by George J Elbaum

During our visit to Warsaw’s Gymnazjum No. 11 it seemed that everything worked so well.  The staff was warm and welcoming, the students were well-prepared and enthusiastic, the library where I spoke was an intimate space with good acoustics, so a microphone was not needed, and we were given beautiful flowers, lovely cards painted by one of the students, plus chocolate-coated plums (my wife Mimi’s favorite) – it all produced a comfortable feeling of a friendly conversation.  After leaving Gymnazjum   No. 11 Mimi and I talked about it being such a gratifying experience.  In short, that’s the best way to describe it!

The event was organized by the school’s Russian teacher Halina Danyluk (with whom I had an enjoyable conversation in Russian) with support from English teacher Marzena Zimnowlodzka, and arranged by teacher Violetta Tarnowska from Gymnazjum No. 3, who attended the whole session.

the audience

starting my talk