Week two adventures

Czesc! (Hello!) from Krakow, Poland. I am currently sitting in a gorgeous flat a few blocks away from Rynek, the city center. It is 9:15 am and I cannot wait to explore Krakow which is what is on the agenda for today.

It is Wednesday but I am writing an update now and will add to it at the end of the week and by the time this is posted it will be Sunday. Too much happens each day to recall a whole weeks worth of events each Sunday. This is my solution.

August 30,2009-SUNDAY/niedziela pronounced:nye-jye-la (I know.)

After the delicious dinner mentioned in my previous post we caught the bus and headed to the water fountain show I was talking about. It was so, so, so, so incredible. I do not even know how to begin to describe how awesome it was. It was the anniversary of Solidarity in Poland so the show was created to celebrate Poland’s break from Communism-(I hope I am explaining this correctly.) Anyway, there were lights and music and insane graphic images in the water and there must have been a couple thousand people there watching. I have videos that I will post on facebook in a few days-make sure you check them out if you are a facebook user.

I was supposed to go to a party after that but it was already 10:00 pm and Maciek and Robson would have had to leave the club to get me outside and then they would not have been able to get back into the party- so it didn’t work out. This was not a problem because I went to a dance club with Patrycja and Elysha instead and it was a really good night. I am actually learning how to dance-all of you who know me well know that I am not the greatest dancer on the planet BUT here dancing is so much fun and no one cares what anyone else looks like and so it is easy to dance. I am also taking hip hop dance classes (should be interesting). Classes start in a few weeks. Next time you all see me, I’ll be ready for a Sean Paul music video.


August 31,2009 MONDAY/poniedzialek pronounced: po-nye-jya-wek (yeah.)

On Sunday night we slept at Patrycja’s grandparents flat in Wroclaw, and so we did not have to ride any buses to get into the city. Patrycja’s grandma made us a fantastic dinner of something I don’t know the name of and then we headed into Wroclaw to shop for the first day of school.

Okay. In Poland, the first day of school is bizarre. First off, school starts at 9:00 and lasts until 9:30 on the first day. A half an hour. Which would not be so bizarre except for the fact that on the first day of school, every high schooler in Poland has to wear formal black and white clothes. Everyone has to get all dressed up for a half an hour. I had nothing to wear for this occasion, so I had to buy black pants and these really sweet black boots that I will probably wear everyday from this day forward. I had to spend a considerable amount of money on the pants and boots and that was annoying because I am now a poor exchange student living as an expatriot in Europe. It sounds so glamorous :).
After shopping we went to Rynek, the city center. Every city in Poland has a city center and every city center I have been to so far is extremely pretty. We picked up a cup of coffee and then I walked (by myself) to my Rotary meeting. Unfortunately Rotary was located at a museum on this night and I did not get the memo. Instead of freaking out, which you all know I am very good at doing, I thought I handled the situation pretty well. Maciek’s father ended up picking me up from the center. The museum turned out to be only a block away but I had no way of knowing that.

At Rotary I met all of the other exchange students which was SO exciting. All of us really wanted to make friends and it is amazing how quickly Rotary students can become friends. It is a bit like having an instant family. I will briefly describe these eight individuals because their names will probably be mentioned a lot in my next posts:

Lucy- Mexico-17
Claro-Mexico-17
Zac-Colorado,USA-17
Katelyn-Michigan,USA-16
Kim-Vermont,USA-18
Chelsea-Arizona,USA-18
Kaila-Australia-16
Robson-Brazil-17

I really love all of them- I was upset because I am not going to school with them, I am going to my host sister’s school. They sent me text messages on the first day about how they missed me and it made me feel better. We are making plans for the weekend. :)

After Rotary I came home, showered, packed for Krakow and called some people from home. Monday, poniedzialek, was a very good day.


September 1, 2009 TUESDAY/wtorek pronounced: fto-rek (I will get it eventually.)

First day of school.

Hmm. It was alright. Kindof weird because no one knew I was an exchange student and I am used to Milford where the exchange student is treated like Hannah Montana or Zac Efron. I met a few people and they were really nice but even my class teacher did not realize that I was an exchange student- she handed me this lesson book and thought I was some other Polish girl. School was only a half an hour long so I cannot really tell what it is going to be like. However, I do not have my own classes because I am just taking Patrycja’s classes. I am taking French without her, but that is it. I will probably make more polish friends because I am not in school with the other exchange students, but at the same time I really want to be with the friends I have already created. I don’t know. We will see.

After school we ate at a gyro place in Galeria Dominikanska- a huge mall. We then picked up our bags from my host father’s work (he is chief police of all of Wroclaw and his office is huge and important and really awesome to look at) and Patrycja, Elysha, Lukasz, and I headed to Krakow. We arrived in Krakow after about four and a half hours in the car and checked out our flat before heading out into the city. We were really hungry so we walked for what seemed like an eternity to find a restaurant. Eventually we found an awesome place to eat- it was a traditional Polish restaurant and it was designed like an old Polish kitchen- it was gorgeous, the food was incredible and cheap.

We decided to go back to the flat because after we had finished dinner it was already 10:15. We watched some polish television ( I hate watching TV here, too confusing, too much dubbing, and blah) and went to sleep.

Now it is:

September 2,2009 WEDNESDAY/sroda pronounced: shro-da (that one is not too hard.)

It is Wednesday morning and I have just written all of what you just read. Today we will explore Krakow and tomorrow we will visit Auschwitz. Now I will go eat breakfast and drink some KAWA, coffee (yummmm, kawa is so good here.) More on today’s adventures later.

continued: Krakow was absolutely gorgeous. We spent the day walking around the city center, eating lody, visiting castles and cathedrals, and walking into over priced boutiques. Krakow after dark is stunning- Poland is gorgeous.

