Kino II

After finishing Dekalog, I have now moved on to Big Animal and Warszawa, the final two full Polish movies  that seem to be available at my local library (a couple of others might have Polish characters or some brief Polish dialogue or they are documentaries with Polish speaking in them that I may consider watching later).

In terms of reading, I finished Snow White and Russian Red and Catching Fire (the second book in The Hunger Games series), which means I am now reading Mockingjay (the final book of The Hunger Games series).

Kino

It seems that some of my recent Polish education has come in different forms. I do a little work in the textbook and workbook I used in Poland, but I am also using literature and films. Not really a lot of Polish knowledge can be taken away from reading something translated into English, but, being in the middle of Dorota Maslowska's Snow White and Russian Red does give lessons through untranslated graphic comic strips interspersed throughout the novel. There is also cultural information in regards to the Polish characters and setting. Additionally, I have been renting Polish films from the local library. First, I watched The Promised Land (in Polish with English subtitles; I had already seen this in a Polish Literature class while abroad) and now I am in the middle of Dekalog - a film with ten separate one-hour parts, each one's subject related to one of the Ten Commandments (again in Polish with English subtitles) - after watching the first three parts (I had also watched one or two random later parts in Polish class while in Warsaw).

Other forms of Polish cultural education have come from trying Polish foods - usually different variations of surowki or salads or soups - and I will try to try out some recipes soon.

Greenpoint

Quick notes about weekend travels. Saw some of a Polish neighborhood of Brooklyn (Greenpoint area), which includes bookstores, delis, bakeries - even a ŻABKA (means "frog" and is a 7-Eleven-like store [http://www2.zabka.pl/]) - and Polish-speaking and signs, before going to a Yankees game. I hope to return to Brooklyn (especially the Polish areas with their well-supplied stores)/NYC-area soon to explore more (I know I will be back to visit the Polish consulate there in August). After a night near Scranton following the game and a drive to a hotel, my family stopped at a Polish deli in PA before coming back home.

On another note, I recently breezed through the first book of THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy, which I had checked out of the library a couple of days ago. (I had also checked out and watched for a second time "Ziemia Obiecana" (The Promised Land) about industrialism in Lodz, Poland around the turn of the Twentieth Century. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072446/]) Now I really feel anxious and want to keep going with the other two books of the trilogy. Lately, I have been reading a lot of books that will be released as films soon ("The Help," "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"), just before release instead of after (I also read a while ago - before made into film - "Water For Elephants," but will have to wait for DVD release to watch it). I really liked the Peeta Mellark character (and the protagonist Katniss Everdeen, of course).

Polish Favorites: Bookstores

1. Traffic Club, Warsaw (there is at least one other in Wroclaw, but the Warsaw store is pretty epic)

http://www.traffic-club.pl/

Over 4 levels of merchandise

Basement has music and movies, ground has cafe, periodicals, gift items/cards, and some top sellers of music, books, and movies, next two floors have books, and the top floor had a birthday party when I was there once. This place has materials in both Polish and English (the amount of English is not too much, but still very good).

2. Empik, all over Poland (I particularly like the Megastore in Krakow's rynek)
http://www.empik.com/

Ahh, the memory of walking in here and stumbling into the Sephora 5 years ago...

Empik is basically a good Barnes & Noble or Borders (since I think Borders beats BN in the free rewards program and the media area - music and movies - but BN seems better in atmosphere, cafe, and ties for overall and books). However, Empik also advertises and sells tickets for concerts in Poland and offers classes in foreign languages (I know people who take English lessons offered).

3. Massolit, Krakow
http://www.massolit.com/

Want books only in English? Then this place is great. It offers a good selection of Polish authored books translated into English, plus a wide variety of genres (poetry to specific area studies to general literature). I was saddened to leave empty handed, but my list of books to buy did grow. And, yes, there are comfy seats, couches, and a cafe in this two-level store.

4. American Bookstore, all over Poland
http://www.americanbookstore.pl/

Again, only in English. BUT, this one is a chain! There is one on Nowy Swiat in Warsaw, plus several in many malls across the country. Helping English-reading expats and travelers (or those fluent enough in English looking to improve their reading skills) find books easily.

5. Museum Bookstores/Gift shops
Many museums, especially art ones, have great bookstores/gift shops. I was surprised that many had English-language books as well. I remember some cool books at the Zacheta National Art Gallery and the Center for Contemporary Art.

There are definitely many other bookstores that I did not have a chance to see or did not know about. There were also many cities that I visited and did not stop at bookstores. But these are some definite good ones if in need of a book, in Polish or in English. If another language is needed, well... that depends.

For the Personal Library

More books to add...

http://chuckpalahniuk.net/news/the-cults-top-10-books-of-2010

I trust other Chuck fans...

Fall

Still a bit jet-lagged, but now is the time to finish up my work from the spring semester. I have two more papers to complete (one entire paper for Polish politics and less than half left to finish for the other in Central European - mainly Polish - history). Some aspects of Europe have been maintained at home, such as eating borscht a couple of days after coming back when my Babcia/grandma made it. Also, I still drink some sparkling water and eat salads/surowki. But I have also welcomed back items I did not have abroad: Kashi cereal, almond milk, On Demand television...

I spent the last few days catching up on a few television shows (The Office, Parks & Recreation, some Castle, United States of Tara...) and beginning Game of Thrones.

There is a lot to like and some that I do not like about this show. I like some characters (Ned Stark, Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark, the dire wolves, Samwell), while others are terrible. Some parts of the storyline are a bit strange or gross, but the show still remains to be good as I watch around the scenes where you wonder if certain views are necessary...

There are also some movies I need to catch up on. The Hangover Part II was quite good, but used an identical model to the first movie with a few changes. However, the writers know what worked for the first film, so why do too much differently for the second film; this is about entertainment at the end of the day. And everyone laughed a lot in my theatre.

Once I finish my two papers, I will read a lot more. I finished a few magazines, but I have books I need to go back to. I also have new Polish instructors and homework: my mother and grandmother are now going to give me written work out of the book and workbook I used during the spring, plus I was told to watch Polish television and practice more speaking and listening.

