High

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Editor-in-chief Graphic editor

Aleksandra Szulowska

Writers

Małgorzata Duluk Kuba Orliński Gabriela Płażalska Natalia Legień Anna Ignaczak Julia Zasowska Emma Sullivan

Supervisors

Justyna Deja Artur Nowaczyk

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Table of contents

4 SUMMER MEMORIES - 12 MY FIRST TIME(S)

Youth exchange story Exchange student edition

GUIDE: How to survive Żeromski?

14 Movies vs. reality

5

A DAY IN LIFE of a 1st grader

16 Can you feel the

6

SUMMER VIBES in Warsaw?

8 INTERVIEW TIME: Tattoo artists

10 TEACHERS in students eyes

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17 Syrian refugees -

ARE YOU FOR OR AGAINST?

Summer vacations… it does feel like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? But let’s forget about our gloomy school

lives just for a moment, and sink into those beautiful and sunny summer memories.

This year I, together with two of my friends, decided

to take part in an Erasmus+ project. About a month

long, three weeks in Holland, few days in Poland and

Romania; 60 participants in all, approximately 20

from each country. Not much information, but that

was all we needed to already get all pumped up for

the idea. We were so besotted, we didn’t really care

that our coach was more or less 7 hours late and

some people had to sleep in Tesco, waiting for our

lovely Romanian drivers to arrive. We also didn’t

mind over 20 hours journeys without air-condition

during which, some of us (me included) slept on the

bus floor. Believe me that there were many other

inconveniences, but we were able to look beyond

them and enjoy every extraordinary moment of the

adventure.

It definitely wouldn’t be possible, if it wasn’t for the

people. One and only Chris, the organizer of the

whole project, a teenager in the body of 50-year old.

Let’s just say he once threw a party at 3 a.m. waking

everyone up. He’s just the kind of a person that will

be your best friend or a parent depending on, who

do you need at the moment. And the participants?

I’ve never met so many am/azing, crazy and caring

humans before. Day by day everybody became more

and more open, we started talking, eating and

spending free time in mixed-nations groups. Of

course the differences in lifestyles were visible, but

I think it was another great thing about the project,

that firstly we could learn about them existing and

secondly if a problem arose, we

tried to deal with it in a way that wouldn’t hurt

anyone’s feelings. It was one of many life lessons

I got to experience in there, all of which made me

feel more mature.

Let’s get down to the FUN parts, as it was mostly

what the project consisted of. Beginning with the

integrating games, such as moving a ball from one

person to another without using your hands (we

ended up with a ping-pong ball); an activity with an

egg, which we had to write song about (some epic

rap battles had taken place) and create a nest for, as

the egg was later thrown from heights (rest in peace

Mr. TrappEgg). Believe me I could go on and on, but

I also have to tell you about other events. Every

night we had a party. Once there was a dress up

one, on which polish group decided to become

“Janusze”, it looked hilarious. We had many trips,

i.e. to theme park, the seaside or museums. We

visited Amsterdam, which by the way, was

breathtaking. The most unusual event we attended

were tractors races, once you know the rules, you

fall in love with it (bets included).

I guess that’s why I adored it so much, the diversity

of activities, people, cultures, it all made a delightful

combination, for which I long till now. You should

have seen our ‘goodbyes’ (about 2 hours long and

thousands of tears wet). But to end on a positive

note, I can let you in on that we still keep in touch,

what’s more, one of our Dutch friends is coming to

Warsaw in about a month and we hope it’s just the

inception of our never-ending journey!

Gabriela Płażalska

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SUMMER MEMORIES Erasmus + experiance

Hello 1st graders – Bienvenue à Żeromski!

