The Fruits of Many Labors (And Possible Walesa Sightings)

So after the honeymoon period with finally having my own place ended, I realized the dorm I lived in was in the middle of nowhere.  Yes, I had very close access to the beautiful beaches of the Baltic Sea, but it was far from school, the old town, and other parts of the Tri-City area.  Plus it was DIRTY.  I move my bed to a different wall and underneath was huge amounts of dirt and old condom wrappers.  Not exactly the "Welcome to Poland" I expected.

Thus commenced a brutal apartment search.

I speak some Polish…enough that I looked at a few apartments using only Polish, but the calling people and asking if they speak English was exhausting.  A lot of people would just hang up on me after I asked the question.  Some people wanted to live only with Polish people or to rent only to students (which I’m technically not).  

The apartment I found in Oliwa was first visited on my second day of phone calls.  The young man has the same last name as my babcia, which was the first sign that it might be good.

In the apartment, there is a small kitchen, a large bathroom (with a bathtub!) and two bedrooms.  I have the larger bedroom, which is usually for two people.  I didn’t want to deal with having an actual roommate in my room so I’m paying for both beds. However, it’s still a great deal for the location.

The apartment is literally across the street from school.  It’s a five minute walk to a tram stop with 4 trams that will take me anywhere.  The mall is merely 4 tram stops.  The Old Town is about 15-20 minutes away.  And I can get to the train to Sopot in about 20 minutes also.  

Today as I’m waiting for the landlord to come help me move everything, I’m a little bit sad.  I’m sure there would have been some great memories in this dorm…and the beach in walking distance will be greatly missed.  But I  won’t miss the creepy walk home at night or broken glass all over the sidewalk.

And an added benefit?  My new apartment is in Lech Walesa’s neighborhood!

Polish Declinations---Catholic Style

I found the perfect example for the pain that is Polish grammar today in Mass.

In English, the phrase at the end of the consecration prayer is "Through Him, with Him, and in Him."

In Polish, the same phrase is "Przez Chrystusa, z Chrystusem i w Chrystusie."

Not to mention that the original form of Christ is "Chrystus."

Oh yah, and there are seven endings altogether...

Painful I tell you.

First Impressions of Brzezno (Written Tuesday)

Old habits die hard holding on…inevitable means it’s never gone.  (courtesy of RelientK)

Not having wifi in my room, much less internet in general has been quite an experience.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down to write a blog post, check my email, say hi to my mom only to get the “You aren’t connected to the Internet dimwit” message from Firefox.  

I’ve listened to a considerable amount of music and made good on my promise to start p90x (which means I can’t move comfortably at the moment).

The other upside is I’ve spent the past two days checking out the city.  There’s no reason to hang out in my room other than unpacking. And who wants to unpack when they’ve arrived in their new hometown?  I sure don’t.  I bought bed sheets my first day and have almost happily settled in.

Back to the lack of Internet…it really sucks.  You don’t realize how dependent on the World Wide Web you are until it’s gone.  I use it to talk to my family, find directions, figure out where what I want is located and find directions.  Did I mention I use the internet a lot to find directions?  

Getting around a new city is incredibly difficult without the ability to look up tram and bus routes…luckily there is a really wonderful lady living next door to me, Karolina, who has answered many of my questions about the dorm and shopping prospects.  

The room is so much bigger than I expected.  I was able to arrange my furniture so I almost have a little bedroom and then a big living space.  It’s pretty cozy…but lots and lots of white space.  I brought 20 pictures with me…but they barely make my bedroom area seem less white. 

So this is my plea to you…send me cards, pictures, drawings, pretty much anything to make my room seem less like an insane asylum! 

A Hello and Goodbye

One visit with Ambassador Feinstein wasn't enough!  Last night, the U.S. Ambassador invited both the new American Fulbrighters and the recently returned Polish Fulbrighters to his home for a celebration of awesomeness.  It was a much more relaxed atmosphere than our first encounter with him during orientation. 

The evening was filled with delicious appetizers and various sorts of beverages, but most importantly a night of sharing culture and intelligence.

During the short program, we honored the long-time director of the the U.S.-Poland Fulbright Commission.  After 22 years and starting the Fulbright program in Poland, Andrzej Dakowski (in the middle) is retiring at the end of September.  He was given awards by the Ambassador (on the left) and the Polish Minister of Education Maria Elżbieta Orłowska (second from the left).

