Every year, ten students are chosen from the Memphis area to travel for free to the country being honored at the annual Memphis in May Festival.

This year, three White Station students, Elissa Todd (12), Alice Gleadhill (12) and Phillip Jones (11), were chosen for the exchange with Poland.

“They [the Memphis in May International Board] wanted you to spend more time then with just your host and a few of their friends so you could get a sense of what happens instead a being just a tourist,” Todd said.

The students and one teacher chaperone traveled from Memphis to Poland on March 20 and returned on March 30, a total of ten days. They each lived with a host family, who took care of them and showed them around Warsaw, the capital.

“Thankfully, Memphis in May put me in touch with Robert [Jones’s host] two weeks or so before,” Jones said. “We got to talk, mainly about music, since we’re both interested in music, and that was good because we got to see what our interests were. So when I got there, it would make it easier for us to connect.”

“[My host family] gave me gifts when I got there, and I brought gifts for them. I didn’t expect them to get me anything because they were letting me stay in their house. They got me books about Warsaw and Poland. It was not necessary. They are the most generous people I have ever met,” Gleadhill said.

The Memphis in May students attended The Tenth School of King Jadwiga with their Polish hosts. The Polish students taught biology, math and Polish to their visitors. In P.E., the exchange students learned a traditional Polish dance called Polonaise, which is only danced at prom and other high court parties.

“It was really cool learning about their culture and their traditions because it’s so different than what we do here,” Gleadhill said.

However, the students and hosts were also excused from school each day early to explore the city on their own.

Todd wrote in her blog “Postcards to Memphis” about her personal tour with Lena, her host. The two of them, often joined by other Memphis in May students, traveled to see the Palace of Culture and Science (the tallest building in Warsaw), the Modern Art Museum, the Jew Museum and the Warsaw Uprising Monument. They also visited many of Warsaw’s palaces, monuments and churches. Todd even had the opportunity to enjoy the play “Mamma Mia” in Polish and attend a traditional 18th birthday party.

Jones also enjoyed the panoramic view from atop the Palace of Culture and Science and the Modern Art museum, along with Chopin Park and the performance at the Chopin Museum, both named after Polish composer Frederic Chopin. However, visiting the stadium of the Legia Warsaw, one of Poland’s most famous soccer teams, was definitely the highlight of his visit.

Gleadhill traveled over the weekend with her host sister Magda to her family’s cottage in The Village. Her host family fed her homemade Polish cuisine and taught her to play bola, a traditional Polish golf game.

Every year for seventeen years, The Tenth School of King Jadwiga puts on the English Song Contest, where Polish students showcase both their musical and English speaking abilities by performing popular English songs.
This year, the Memphis in May students happened to be visiting during the week of preparation for the contest. Two Polish guitar players played the American National Anthem to honor them.

The Memphis students were offered the chance to perform after the competition was over. Todd was the only Memphian to accept the challenge, performing three pieces: “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Ray Jepson and a revised version of the cup song about Poland. She wrapped up the show by leading the Memphis in May students in High School Musical’s “We’re All in This Together,” which brought her audience to tears.

“It was really cool to get to do that in front of a whole school of people I didn’t know, in a different country and with people I had met only four days before, [who] had so quickly become my best friends,” Todd said.

In this moment, Todd realized she truly loved the people and friends she had met, and she was not ready to leave them.

Fortunately, Memphis in May also paid for the Polish hosts to travel to Memphis to participate in the cultural exchange at Collierville High School. They arrived on April 9 and stayed until April 20.

Todd hosted Lena and showed her around “her Memphis,” much like Lena did for her in Warsaw. Memphis in May payed for the Poland students to see both the Grizzlies and the Redbirds, but Todd also wanted to show Lena other big name attractions such as Graceland, along with Todd’s favorite restaurants and concert venues.

Although Jones did not host Robert, he has been staying in touch with him and the other friends he made on the trip through Skype and video games.

“I got to know all of them really well. All of us connected through social media and everything because it’s so easy now,” Jones said.“We’re really looking forward to all of us connecting again.”

Gleadhill did not host Magda either, but her family threw a dinner party for her so she could meet all of Gleadhill’s friends.

Todd organized a get-together for all the hosts and Polish students so they could reconnect.

“I didn’t expect to like the country so much and want to stay. I miss it so much now, and I miss the people I met a lot. I didn’t think I would make such deep connections with everyone,” Gleadhill said.