Choosing the right high school isn’t simple – there are more than 500 high schools in Warsaw and we all

wanted to choose the right one. In our case, it turned out to be Żeromski. Now, the hard part

commences – we must survive 3 years here. So, as a 3rd grader, I’ll give you some tips on what I’ve

learned throughout these amazing years. Let’s start a good day in Żerom:

A positive way of thinking is the basis for a good

day. So try to start your day with a smile and come

to school fresh as a daisy, glowing with energy. It

will not only help you but also all your friends –

people around us affect us and a good mood is

always contagious. At the entry to our school say

“Dzień dobry, miłego dnia!”, maybe it will make

somebody feel better. Of course, if you spent the

night reading the last chapters of a set book for

Polish class, you’d better start your day with a

magical cup of coffee from our snack bar but don’t

forget - officially, “you are drinking Inka”, as regular

coffee has become illegal in our school :(

Unless you are a genius, it’s natural that one day

you’ll get a negative grade. But do not ever forget

that it happens to everyone! For sure, too many bad

grades means you should maybe make more effort,

however it shouldn’t discourage you. Sometimes

stress influences your work - even after you’ve

spent the whole weekend doing math exercises,

you come to the test and found out you don’t

remember a single thing. That’s why you should try

to chill out. Furthermore, you are studying for

yourself, not because you’re taking part in a rat

race.

There comes a time during the day, when the

only thing you crave is to go home straight into

your bed and sleep. Especially, when you have 9

periods… The best way to deal with lassitude is

to spend time with your friends - to laugh with

them, because it can make you more relaxed and

lighten you up. Then, time seems to fly and

before you know it, you’re back home.

Clever organisation skills may help you manage

school easier and so, let you have more leisure

time, for hobbies or for hanging out with friends

after school. The best way to achieve good

results and not to feel swamped with homework

is to study systematically. By this I mean- avoid

to leave school work for Sunday or late hours –

usually it’s just not effective.

Additionally, in Żeromski you have a lot of

occasions to organise or to take part in festivals,

shows and performances. It’s a great

opportunity to vivify a little more our school and

a perfect way to have some fun over the day. Of

course, rehearsals for such things are usually

during classes, so unfortunately, you’ll have to

skip one or two periods ;)

Surviving Żerom isn’t easy – but it’s not impossible. Your attitude towards school is the most important

thing. Positive thinking will help you fight the stress. Moreover, letting your hair down once in a while is

crucial in keeping mental health and surviving three unforgettable years in Żeromski.

Good luck!

Gosia Duluk 5

GUIDE: How to survive Żerom?

I halt to a rather abrupt stop just in front of the school gates to check my timing for today. Ok, I have 4 minutes to get to the changing rooms, find my class number and then (the hardest part!) get there before the bell rings. I can do this! I got to the right changing room without bigger problems, thanks to the rather unique decoration in the form of a broken TV set and a beautiful neon-pink clown wig. How pretty.

Graceful as always, I run into a very disgruntled 2nd or 3rd grader (I can’t really tell them apart) while jumping up the stairs to reach the notification board. ”Watch it!” he shouted after me, his face affronted. “Sorry!” I screeched, don’t really turning back to see if I’ve done him any damage. The problem with my upper-classmen is that for me, they are just a bunch of anonymous faces morphing into one big mass of people. Flowing up and down the stairs like a colorful river, clogging up the corridors, confusing me and overall making it even more difficult to move around.

It feels strange to be one of the youngest ones in school again. It brings back a lot of memories from 3 years ago, from middle school. The same kind of absolute confusion, being lost before every class, chaos, anxiety mixed with anticipation before the very first day .The pressure to be accepted -will I fit in? What about my new class? Also, there is this sense of starting over, beginning a new adventure in life. Again, you have a white sheet of paper before you. What you write on it, how you’ll create yourself this time, it is all up to you. One of the biggest pains of a first grader is getting the hang of the notification board/schedule (I call it action plan). Before every lesson, I and a couple of my classmates gather around it, quite intimidated by the amount of information squeezed into such a small amount of space. Conversations in front of it sound more or less like this:

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- Wait, how do you know you’ve got PE

and not IT? And how am I supposed to

know which group of Spanish I am in?

- Guys, this is such a disaster, do you

know where I should go for Italian?

-Hey, didn’t you say you were going to

attend French?

- Oh, look, it says here that we’re gonna

have a substitute teacher on maths…

I wonder what class we should go to.

- Oh, what a drag, they could just let us

go home! That’s how it worked in my old

school.

- Yeah, but you’re not in your old school

anymore, mate.

- Does anybody know where exactly class

number 14 is located ?