Two Fulbrighters, an American and Pole, shared a little insight into their research.  Stan (second from the right) is going to Lublin to teach about U.S. culture through music.  His short five minutes were filled with a beautiful singing voice.

The Polish Fulbrighter was not happy about following the singing American, but she was my favorite!  She talked about her research urban cities in none other than Detroit!  We talked for quite some time after the program because she implored the audience to rethink their attitude towards my hometown.  I found a Detroit-advocate in Poland! 

 Of course, the evening would not have been complete without snapping a quick photo with the Ambassador.  

Worse than the DMV---Information Aqcuisition

Most people thought I was crazy for getting on a plane without any idea where I was living in Gdansk, what exactly the program was going to consist of, and really no one to help me figure it out.

The good news is that I've come to have a much better grasp of the situation.  The frustrating thing is that it really has only come together in the past three days as a result of four different people answering the same questions and me piecing together (what I think) is the full picture.

First, upon meeting other ETAs (English Teaching Assistants) I was informed that we are actually teaching classes on our own.  In American universities, assistant means you assist a professor in his/her class.  From what I've gathered from my interactions with University of Gdnask (UG) I'm going to be teaching at least three sections of Practical Phonetics, or as another professor calls it American Voices.

I will be making my own lesson plans focusing on improving the speaking skills of my students AND exposing them to American culture.  The professor is actually an expat from the U.S. and suggested using things I love about home in my class.  For example, I asked if there is an expat community where I might find football lovers and she said the Superbowl might lend a great time to explain American football to my students...the rules, commercials, and lack of hooligans and violence (except for in Lansing and the Oakland Raiders). 

So it looks as if I will have a significant amount of leeway in my classroom, which will be incredibly fun.  I do have to loosely follow the lengthy syllabus that was written for the Polish government for the phonetics class...but it's unfortunately entirely in Polish.  So I'll be writing my OWN syllabus in ENGLISH for the ENGLISH class I'm teaching.  I've already decided that there will be no Polish language allowed in my classroom...otherwise I'd worry about whether my students are talking about me.

As for housing, I have a room reserved.  I don't know where said room is located and I will apparently be sharing a kitchen and refrigerator with the whole floor.  Although I arrive in Gdansk on the 25th, I'm not entirely sure that I can move in that day...I might have to wait until October 1.  The good news, again, is that I have a room reserved.

All in all...things are shaping up nicely.  I just received an email from a fourth university professor that said one of his colleagues (no mention of who!) is going to meet me at the train station when I arrive. 

I'm marginally frustrated at times with the slow, tortoise-like progression of information, but generally optimistic.  Being a real, full-time teacher should prove rather interesting since I've never stood in front of a class for more than 20 minutes.  It'll be good though...and a great opportunity to see if I'll like teaching!

What's in an Orientation?

Well, it's been quite an interesting week in Torun---home of Nicholas Copernicus and world-famous gingerbread. 

All the Polish Fulbrighters are here so we've practically taken over the city with almost 50 Americans.  Which is normally fine, except when we all want to hang out together.  Most of the bars in the city accommodate about 50 people on average, so even if half of us go out, we generally take over the entire bar.

Torun has been chock full of activities.  I generally leave my room around 7:45 for breakfast and don't come back till around 10 pm after dinner and some hanging out at the bar.  Needless to say, the pace has been incredibly exhausting.

Last night, I didn't feel so great, so this morning when my alarm when off, I went back to sleep and missed out on the two lectures of Polish society that I was looking forward to the most---a talk on Smolensk and religion in Polish culture.

A typical day starts out with breakfast in the hotel, which in Poland means sandwich-type foods.  At 9 AM, we have a Polish class.  The classes were broken up into three levels-beginner, advanced, and everyone else.  I'm in the intermediate "everyone" else class which means some moments I have no idea what's going on and others I'm bored.  It's truly incredible how quickly the language is flooding back to me.

Every day we have lectures on different aspects of Polish society.  Some of the most interesting ones have been about the lasting marks of communism on the Polish memory, as well as some aspects of the Holocaust. 

Sunday, the commission treated us to a day at Malbork, a Medieval castle belonging to the Teutonic Knights.  It's a gorgeous and HUGE work of art. Unfortunately, about 50% of it was destroyed during WWII...so (like many places in Poland) it's been reconstructed over the years.  The expense of reconstructing such a large area means that it is still not fully completed...many of the rooms aren't painted and the church is still in major disrepair.  But, that does not take away from the sheer beauty and majesty of the building.

