DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, Poland -- Polish students from Goleniow Junior High School visited Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, for a fun-filled afternoon of exploration and English language enhancement June 8, 2015 at the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area.
For the students, this is their third visit with these Soldiers and the first one where the Soldiers were the hosts. They started the day by eating lunch with the Soldiers and then were off to explore the Soldiers' vehicles and equipment.
Magdalena Wasiuk, the students' English teacher, said having the interaction between them and the Soldiers was beneficial to them, as it helped them hear and practice speaking English.
“As you may see, especially there’s a fun time with the training; and we’ve already seen some Polish equipment,” said Wasiuk. “Now we can compare it to American equipment, and we will discuss it afterwards in the class.”
She said they initially felt a little hesitant about interacting with the Soldiers, but quickly overcame their fears.
“They felt a little bit intimidated at first here about their English, but they’re loving it,” said Wasiuk.
During the two previous visits the Soldiers met the students in their school. During the first visit, the Soldiers gave them a short presentation about their lives and families back in the U.S.
Wasiuk went on to say, during the two previous times the groups met, the Soldiers were able to help break down the language barrier by telling the students about their lives in the U.S.
“We had a splendid time with the kids, opening up their English which is tremendous for me because it’s quite difficult for them to speak in English here in Poland,” said Wasiuk. “They talked about their lives, their job as soldiers, what they think of Poland.”
For Spc. Tomas DeJesusPerez, an infantryman assigned to 2-7 Infantry Battalion, the day's interaction was a chance for him to give back to the youth of Poland by sharing a rarely seen part of his life.
“For us being in the field most of the time here, it’s a chance for us get to know the locals better,” said DeJesusPerez. “For some of us who have family back home, kids, it kind of gives a reminder of the things that we’re missing out [on back home].”
He said he felt the children were also benefitting from the interaction by seeing the U.S. Soldiers in a softer light.
“For them it’s an opportunity to know we still got a heart inside and we still got love and cheer and we like to have a good time,” said DeJesus-Perez. “For us it means that the Polish people want to know more about us as Americans and as soldiers, so it brings our service a meaning for us being here besides training with our allied forces.”