- Dude, I have absolutely no idea…

A DAY IN LIFE

of a 1st grader

And so it goes all day… But overall, the good aspects heavily outweigh the bad ones. Most of us were pleasantly surprised by the amount of freedom we were given. In my old school it wouldn’t even cross my mind to go out of the school during breaks to buy something to eat or just get some fresh air. Here it is a normal, everyday situation. I’ve seen people eating takeouts from a Chinese restaurant on the corner like this is the most normal thing to do! No, it is not! You don’t appreciate the freedom you have. I also really like the mature way we are treated- not like a bunch of kids without the ability to think for themselves that have to be constantly controlled, but more like young adults that you can actually talk with about something quite intelligent. Lessons are often more in the form of a discussion, both the teacher and students participating. I think this is so much better than a teacher droning on for straight 45 minutes with the most bored face on and an attitude that just screams “I am doing you all a favor by being here”.

Time flies and slowly, we begin to adjust...

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Julia Zasowska

„ I got my…

Lunch packed up,

Boots tied tight

I hope I don’t get in a fight!

Oh, back to school!

Back to school…

Back to… school!”

-“Billy Madison”

What's cool, colorful, bad-ass and painful? Yep,

you got it. Tattoos. Although the fashion for

them begun as far back as the Neolithic era (the

oldest example found was from 4000 BC!) they

are still extremely popular and fashionable. On

holidays, we could see lots and lots of teenagers

wearing new trend – ‘metalic tatoos’. When it

comes to them, you only stick it on your body

and that’s it. But what if after looking at them,

you actually now want to get a real one?

This month we bring you an interview with two

professional tattooists from a tattoo parlor in

Warsaw. We asked them questions most of you

might want to get answers to before making

such a big decision.

One of the first things people ask when seeing a

tattoo is 'Did it hurt much when you had it

done?' So we went right ahead and asked our

interviewees.

Jane: ‘What hurts the least is actually not

having a tattoo done. It depends on the person

but really, the places where it hurts the least

are those where the skin is not close to the

bone, i.e. the arm or on the calf, while the

ribcage are and the upper side of the foot is

where it hurts the most.’

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Jim: ‘Of course when it's too much we take a break

or reschedule for another day, no problem.'

There are many aspects to having a tattoo. Since we

are still in high school we will have to answer to our

parents.

Jane: ‘Reaction to my first tattoo? Confusion

mostly, but they got used to it in the end.’

Jim: ‘Mine were like most parents - really skeptic

about it, but they didn't cut me out of their will

haha'

So is there a situation where you might regret a

tattoo?

Jane: ‘No that has never happened. And if there is

a project that looks like it's going to be a bad fit for

the person I don't do it and try to talk them into

some other design.'

Many people have doubt about how the tattoos

will look in a couple year time. What's your take on

that?

Jane: ‘Well, they will look just as rad as they do

now.'

The world of

tatto

os

Does it ever get boring though?

Jim: ‘Well after a while when the hype is gone

you tend to forget it's even there - it becomes a

part of you. I think now it would be even

weirder not to have it there.'

You might say: What if I don't know what I

want yet?

Jane:’ First we sit down with the client and we

go together through the process of making the

design. Sometimes when a person comes with

an idea after the talk we get something very

different from the original.'

Last thing people must be curious about is of

course the price.

Jane: ‘It really depends on the parlor. The size

or complexity doesn't matter just the time

required to paint it - here we charge 250 zł per

hour.'

Ok, so now something for the people who are

thinking about getting into the business

themselves. We asked what were their

inspirations?

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Jane: ‘Well I've been wanting to become an artist

ever since I was 3 years old. When I was 12 I

decided to go to ASP to learn graphic design. But

only after got my diploma, when I was looking

around for a job, did I realize I want to go for

tattooing. My previous jobs at various offices and

print shops didn't last long because I always felt

like they cramped my style - I couldn't realize my

potential. But here I can create designs of my own

which feels... liberating. Once we had a client, who

had a nickname chicken, and our concept turned

out during our talk to be a three-headed chicken,

which accurately depicts how much freedom as

artists we have around here.’

