The Promised Land

"Stara miłość nie rdzewieje." [Slight translation: Old love does not die.]

So, two longer days of classes completed, which means two days and two classes left before another weekend. Polish class on Monday morning included learning about some Polish history and monuments. After that, I had my history and politics classes. During the politics class, we discussed the current Constitution in Poland. My final class did not happen because we students waited thirty minutes before giving up, only to receive an email a few hours later that the professor was never going to show up because he had been undergoing medical tests at the hospital for having fainted earlier in the day. Today I had my history class followed by politics, where I learned that my professor is leaving for a trip tomorrow and will not return until the 11th of April. I had a break (picked up my Beethoven Festival ticket and enjoyed a few minutes of the nice Spring weather we had today - sunny and only slightly chilly) and then, during literature class, watched the first half of another Andrzej Wajda film based on a novel by Wladyslaw Reymont called "Promised Land." It is about three friends - a Pole, a Jew, and a German - who are entrepreneurs in Lodz in the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution. It reminds me of "The Jungle" and other either fictionalized or true stories about the negatives of industrial, urban life in the US and Great Britain. I spoke to another student later that I hear more about the problems that this revolution caused other places; I did not know that it affected Poland in a similar manner, with many poor working in the terrible, dangerous conditions of factories while greedy businessmen make money off of them. There is a lot more gore in the film than any of us were expecting, but I guess we saw the worst of it already. It is neat watching a movie that is more current in the time period being portrayed, but made longer ago than the last film. At least one actor is in both and it is interesting seeing him in the "future" while looking younger (since he is younger when this film was made). I am a bit curious what happens next and I suppose I will wait and see on Thursday. My Jews in Poland class was interesting as well since the teacher wanted more discussion today -he must still be a bit tired (especially after fainting and hospital testing yesterday). Tomorrow I have Polish in the morning, where we will continue talking about monuments and history and who knows what else. :-P I hope the weather continues to be nice because it is mainly Mondays and Tuesdays that I do not have as much time to enjoy the weather with the four classes I have throughout the day.

Oh, and I guess Obama will also be joining me in Poland before I depart: ;-)
http://wyborcza.pl/1,75478,9280595,Obama_przyjedzie_do_Polski.html