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My name is Hjördís Skírnisdóttir and my main subjects in FAS are  German and Geology. I've been teaching since 1992. My first years as a teacher I worked in a primary school in Kópavogur which is located near the capital Reykjavík. Fifteen years ago I moved back to Höfn. The first three years I taught in the primary school Hafnarskóli in Höfn and since 1997 I have been teaching in the secondary school Framhaldsskólinn í Austur-Skaftafellssýslu (FAS). Since 2003 I have been taking care of foreign relations in the school.

I was born in Höfn and lived the first 16 years on a farmhouse 7 kilometers away from the town. I'm the youngest of five brothers and sisters. When I finished primary school there was no secondary school in the district, so I needed to go to college in Reykjavík. After graduation I went to the Iceland University of Education and later I studied German and Geology at the University of Iceland. When I lived in Reykjavík I also went to the Iceland Tourist Guide School and for many years I have worked as tourist guide during school's summer recess. I mostly guide in the vicinity of Höfn. The best known places in this part of the country are: Skaftafell National Park, the ice lake Jökulsárlón and the glacier Skálafellsjökull. But there are many other beautiful places in the area worth the visit.

I very much like to stay with my family (a husband and a ten years old daughter). We love going hiking and we travel a lot both in Iceland and other countries. We have a combi camp and in the summer we often drive away over the weekend or for a few days to visit other parts of the country.  Traveling with combi camp or tent is a very good way to know the country.

Hello! My name’s Maria. It is a very popular name in Poland among the people in my age. I was born 52 years ago.

I think I have been living in a very interesting period of time so I didn’t have time to be bored so far. Since I have learned how to read, I have a great passion for books and literature.  My second interest is traveling and German language. I studied German at the university in Lublin, city in eastern Poland. Although I graduated  from pedagogic specialization, my way to school was not straightforward . At the beginning I worked as an interpreter in the industry plant in Dębica. In my spare time I was going to Germany (The German Democratic Republic- East Germany) as a tourist guide for young people.

After some years of work as a white collar worker I did something really brave at that time. I went for more than five years (1986- 1991) to Berlin and I was lucky to be an eyewitness of historically important events. That was great to be able to celebrate reunion together with German . At that time I felt that I was in the center of something really important.

After all these years in Germany I came back to an independent Poland. I started working in the plant again but I noticed the lack of a real contact with German language. I decided to change my career path and finally go to school. It wasn’t easy at the very beginning, that was a huge jump. As a false beginner teacher I started working at primary school then middle school and finally secondary school. I experienced teaching all levels.

At present I teach German at the secondary school as well as at the postgraduate school.. Work at school is a big challenge and gives a lot of satisfaction. I like being needed and I’m glad if I can help those who need and want my help. My motto is to work even though there is only one person that wants to learn. I think I have got some pedagogical successes  which sometimes are not very visible. I’m really happy when the students appreciate my work and attitude to them. I understand that adolescence has it’s own rights . I like kids and teenagers, I think I get on well with them. I like being direct and hate being bored. When there are funny situations during my classes I enjoy laughing with my students.

I have been working on European Union Projects such as Socrates Comenius and Comenius for seven years. I try, together with Polish team, to be a genuine ambassador of Poland. In my opinion we have been successful.

I’m glad that I can cooperate with the school from Iceland.  It’s going to be our new experience. I look forward to make great friends there.

My name is Joanna Dymitrowska. I’m a history teacher. I studied at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, the oldest Polish university set up in 1364. My teaching profession is connected with my interests in history and history of art. The history of geographical discoveries, especially polar expedition in the XIX and XX is very important to me.  I like teaching but I do not have many lessons with my students because I’m a headmaster and I devote most of my time to managing the school. I like my occupation but there is one thing that I regret – headmasters have got shorter holidays than teachers. 

Traveling is my passion as well as reading books, gardening and listening to rock and underground music. In winter I like skiing while in summer I love riding a bike and hiking.

I’m married, I have got two children, a son and a daughter. My daughter has been studying in Krakow and my son is in the first class of a secondary school. Together with my husband, who is also a historian, we gather and collect the keepsakes of our town such as postcards related to the history of our town and the region. We look for the remains of mammoths that lived in our land thousands of years ago. We are also interested in World War I and II memorabilia in our region. 

Welcome everybody, my name is Anna Wojcieszyn and I’m an English teacher at Zespół Szkół Nr 2 im. Eugeniusza Kwiatkowskiego in Dębica. I have been working as a teacher for over 20 years now.

I have always enjoyed new challenges( I wouldn’t be a teacher if I didn’t, would I?), that’s why I so willingly got involved into our ICE-PO project. I believe that getting in touch, starting co-operation, making friends with people from a different country, enable us to have insight into our own culture, broaden our horizons and learn something new about the world.

Apart from English, I also studied literature and theatre. That probably explains why I’m a real book freak. I particularly enjoy reading contemporary British novels and my absolute favourite is David Lodge. I have read all of his books and I really admire his sophisticated British sense of humour and attitude towards life. I wish I could meet him one day...
I couldn’t live without music. Number one on my top list is Diana Krall. I have discovered Emiliana Torrini recently. If I have time, I like watching good films. I prefer ambitious European cinema to shallow Hollywood productions. I’m not a great sport fanatic but I like skiing in the winter and riding a bike or climbing the mountains in the summer.

I have always been fascinated by Italy and its culture. Last year I started learning Italian. Now I can understand my students better, I know how difficult it is to deal with a foreign language, especially when you start from the scratch. But on the other hand, I have also realised how much satisfaction you can get from the sense of achievement when you manage to communicate with people from another country using a foreign language...

I am married with one child. My son graduated from university last year and works in IT business in Cracow. My husband is in charge of sales in a big rubber company.

My name is Agata and I’m an English teacher. I’ve been teaching English for six years. I’m quite busy because I work as a secondary school teacher and also for a private English school. I love my job. I chose this profession probably because of my mother who is also a teacher. Besides that I think that working and being with young people keeps you young and up-to-date. My personal goal is to infect my students with a passion to learn foreign languages and an awareness of how  powerful an English language is all over the world. I have high expectations of my students and myself. I try to bring a great deal of energy to the classroom and engage the class in serious as well as humorous discussions as much as possible.

Now a few words about my personal life. This year I had my 31st birthday. I have been married for three years. My husband is my support and my whole life. His name is Arek. He works for the institution  designated by the Government of the Republic of Poland to support the agriculture and rural development. In a nutshell, he’s an office worker. We haven’t got children yet. However, this year we’re going to move into a new house. My whole family have got expectations that a child’s room finally will have a small resident.

I love spending my free time with my family. My favorite activity is gardening, especially raking autumn leaves. I like good books. When I’m tired and want to relax I read novels by Nicholas Sparks or watch romantic comedies with my husband of course. My favorite sport is swimming. I like traveling very much, my dream is to visit every English speaking country in the future. I couldn’t agree more that traveling broadens the mind.