Something for travelers:
These trips sound really interesting
http://escapetoshape.com/

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)

So, there it is, 4 months in Poland are now complete. Woke up at 3 AM (but it was light out when we took the taxi at 4 AM) on Wednesday. The first part was quick (check-in and security). We had tea and coffee at the airport and then took our first flight from Warsaw to Amsterdam. This was quick and we were given a couple of little sandwiches: one had mystery meat with butter on grain bread (weird since I am not a processed meat lover or butter fan) and curried egg salad on brown bread (not bad). We were later given biscuit cookie sandwiches with caramel filling (also not bad; the biscuit part tasted a bit graham cracker-like and the caramel was mainly just sweet). On this flight I read some of my Oprah magazine. The layover at Amsterdam was short. We flew from there to Paris (Charles De Gaulle) and had a selection of baked goods at one time during the flight (I had a regular croissant, but there were also pain au chocolat - chocolate-filled croissant - or some kind of pastry that looked to have maybe nuts and apple? from which to select), which looks a lot nicer since the last time I was there (there are fewer renovations and the complete ones make the airport look better, but it is still not an easy experience since the layout is confusing and the security check is annoying). At this airport, I had a chance to go to the airport lounge for frequent fliers. This lounge is nicer than the only other one I had seen (which is also very nice) in Detroit. I had some good fruit salad, canned Pellegrino, and a little vegetarian sandwich (all tasty). This longer flight from Paris to Philadelphia was not as nice an experience as my last transatlantic flight. There was a baby that cried a lot and a little boy (probably her brother) moaning, while a few other people were strange and/or difficult and/or complaining a lot. We each had personal TV screens in our seats, which was nice. I watched Tron: Legacy (I liked it a lot, or maybe it was just the nerd in me having a fun time for the Daft Punk music and video game-like aspects... who knows), The Green Hornet (only for Christoph Waltz), Samantha Brown's Passport to Great Weekends: LA, an episode of The Big Bang Theory, some of Biutiful (I was falling asleep, but was not successful taking a nap when I turned the movie off because the baby was crying and I was not comfortable) and some of the pilot episode of The Borgias. Pretty sure there was a girl who had been on America's Next Top Model on this flight. After we made it through all of the security, customs, and passport checks in Philadelphia, we picked up our luggage and our car before a drive home (I slept through most of it), making it back at almost 10 PM. I had been up almost a day (or more for others).

Today is relax day. Last night, I went to bed regular time (around midnight) after going on the Internet and watching some television. This morning I woke up early because of my weird sleep schedule (nap in car and going to sleep before, plus not being used to time change and jet-lag yet) and our cat's meow cries on-and-off from early this morning until early this afternoon (he is so needy and was lonely I guess :-P silly boy - but also looking older and bigger). I am caught up with Community as of this morning, but made a list of other shows and movies to catch up on. I also have two more papers to complete the next couple of weeks so that I will then really be on summer vacation. Too bad the weird phone call from an army recruiter earlier this afternoon did not know he was calling someone without interest. :-/

Being back in America is still very recent. I will reflect more on being back, my time abroad, trips, and the future soon. For now, I will relax and finish up the work for the spring semester before looking too far ahead or behind. One recent thought is about persons, places, and things I miss. It has been strange being home without our dog Maggie, but not much else seems different yet. I also know that a trip in the next couple of months to California sounds very exciting. :) I will soon begin planning activities for the summer, such as deciding places to go and books to read and things to do. I just have to fit in some time for my work on Polish before it escapes me and to learn more. In the near future, I will be watching The Hangover Part II and X-Men: First Class (maybe).

Mistaken For Strangers

Interesting day. The weather was nice, but I did not have much of a chance to enjoy it because of my class schedule. It was a bit awkward to have classes again, although not too strange. I had a Polish lesson, where I had to go back to learning the details of Polish grammar. We learned more information about our Polish exam sometime next week (our last week) and that our class on Wednesday will include everyone on the program, where we will learn about Polish slang. I later had a history class (we learned our papers are due at the beginning of June and are much more personal and liberal in topic; we select what we want to write about based upon what we learned in class and from our experiences abroad; our actual lesson was about Prague Spring) and a politics class (again, another open-ended, personal choice topic. Similar to the paper in politics - in terms of due date, length, using course material - except about politics and foreign relations; today we learned about foreign relations between Poland and other countries after the fall of Communism). My Jews in Poland class was cancelled due to the professor's illness (both today and tomorrow classes are cancelled with a make-up tentatively set for Thursday; out trip to Lublin, so far, is unchanged - to be from Friday to Saturday). We had a paper for the Jewish class due tomorrow, but since the teacher is sick, there has been a loose extension for the paper, set to be due by the end of the week. :)

The extra time I had from cancellation of my Jewish class meant that I could eat dinner earlier, begin the long tirade of laundry work, and watch "Source Code" [it was quite good...]. Now I am up to finishing laundry and WORK. I have four papers, readings, some Polish work, and studying (for the Polish exam) to do the next couple of weeks...

Polish poster, where it is called "Code of Immortality" (in Polish)

Quote of the Day: “We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves.”

