International Poznan Radio, Season 1

I’ve said this before, the Internet expands my sense of community.  As I write this, I’m listening to a friend preaching at our church in Tucson via the web – love the connection to home and the familiar.  He’s a layperson, but an excellent speaker and often fills in when the pastors have to be away. Kelly makes reference to his accident in the sermon.  An industrial accident left him quadriplegic, but if you listen, I’m sure you’ll agree a wise, godly man, who leads a very active life.

The Internet has also helped us meet new people here in Poznan.  You may recall that we were interviewed just before Easter for an article in the local newspaper; we got to know Justyna, journalist and runner.  The newspaper found us because of this website.  That interview was seen by Maciek, a young man preparing to enter law school with a passion for broadcast journalism.  He has created a new weekly radio program, International Poznan.  The show focuses on foreigners living in Poznan and Poles who have lived abroad.  You can find them on facebook.

Just about the time Ed was leaving the hospital, he received a facebook message from Maciek asking him to appear on the International Poznan.  It was an compelling episode featuring my pilot husband, who has been living in Poznan for over three years, as well as a young Polish woman who went to college in the United States on a golf scholarship – an Olympic hopeful! Her brother came along to the interview and it turns out that he and Ed knew each other from the driving range; the golf world is a small community in Poland.  Also in that episode were two Americans, one who runs Bigfoot, a coffee shop in Poznan and the other is working on a master’s degree in Economics.  You can catch the interview with Ed here and check out this really cute promo for the show.

The American episode (facebook photo by Maciej Męczyński)

An added benefit for us, Maciek felt that we would hit it off with his parents and invited us to dinner at their home.  We had a great time – such a fun, interesting family.  See?  The Internet isn’t isolating, sometimes, it leads to new friendships.

Great memories

I’ve really enjoyed listening to the broadcasts on facebook.  What a variety of stories, from a young man from Guatemala, who was 10 years old when he saw television for the first time to a diplomat/businessman/academic who has twice served as Poland’s ambassador to Germany.  International Poznan just wrapped up their first season and will be off the air during the summer.  We attended a party earlier this week with guests from the first season.  It was a beautiful evening; we were sitting outside at Weranda Take-Away behind Stary Browar, overlooking the park.  We were at a long table, so we didn’t get to chat with everyone there, but the folks at our end of the table were fascinating; they included two young women from the dental college (one Indo-Canadian, one from Ukraine), the American economics student (he’ll be writing his thesis in Polish!), the brother of the Poland’s newest female golf professional, a new Lech Poznan football player from Finland, and Maciek, our host.  The fun went on for hours, until after dark when the mosquitoes finally won out.