POLAND IS A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY FOR VISITING AND STUDYING!!
SEE PICTURES BELOW!!!

A Short-Term Study Abroad (STSA) is planned this summer for Poland through the Communication Department at Appalachian State.  This page was developed so you can see what a beautiful country it is!

The STSA is planned for May 21 through June 18, 2003.  The program will include visiting Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk and the Mazurian Lakes Region, plus 3 Days in Prague.  Finances permitting, we will take a short trip to Copenhagen.  Ten days of the trip will be spent at the University of Gdansk, studying with Polish professors.   You can earn 6 credit hours towards your graduation! (Selected Topics Courses from the Department of Communication.)  YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A COMMUNICATION MAJOR TO JOIN US!!!

Beneath the following pictures is a description of what your fees will pay for and a description of how the course will progress.
Zakopane, Poland 

This mountain region - in the Tatra Mountains is near Krakow and the border with Slovakia. 

Sites are beautiful - and there is much culture about which you can learn!

Zakopane, Poland 

Another breathtaking view of the Tatra Mountains from Zakopane! 

Factoid: The present-day Pope, Pope John Paul II, learned to ski in these mountains.  Up until his recent infirmities, he still went skiing there on his vacations. 
 
 
 

(Dr. Howard Dorgan took all the pictures from Zakopane area.)

Torun, Poland 

Although this looks like a cathedral, it is really the building that houses the Post Office and City Offices.  It has wonderful architectural detail, and was certainly a "sight to behold." 

Torun is where Copernicus was born and raised.  Copernicus' home is also in this town, as is a wonderful gingerbread factory, "Kopernik".  They produce and market GREAT cookies and market them worldwide- YES even in the USA!

More views of Poland  -this is an older building in Szczecin, Poland - close to the German Border and the Baltic Sea. 
Malbork, Poland 

This 13th Century Castle has been home to many groups, but it was originally home to Teutonic Knights. It was also inhabited by the Germans and the Russians at different points in time.

It is one of the sites we will visit on this trip.

Hel Peninsula, Poland 

If you look at a map of Poland, and look up to the Baltic Sea coast, you will see a peninsula that comes out over Gdansk.  This is known as Hel Peninsula.  There is a beautiful beach there (see below) and it is great fun to visit. 

This is also a place we will visit on our journeys.

Old Town Gdansk, Poland 

This is the Old Town section ("Stare Miasto") of Gdansk, taken from the Tower of the cathedral of St. Mary's.  The cathedral is over 900 years old (although much of it had to be rebuilt after WW II!) and you, too, can take some wonderful pictures IF you climb to the top of the tower!

Old Town Gdansk, Poland 

This is the main street, called "Drugi Targ" (which means "Long Street"), in Old Town Gdansk.  It RARELY looks like this in the summer - it is usually filled with people!  There are little shops all along it, outdoor pubs and restaurants, and "street vendors."  You will surely enjoy our trips down here!

 Old Town Gdansk 

Here is another glorious view from the tower of the Cathedral of St. Mary's in Old Town Gdansk. 

Special note: Look at the old mixed with the new....a mural is painted on the side of a building - painted in blue. 

 

Poznan, Poland 

This is the Old Town Square of Poznan - which is a city halfway between Berlin and Warsaw in Central Poland!  A street festival was taking place the weekend Drs. Gates, Pope & Moore visited!  Note, again, the outdoor pubs & restaurants - they are in every town and village we visit!  It's a "summer phenomena" in Poland! (One we surely enjoy!!!)

Kolobrzeg, Poland 

This shady path is a walkway along the Baltic Sea in a small fishing village and resort area.  There is a very similar one in Gdansk, which you will get to walk on many times while we are there! 

We will travel to this seaside resort town at the end of the trip for a little "R & R" after we finish our course work in Gdansk.  It will be a refreshing time - the water is VERY cold and will definitely refresh you!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Lighthouse in Hel, Poland. 
Gdansk Shipyards

This beach, on the Gulf of Gdansk, is very near where we will be spending our time in Gdansk.  The shipyards in the background are the "birthplace of Solidarity", where Lech Walesa began the movement to overthrow Communistic Rule in Poland.  We will visit the shipyards, and you are welcome to visit the beaches, too!

At the end of the peninsula is Westerplatte, where the first shots of World War II (in Europe) were fired.

Hel Beach, Poland 

At the very tip of the Hel Peninsula is this wonderful beach!  You can swim - but remember - the Baltic Sea is cold!  We will be taking at least one trip to Hel! 

 

More views of the Gulf of Gdansk.  This is very near where we stay while we are in Gdansk.

(Wind surfers abound in these waters when there is weather like this.)

 And still more views of the Gulf of Gdansk.   You may wish to rent a sailboard and windsurf!

(All other photos taken by Dr. Moore.)

I am hoping you enjoyed your little journey through parts of Poland!  Please come and visit the real thing with us in the summer of 2001!!   (And if you would like to see more, come by my office - Walker 137.)

Many people ask WHY POLAND???  We discovered it through some work relationships in our department with the University of Gdansk and the Warsaw College of Communication and Media.  Once we ("we" being faculty members of the Communication Department) discovered it, we knew everyone who visited Poland would absolutely love it!  So we designed this summertime Study Abroad program to allow our students the opportunity to experience this wonderful culture.  Sure - we had all heard the Pollack jokes, and the silly things people said about Poland.  We all had our stereotypes of the Polish people - but it only took us one short trip there in 1997 to realize how wrong our stereotypes were.  These Study Abroad courses are designed to teach our students more about Intercultural Communication by means of experiencing another culture.