—  Marcel Proust

Source Code

Have not written since Tuesday, so I have some bits to fill in from the last few days in Krakow. On Wednesday, we went on a trip around Wawel Castle - the royal tombs, rooms full of weaponry (I was pretty interested in the weapons, especially the swords...), the castle itself (where, in one room, people wore period clothes and sang or used archaic instruments to perform a song), and the cathedral. It was really nice, but sadly no pictures were allowed of most of it. :-/ After the tour, I had my first Krakowian pretzel (obwarzanek; it had a mixture of seeds and such on it) and a vegetarian kebab (basically a regular kebab without meat or cheese or falafel - so lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, tahini-like sauce in a roll). I walked around the city a bit (including going back to a famous store for my family - a deli in the rynek that has candies on one wall and alcohol on the other). For dinner, I went to a place called MOMO (it is an eco vegetarian bar), where I had a miso soup with mixed vegetables and a plate with rice, beans and onions in a sauce, spinach and tofu, and zucchini and broccoli in a sauce (the best of the three; I liked it a lot). After dinner, we all met up for a string concert at a church near the hotel. The music included pieces by Handel, Vivaldi, Chopin, and Mozart. It was really nice. On Thursday, I went out for a walk and saw a monument for a famous Polish battle and then walked a bit at a mall and around the city before taking our group bus to Oswiecim/Auschwitz. This second time at the death camp, for me, was interesting since last time I did not watch the video shown to tourists. We also had two great guides - the one from the museum and our program director (who had previously worked as a guide at the camp years ago as a summer job when still at university). I learned a lot more and had another chance to look at the camp. I did not mind going again to experience it with different people and to learn some new or additional information. Thursday night included a little going out at night to dance and to see the city when it's dark. :-P On Friday, we went on a tour of Kazimierz, the Jewish area of Krakow. The tour included a few synagogues and a cemetery (I also saw a more recent Jewish cemetery later on after I went to the nearby mall). After the mall, we all met up at the restaurant at our hotel (http://www.podwawelem.eu/), where I had some barszcz with dumplings and an oriental salad with shrimp, before catching a train ride back to Warsaw. Since then I have been relaxing since I have more "travel lag" with fatigue and aching muscles. This has led to 24 hours of nothing. I have some schoolwork to accomplish and I am in the middle of catching up on TV shows and movies I have been meaning to see or missed recently. The weather today and tomorrow are not the best for going outside a lot, so at least I do not have to feel very guilty about not leaving much. School starts again on Monday for our final two weeks!

Photos added: http://photobucket.com/kab1221

HollyŁódź

My day in Łódź was a lot of fun, especially when the weather would agree with me. :-P Before my trip, my program's assistant director gave me a great map to the city: http://www.use-it-lodz.pl/ [comes from this website, which has other places: http://www.use-it.be/europe/ since we also have a great Warsaw one: http://www.use-it-warsaw.pl/] that was very helpful. Łódź is a nice place for a shorter trip (or even longer if you have the time) since the train ride is a little over two hours there (so under five hours total travel since the trains tend to be late arriving when I board or disembark) and a lot of the main places for food, shopping, visiting, etc. are along one main street or not too far from it; this street is Piotrkowska [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piotrkowska_Street]. There is more than one train station in the Łódź area and the one I arrived at and departed from (Łódź Kaliska) was not bad at all (better than Torun, but not as nice as the main or central ones in Wroclaw and Warszawa, but those have more construction; it also had small kiosks, stores, vending machines: food, HOT DRINKS - I love these (for me, they're more for soup and tea) and the US needs more of them, and cold drinks). I walked along this main street and I went to a fantastic commercial spot called Manufaktura: http://www.manufaktura.com/ It was created from a former factory and became multi-purpose: a mall, bowling alley, museums - such as about the factory's history, galleries, restaurants, a movie theatre, and more. It was probably one of the nicest malls I have ever seen and it is so cool how the exterior factory-look was maintained. It was there that I had lunch at my go-to food chain (everyone else on my program tends to go to McDonalds wherever they go, but I like the Polish vegetarian food chain Green Way: greenway.pl and I just tend to select different menu items when I go - this time Krupnik soup: http://www.kwestiasmaku.com/kuchnia_wloska/krupnik/krupnik.html, a croquette filled with cabbage and covered in a mushroom sauce:http://greenway.pl/pl/katalog/dania_glowne/krokiet_z_kapusta_i_grzybami, with salads on the side: shredded carrots, shredded beets, a coleslaw-like other one); I am in a very Catholic country and it must be the leniency - authorized by the Pope - on meatless Fridays during most of Lent (mainly Good Friday as the one to be meat-free) that allows more Poles to be lenient themselves. I am one of the main people I have seen who stick to every Friday being meatless when I can, so many a Pole can be seen at KFC, kebab stands, McDonalds... Later, I walked around the mall and a few stores, such as grabbing some drinks, gum, and snacks at a real: http://www.real.de/real-startseite.html - a European supermarket and then went to a small market called Alma: http://www.almamarket.pl/ because it began to rain while I was inside the main part of the mall and I wanted to stall for time... but ended up walking in some rain anyway. The tough parts about rain are the loss of peripheral vision with a hood and the fear of being poked by umbrellas. Plus, it was very windy, so I saw some difficulty with using umbrellas when they would fold the wrong way. It was cloudy when I left Warsaw, sunny from the train window, and then cloudy, windy, and cool when I left the train until it began to rain when I was inside the mall (stopping sometime later before starting again). I walked along Piotrkowska Street (it stopped raining for a bit and began again shortly before heading to the train station as it began to darken earlier from the lack of sun and abundance of clouds) and I even stopped inside of some neat stores: a Polish folk store - full of Krakowiaka dresses and painted eggs and Polish stoneware - and this interesting market with one floor a grocery (with a candy/alcohol counter ;) ) and the upstairs a weird market considered a "Chinese Market." It simply had a weird hodgepodge of items and made me have that "where am I?" feeling. There are even some "stars" along Piotrkowska (http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleja_Gwiazd_w_%C5%81odzi), a la Hollywood's Walk of Fame, but this one is smaller (only a few - not many - blocks on both sides of the street) and for Poles.

Not my picture ;)

I really liked this city a lot and I was glad to go, although it would have been cool to see the Corning, Inc. establishment there (since then my parents could tell their coworkers that their daughter had seen/visited an international location :-P). It would have been fun to stay longer since there were some sites left to see, but it was a pleasant trip. :) I did not see any of the museums or some places (ghetto, cemeteries, forests, some parks, some monuments, some important buildings/sites) farther from my train station, Manufaktura, or Piotrkowska Street. There also was an IKEA at a mall nearby. :-P ;) So, a longer time there could have been spent.

