Magda and Alicja (our trainers) took us on an unusual journey, where every single element could be turned to a phenomenon, in each corner there was a revelation, and – thanks to stepping stones – we reached the theme. Our group consisted of experienced educators, young park rangers and, at first glance, a mix of unusual people! The relations born during the training will overcome every storm. Who could think that after five days of hard work from dawn to dusk that we wouldn’t be able to take leave of each other and would still be discussing our experiences?
After first discovering interpretation during the course, I knew one thing in my heart: it would not work. ‘It looks nice, but I will not be able to speak like that’, I thought. What a positive surprise for me on the last day, when I was listening with admiration to perfectly prepared interpretive talks by the other trainees. Then it was my turn… and it went really well! Our trainers managed to elicit from us something that we hadn’t expected to have inside us! Interpretation can be felt under the skin, and the real value is not what you want to say to people, but what you can hear from them.
I strongly recommend the IE Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) course and I hope that other trainers are at least half as good as Magda and Alicja. If it is so, you can expect the best!
Marek Tokarzewski works in Education Department in Polesie National Park. He also runs his blog about working in national park (okiemparkowca.blogspot.com). You can get in touch with him at: marek.tokarzewski@poleskipn.pl.
To cite this article:
Tokarzewski, Marek (2018) ‘In only two words – CIG course for Polish National Parks’. In Interpret Europe Newsletter 4-2018, 18.
Available online:
www.interpret-europe.net/fileadmin/Documents/publications/Newsletters/ie-newsletter_2018-4_winter.pdf