Jim: ‘Yeah that is definitely the best thing about

this job. But my story is a bit different. I originally

studied psychology. But I always had a lot of

people with tattoos around me and after some

time I sort of tagged along.'

How did you get into the business itself?

Jim: ‘It was sort of a coincidence. I heard of a job

offer in Wrocław where I would get to be the

parlor manager and after some time the owner

suggested I should start designing projects myself,

so it was mostly because of him.'

Kuba Orliński

So, the new school year has started and the fresh

meat has arrived. Most of us first-graders are still

somewhat freaked out, but we have to adapt at

some point. And what better way is there, pray tell,

than by comparing your new masters to famous

movie characters?

I don’t know about the rest of you, but standing in

that stuffy gym on September 1st was a pretty

anxious situation. The tension only rose after the

‘Vader March’ I witnessed during the teacher

introduction. You could almost hear the Star Wars

theme song playing in the background as you

watched your new probation officers walk along that

gray carpet, marching in imperiously, as though it

really were the Death Star’s hangar bay.

My form teacher, however? Doesn’t even faintly

remind me of anything Star Wars related. No, she’s a

ball of sunshine who could probably give Tinkerbell a

run for her money. That amazing energy, that

dazzling smile - some people just give you that full of

energy, exciting fairy vibe, and that’s something

Miss D. emanates everywhere. English class with her

is always loads of fun!

Now let’s move on to the Teller of Charming

Anecdotes. This British-accented English teacher is

sarcastic, witty and strangely imaginative - who

could I possibly provide as a doppelganger? Does the

name Jeremy Clarkson ring a bell? They both share

that same dry sense of humor where you’re not

always sure whether they’re joking or not, and both

have some rather...specific (read: controversial)

opinions. The irony of their jokes is either appalling

or burst-out-laughing funny e.g. Cheer up (fill in the

blank) you may have broken your legs, but at least

you’re not dead! And, appearance wise, is it just me

or does he faintly remind you of Rango?

Inspiring is my kind Polish teacher who somewhat

reminds me of Mr. Keating from ‘Dead Poets

Society’. She may not be as against-the-system as

her fictional counterpart, but she’s certainly

inspiring and atypical in her teaching approach (in a

good sense, of course). For some reason our class

discussions have a tendency to veer towards Disco

Polo and our mostly mutual disapproval of it, but

that’s High School for you.

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TEACHERS AS

WE SEE THEM

It is with a heavy hand weighing on my heart that I write about this next show, but I feel almost compelled to mention…’Szkoła’. My comparison will be lost on those of you who haven’t heard of this Polish para documentary, but there is a Maths teacher who is stunningly similar to my own History teacher. Mrs. Kremer is a serious yet good-natured teacher, who might be demanding and strict but ultimately has your best interests at heart. The teacher from ‘Szkoła’ is also known as ‘The Dragon Lady’ and although we don’t go to such extremes, this is another resemblance the two teachers share - the ability to strike fear in the hearts of many. I bet many of you know this next one. He’s a charming Civics teacher who is an advocate of our school’s pseudo-motto “There is no free time, there is only time for development and education.”. Basically, it means we get a truckload of homework every week, but I’m sure it’ll one day come in handy - maybe I’ll be able to incapacitate a burglar with my superior knowledge of social diagnosis results in Scandinavia? Or better yet, I’d just throw my rapidly growing stack of current events reports at an domestic intruder. The paper cuts alone would cause severe blood loss. I realise some of my analogies are pretty far out, but Mr. Homework reminds me of a more sarcastic version of Harry Potter. Both are so mellow, but ours is deceptively calm, which means that you don’t really feel panic until you open your notebook at home and think “Holy **** that’s a lot. When did the assignments pile up? What about my Chemistry homework?!?” And on that note, I bid you farewell. It’s been loads of fun comparing our school’s faculty members with fictional characters. It’s a way of making school less tense and finding a new outlook on your teachers’ lives. Who knows, maybe you guys have got even weirder associations than me. Some of you have been at Żeromski High longer; I bet you’ve got some really crazy stories to back up your own outlandish counterpart candidates.