Pictures on Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kab1221

Since the weather is not-so-great (a bit windy, cool, cloudy, and drizzling on-and-off), I will not go out too much. I may wait and see how the weather is tomorrow before making definite plans (also because of it being the Smolensk anniversary), other than going to the classical performance at 6pm. I have been interested in seeing a movie, so there is a chance I will do that tonight or tomorrow. I also have a little homework to finish up before Monday or Tuesday. There is also an episode of "Castle" I have yet to watch and a new show called "The Borgias" that might fill the void left by "The Pillars of the Earth" (which I still might read one day).

The Office

Interesting past couple of days... sort of. After Polish class in the morning, I had lunch before heading out for a walk around Nowy Swiat Street and Old Town (hooray that outdoor seating is out or being set up!). I stopped by an American Bookstore (http://www.americanbookstore.pl/) and bought a few Polish-related books:

2 books on Polish tales (meant for children ;) )

A love story set somewhat in Krakow that extends to different generations; looks cute and has had some good reviews online

Yesterday the weather was great, until it began to rain while I was in my last class and I had to walk the few blocks back to the dorm in the rain (sadly, the unexpected showers meant I was hood-less and umbrella-less). :-/ On my way to that final class, the sky seemed darker, but I did not know that the weather was going to change so much and just let the idea of rain slide out of my mind... until I thought I heard rain outside the classroom window and the noise of cars driving in water. :-P I made it back to my room and had some issues with my computer's mouse (now it is working fine, but my program's assistant director called for me about my laptop's warranty - it is up, so no help there - and tech support before I ended up buying an optical mouse and discovering that my mouse NOW will work when I was about to set up an external one... well, I have back up and when the tech support calls me tomorrow I can ask about what to do in case this problem occurs again, but I hope it doesn't). I also picked up a package today. Thanks, Mom, Dad, and Babcia. :-D I now have an Easter card on my desk, new magazines, LUNA bars, gum, candies, and soup (as a gift since Campbell's tomato soup is not so easy to find here). :-P

Today I had history in the morning before doing some grocery shopping (I went to one of the malls, where I had some food from TUKAN salad bar: http://www.saladbar.pl/index.php, which was basically a salad bar in a food court, where your plate was weighed at the end and priced accordingly with any other items - drinks, sandwiches, soups, other prepared dishes. I then went to Carrefour for a mixed bag of foods and supplies after eating). In the afternoon, I had to miss my literature course to go on a field trip with my Jews in Poland class to see the Jewish cemetery here in Warsaw. It was very large and had both well-maintained plots and some that had fallen into disrepair, which made me sad to see. It was an interesting, yet awkward, experience learning about history and customs while walking around where dead people are buried. It became quite cold by the end of the tour, so everyone in the group was quite anxious to make it back to the dorm or at least somewhere for dinner. Tomorrow I have Polish class, where I believe we will be watching a film called "The Debt" (originally "Dług"): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0225535/

In the afternoon, my program group will be having a meeting about the upcoming Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot weekend trip (next weekend).

Interesting side note, I like updating my sister on my "Krasinski" sightings. There is this one guy I have seen a handful of times in a few different areas on the way to or from classes and he resembles (to me right now) John Krasinski from "The Office." I am tempted to scope him out and take a picture to see if anyone else agrees. Distant cousin perchance? He totally has the ears and the nose, in my opinion. :-P There is Krasinski ancestry connected to this part of Poland: they were a noble family and there is a Krasinski Palace and a Krasinski Garden near it. Plus, there is a Krasinski Street after the famous poet, Zygmunt Krasinski.

Pictures updated on Flickr (from Sunday at the zoo) and Twitpic (a few from Monday's walk and today's lunch).

I Know Places

Serce w Sercu - heart in heart (the gingerbread cookie in keepsake tin I bought)

Today I had lunch at one of the Green Way bars here. Sadly, this is the third I have seen and no stuffed cabbage. I have one more I have yet to see in Warsaw, so maybe there will be some there or I will maybe have some at a place that serves both regular and meatless. I also have yet to have my fruit-filled pierogi. My meal today included lentil soup (with other such vegetables as carrots and potato pieces), vegetables and small bits of tofu in tomato sauce on top of kasza (kasha = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasha) with the side salatki (salads, mostly three different coleslaw-like sides). I liked the food, except when it comes to vegetables there is one variety that I tend to forget that I do not care for (since I tend to think I like all vegetables): peppers. Not a fan. I had some peppers in my food and I am not so into them.

After lunch, I went to the Independence Museum [http://www.muzeumniepodleglosci.art.pl/] (free on Sundays). It was neat since I saw an exhibit on Polish children in exile who went to school in countries other than Poland, such as Israel, Italy, and Mexico. It was neat to see school IDs, report cards, notebooks, and other school materials. There also were political posters, paintings, and cartoons. I read a lot of information about different times in Polish history where Poles fought against various threats for freedom and independence. The museum is also at a location I had walked by several times without even knowing it and the place is a palace. It was very pretty inside. I had some confusion communicating with the people at the door and coat check since the coat check guy asked something about help and I said no and then both of them kept talking to me, so I had to say I do not speak Polish that well and the woman at the door was silenced since she struggled to speak English. She tried to find the word "coat" in her mind and then motioned and I said it. Then we switched to Polish (me making some sense out of her words and me speaking in simple Polish) as I gave my coat and bag to the coat check guy.

After the museum, I headed to a couple stores for some groceries for the next few days before heading back to the dorm for some reading homework.

Pictures are updated on my twitpic! :)

Self Machine

In the words of OutKast, "you can plan a pretty picnic, but you can't predict the weather."