Yesterday, we visited an enthnographic museum, housing farms from the Kujawiak and Kashubian regions.  We learned about the Polish wedding, which was super fun.  Some of my friends dressed up in Kujawiak costumes and we played around with traditional rhythm instruments while singing a song about geese. I learned to walk on stilts, successfully might I add.  And we also cut out window coverings for the house...although our copies didn't turn out as nicely as our teachers.  The last art activity involved making sand artwork.  Back in the old days, their entire yards would be covered in sand art.

Perhaps the most interesting part was trying Kashubian snuff.  I wasn't sure what the lady was pouring on my hand and telling me to sniff, but I'll try anything once and I figured it was legal since this was an official tour visit.  Never again.  One experience of my sinuses burning and my throat itching is more than enough for me.

When I studied abroad, I let mom pick one place in Poland for me to visit and she picked Torun because it is famous for gingerbread.  Well today would've been her favorite day...we went to a "living gingerbread museum" and learned how to make gingerbread.  You can imagine my displeasure though when the guy told us we couldn't eat it!  However, the beautiful piece of art will serve as a wonderful reminder of my time in Torun.

The rest of the week is going to be equally as busy.  We have a few more Polish classes and lectures.  Plus, tomorrow will be a dance workshop and Friday we will go to a concert in Bydgoszcz. 

While I've enjoyed everything in Torun, I'm looking forward to finally arriving in Gdansk and starting normal life.  Look for a few more posts in the coming days about Polish class and what I've found out I should expect in Gdansk!

My First Ambassadorial Encounter

"Congratulations" is a phrase I never expected to hear from a U.S. Ambassador as a 22 year old recent college graduate.  Sitting in the American Embassy in Warsaw, waiting for a sitting ambassador to come speak to a group that I belonged to was a surreal moment in my life.  Hearing his words of congratulations and esteem were memorable.

Ambassador Feinstein's remarks were lengthy and included a question and answer session, which was used to ask questions about all sorts of Polish-American questions.

There were a few memorable quotes from the speech, but I was thoroughly amused by the ambassador's analysis of how Fulbrighters achieved their fellowships.

"You are all a little bit lucky, but very plucky," he said. 

Luck, or Divine Providence, does have a role in our success.  However, all of my fellow Fulbrighters already have very interesting life stories.  A year in Poland is another chapter in our life stories, not the beginning of our books. 

During the Q and A section, I had the opportunity to ask the ambassador about the Polish response to the recently released documents showing the U.S. had knowledge of the Soviet massacre of thousands of Poles at Katyn.  According to Ambassador Feinstein, the Poles are appreciative that the truth is coming to the surface, and aren't generally upset with Americans.  Their official statement hopes that this encourages other countries (looking at YOU Russia) to release sealed documents related to the Soviet occupation of Poland.

Overall, this experience has been incredible.  I am looking forward to sharing more of the opportunities that are being offered as a Fulbrighter and the differences between this program and just being a study abroad student.  Hopefully, I will be able to return to Ambassador Feinstein's house on September 24th for a reception. 

Warsaw 2.0

Obviously, a city has to change over the course of two years.  However, I was kind of surprised at how similar everything looks!  The same HM is on the same corner of the same streets...the mall is exactly the same. I helped other Americans buy phones in the same place I bought mine two years ago---a little resale shop in the Metro station.  Given some of the store turnovers in the states, I expected the little shops throughout Centrum station to have changed.  Everything is exactly how I remember.

There are some major changes to the city though.  The most noticeable, at least to me, is the construction of the national stadium.

It's a gorgeous stadium that was built for Poland hosting Euro2012.  Apparently, a few weeks ago they had an American football game: Europe V. USA.  The final score was something 81-7.  The opposite would be true for a Europe v. USA European football game. 

The second big change in Warsaw is the construction of a second metro line.  Warsaw is possibly the only major city in the world with good public transportation and only one metro line.  Unfortunately, the construction of the line means entire streets are closed...which led to a little bit of confusion when I was trying to use the buses one day.

All in all, everything is amazing.  My Polish friends in Warsaw have taken me out for coffee or meals a couple times.  I even went to a party at one of their apartments.  Hopefully next time I visit, I'll be able to make one of the poker parties with my old dorm friends! 

Niedobrze Mowie Po Polsku (I don't speak Polish well!)

How blessed am I to be in this country again!  My Polish friends will argue me, but I know it's the truth...I've forgotten so much Polish since I studied in Warsaw in 2010.  However, it's flooding back! 

