** #PE ** I received a very good education in all fields.
Genetic. From my parents & grandparents, I inherited a few good genes with talents for arithmetics (very strong), mathematics (limited), foreign languages (limited), sports (strong but wasted).
- Kindergarten. I was meant to learn to say poems, sing, and dance. I failed in all fields, yet learned a bit about how to live with strangers.
- MK. I realized very early that I love trains and trams more than buses and cars. At about 10, I was able to list all locomotives and multiple units used by the then Polish State Railways (PKP).
- General & Kinderstube 1. When I was 3, I would be tested by my proud Mateczka (only in front of guests) with a simple question: “Krzysiu, how much is it, arcus sinus 1?” And I was taught to promptly reply “Pi-pół” (half pi,π/2). Each guest would then consider me well educated and raised.
- Joking. My GrandMa would tell me vulgar jokes since I have been 3, yet I did not repeat them as I usually did not understand them. So, each guest would consider me well raised.
- Le français. My GrandMa would take me for a walk every day when my Mateczka was working. She would speak French then and teach me. I did not realize how much she taught me until years later – when I visited Paris as a teenager and found out I spoke pretty good French.
- Journalism. I began editing my own weekly newspaper when I was 6, with obligatory subscriptions in the family. Good education, good income.
- Primary schools. For many complicated reasons, instead of just one, I attended five of them (or even six, unsure now). I still remember five of my schools’ numbers: Warsaw 212, 69, 57; Rabka 1; Bukowina Tatrzańska 1. This serves as the best proof I received a solid primary education.
- Computing. My Mateczka would early teach me basic FORTRAN, and by the end of primary school, I was fluent in FORTRAN and algol. What a waste 🙁
- Religious. When at school in Rabka (1967/68), I was forced to attend religion lessons in the local church, and accept the First Communion. Given the obvious artificiality of the ceremony and the attitude of my classmates, I gave up for good.
- Musical. I was forced to listen to Chopin in early childhood. At 11, with my 5th-grade classmates, I discovered Deep Purple, then Emerson, Lake & Palmer, eventually Pink Floyd. This constitutes me until today.
- English. Listening to progressive rock, I felt obliged to begin learning: write down the lyrics of what I hear. While I did encounter quite a lot of problems, it provided great results: at 12, I was fully capable of conversing in English, though it still needed a boost in 1978 when I visited London for the first time.
- Russian. I received a thorough & obligatory education in the language of our semi-occupant . Still, I hardly spoke and speak a word, I hardly can read.
- Secondary. I attended only one school at this level, so obviously my high school education is far more modest than primary. On the other hand, it was a really good school, educative yet full of fun.
- Hitch-hiking. From circa 1970 onwards, my main means of transport, both in Poland and throughout Europe. Lots of small pieces of great education.
- Le métro. First time in Paris, within a week, I learned the underground system by heart and was able to advise others on how to get from A to B.
- Sexual. I received some education in the last grade of high school. While I now see nothing wrong in it, I then worried: why so late?
- University stage one. I spent 7 years at the Technical University of Warsaw (average at my faculty). Good, useless education.
- Being jailed. A few months after 13 December 1981. Enough to become a university hero, not enough to get tired.
- Underground plotting. Mid-1982 until mid-1989. Few dangerous moments, lots of fun and feeling free despite martial law around.
- Univesity stage two. 4,5 years of History at the University of Warsaw. Real good education in journalist’s & historian’s techniques. No joking.