September 3, 2009 THURSDAY/

After a breakfast of polish breakfast sausage- aka- hot dogs! ( I did not eat this breakfast) we went visited the Auschwitz/Birkenau nazi war camp.
When we arrived at Auschwits I felt almost sick to my stomach. I cannot really describe what I was feeling as I stood there. I could not believe that I was standing on the same ground that witnessed one of the worst human rights violations the world has ever seen. Auschwitz is mostly ruins now, we saw restored living quarters and walked through undressing rooms. It was a little bit creepy, and utterly depressing. I will post a few photos here but I have a huge album on facebook.
After Auschwitz, we drove home in a huge storm and I slept for a long time. I am always tired here.

September 4, 2009

Friday was a very eventful day. It began with my first polish class at the University with the other exchange students. In order to get to this class I had to ride the tram by myself for the first time without my host sister. It was actually really easy. I got off the tram and I had to find my host father’s office at the police station. He is the chief police of Wroclaw, and his office is huge and intimidating. I had to get to another high shcool where the rest of the exchange students attend school and so some police men had to take me. We got lost and there was lots of yelling polish into telephones until we figured out where I had to be. It was an interesting experience.
Eventually I got to the highschool and traveled with the other students to the University. It was so good to see them. As of now, they are the people I am closest to. I know polish people but I cannot really communicate with them at a deeper level than, “Czesc, Jak sie masz?” (Hello, How are you?) so it is very difficult. Some exchange students that come to Poland do not make a real effort to learn the language, and I understand why because Polish is quite frustrating. I get worried sometimes that I will never understand but I know it will come eventually. I really want to make polish friends so I will----> In order to understand this culture I have to start getting to know the people.
Anyway, after class we went to the mall to eat and then to the Arkady- or movie theater to watch “The Ugly Truth.” It was wonderful to watch a movie in English- and reading the polish subtitles was actually really helpful for my polish. On a side note, in Polish movie theaters you have assigned seats. I thought that was pretty bizarre.
After the movie I went out to dinner at Pizza Hut with Lucy, Claro, Kaila, and Kim. Pizza Hut is kindof fancy in Poland, and its much different than at home. Oh, and in Poland, everyone eats pizza with ketchup. Weird, I know.
We finished dinner and Kaila and Lucy had to go home so Claro, Kim and I went to a Mexican bar. I think Polish Mexican bars are a little bit different than actual Mexican bars.
Kim left after that so Claro and i went to Daytona, a dance blu in the Rynek. We met up with my host sister, Elysha, and Lukasz. We stayed at the club until 2 am and I met some Polish girls and danced with them and it was all around an enjoyable night. Dancing is a huge part of this culture: it is very different than what I am used to.

September 5,2009: Saturday

I slept in and did nothing for most of the day, which was just what I needed. Patrycja, Elysha and I just hung out, listened to music, and ate a lot of food. At five we went into Wroclaw so Elysha could buy souvenirs and I was supposed to meet a few exchange students but plans fell through. We came home around eleven and I went directly to bed.

September 6,2009: Sunday

Elysah and I woke up and made banana pancakes for my host family. It was actually a lot of fun to make food from home and the maple syrup Elysha and I brought from home tasted so good.
After breakfast we went into Sbotka to buy school supplies and groceries. When we came back we ate an enormous meal of gwampki? I do not know how to spell it, but I guess Americans know them as cabbage rolls. They are delicious. All of the food here is delicious.
My host parents went to a party so we lounged around the house again. I talked to my host brother, Hubert, on skype for an hour and a half. It was great to talk to him because he is in Cooperstown and I am in Wroclaw so we can help eachother out a lot I think. He taught me some polish and his English is already improving after one week. I am jealous- he is able to communicate with his family far better than I am mine.
Hubert told me about a soccer field right next to my house that I had not noticed before. I put on some sneakers and ran down to the field and kicked the ball around and it felt SO GOOD TO MOVE AGAIN. I will go there anytime I have a chance now. It is in a really pretty spot.
September 7,2009 Monday
Today was my first real full day of school. It was.... interesting, frustrating, fun, boring, a million different things wrapped up into one.
I had four classes: Knowledge of Culture, Polish, English, and Geography. School here is really different. A person’s schedule changes each day. On Mondays, I start school at 7:30 and end at 3:30. On Tuesday, I start at 11:00 and end at 1:40. It is a lot to get used to. Classes are very, very long and I could not understand anything so it was pretty boring for me. Between classes we have ten or fifteen minute breaks. There is no lunch break, just ten minute or fifteen minute breaks every forty five minutes.
The students were nice to me, but I could not really talk to them. They smiled at me a lot and made fun of me. They kept on telling me to say things in Polish and I could not really say them succesfully. Once I get to know them, I think I will have a lot of fun with my class- ( in Poland you stay with the same thirty students pretty much the whole day long) I can already pick out people I think I will be good friends with eventually. Some of them are really funny, even though I do not know understand the jokes.
I went to English class. That was quite interesting. Our English teacher has a british accent, its bizarre, and she speaks British English. I listened to my classmates have conversations in English similar to the ones we had to do with partners in French class except they are all really good at English. Unfortunately, they are shy to speak with me because they think they will make mistakes. My knowledge of the polish language is pretty much non-existent- so I wish I could compliment them all on their English. Bravo to them.
After school I went to the park with Zac and Maciek and some of Macieks friends for an hour or two. I met Patrycja and her best friend Paulina at KFC and went with them to H&M. We caught a bus home at 5:30 and since then I have eaten dinner, laid in my bed, and relaxed. I am so tired and I will probably sleep really soon.
I miss you all- I know this is really long and probably a little boring. If you read all of that, you are a truly amazing person.
Until next week, Dowidzenia! (Goodbye!)