That is how I feel about my nice few hours in Torun. It was my first time using the main train station here in Warsaw. It was not too difficult since I had been in the station and platform areas before. I also figured out the schedules to determine what platform I needed to be on. The station is not so nice right now because of mega-construction and the crowdedness of the underground tunnels of the Central/Centrum Warsaw area. It is easy to walk right onto a platform since the ticket is not checked until right after boarding, so then a ticketless rider would be in trouble since the comptroller guys did not seem especially friendly (except one I saw on my train back). I made sure to be at the station earlier, but this does not really help with finding seats since this was not the first station the train was at and there were many others wanting to board with me. I was in the second class, which basically was in a cabin resembling the one straight out of "Euro Trip." It was hard finding a cabin without sleeping people or where it did not feel weird with a bunch of others inside without much room. I helped one older woman board and she kept telling me not to be shy when she opened a carriage, claiming to be full and was not, and she yelled at the patrons saying it had seats and told me to join. I kept going and ended jumping into a compartment with room, only to be the one deemed for families (mothers/fathers/parents with children under 4 and pregnant women) and this family had both a pregnant mother and a child under 4 (maybe close to 2) with a father. I snuck in and did not take up much space, so I don't think it was a big, big deal that I was there and quiet (I only noticed the sign about babies when I was already sitting down a few minutes since it was on the door (open, so not quite visible) when I saw room inside the compartment and went in, right before the Dad brought in a big stroller in addition to their bags). They had enough room (only exception being maybe if the father wanted to stretch out more on the seat...) When the man came around to check tickets, he was a bit grumpy and said "DOKUMENT" to me. I was confused at first ("Co?" = "What?") and then he repeated and explained that I had a reduced fare, so I then understood and handed my student ID, which appeased him.

The trip went by pretty quickly. One woman joined us (the father had called out to one person that it was for families, but she only glanced in the way others had and kept walking, but allowed one woman in who actually opened the door and asked if there was room (the mom was not so happy about that). We all dozed off some and I was the first to exit. The station in Torun is really old-fashioned. It also requires crossing a bridge to the other side of the Wisla River to make it to the main sites of Torun. I mixed myself up, but made it to the other side. I also had to pay to use a restroom at the station (which also has some kiosks, a restaurant, vending machines, and a waiting room), which I would have minded less if that meant a nicer, cleaner experience.

I wanted lunch by then, so I headed directly to a place I had in mind, a vegetarian Polish chain called Green way: http://greenway.pl/ I had in mind to try the vegetarian golabki (stuffed cabbage), but it was unlisted. :( I will have to check if any in Warsaw make them. So, I had some tasty soup (this soup, but with the recipe tweaked to leave out the meat: http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/polishsoups/r/splitpeasoup.htm) and a "vegetable tart" (basically vegetarian lasagna with wheat-y thin pancakes [nalesniki/crepes] instead of pasta and with cheese, tomato sauce, spinach, and onions as the main vegetables) that came with some "salatki" = shredded carrots, a coleslaw-like shredded cabbage with creamy dressing and raisins, and another that was similar to coleslaw but not with any real dressing or sauce - more just shredded cabbage and carrot. The food was great and I am glad that I can try out the ones in other Polish cities, such as the three in the area here (yes, I am actually supporting a chain that is somewhat "fast food," but it is Polish-only, healthy, and vegetarian). The place was inexpensive and pretty (in Old Town and it had a beautiful ceiling with chandeliers).

Blurry Soup (I enlarged the picture)

After lunch, I walked around the Old Town; I saw Mikolaj Kopernik's house (Nicholaus Copernicus) and went on a tour inside; I saw the Old Town Square, medieval gates and walls, the Leaning Tower, Copernicus University, tons of modern shops (sadly even a fancy McDonalds with carnation bouquets on the tables and leather seats or sofas - rarely are they so nice in the US), cafes, and the famous "piernik" shops (piernik from Torun is famous; it is basically similar to gingerbread, but I think softer and better). At one of the shops (there were several) with mainly piernik (I went to the famous Kopernik chain), I bought this heart-shaped cookie that came in a red heart tin (haha, my memento). At another shop (not a Kopernik one, but selling Kopernik and loose gingerbread), I bought two filled ones (similar to the other two in the picture - which is off the Internet - but mine were covered in maybe sugar coating - one was very light and the other was a bit whiter - instead of chocolate. One had black currant (so Polish) filling and the other was apple (obvious)). It was all quite good, a bit sweet so I am not sure about if there will be a next time for eating it anytime soon, but the apple one had a strange taste to the outside, so the other two were a bit better (but I did like both fillings).

In relation to my first quote, the main issue of the day was the weather. Last time I checked the weather a few days ago, it was the same not-too-cold temperatures, but only when I checked on Thursday did it mention the rain. That and the gray sky made it not so fun, especially when it rained more intensely (luckily no downpour at least). It made me miss Warsaw, where I have places to hide out from the rain (my dorm, school, familiar public spots or a map to find new ones). I would not mind returning to Torun, but I am very glad I went and would understand if I did not have the time to make another trip and instead use the time for another destination. Torun is very cute and I am glad to have gone, especially for the train and train station experiences. I think it is a lovely little city. :) I enjoyed going a lot, it was only the weather and growing darkness that made me end my sightseeing early for the waiting room at the train station. While waiting, I had two cups of tasty (and warming!) red borscht soup from a hot drink machine and my first little bar of Prince Polo (chocolate covered wafer bar). I hid from the rain (which was even coming down a bit when I waited and boarded the train back to Warsaw). I did not have to compete with as many others to board at this station and the train itself even had few people! I had to use the restroom on-board, so I actually ended up being in first class for a few minutes and the ticket comptroller saw me in the hallway and let me stay in a cabin there while I looked for my ticket. After he checked it, I went back to the second class and found an empty cabin, where I read (homework reading includes the modern Polish Constitution - post-Solidarity - when I have yet to read the full US one I believe :-P), looked out the window, and took a nap before returning to "home base" in Warsaw; I took a bus from the station back to the dorm, where I could warm up. Today was a relax day and tomorrow might include grocery shopping and museum visit(s) and ...?

I will put pictures on twitpic soon! :-D

Lost In The World

Not sure if I should say much about the last post. Bad news is never easy.

Yesterday my final two classes were pretty interesting - Literature class included neat discussions and pictures, while Jews in Poland class involved a nice documentary film about people who had lived with several Jews before so many of them were exterminated during WWII. After that class, our CIEE group had dinner at this colorful Mexican restaurant nearby our dorm, Blue Cactus (http://www.bluecactus.pl/cactus-menu1.php). We all shared appetizers - I tried some salsa on chips and had a couple quesadilla slices - and I had a salad with grilled chicken, arugula, cherry tomatoes, onions, pumpkin seeds, and dressing. It was pretty good, except we had to wait a while since we were a large group. I am not big into Tex-Mex and margaritas, so it was all just okay to me.

