Will Do

Cool Warsaw website:
http://www.warsawinsider.pl/

Luckily today was not quite as cold, but I still was not up for doing much since I did laundry (took FOREVER) between the library tour and literature class; the teacher is really nice and knowledgeable. It is always admirable to have extremely well-educated teachers; these ones are basically fluent in at least Polish and English, but most know more. Ahh, I wish I were a polyglot. :-P I think I am still not too old to try a bit more language education. ;) My politics professor said he began learning English around the age of thirty, so that gives me a glimmer of hope.

I was wondering when the day would come that at least one of the woman at the front desk would recognize me (there are at least two or three and I've seen a guy) so that I would not have to take out my residence card every time I entered; I think that day has come. The woman I have seen the most nodded in recognition as I took out the card on the way back from class (she had seen me a bit when retrieving the laundry room key several times hours before). Maybe I will not have to take the card out eventually. :-P

Tonight I looked over most of the maps and info booklets I have about Warsaw. I will probably stay here again this weekend, so I made a more coherent list of the TONS of places I have yet to see. My map is looking pretty rough from the amount of usage it has had. I like to think that as others on my program are anxiously booking trips to different places - mostly outside of Poland - I am okay with not going all over Europe this time around. My main focus is being in Poland and as I am in Warsaw, I really want to savor and admire this city more than simply taste it and other locations. I want to make sure that I leave and have done as much as possible and really experienced the city and as much of the country as possible. If I do not have a chance to travel outside of Poland to other important places around Europe very much, then I will not be heartbroken. I see myself as more of a temporary resident of Poland and an admirer of my surroundings than someone who just wants to be a brief tourist in several places. While others I know are jumping around, I think I am gaining more of a feel for the city. I know that opportunities to come to this continent may or may not happen too frequently, but the same goes for this country in particular. Now I just need to work on my Polish a bit more. :-P Of course, I want to go to so many places around the world - it is more where would I NOT go than where would I go. However, I am more dedicated to certain places for these few months and I know that I want to always make traveling an important component in my life. Here's to hoping many returns and many new arrivals.

I like to fancy myself as one who really wants to see a place when she goes. One of the issues I have about cruising is that it spends only a few hours at each port; to me, this does not give quite as much of an opportunity to really explore the location. I like looking at maps and walking/wandering around to see as much as possible. That is why I was glad to come for an entire semester because I felt that the brief two-week period I had here in Poland last time was, sadly, too short.

The weekend has begun; I am now just going over what I plan to do with these three days. :) Some places to visit include the Jewish Historical Institute, the Literary Museum, the National Museum, the Warsaw Uprising Museum, and so much more from which to choose.

FYI: I guess the shot I had last night was part of rounds of Kamikaze shots.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4809275_blue-kamikaze.html