Things are so much easier here because (a) I lived in Warsaw for almost 6 months and (b) if I don't remember where something is, my Polish is good enough to ask for basic directions.

In my first day alone, I tackled things like buying a phone number and finding towels.  Last time, it took me over a week to find the store with cheap towels.  Now I know to look for the Carrefour in the mall...they have EVERYTHING, it's like Meijer.

Even better is knowing people in Warsaw.  My best friend in Poland, Karolina, met me at the airport and showed me the new way from the airport to the city (a new train!)  It was so much faster than the old buses that we used to take.

Today, I met her and Michal for coffee and it seems like I have never left.  We're giggling about calling boys ciacho (handsome).  And they're telling me how perfect my Polish is, or will be by July.

I've been busy meeting Polish friends and fellow Fulbrighters.  We had a small adventure today trying to find cell phones, but it wasn't that bad.  Between broken Polish and broken English, much can be accomplished.

Ironically, my blog account is all in Polish now.  Luckily I can guess what"Nowy Post" and "Edytuj" mean.   Unfortunately...I don't remember what the button labeled "Prywroc wersje robocza" means.  That might be an adventure for another day.

Tomorrow, I may serve sometime as a Warsaw tour guide.  Hopefully I remember the good and important stories about the sights in Stare Miasto...otherwise the other Americans might fire me!

Until next time...do zobaczenie

I just did what they tell you never do!

I took a nap, a long one.  It was glorious.

My flight over was interspersed with the cute babcia next to me asking me very lengthy questions in Polish, while I was sleeping or just having woken up.  Although annoying and sleep-depriving in nature, it was a big boost to my confidence in the language department.

From what I gathered she moved to the U.S. in 1970 and since, her children and/or grandchildren have moved back to Poland.  She told me to call her Ania and we were on an informal-name basis from almost the beginning.

Which lead to the nap.  The first two hours of the flight, Ania didn't understand my nie spalam wczoraj or jestem BARDZO smeczona.  No, she kept waking me up to ask me questions about the plane (way beyond my vocabulary), her luggage (taking up my foot room), or to feed me (typical Polish babcia).

I arrived in Warsaw with great plans to hit the sights, but the sleepiness hit.  So I took a shower and hit the sack.   In all fairness, I traveled far and have dinner plans at 8 pm, which means I won't get to bed early.

Hopefully the jet lag doesn't end up worse than it has been in the past.  I usually can kick it in a day or two.  Now, I'm off to the mall.  I need a purse, hair straightener, and a sweatshirt because I left mine at the airport!

What's a Mom to Do?

Sending a child to college is stressful, so many people keep asking me how my mom is handling me moving to Poland for a year.  She graciously wrote a short piece on how things go on the home front!

You have a child and you hold them for the first time.  Never in a million years did you imagine that they would actually grow up and become young adults in their own right.  I remember trying to dress Stephanie for the first time – so scared of this baby that God had blessed me with.  I couldn’t even dress her,  how in the world was I going to teach her to eat and walk and all the necessary things.  .  The first years are so filled with just getting through; the lack of sleep, lack of knowledge and everything being so overwhelming.

Before you know it, school starts and it’s a whole new ballgame…what if I don’t teach them something.  What if they don’t get into college, what if I’ve failed them?  And of course, the oldest is the hardest.  Often Stephanie was called my guinea pig, which was so true.  If it didn’t work on her, we’d change course for the younger two.  

I think what amazes me most is how God takes the basics that we teach and allows our children to blossom into an individual flower.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought 20 years ago that my daughter would be traveling the world.  The first time she left I sort of thought it was a quirk.  But now she’s on her 3^rd trip to Europe, I have to admit, this isn’t just a passing fad…she’s opened the world up to herself and she’ll be coming and going the rest of her life.  

I’ve already decided that the hardest part of parenting is learning to let go.  You’ve taught them right from wrong, how to love God and how to be independent.  Now comes the time when they have formed their own opinions, attitudes and values.  While they still might reflect yours, they are not a carbon copy of yours.  You have to step back and as a wise friend has told me numerous times “Just love them”.  

So as Stephanie goes on to one more life adventure, and I face the possibility of not seeing her for a year, I’m very proud of her.  Behind the tears of my selfishness of missing her – I’m excited for her.  I can’t wait to hear of her adventures.  Her meeting extended family will build bonds across the continents.  Amazing that this is the baby I held so long ago and couldn’t figure out how to dress!