So, today the weather was actually almost "nice." :-P It was sunny and probably the warmest it has been since I arrived. This morning I went outside and was pleasantly surprised by the temperature. :) After an informative Polish lesson, I picked up a package (yay, new magazines from home!) and had lunch in my room before heading out for a few hours to enjoy the good weather. I went to Hala Mirowska (http://www.spottedbylocals.com/warsaw/hala-mirowska/) first. Hmm, not sure how to explain this indoor/outdoor market. :-P I guess it is a combination of a farmer's market, a street market, a mall/grocery store, and the Windmill in Upstate NY. There is a bit Pike Place Market of Seattle in it and other places I have been and I am uncertain where they were - maybe Italy or Florida or ..., but more European. It is an experience to see. ;) I am not sure this would exist exactly the same in the US. If it did, the place would be different in terms of meat displays and meat handling in particular. I saw buckets of mostly bones with some raw meat and people handling meat with their bare hands as it was sitting out without a fridge or anything. However, there was a lot of fish and NONE of it smelled (good sign) and there were a lot of nice baked goods and commercial products and pretty flowers. I am not too comfortable yet with my Polish speaking - and not sure I needed or wanted anything being sold right now - to buy anything, so maybe another time. I also heard haggling is done there; I can somewhat try to converse in Polish, but I assume that younger people and tourist-y areas would give me more luck with people being able to talk to me if I had to use some English. :-P This place seems to be more used by locals. The fruits and vegetables and flowers might be the items I would hessitantly check out to buy.

After HM, I went by tram around the city. I walked around near Nowy Swiat Street, including checking out a highly recommended bakery for paczki (in case I want one for Fat Thursday/Tlusty Czwartek/Paczki Day tomorrow). I walked around some since the weather was nice. When the sun started to head down in the sky, I decided to go pick up some quick groceries at the Carrefour in Galeria Mokotow before heading to the dorm. Now I have some reading and homework to complete. Just one class tomorrow afternoon and it's the weekend. :) Some plans for the next few days include more museums (Zacheta Art Museum free tomorrow) and going to the genealogy department at the Jewish Historical Institute. Maybe even do more outdoors-oriented activities if the weather stays nice.

Today's photos (last time I tried adding directly to the blog I was told I have too many photos, so I began a Flickr account):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60142466@N03/sets/72157626182153368/

All Dogs Go To Heaven :)

Bittersweet Symphony

Not my picture, but the entrance to the store

Today I was feeling tired this morning, so I thought the best time to head out would be after a quick lunch around noon. I headed towards city center, with an intent to go to the National Museum and a multimedia store, Traffic Club, as two of the main places to visit. I ended up passing by Traffic first, so I headed inside.
http://www.traffic-club.pl/



 The store is really cool; the outside I wanted to take pictures of (but did not) because the side I came from had a lot of paintings of people along the wall. The inside has several levels and it is really pretty (colored Church-window-like glass, staircases, lights, music playing, chairs) with tons of books, music, DVDs (I saw Dexter on DVD), and even a cafe. I am pretty sure I heard a Star Wars birthday party on the top floor with a moving R2D2. I found a Warsaw travel book that Gosia has and I thought was neat, so now I have my own copy. :) I REALLY like this store, Empik, and American Bookstore. I am glad books in English are easy to find. This one is in English and Polish and I will be looking at it more in-depth soon:

Looked through it at the store, but decided to just buy it and take it with me instead :-P

I decided to go to the National Museum today (student discount price that will be reimbursed eventually), which was great. It is something I would more recommend for people with longer stays in Warsaw, such as local residents and people who come to the city a lot, or people who really enjoy museums. The reason for this is that it takes some time to see everything inside - which is fairly easy to navigate through, but not an amazing layout since I was always wondering if I missed something or was retracing my steps. All-in-all, there were a lot of amazing artworks and artifacts. I loved the mix of ancient pieces from Egypt with very Christian pieces from Poland and Italy with the more modern works of the 20th Century. It was a great museum and just made me wonder how it would be to live in different time periods. I also saw progress in terms of skill and quality of the pieces. There were paintings that I wish I could climb into or know more about. Several were religious and so many would be amazing to buy and put up somewhere important in your home to look at whenever. It was nice how much care goes into the upkeep of all of the pieces. There was a person in every room to look over the works - probably in case someone tried to steal or damage something. There was a temporary exhibit that had really neat pieces (including not just art, but furniture, silverware, and other items) of mod-art from the 1950s to 1980s. I even saw some classic E. Wedel candy boxes and wrappers. I saw a lot of porcelain China, Polish stoneware and other pottery, gold, silver, elaborate wood pieces and furniture, marble, glass, sculptures/busts, and other items from various time periods. There was a lot themed around Jesus' crucifixion, which I am not sure would be that appropriate for the several young children I saw at the museum. :-/ (I saw a LOT of pregnant women today as well. :-P) It was very quiet and respectful inside the museum, so it did not seem as though photography would be allowed and I chose to simply walk, look, and admire instead. It made me wish I could be a muse, haha. Or hire someone to do a portrait of someone I know as a gift, the way people might have before. A lot of the art was done by Polish artists, which was cool. I saw some 18th century clothes and furniture that were beautiful. I really enjoyed all of the great artwork, some as big as the wall of a room or bigger. The museum also has a cute shop with a lot of art books, both Polish and other artists. I especially liked a painting of Nowy Swiat street and another showing near the Zamek, both from centuries ago. There was a neat section with a mummy and mummy tombs/coffins and hieroglyphics.
Museum: http://www.mnw.art.pl/index.php/en/
The current modern-art exhibit: http://www.mnw.art.pl/index.php/en/temporary_exhibitions/exhibitions/art58.html

After the museum I headed towards the Wisla (Vistula) River and took a picture of the stadium being built for the 2012 Euro Cup: http://www.eurocup.org/en/euro-2012-poland/euro-2012-warsaw/

Reminds me of the Beijing Olympics

After that, I was not sure where to go since it was later in the afternoon. I ended up going to the Arkadia Mall for a bit (saw it when it was dark enough for the lights to come on and it was VERY pretty). I bought some water at Carrefour - it is "lekko gazowana," which means it is lighly carbonated. I headed back after that (since it was darkening out I could see some of the lights on, such as the ones shining on the Palace of Culture & Science - more pretty views ;) ) and now I am resting a bit since I am a quite tired and now that it is dark out, I am sure it is not too warm anymore, but luckily it was warmer than yesterday. The sun was even out. :) Tomorrow will include the Warsaw Rising Museum and other fun. :) Now it is time for relaxing and Polish homework.

