Our CIEE program directors asked everyone on my program to make an entry called "Warsaw in 7 Days." We each are assigned one week to describe among our entire time here and this past week was my turn.
Here is my entry:
When people discuss how they chose their location for studying
abroad, numerous reasons come up: cost, distance to other places, culture,
courses, heritage. I have been thinking about studying abroad since I knew that
it even existed and my mind has always thought of Poland. When I finally made
it to college, my desire to study outside of the United States only grew
stronger and my mind was pretty much set on Poland, the country where my mother
was born. I only had the chance to see it once in the summer of 2006 for only
two short weeks and did not see enough of the country and its people to be
satisfied. I also was quite disappointed at how little of the Polish language
that I knew at the time. When I looked through my options for study abroad
locations that my school accepted, I found out that the option I had in Poland
was to study at the Warsaw School of Economics through CIEE; last time I was in
Poland I did not go to Poland's capital city, so I thought if going to Poland
meant only going there, then I would enjoy being in a new city and traveling to
other parts of the country as well.
One hope for my semester in Poland was to visit family and friends
I had met my first and only time here five years ago. It would mean visiting
other great cities in Poland while reconnecting with old friends in person
rather than only on Facebook. My weekend began with a train trip to Wrocław
(both Warsaw and Wrocław train stations are undergoing major construction,
which only made my journey a bit more colorful). I made it to Wrocław's main
train station in the early evening, where I was met by two brothers - the sons
of my mother's childhood best friend [I met these boys, their parents, and
their sister when I was in Poland before] who are also students at Wrocław
University. They showed me around their great city of Wrocław and even let me
stay at their apartment. I brought gifts with me (American Hershey kisses
chocolates from my Mother forboth boys; a t-shirt and a book - in Polish that I
had read before in English - for one of the brothers who had recently had a
birthday at the beginning of March) and then we went to see the American film
"Sucker Punch" at the nearby cinema. This is my second time going to
the movies in Poland and I am proud to say that I DO look at the Polish
subtitles a bit to see if I can learn something new. :) The movie was OK. After
the movie, we walked around Wrocław's rynek and I saw some of the university's
class buildings that the guys go to regularly or had been to before. We looked
around for a place to hang out and eventually one brother chose a small
cafe/bar where we had mulled beer (served warm with spices, such as cinnamon
sprinkled on top; best beer I have had in Poland so far). We chatted until late
in the night and then went to bed.
Saturday the weather was a bit chilly and rainy, so we went to the
National Museum in Wrocław (free admission to permanent exhibits, which is
most of the museum, on Saturdays) and then walked around the city some more; I
saw monuments and churches and a really interesting bridge that people put
locks on to symbolize strengthening their romantic relationships. We took some
pictures (not on my camera, so I am a bit anxious to see how they turned out
once I finally see them!) and headed back inside for some coffee at their
apartment after we had a quick lunch at a Polish cafe. That evening we went to
the cinema again for "The King's Speech," called "How to be a
King" (more-or-less) in Polish. Again, I would both watch the movie and
glance at the subtitles for an interesting lesson in the Polish language. ;) We
all liked this movie a lot and had a chat about how movie titles change so much
here.
Sunday we spent a few hours chatting before my afternoon train
back to Warsaw. I was very sad to go after having such a wonderful time with my
friends. I made it back later in the night and was ready to go to bed for
classes the following day.
Weekdays spent in Warsaw are always interesting. Mondays and
Tuesdays are my main class days, while the rest of the week only consists of a
longer Polish lesson on Wednesday and one class on Thursday. Coming back to my
home base - our student dorm - meant doing homework, washing dirty clothes,
buying some food at grocery stores or restaurants (such as one of the Warsaw
restaurants I enjoy: a quick and inexpensive vegetarian place called VEGA that
I had lunch at on Monday). There are also some "checks with reality"
when I return to dorm life: emails from school (already almost time for Fall
2011 course registration), notes from family in the US, working on reading
assignments for classes.
On Wednesday evening, our CIEE group had a great cultural
excursion: we went to see a new ballet ("I PRZEJDĄ DESZCZE..." or
"And The Rain Will Pass") that was great! Our seats were fantastic -
on the floor and only a few rows from the stage. The dancers were amazing and
afterwards everyone in the group was talking about the skills they showed
during the performance. Some of us even tried to replicate the moves. ;)
The weather lately has been beautiful and, as April begins, it
really feels of Spring. The Spring semester really was a great choice to come
to Poland (I feel this way all the time, especially when I hear about the
weather I am "missing" at school or at home in the US)! The sun is
shining and the sky is blue; the temperature is warmer, to the point of putting
on a lighter coat and grabbing a pair of sunglasses before heading out for a
nice walk around the city - maybe even to the parks or outside decks or roofs.
The beginning of a new weekend, and a new month, means both planning what to do
and enjoying the unexpected that comes. Now I am just sad that my time here is
closer to being over. I may not want to go. :)
