 

My Turkish squad, as I like to call them, and THE CAKE <3 

Plans for summer? TURKEY!