There Was Something In The Air That Night...

One more slight schedule change is that my Polish class on Wednesdays is actually 11:40AM until 2:05PM. Everything else is about the same. I don't care so much how Monday through Thursday alters since having Fridays off is something I wish to keep. ;-)

Other recent developments include noticing differences with sweet potatoes/yams. The ones I had today (they are still hard to find - must be the season - since there tend to be very few and tucked into a more exotic produce section at times; they also tend to be more pricey of fruits and vegetables and because they are the "exotic" of the supermarket - even though the sign said they are from Poland - they are usually in places with bigger produce sections and have very few to offer that tend to not look so great - thin, small, dirty, old, damaged, etc.) were darker-skinned than I usually have (somewhat red wine-color), but lighter in flesh (almost yellowy-orange - close to a creamsicle maybe). The taste and texture were pretty much the same as normal.

I received some info from Gosia about postage and mail, so I hope to be able to use the post office soon! It is supposed to be VERY cold the next couple of days at least, so I will see how much I will be able to go outside without freezing my face off and making my nose soak. I checked the movies available at the theatre and not much is out that I would see, so I may hold off on that. The weather only limits my outdoor activity since I tend to try my best at figuring out Metro, tram, bus, etc. lines to make it to farther places without having to be out in bad weather. I still have a lot left to do and to see, so I am excited about all of the options and the idea of checking off some every few days.

Tonight I am catching up on reading and "Community." Maybe I will try to work on my Polish, too. :-P I wonder if sleeping to Polish recordings would miraculously make me improve at speaking and at understanding? One can dream.

Dobranoc. :-*

Second Christmas

TGIF (Woo, Friday!) & Happy Care Package Day!

Like Second Christmas, right down to the wrapping paper. ;)

Books on Polish history

Calendar, agenda, card games, mints...



Kashi is something for which I have yet to find a decent replacement

 Thanks, Mom, Dad, & Babcia! Tell the "children" I say hello, too. :-P

http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF129-Colonel_Sweeto.jpg

Who's Going To Tell You When It's Too Late?

This is a hospital about 2 seconds walk from my dorm

Look at all of those "Babcia" (grandma/lady/love story) magazines!

Outside my dorm - not the best sight; the entrance is by the part that juts out some with an overhead above the door; I guess it covers rain...?

Address

Dorm = Student House; I am in GROSIK for the School of Economics

Not much happened today for me; mostly just relaxing since I had no class - reading (trying to finish Stiff - check out the book here - soon), showering, taking it easy. The sunshine coaxed me out for a quick walk and a stop at a small market (yep, trying out another grocery store option, this time a Carrefour Market - probably Express since it was small). The sun is going down soon, so it is a bit cold now. Brrr. Might stay in for the night again. I have two classes tomorrow afternoon and then not until Monday morning. :) Cheers to that.

Class? Work? Uhh...

http://ciee.org/

So, according to my class schedule, I should have four classes on Tuesdays. The first (history) does not begin until March. When this class would have been, I took advantage of relaxing and napping a bit before putting away my clean clothes - they were a bit wrinkly and some did not dry all too well, but it all turned out okay. :-P The second class (politics) was interesting today - talking about European politics during World War II - and I found out that the class schedule has been updated again, favorably for me. :) I have Fridays off! And the rest of the week does not look too bad.

I am here mainly to learn about Poland, so I am focusing on Polish-related courses in history, language, politics, culture, society, and literature, in addition to traveling or exploring Warsaw and other parts of Poland (and maybe Europe as well, but Polska is more important since I know I will see some cities outside Poland towards the end of my time abroad). I have heard a lot of difficulties from other CIEE students about going to classes at SGH/Warsaw School of Economics; one girl mentioned going to a class that turned out to be in Polish; my roommate went to one class that was cancelled - at least for today - and another that no longer exists. I have heard about several people being interested in a class that is also not going to be held. It is strange how much the schedule changes for courses even after the semester begins. I am glad that I do not have these struggles because I was more committed to CIEE classes than looking at too many SGH options. It also makes my schedule a bit more flexible to work with and using classes that I am interested in (so far at least). It is still awkward for all of us how little "work" we have done; friends in the States are already pretty far into the semester, while some of my group are still figuring out classes to take and schedules. I am pretty certain about those classes I have chosen and they were pre-approved, so I also do not have the issue of having to contact deans and teachers about making sure SGH classes will count (I did a pre-registration type form and checked with study abroad and other teachers before leaving Fairfield). But still, only three of my classes have actually started; Polish has given some work, whereas the other two have given a little reading since they began last week (only Polish began fairly soon after arrival). One of my classes - a Polish literature one - somehow did not happen. I was waiting with other students from my program by the assigned room this afternoon and the professor never came. He said we would begin this week (after Valentine's Day) rather than last week, but maybe he went to the wrong room/building? Or maybe something came up? Or he simply forgot? Maybe we will find out later and I will still wait again next time the class is scheduled and maybe he will show then. We even had an issue about room assignment yesterday when my Polish class was moved to our program director's office after our scheduled classroom turned out to be having another class in it.