Natalia Legień

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First Polish Word

Now, when you look at the word, “Warsaw,” you can’t

honestly tell me that your mind links this word to a

sound that intimately resembles a cat hacking up a

hairball. It was late in May when I found out that I

would be living in Warsaw. For a solid two months,

when people asked where I would be living, I

diligently replied, “War-saw.” No “v” or even “sh”

sound escaped my mouth when performing this word.

In fact, it wasn’t until I heard my host family say,

“Welcome to Warszawa” and offered a quick, “Bless

you,” that I realized this was true pronunciation.

This marks the moment in which Emma Sullivan came

to the realization that nothing is ever as it seems and

Polish pronunciation may be the death of her. This was

not her first Polish word; however, it may very well be

her last.

First Polish Meal

It was a simple evening at the home of one of my host

parents’ close friends. My parents kept referring to it

as a barbeque, though I was quite sure there would be

no barbeque sauce (as I know it) present at this

gathering. We arrived and joined their friends at a

long picnic table.

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From that point on, I can’t remember one moment

in which I was not being prodded with food. All

was well until this solid black figure appeared on

my plate. It vaguely resembled my nightmares and

a piece of dried poo. They called it a “blood

sausage.” It was a black object. Black, meaning

dark, mysterious and heavily associated with

witchcraft. I took a bite. Once, as a child, I

attended a bug fair with my mother and ate a chip

dipped in a sauce made entirely out of worm guts.

This “blood sausage” experience was far worse.

First Embarrassing Situation

It was at a small Biedronka in the town of Toruń. I

was there for an exchange student orientation. Our

first night there, we visited a gingerbread museum

and then journeyed south for a boat ride on the

Vistula. We had stopped, temporarily, at this

particular store along the way. While inside, I found

a display of various fruits and nuts. In America, it is

custom to just scoop and mix our preferred items in

one bag and check out. Apparently, that is not the

case here. When I walked up to the cashier and

handed her my bag of cranberries, peanuts and

cashews, all I received in return was a black stare

followed by cruel laughter.

MY FIRST TIME(S)

- exchange student edition

She sat there and laughed at me far longer than I would

have liked as the line continued to grow. She continued

checking out other costumers, looking over at my

helpless self occasionally and breaking out into laughter.

After a couple of minutes of silent stares and hidden

giggles from our audience, the manager finally surfaced.

The cashier tried to explain the situation to the manager,

but couldn’t hold it together. I interjected and offered to

pay the full weight of the most expensive item. They

agreed; I paid for the bag of nuts and went outside to

cry. I’m stronger for it.

First Day of School

My host mom told me that it is customary for all

students to wear blue, black and white on their first day

of school. Maggie, my friend living in Kraków, told me

that her host sister told her to wear a white button-up, a

navy skirt, a black cardigan, pantyhose and black dress

shoes. I forgot to bring all of those things for my

exchange, so I wore a black dress. My friend, Beré

(exchange student in Katowice), lost all of her shoes

while flying from Mexico. She had to buy a pair of Crocs

in the airport on the way to Poland. So, on her first day

of school in Poland, all of the girls were in high heels and

Beré was in Crocs. For me, the day was short because it

was purely ceremonial. I met my class and a few of my

teachers, but first impressions often die as greater

knowledge is gained. And they have.

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First Impression

In the first moments, my emotions were biased

toward adrenaline and ignorance, and I felt nothing

but love for the ground that I found beneath my

feet. As I settled into a routine and found mundane

life in the midst of unfamiliarity, I found that life is

not that different here than it is in America. I am the

same person, and the people that surround me

yearn for the same things. We often find that our

first impressions are incorrect as the excitement

dies. My impressions have familiarized, but I have

never lost the sense of excitement necessary for

disheveling my ignorance. I am still in love.

Emma Sullivan

Nowadays, it’s basically impossible to find a teenager who has never watched an American movie. At some point

of our lives we all get to see “High School Musical’s” and at first we’re astonished by it. Although these movies

often turn out to be as real as fantasy books, I used to believe them as a kid. I guess we all did. Because of that,

I’ve prepared a short list of some differences between movie high schools and real high schools that hit me most

when I made my first steps in Żeromski High School.

