From my limited observations, I have found that Polish people tend to be very active and more health-aware than Americans. Many of my students engage in multiple sports activities on a regular basis. One popular sport among my students is running, and that has generated more than one interesting conversation. They put me to shame with their dedication to the sport, with some of them running 2,000+ miles per year. They compete in marathons and even ultra marathons as if they are nothing more than a leisurely stroll through the park. Recently, I had an opportunity to run in a 5k race right here in Mińsk Mazowiecki. This race is a yearly community event with multiple distances and several thousand participants. Kids line up along the street to hand out water to the runners. Several of my students were involved in this event as well. It was a great feeling to have a student friend standing by, cheering me on. I hope to participate in more of these events in the future. Students notice and appreciate when we intentionally do things to connect with them.

We recently had another intriguing idea, and I don’t think this has garnered much attention yet, but maybe it will in the future. We have a beautiful park in Mińsk, with plenty of greenspace and a few small recreational areas. Sadly, it lacked a functional tennis court, until now. At one time there was a tennis court, but the net system was long gone and weeds had grown up through the concrete. We attacked it, clearing away the weeds and cleaning the surface. After a bit of hard work and a few dollars spent on a portable tennis net, we have a functional tennis court where for a long time there was nothing but a forlorn slab of concrete. It still needs a bit of work, but we’ve had some good times with it already. It’s satisfying to find little ways like this to give back to the community.