Adviser’s Note: Students in Journalism I interviewed Franciszek Balwicki, one of NDA’s international students, and had to write a feature story based on the interview. A few of the stories follow and present a variety of “angles” on this international student.
“I have wanted to play football my whole life,” said this year’s exchange student from Poland, Franciszek Balwicki.
He is now on the JV1 football team and playing American football for the very first time. Balwicki is from a town in Poland called Gdansk.
His dad is the reason why Balwicki wanted to study abroad in the United States. An influential tobacco scientist back in Poland, Balwicki’s dad was attending a medical conference in San Antonio and invited his son to travel to Texas with him.
The conference was Balwicki’s first experience in America and he loved it. He loved it so
much that he wanted to come back to the States.
Global Outreach, an exchange student program, gave him the opportunity to come here to Green Bay and attend NDA. He is staying with a host family.
In his relatively short time here, he has tried many things in Green Bay. His favorite food so far is steak.
“The steak here is very good and a lot less expensive than in Poland. The only thing is your bread is not bread,” said Balwicki. In Poland bakeries open up very early, and citizens can purchase hot, fresh, delicious rye bread rolls.
His biggest struggle is speaking English, especially in philosophy class. Back in Poland he is in IB classes, and a majority of those classes are in English. This helped Balwicki practice his English.
“I do not feel homesick, and my family will hopefully be able to visit me before I go back home to Poland,” said Balwicki. He has two brothers and one sister After the end of this school year he will head back home to Poland.
If he were to visit one place before he leaves the U.S., he would go to Las Vegas.
“I like Elvis Presley, and I listen to him all the time. I also want to see the little Eiffel tower,” said Balwicki.
“I am really glad that I am here,” he added.
–Payton LaViolette
“I’m really glad I’m here,” said Franciszek Balwicki, a junior at Notre Dame.
Balwicki has been studying English since 4th grade, and he thought of coming to America after taking a trip to Texas with his dad for a medical conference.
Balwicki is from Gdańsk, Poland, and said, “The biggest struggle is speaking English all the time.”
Balwicki decided to play football because he “wanted to try a new sport.” Balwicki takes philosophy at Notre Dame and said it’s hard because of the homework. He sometimes has to translate it to make it make sense.
In Poland “our pigs are like your squirrels.” Pigs are roaming the streets there, and Balwicki has even been attacked. He said, “They run really fast,” and “We have to hide sometimes.”
Balwicki is a Boy Scout in Poland and has contacted Scout leaders here, but doesn’t think he will be able to do it because football takes up a lot of his time.
Balwicki was assigned a random host family and said, “They’re cool.”
Balwicki’s school in Poland starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 4:50 at night, but they have many breaks throughout the day.
His school in Poland is an all-boys school, so it was a change to have girls in the same school. In addition to all boy students, they also have only male teachers.
–Molly Jenquin
“The bread in America is not bread,” said Polish international student Franciszek Balwicki.
Since arriving in America, what Balwicki has missed the most is “the fresh bread.” In Poland the custom is to buy bread in bakeries, not buy it packaged and “put in the fridge.”
Balwicki went to an all-boys private school and after traveling to Texas with his dad for a medical conference, he decided to pursue a year of schooling in America.
Balwicki is here for one year. A crucial motive for American schooling was to learn more English and get comfortable with English.
Global Outreach was the decision maker that put Balwicki at Notre Dame Academy. Although he had no choice as far as the city, he is “really glad to be here.”
While reminiscing of his life back in Poland, Balwicki is indulging in American culture. He “wanted to try an American sport,” so he picked up the utmost American sport: Football.
He also tries to use English as much as he can. He only uses his native language “to communicate with old friends and family,” and, sometimes, uses Google Translate for the rigorous texts in class.
“Philosophy is really hard,” Balwicki said. It’s difficult because writing in English is challenging enough but then he also has to understand the complex texts.
–Ryker Thomas
Polish exchange student, Franciszek Balwicki, from the city of Gdańsk, comes to NDA as an IB student to learn English.
Balwicki visited Texas a year ago and fell in love with American culture, and although Green Bay, Wisconsin, isn’t exactly like Texas, Balwicki has become comfortable at NDA.
The exchange student has been studying English since the fourth grade. He has become comfortable enough to take notes in English. He explained that learning English through lessons is very different from using it every day.
Balwicki also gets along with his American host family, saying, “I’m another child for them. They are very kind to me.”
He lives with a retired couple, and they even had three other Global Outreach students before Francizek.
Balwicki’s father is an important doctor and scientist in Poland who researches the harmful effects of tobacco while his mother is a lawyer at the University of Gdańsk. He originally visited Texas with his father for a public health conference.
Balwicki is set to return to Poland after this school year, and although he hasn’t started feeling homesick yet, there are some things he does miss, such as fresh bread.
The exchange student lists fresh sourdough from his local bakery and his city’s walkable accessibility as some of the top differences.
He also said he did not miss the wild boars that roam Poland. They are like the squirrels or deer in Wisconsin. These boars can often get aggressive, and Balwicki advised running fast or simply walking in the other direction.
Balwicki also comes from an all-boys school and still keeps in touch with his high school friends while in America. All the students and teachers were men.
He was a Boy Scout in Poland and is looking for troops in our local area to join during his stay.
In the future, Balwicki would like to travel to the Pacific islands, visit U.S. national parks and spend time in Las Vegas where he would like to see the casinos, lights and the mini Eiffel Tower.
“I like Elvis Presley,” said Balwiki, who often listens to Elvis’ music. “He is a star,” he added.
–Ally Paprocki