Lockers

Wonderful lockers, where you can put your stuff

between classes, where you can stick pictures of

your friends, pets and your celebrity crush, where

you stop by during each break just to gaze after that

cute guy who’s your locker-neighbour…

Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? The only issue is that

those beautiful lockers don’t exist in our high school.

We do have a few, but you have to pay for them and

none of the first graders have the privilege to

actually use one, because there’s not enough.

Canteen

In every story located in high school there is space

for school canteen. It’s usually big, full of round

tables which define your identity (a table for

sportsmen, for cheerleaders, for nerds, for freaks,

for those who are smart and those who are just the

opposite etc.) and are overcrowded. And don’t

forget about the food! It has to look like it’s already

been eaten and it has to be served by rude ladies.

Also, I have never seen anyone paying for it.

Luckily, the canteen in Żeromski is completely

different. It might not be very big, but it sure is cosy.

There’s a place for everyone and you can chat with

everybody, not only “your kind”. The food is always

fresh and tasty, and people selling it are really

friendly. I don't think it will be very surprising, but it

also isn't free. School doesn't own the food, some

caterers bring it in every afternoon and if you want

to eat something warm you have to pay for it. The

good thing is in Żeromski, there is also cafeteria in

which you can buy food thorough the day. It surely

is worth the money, as after new law regulations

everything is healthy and fat/sugar/salt free.

Classrooms

In American movies the classrooms are huge and

there are single desks. That doesn’t really create a

friendly atmosphere between the students, as they

sit far away from each other. Our school is more

helpful when it comes to social life. The classrooms

are relatively small and the desks are for two or even

three people. This makes us feel comfortable -

there’s always someone to ask about something you

didn’t hear, or about which classroom to go to after

the break.

Of course, there aren't only bright sides of our

classrooms. They're way dirtier than those shown in

movies and the paint on the walls is really old in

some of them…

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POPULAR HIGH SCHOOL MOVIES

VS.

POLISH REALITY

Extracurricular activities

High schools from the TV always offer a wide range of

extracurricular activities for their students - drama

classes, teams for every sport existing on the world,

choir, school’s band… In these movies it’s all organised

by the teachers.

Żeromski unfortunately doesn't offer many things to do

after classes, but let’s be realistic - we haven’t really

done anything to organize them YET. There is a bilingual

newspaper (which you’re reading right now!) and a

regular one too, but we had to create them ourselves.

The same goes for any other activities. If you want to do

something connected with your interests at school, just

tell someone! If there’s a bigger group interested in it,

I’m sure that our teachers will help you organise it, but

you can’t leave it to them - it’s your passion, so you

have to take initiative.

Homework

Have you ever seen a teacher giving homework to his

students in a movie? This hardly ever happens. The plot

just doesn’t let any distractions in - the main characters

are too focused on their football team/singing contest

etc. In real school, you do have homework. But it’s not

that bad. At least you’re forced to repeat the material

that you need to know anyway, so it may be easier on

tests.

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School proms

Let’s face the truth - there’s no high school movie

without a prom. This just doesn’t happen. There’s

always some connection to the big ball at the end of

high school, where girls are wearing Cinderella

dresses while dancing with their Prince Charming.

Everyone is crazy about prom months before it

actually happens.

In Poland, we also have a prom at the end of high

school - it’s called “studniówka”, but I don’t really

see people talking about it all the time. It is

important somehow, of course, but I suppose that

only students in the 3rd grade see it as something

"real". While in the popular movies proms are

organized every year, in regular Polish high schools

you get to participate in it only when you're actually

graduating, high school. Because of that, most of the

1st- and 2nd-graders don't see the magic of it - we're

just busy doing other things that are coming sooner.

High school is surely different than what they show

in the movies, but I think that it’s not all bad. There

are things that could be changed and there are

things that are perfect as they are. But it’s not true

that you don’t have any influence on your school.

School creates us but also we create the school. We

have to keep in mind that we’re responsible for the

place we chose to study in.

Anna Ignaczak

There’s this one thing we all have in common as high

school students. We all hate the feeling of vacation’s

end. The phase when we have to change our time of

sleeping, start studying really hard again and live in

stress because of tests and unexpected questions. This

is literally the worst phase to handle. Personally, I still

haven’t changed the hour that I go to sleep, it’s still 2 or

3 a.m. In order to let you catch the last summer vibes I

want to recommend you some places in Warsaw where

you can feel like you’re still on vacation.