The tentative cost of the trip is $3000 - which includes airfare, hotels/housing, and some of your meals.  $400 is suggested for extra costs (e.g.: meals not provided).  Tuition for the course is separate. (See below for further details about what is covered in the cost of the trip.) You may also wish to bring extra money for souvenirs.  Poland has some wonderful crafts, crystal, and pottery that most of our students have loved to bring back for their friends in the USA.

Want more information or to see more pictures?  Come by the Program Director's Office:
Dr. Nina-Jo Moore        Walker 137       262-2171        moorenj@appstate.edu

THE FIRST MEETING FOR THIS GROUP WILL BE  SET FOR SOMETIME AFTER FALL BREAK.   If you are interested in going on the trip, and want to know more before the first meeting, please stop by Dr. Moore's office in Walker 137. Outside the door are fliers for you - please take one (and maybe even share one with a friend).  You are also invited to ask your parents to call or e-mail and discuss the trip with Dr. Moore.

SPACE WILL BE LIMITED TO TWENTY STUDENTS - first come - first served.  Please complete your "packets" as quickly as possible, and return them to Dr. Moore.

The most commonly asked questions are:
1. Are there any pre-requisites? The answer is no, you may go regardless of what coursework you have completed.
2. Do you have to be a COM Major? No - anyone is invited to participate. Bring your family, friends and neighbors - well maybe not; they do have to be Appalachian State students.
3. What course requirements do these "Selected Topics Courses" meet? If you are required to take a "Selected Topics Course" for your major (Advertising or Applied majors), these courses will meet that requirement.  Other than that, these courses will serve as free electives for you. (You can also negotiate with your advisor and the department chair to replace other courses - by those are done on a case-by-case basis.)
4. Designators?  The courses presently have "MC" designators, but there is a possibilityof pursuing a "CD" designator as well.

Below you will see the services your $3000 will cover.

Watch this page for further updates on the Summer Study Abroad in Poland! And watch for more pictures!

What Do You Get for your $3000??
1. Airfare - Round-trip for one of the "Hub Cities" in North Carolina (we are presently watching for airfare wars.)  If you wish to stay longer, or go over early, you will be responsible for the "Change Fee" with the airlines, since we will be buying the tickets in a "group".
2. Hotels/Dorm- Housing while we are on the trip is covered.  We will be rooming 2 students of the same gender together in both the hotels and the dormitory in Gdansk.
3. Partial Meals - Most hotels have breakfast as part of the "package".  Plans are to make reservations at hotels that include breakfast.  Depending on budgetary issues, other meals will be provided periodically.  All other meals are the responsibility of the individual student.  (The suggested $400 is probably a high estimate, but recommended as a "safety factor". The $400 does not, however, cover your "spending money" for souvenirs, entertainment, etc....)
4. Travel Within Poland - the cost of train tickets and other transportation will be covered.  Incidental travel, such as trolleys or busses during the students' free time, etc... will not be covered.  Transportation during trip activities is covered.
5. Entrance Fees - entrance fees to museums, parks, cultural events are covered.
6. Course at U. of Gdansk - the course we will participate in at University of Gdansk will be covered.
7. Insurance - the UNC system requires us to charge .90 per day for insurance as part of the "package."
8. International Student I.D. Card - the student will be provided with an International ID card, which entitles them to discounts for travel, museums, etc...

TENTATIVE CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Weds. -       May 21 - Leave U.S. (from Charlotte, NC)
Thurs. -       May 22 - Arrive Warsaw, Poland (Due to the time difference, the flight arrives in Warsaw the next day.)
Fri.-Sun. -   May 23- May 25 - In Warsaw - Activities Include:
                            Visits to local colleges & universities
                            Historical site visits - Castles, The Old Jewish Ghetto, and others...
                            Government Visits - Parliament ("Sejm"), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S.
                                Embassy.
                            Museums - Arts, Science & Technology
Mon.-Thurs. -  May 26-29 - In Krakow - Activities Include:
                            Visit to Jagellonian University.
                            Historical site visits - Old Town Krakow, Castles, Auschwitz & Birkenau
                                Concentration Camps, Salt Mines, possibly to Zakopane.
                           Museums - Art, Science & Technology.
Fri- Sun. - May 29-June 1- In PRAGUE (travel by train).
Mon-Fri.- June 2- 13  In Gdansk - Activities Include:
               CLASS AT UNIV. OF GDANSK - In changes in Poland and Eastern
                                Europe - social, communication & economic changes.
                            Trips to nearby sites:
                                Hel Peninsula (see pictures above of beaches and lighthouse.)
                                Malbork Castle (see picture above.)
                                Gydnia - Modern day Polish shipping port.
                            Historical sites - Old Town Gdansk, Sopot (resort area), etc...
                            Museums - National Museum, Maritime Museum, etc...
    Also Fri.-Mon. - June 6-8 - Trip to Mazuria Lakes Region
                                   Hope to visit Wolf's Lair (Hitler's most frequent bunker residence, where an assassination attempt was
                                        made on Hitler's life), and the resort region of the Mazurian Lakes.
Fri.-Mon. - June 13-16 - Kolobrzeg - seaside Resort Town on the Baltic Sea.
Tues.-June 17 - In Warsaw.  Free time for students.
Weds. - June 18 - Return to the United States.

Tuition for your 2 courses is paid separately to the university - $486.00 IN STATE, I believe.

ALL PLANS ARE TENTATIVE - PENDING APPROVAL BY THE OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS.

Do widzenia!  (Good-bye, in Polish, of course!)
Dr. Moore