When I was in the kitchen today using the microwave, a guy there waiting to use it after I finished spoke to me in Polish and I had to say I do not speak that well and he asked what language I do speak, so we spoke in English after I told him that would work better. He asked where I was from and how long I was here and we both said we are half-Polish; he said he spoke Polish to me because I looked Polish - I had heard a few days before from a Polish-American student on my program that I do not look that Polish, so I guess it depends on the viewer or maybe the lighting/angle. :-P

Since Polish was cancelled tomorrow, I have the day off. :-D Some people went out tonight, but I am going to stay in to read, to do yoga (Tara Stiles on Youtube!), and to possibly go to bed at a reasonable hour. I need a shower and whatnot anyway. :-P As mid-week approaches, I am uncertain about weekend plans as of yet. Hopefully the weather will be nice. It has been sunny the past few days, but really quite cold (especially at night and when windy) - I try to stick to the sunny parts of the street when I can.

Commit Yourself!

Polish Horoscopes

People were out on street corners handing out newspapers called "Metro" (http://www.emetro.pl/emetro/0,0.html) yesterday and I finally took one after passing by many of them. The theme of this one was Valentine's Day/Love/Relationships for the holiday today. It will be tough translating all of the pages, but I guess curiosity has made me interested in the horoscopes, provided by http://ezotv.pl/ and using http://www.microsofttranslator.com/ and http://poltran.com/
The one from the magazine for me, a Sagitarian:
Dla Strzelców nadszedł czas na życie marzeniami i przygodami. W sferze uczuć osiągniecie nowy szczyt, wybiegniecie daleko poza granice własnej wy-obraźni. Zastanówcie się, czego pragniecie, i zdobądźcie to. Macie teraz okazję do zawierania znajomości, nawiązywania flirtów i oczarowywania otoczenia.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION (definitely not perfect):
Time has come on for archers on life dreams and adventures. You will achieve new summit in sphere of affection (sentiment; emotion), you will run away affectation personal borders far wy-obraźni. They let's think , you desire that, and they let's earn it. Now you have opening for containerization of acquaintance, establishing of flirt and charming of enclosing (enclosing with).

The ones from the website for me, a Sagitarian:
Strzelec 22.11 - 21.12
Wykorzystując runy Algiz, Hagal i Sowilo poczujecie przypływ uczuć.
Świetny miesiąc na porzucenie starego związku jeśli czujecie, że wypalił się do końca. Przed wami nowa miłość, która pojawi się niespodziewanie. Warto mieć oczy szeroko otwarte aby nie przegapić wymarzonego partnera. Wreszcie wulkan uczuć wybuchnie a pył namiętności unosić się będzie jeszcze długo w powietrzu.

Zwierzęta: koń, kozioł
Kolory: tęczowy
Metal: cyna
Karta tarota: Rydwan
Kamień-talizman: rubin, ciemny onyks, malachit, kamień księżycowy
Pomyślny dzień: czwartek
Zobacz, co czeka Cię w styczniu

Weź sprawy w swoje ręce, nowe uczucie czeka za progiem! Jowisz zachęca do spotkań towarzyskich. Prosi, abyś nie zaniechała swych zamiarów wobec osób, które podbiły w jakiś sposób Twe serce. Będziesz się cieszyć dużym powodzeniem, dlatego nie powinnaś omijać żadnych okazji do zabawy. Jeżeli niedawno życie wydawało Ci się monotonne, Twoja sytuacja zdecydowanie się odmieni. Będziesz mieć udane relacje z ludźmi, staniesz się bardziej otwarta a inni w zamian zaczną okazywać Ci ciepło i zrozumienie. Możesz liczyć na emocjonalną równowagę i oddanie innych ludzi. Spotkasz się z dużym zainteresowaniem ze strony otoczenia. Jowisz sprzyja nowym przyjaźniom, niektóre z nich nawiążesz z mieszkańcami innych krajów, a może i nawet kontynentów. Dzięki wizytom i rewizytom doświadczysz czegoś nowego i czegoś się nauczysz.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION (Does not make 100% sense - and some did not translate and I had to use another translator, but close enough, haha):

Sagittarius 22.21.11-12

Using the Runic alphabet Algiz, Hagal and Sowilo you will feel tide walk.

A great month to abandon old if you feel that it has burned out to end. Before you all new love that appear unexpectedly. You have the eyes wide open to not miss dream partner. Finally, volcano walk breaks out and the dust of passion will be supported long in the air.

Animals: horse, mountain

The colors of the Rainbow:

Metal: Tin

The chariot Tarot card:

Stone-talizman: rubin, dark Onyx, malachite, stone Lunar

A successful day: Thursday

See what awaits You in January

Take matters in their hands, waiting for the new sensation of doorstep! Jupiter encourages social gatherings. Asks that you not by their intent against those who subjugated in some way your heart. You'll enjoy a great success, therefore you should avoid any opportunity for fun. If you recently force seemed monotonous, your situation strongly modified. You will have successful relationships with human beings, are more open and others will be presented to you in exchange of heat and understanding. You can count on an emotional balance and putting other people. Encounter with a great deal of interest from the environment. Jupiter is the new friendship, some of them you from residents of the other countries, and even continents. By subject and return visits you encounter something new and something to teach.

Sagittarius 22.21.11-12 Using the Runic alphabet Algiz, Hagal and Sowilo poczujecie tide walk. A great month to abandon old if you feel that a wypalił to end. Before you all new love that appear unexpectedly. You have the eyes wide open to not miss dream partner. Finally, volcano walk breaks out and the dust of passion will be supported long in the air. Animals: horse, mountain The colors of the Rainbow: Metal: Tin The chariot Tarot card: Stone-talizman: rubin, dark Onyx, malachite, stone Lunar A successful day: Thursday See what awaits You in January Take matters in their hands, waiting for the new sensation of doorstep! Jupiter encourages social gatherings. Asks that you not by their intent against those podbiły in some way Tec heart. You'll enjoy a great success, therefore you should avoid any opportunity for fun. If you recently force seemed monotonous, your situation strongly odmieni. You will have successful relationships with human beings, are more open and others will be presented to you in exchange of heat and understanding. You can count on an emotional balance and putting other people. Encounter with a great deal of interest from the environment. Jupiter is the new przyjaźniom, some of them you from residents of the other countries, and even continents. By subject and rewizytom you encounter something new and something to teach.