First of all, let’s focus on the most popular place in

Warsaw where people of all age spend time either on

hot summer days or cloudy and chilly autumn days.

Vistula’s beach was frequently used by citizens for

resting and enjoying sun this summer. Most of us went

there at least once in the past few months. Though it’s

not so hot anymore I still see people walking there,

parents playing with their children or runners with their

dogs. I even went there last weekend with my friends

for a walk and it still felt summery! I felt like school

problems vanished from my mind…

The best place to enjoy your time after school and

forget about homework and all that studying is

trampoline park in Hangar 646. It’s a complex of over 50

trampolines, sponge pool, acrobatic path and way

more! I haven’t been there yet, my classmate who had

been there told me that it is amazing and I’m sure I’m

going to try it!

16

The first thing you have to do there is a short

workout with a trainer and then you’re either left on

your own to jump and have fun or you can learn

basics of acrobatics like back flips to the sponge

pool. Though you have to pay 29 – 35 zł for one

hour, time flies by really quickly when you’re there

and it’s easy to believe for a moment that it’s still

summer.

The last place I want to recommend is a restaurant -

Diner 55 in the center of Warsaw. It’s a cozy and

calm place that serves a lot of delicious dishes. Most

of people I talked to recommend pancakes of all

kind. I recommend Oreo pancakes with blueberries

(truly summery fruits). They’re really sweet and

there are a lot of them on a plate so when I first saw

the portion my first reaction was “Wow, am I

supposed to eat all of it??” It’s worth its price. You

pay between 15 and 20 zł and you can fill your

stomach with delicious pancakes. Of course, if you

don’t like then you can try burgers, tacos and more.

Diner 55’s food is tasty and this restaurant is perfect

for a meeting with friends or even studying after

school.

These are only examples of a lot of places that you

can visit to catch the summer vibe again and run

away from school reality. It’s a perfect way of

spending weekends or Friday evenings. No more

school problems for a few hours!

Karolina Kacprzyk

FEEL THE SUMMER

VIBES IN Warsaw

Syrians are seeking refuge across the globe. Swimming across the Mediterranean, climbing fences, forging

passports. Extreme situations such as this are a product of the Arab Spring chain reaction of 2010. Either

sovereignty was assured (e.g. Egypt) or civil war broke out. The latter is what happened in Syria. Recent studies

have estimated a civilian death count of 110 thousand. This has forced many Syrian families out of their

homeland. Or has it? Many people claim that many of them are just economic migrants taking advantage of a

good opportunity. What do you think? Are you with or against the refugees?

- Our voice of conscience tells us to help those of us

whose fate has proven unfortunate

- Poland is a member of the European Union and

United Nations; in accordance with the ideals of these

organizations, it is Poland’s obligation to offer any

kind of support to people in dire need of it

- Providing assistance would mean many political

gains and creating a new, less xenophobic view of

Poland

- An influx of Syrian children would make our

population younger

- Employers will have a chance to hire more affordable

laborers

- Some of the long-term effects of granting refugees

asylum could include a major inflow of cash; refugees

accepted as immigrants are less likely to get

government aid, and they are use to less comfortable

lives than we are

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- Poland has already granted the refugee cause

around 13 million PLN and can't afford to donate

more, as our government funds can barely sustain the

Republic

- Many refugees are not eager to earn their keep;

some would much rather live off of financial aids in

Germany

- Cultural and religious differences could cause serious

conflicts and an escalation of racist attitudes among

the Polish nation

- Poland already has a high percentage of people who

struggle to make ends meet or are homeless

- There are many displaced Polish leaving in places

such as Kazakhstan, who wish to be repatriated to

Poland, which should be a top priority

- There is a serious risk of extreme islamists infiltrating

our borders and threatening the safety and lives of

many innocents

SYRIAN

REFUGEES

FOR AGAINST

CHECK US OUT ON:

http://issuu.com/zeromski_bilingual

http://www.zeromski.waw.pl/high/