Blog

The first time I went to Olomouc was as a university student and just like my peers, I became fascinated by this small Czech town. To this very day, I cannot say what its charm was exactly, whether it was the beautifully refurbished university library, the cobble stones surrounding the centre and the university or… Read more Read More...

Some weeks ago we were talking in class about the cities called Santiago in the world, such as Santiago de Cuba, Santiago de Chile and Santiago de Compostela (Spain). All of them have something in common: the Spanish language. For the sake of geographical proximity, although unknown to me, I will focus on the last… Read more Read More...

As part of my degree programme in languages, the third year is spent abroad, either on a work or study placement. It is undoubtedly the part of the course that students look forward to the most and often describe as ‘the best year of their life’. I have just started my second placement in Porto,… Read more Read More...

Wings of desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) is the only film I have seen more than once and it is definitely my favourite. It was directed by Wim Wenders in 1987 and awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.  There are several reasons which make the film so special and lyrical. First of all, it is… Read more Read More...

I stepped off the boat onto a land smothered with jade flora.  Our senses were immediately awaked by the shades of green sandwiched between the turquoise sea and the emerald sky.  My travelling companions and I looked up at the mountainous expanse before us.  Orchid Island lies about 30 kilometres off the south-east coast of… Read more Read More...

You hear so much these days about Berlin being so cool and ‘the place to be’ that some Berliners tell you that they are starting to feel fed up (which is somehow understandable, even if you are a cool person, wouldn’t you also ask people to stop telling you that all the time?). It is… Read more Read More...

Zdzisław Beksiński, born on the 24th February 1929 in Sanok, is a great Polish painter, sculptor and photographer. He is someone I have always heard of, since my hometown, a city in the South of Poland, Częstochowa, proudly owns a museum, where 50 of his drawings and paintings are exhibited. It is, without a doubt,… Read more Read More...

A good traveller has no fixed plans And is not intent upon arriving  Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching  I find travel writing fascinating, and so was the recent publication by Dan Kieran, Idle Traveller. The Art of Slow Travel. It is a very interesting read, which offers an attempt to explore and understand the concept… Read more Read More...

Teaching Polish as a Foreign Language In February 2014, I went to Kraków, Poland to attend a five day training course in teaching Polish as a Foreign Language. The training was organised by a local language school, GLOSSA and participants could apply for an EU grant, Grundving available for lifelong learning programmes.   At the… Read more Read More...

  There are many myths and legends about the Balkans. The best way to decide which of them are true is, of course, to visit the region yourself. Since I am studying the Serbian language, I have been to Serbia several times. Most recently I stayed in Belgrade for half a year and I had… Read more Read More...